SCHOLA CANTORUM. - This term denotes a rectangular enclosure, often raised one or two steps above the rest of the floor, situated in ancient basilicas in the section of the main nave near the presbyterium.
In this enclosure, until around the 13th century, the cantors who participated in sacred functions were seated. Examples of this can be found in many Roman churches. Some *scholae cantorum* retain their original character intact, while others are the result of later arrangements and restorations. Among the oldest are those of S. Stefano on the Via Latina, certain elements of that of S. Clemente (5th–6th century) reused in the 12th-century arrangement, that of S. Sabina (8th–9th century), and then the others from the 13th century, such as those of S. Maria in Cosmedin and S. Saba. Often attached to the enclosure, which sometimes had stone seating, are two pulpits (v.) that are not always original to the primitive construction. - See pl. III. Emilio Lavagnino