From Gregory the Great to Leo III: The Ktetor and Donor Activities of the Popes in Rome and the Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paolo Fuori Le Mura

The paper is dedicated to the consideration of the ktetor and donor activities of the popes in Rome from the end of the 6th to the beginning of the 9th century in the context of the systematic action of the heads of the Roman Church towards the constitution of the identity of Rome as a city cf the church, and consequently the building of the authority of its own established institution, mainly on the cults of St. Peter and St. Paul, the princes of the apostles. Accordingly, research has shown that St. Peters Basilica and Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura stand out as dominant focuses of papal ktetor and donor activities. Keeping memories of the suffering of the two apostles by which the city was sanctified, they functioned as a kind of reliquaries of city-protecting cults. The goal of this paper is to provide a more detailed insight into the nature and dynamics of papal ktetor and donor activities directed towards the aforementioned churches, by which the heads of the Roman Church dominantly determined, visually and ideologically, an entire era in the development and functioning of the city.