Chiesa dei Santi Medici Cosma e Damiano

In 527, Pope Felix IV repurposed a corner of the Roman Forum to create this basilica, uniting the library of the Forum of Peace with part of the Temple of Romulus. The site had served as headquarters for Rome’s public medical service, where government-employed doctors practiced, which made it the perfect home for twin physicians turned patron saints.

Cosmas and Damian treated patients in 3rd-century Asia Minor without accepting payment, earning them the Greek title anargyroi, “without silver.” Their vow was so strict that when Damian accepted three eggs from a grateful patient named Palladia, his brother Cosmas declared they shouldn’t be buried together.

The dispute was settled by a camel they’d once healed, who appeared speaking in a human voice to clarify that Damian took the eggs to honor the Holy Trinity, not as payment. The brothers were martyred together during Diocletian’s persecutions and, egg controversy aside, buried side by side as originally intended.