Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! When planning our itineraries, I always try to leave our first day in a city flexible to account for any possible delays or issues. So for our first day in Rome, I planned for us to see as many of Rome's 900 churches as we could squeeze in. While we didn't make it to all ten or so of the churches on my list, we were always amazed by how relatively modern they looked on the outside compared to how exquisite they were inside. A lot of the churches also have art by famous artists such as Michelangelo and Carravaggio, and the churches are all free to visit. (We threw our coins in the Trevi so I'll save the other churches for our return trip 
)
San Luigi Dei Francesi was the first church we entered and was built in the mid to late 1500s. It is the national church of France in Rome and while the exterior is rather modest, the interior is full of beautiful symbols of French royalty. This includes the fleur-de-lis throughout the church and the ceiling depicts King Louis IX, also known as Saint Louis, going to heaven. There is also a chapel for Saint Louis and Joan of Arc.
The real highlight of this church is the chapel in the far-left corner painted by Caravaggio. Hopefully someone around you has some coins because you have to pay a small donation to have the chapel lit up. It is worth it to see Caravaggio's masterpieces starting with The Calling of St. Matthew on the left. It is unique because it depicts a holy scene in a down to earth location. This was Caravaggio's first large scale painting and he completed it when he was 29 years old.
The Inspiration of St. Matthew depicts Matthew writing the Gospel according to Matthew.
It's hard to see in my picture, but in The Martyrdom of St. Matthew, the bearded face to left of executioner's shoulder is a self-portrait of Caravaggio.
We then made our way to Piazza Navona, a lively and colorful square near the Pantheon. It was originally a Roman stadium called the Stadium of Domitian (81-96 AD), but most of the buildings are from the 1600s when Pope Innocent X was trying to atone for the church's prior scandals. There are three fountains in the piazza each depicting a different scene. In the smaller one Neptune is slaying an octopus.
The center fountain, Four Rivers Fountain, was created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and features a giant obelisk surrounded by four statues. The four statues represent the four quarters of the world at the time: Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. There is a joke that Bernini made this man shudder at the Church of Sant'Agnese because it was designed by his former student and rival, but the fountain was created before the church so this isn't true.
We went Sant'Agnese and perhaps much to Bernini's dismay, it was beautiful inside. The interior of the church is actually smaller than the exterior. It was built in the mid-1600s for Pope Innocent X to be a family chapel because his palace was located next door. Pope Innocent X's tomb is inside this church but his old palace is now home of the Brazilian Embassy. Inside there is also the skull of Saint Agnes, who the church was named after. She was martyred on the site of this church.
On our way to another church, we walked by Basilica di Sant'Andrea della Valle, and we saw a lot of people walking in so we figured we should too. This church wasn't on my original list, but I'm so glad we wandered in, it was gorgeous! Work began in 1590 and was completed in 1650.
The dome was at one point the third largest in Rome and it was painted by Giovanni Lanfranco and Domenichino.
Santa Maria in Aracoeli Church is located on top of Capitoline Hill and where Emperor Augustus allegedly had a premonition of the coming of Mary and Christ standing on an alter in the sky (ara coeli). You can climb up the 125 steep steps to reach the church, but we found our way in through a side entrance. The church dates back to the 500s, but was expanded in the 1200s.
I loved all of the chandeliers illuminating the nave.
The Church of Sant'Ignazio of Loyola was the last church we saw for the day and was named after Saint Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits. It was built in the 1600s and had one of the prettiest ceilings we saw. There is a long line to use the mirror so you don't have to crane your neck, but we didn't feel like waiting in a line. The ceiling was painted by Andrea Pozzo and depicts Saint Ignatius (in the center) having a vision of Christ with the Cross. Pictures definitely don't do this mural justice!
Pozzo also created a false dome on a canvas that is quite realistic until you're near the alter. A fire destroyed the false dome and it was redone in 1823.
As you can tell, there are so many beautiful churches to see in Rome, and I've only scratched the surface. Some of the other churches on my list that we didn't make it into include the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Church of Gesu, Church of Santa Prassede, and the Church of San Giovanni in Laterno. I'd suggest reading a little about each church you visit beforehand so you don't miss any of the famous art pieces.
Posts in this series:
Florence
Rome
No comments:
Post a Comment