The Roman Door of Santa Sabina

The main door of the basilica is no longer in use, and since you fall on the present entrance to the church before you come upon it, few visitors even see it. Yet this is the thing to see at S. Sabina: while the entire church is very ancient and interesting, this 5c Roman door is unique.

It is the oldest large wooden sculpture in Europe and includes some of the oldest instances of many themes of Christian art: one of the very first representations of the Crucifixion, for example. It is also a very beautiful piece of carving.

Scale? That plexiglass shield is high enough to protect the door from being touched.