Crucifixion of Peter

View of the picture of Peter in the Quo Vadis church that is located on the via Appia.  Tradition has it that Peter was crucified upside down.

Tradition suggests that Peter was fleeing from persecution in Rome and that here he met Jesus who was going into the city of Rome.  Peter asked Jesus Domine Quo Vadis ("where are you going, Lord?").  Jesus responded "I am going to Rome to be crucified again," and Peter was shamed into returning to Rome to martyrdom.

The official name of the church is Church of St. Mary in Palmis" where "palmis" refers to the footprints of Jesus.  In the church is a copy of a stone on which the faithful believe are the implanted two footprints of Jesus—the original is in the nearby Basilica of San Sebastiano.

The current church was built in the 17th century.