Legend says, that in this very place a certain Pudens (Pudentius) hosted St. Peter and was converted to Christianity by him. St. Paul also mentions some Pudentius in one of his letters written during his stay in Rome. This family, well-known in the Eternal City in the II and III centuries also included a Roman consul. When Christianity started spreading, two daughters of Pudens – the later saints Pudentiana and Praxedes– turned out to be especially zealous faithful of Christ. The first, the patron of this very church, was known for helping Christians, for which she paid with her life; it was also in her house that the first residence of the bishop of Rome was located, until 312 when it was moved to the Lateran. After the death of her father, the girl was to give the house as well as land belonging to it to the Church. So much for the legend, but what do researchers and historians say? Without a doubt, the location of present-day basilica – since that is the status of this church, was the location of one of the oldest tituli  – a two-story private house along with a nymphaeum. As early as the III century a Christian commune gathered within, led by Novatian, the later anti-pope – a radical reformer of the Church, an ardent enemy of all apostates, meaning Christians who during persecutions renounced their faith. He was therefore, an adversary of the then pope, Cornelius, who was less radical on the issue. Riots which erupted in the city between rival supporters of one and the other pope were brought to an end by Emperor Trebonianus Gallus. Cornelius was locked in the Civitavecchia prison while Novatian left the city under unknown circumstances and was never heard of again.

In the eighties of the IV century, during the pontificate of Damasus I, a church, which was finished at the beginning of the following century, was erected in this location. Its greatest decorations are the mosaics of the apse, which still arouse admiration today – one of the most interesting works of early-Christian art in general (402-417). For centuries it was believed that they portrayed two martyrs – the daughters of Pudens. Yet in truth, the women represented on them are the personifications of two Churches – ecclesia ex circumcisione, meaning the one stemming from Judaism and ecclesia ex gentibus, the one from pagan nations. So, where is our Pudentiana? – we may ask. Well the truth is, there never was such a person, she came to be from an ambiguous verse, found in a book held by Christ. Instead of “Lord and Protector of the temple of Pudentius” it was translated as “Lord and Protector of the temple of Pudentiana”. In this way Pudentiana was born, the legendary continuator of the work of the father, a young and beautiful patron of the church, brought to life by a mistake in translation. Not without significance was the discovery made in the catacombs at that time, of the burial of Potentiana, who without much fanfare was connected with the aforementioned fictitious daughter of Pudens.

Looking at the apse with its majestic image of Christ, it is impossible not to ask ourselves the question Paul Johnson asked: “Did the empire submit to Christianity or was it Christianity that fell into servitude of the empire?” In the mosaic an outstanding program of the Church searching for new symbols is presented. The place on the throne, until now reserved for the emperor, was taken by Christ, who was accompanied by the two new patrons of Christian Rome – St. Peter and St. Paul (seemingly successors to Remus and Romulus), with his authority sanctioning the status of caput mundi in a new Christian way (for further information see: Mosaics in the Apse of the Church of Santa Pudenziana).

Despite the fact that the church had been reconstructed numerous times it still possesses the late-Baroque spirit, but not only. Passing through its portal flanked by two ancient columns, we should direct our attention to a beautiful stone frieze visible in the lintel. Among floral decorations we will notice the symbol of Christ – The Lamb of God, as well as the images of Pudenziana, Praxedes, Pudens, and most likely St. Peter, who accompany him. It comes from the XI century, similarly to the Oratory of Our Lady found on church premises. In the past its enterance was located at present-day via Cesare Balbo (behind the church apse). There we will see well-preserved remains of frescoes. The most beautiful ones depict the Madonna with Child accompanied by SS Pudenziana and Praxedes. The remaining walls are decorated with episodes from their lives, while the vault – with the symbols of the Evangelists and the image of the Lamb of God. On one of the walls we can see the scene of the Crucifixion, however it is a later painting, created in the XVI century. The medieval spirit still alive in this place is also testified to by an outstanding multi-story campanile from the start of the XIII century.

The interior of the early-Christian, later Romanesque church was completely modernized in the XVI century. The side naves of the old arrangements were converted into chapels and in addition, the apse was reduced in an unprecedented way, destroying the figures of some of the apostles, the dove and the Lamb of God visible on the aforementioned mosaic. The head designer of this reconstruction was Francesco Capriani da Volterra. He was also reportedly the creator of the epileptic dome, which was decorated by the renowned fresco artist of that time – Pomarancio (Niccolò Circignani), known to us for his numerous scenes of martyrdom, which he completed for churches in the city (e.g. San Stefano Rotondo). However, this time he created a vision of the heavens with throngs of angels and saints as well as a bust of Christ in the central part.

The grandest of all the chapels is the one dedicated to the Caetani family, the descendants of one of the oldest families in the city, which can boast two popes (Gelasius II and Boniface VIII). Its member was also Cardinal Enrico Caetani – the initiator of the reconstruction of the church in a new, mannerist spirit. The chapel in found on the left side of the nave and it cannot be overlooked, since it emanates grandeur and wealth of decorations. In it, there are tombstones and busts of family members, while the walls and the vault are covered with marbles, stuccos and mosaics. Works on the chapel lasted more than half a century and were contributed to by such outstanding artists as Carlo Maderno, Camillo Mariani and Federico Zuccari. In the chapel altar we can admire an interesting, mannerist relief from the beginning of the XVII century (P. Olivieri and C. Mariani), showing the scene of The Adoration of the Magi, with the background made up of a representation of the Battle of Lepanto. This military theme, rather unusual for the manger scene of the birth of Christ, was selected for a reason – one of the Caetanis, Onorato, made the family famous by taking part in this famous battle, in which the united Roman Catholic forces of the Holy League, in a spectacular way defeated the Ottoman forces in this way putting an end to the Turkish threat for a long time to come.