Pietro e Paolo lumina mundi: l’iscrizione ICUR 3900 e la fondazione della Basilica Apostolorum

The inscription ICUR 3900 is preserved only through a 9th cent. codex together with other inscriptions from the early Christian basilicas of Rome. Unfortunately, the last line, with the name of the builder of the basilica, is missing. One century ago, Marucchi attributed it to the Basilica Apostolorum – to day St Sebastian on the Via Appia – and his proposal was widely accepted. After the discussion of some integrations of the text, the paper addresses the interpretation of the essential node: the identification of the praesul, the bishop who took the initiative to build the church, and of the filius, the son who completed the work. The Basilica Apostolorum is surely one of the earliest churches of Rome, dating back to the age of Constantine, but there is no trace of it in the list of the Constantinian buildings in the Liber Pontificalis. A possible explanation is to attribute the building to a private (the filius), who completed the work begun by his father (the praesul). Hypothetically and in a very cautious way, the latter could be identified with pope Miltiades or Sylvester.