The city of saintly apostles: The image of Rome in Registrum epistolarum of Gregory the Great

Abstract

The article analyzes the image of the city of Rome, as it appears in the letters of Pope Gregory the Great (590–604). Gregory did a great deal to make Rome prosper and transformed it into one of the main spiritual centers of the Christian West. This was achieved thanks to the Pope's relentless care about beautifying the city, about repairing the churches and founding monasteries, all of were testimony to the triumph of the Christian faith. Another, very important factor was the veneration of the relics of the saints, chiefy the apostles Peter and Paul. Gregory established a genuine cult of their worship, thereby turning Rome into a center of pilgrimage