Frescoes by Niccolò Circignani Niccolò Pomarancio and Antonio Tempesta in the basilica of St. Stephen the Round on the Celian Hill in Rome, Italy. They portray 34 scenes of martyrdom, commissioned by Gregory XIII in the 16th century. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, the church is Hungary`s `national church` in Rome, dedicated to both Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and Stephen I, the sanctified first king of Hungary. The minor basilica is also the rectory church of the Pontifical Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum. The earliest church was consecrated by Pope Simplicius between 468 and 483. The church was the first in Rome to have a circular plan. Its architecture is unique in the Late Roman world.
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