Ten Church Tuesday

Tuesday, November 28

Well, ten is small exaggeration but we did visit quite a few.  We found an interesting article on the web where this person describes his 10 Favorite Churches in Rome.  Shockingly we had only been to three of them and hadn’t know about the “good parts” of one we had seen.  So, we set out to see what we could see.

First was San Gregorio Magna al Celio.  This one was not on the list but it looked interesting and was on the way to our first target.  We decided to take a look.

The complex includes a Benedictine monastery, an ancient church dating back to around 575, a convent of nuns and a homeless shelter run by nuns of the order of St Theresa of Calcutta.  We also enjoyed a short walk around the cloister near the convent.

Next up was Basilica Santi Giovanni e Paolo  We’d been there before.  We had known that the first version of the church dated from 398.  What we hadn’t know before was that the church was built on top of several Roman houses dating from the first and fourth centuries.  Excavations beneath the church in the 19th century found these houses.  Supposedly many of the original walls, frescos and other decorations are well preserved.  Of course, access to the excavation was closed the day we were there.  I guess we’ll have to go back a third time!

We tried to visit Basilica di Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella but it was closed.  The new subway line is being built right in front if the church and it will be closed for the duration of the construction.  It doesn’t appear that we will get to enjoy the Byzantine mosaics installed there.

The Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo is a somewhat unique church.  It is round with a round pulpit in the middle.  Around the perimeter are numerous chapels all containing frescos depicting brutal acts against Christians.  In one case a man was hanging by his arms while flaming torches were applied to his body.  In another soldiers were killing women and children.  It was a sight to see.

(Torturing Christians)

Next up was Santi Quattro Coronati.  This place dates from the fourth or fifth century.  Today it hosts a monastery and cloister.  At one time the complex was a fortified Cardinal’s palace.  The palace had its own chapel, which dates from the 13th century.  For the cost of €1.00 apiece we were permitted to enter and see the restored frescos.  We also paid a fee to tour the cloister; this is a common practice to raise money.  Entry to all churches is free.

(Restored 9th Century Frescos)

You would think that we would be have been tired at this point but we pushed on and visited Basilica di San Clemente.  This one was not on the original list but it was one we had been intending to visit anyway.

The site of the church has undergone many transformations in its long history.  It was originally private homes.  It was used for Christian services in the first century before Christianity was legalized and starting in the 6th century it became a grand basilica.  Excavations one layer below the church have found a previous version of the church and at a second level down have found the original Roman houses.

(Fresco from the excavations under the Basilica)

At this point we decided to take a break for lunch.  We found a small restaurant  with terrific prices (Ristorante Colosseo “Luzzi”).  The best part though was the food.  It was as close to home cooking as you will get in any restaurant.  We knew it would be good when we noticed many locals seated nearby.  We had the Pollo alla Romana.  The waitress said it was chicken in tomato sauce with pepperoni.  It turned out to be chicken in tomato sauce with peppers.  We didn’t care.  It was delicious!

Fully rested and refreshed we pressed onward.  Our next stop was Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri or as it’s more commonly known to our readers, “The Church with the Hole in it”.  This church was on the list but we intended to go back anyway and search for the second light source.  We had studied the photo from the museum carefully and were sure we could find that second light source.

We looked for some time but couldn’t find it.  The current version of the church doesn’t resemble the photograph from the museum in several ways.  We suppose that the hole was covered in one of the more recent renovations.  I can’t understand why they would do that.  It’s very sad.

Our last church for the day was Sant’Andrea al Quirinale.  This church was designed and built by Bernini.  It’s main architectural feature is its oval dome.  The church is not very large nor is it highly decorated.  The only art of Bernini’s there is a fresco over the main alter and it can’t be seen unless you are standing on the alter.  We tried to see Chiesa di San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane, which was a church on the same block designed by Bernini’s main rival but it was closed.

On the way home we came across the Quirinal Palace.  This is a former home to Popes and Italian royalty.  Today it functions as the Presidential Palace.  We’re going to have to go back and explore that area some more.  There’s always something to do 😋.

If you’ve read this far I’m going to share with you the big news of the day: we reserved an apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria from February 1 – March 15.  The fun never stops.