Wednesday, January 17
At long last this was the day of our tour of Palazzo Farnese. Does that name ring a bell with anyone? Puccini used two real-life places in Rome as scenes in his Opera ‘Tosca’ – one was Castel Sant’Angelo and the other was Palazzo Farnese. Our tour was at 5:00 pm so we decided to spend the afternoon wandering about the city.
Chiesa SS Nome di María is adjacent to Trajan’s Column. We’d walked past it dozens of times and it has always been closed. Today it was open and we got to see it. The church dates from around 1750 and is decorated in a style that is typical of the transition between the Renaissance and Baroque periods. After leaving we climbed the Quirinale Hill in search of bigger game.
We’d walked past an Episcopal Church named Chiesa di San Paolo Dentro le Mura (Church of St Paul Inside the Walls) many times. We were under the impression that it had been converted to a theater. We were wrong! The church was open and we decided to investigate.
Inside we found a gothic style church – you don’t see many of these in Rome. The ones we have seen were built well after the middle ages. The church was completed around 1880. The apse is decorated from floor to ceiling with medieval style mosaics. The back of the church contains a lovely rose window and the walls are lined with beautiful stained glass windows. The ceilings soared with vaults typical of the style. It was a lovely sight. A bulletin board near the entrance displayed a message about a free screening of ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ at 7:00 pm that evening. It seemed appropriate. They were even providing free popcorn. We planned to return after our tour of Palazzo Farnese.
(Gothic Style Chiesa di San Paulo Dentro le Mura)
Finally we visited Santa Maria in via Lata. The church was closed but the excavation underneath the church was open. The rooms below the church were where St Paul was imprisoned for two years while awaiting trial. During that time many people came to visit him at this house and he was free to preach. A place of worship existed on this site as early as the fifth century. The present church dates from around 1660.
By then the time for our tour was approaching so we walked over to Piazza Farnese. The Palace has an interesting history. It was originally built by the Farnese family in the early 16th century and was eventually inherited by the King of Naples who was part of the French Bourbon dynasty. It is considered an outstanding example of High Renaissance architecture. In 1874 the French Government purchased the building for use as its embassy in Rome. In 1936 Mussolini forced the French to sell it back to the Italian Government. In return the French received a 99 year lease for the cost of €1.00 per month. The exterior of the Palace is not that impressive. The inside is magnificent.
Many of the rooms are decorated with elaborate frescos. The room done by Annibale Carracci had been recently restored and we were treated to a discussion of the various allegories. The frescos done by Michaelangelo can be found in the rooms occupied by the ambassador. Because he was in residence we were not able to see them. Many of the sculptures seen today are replicas of those that were transported to Naples when the Bourbons gained ownership. No photography of any kind was permitted.
Distance walked: 10.6 miles and 12 flights
Thursday, January 18
For fun we decided to research all of the works of Michaelangelo, Canova and Bernini in Rome. We recorded the names and their locations of the works and resolved to see them all – 68 works in all. Fortunately we had seen most of them already. Today, armed with our new list, we set out to see how many we could cross off our list.
Our first destination of the day was to be Parrocchia Santi XII Apostoli near Piazza Venzia. Along the way we managed to visit two new churches near Piazza Farnese.
The first week we had been in Rome we walked past Parrocchia Santi XII Apostoli and noticed a large protest. For safety’s sake we decided not to enter. Now, many weeks later, there were still some banners tied to the church’s fencing but the protestors were gone.
The church was originally constructed in 499 but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1348. It was rebuilt in 1417 by Pope Martin V and has since been enhanced a number of times.
The church is decorated in Baroque style with many frescos, colored marbles and sculptures. Near the main alter we found an enormous monument to Pope Clement XIV by Canova. Downstairs, in an older part of the church, we found the crypts of Giovanni and Phillpe. This part of the church was liberally decorated with frescos from an earlier style.
(Older style fresco from the crypts)
On our way home we visited Chiesa di San Cosimato. This church, located in Trastevere, dates from the 10th century and is decorated in the Byzantine style. The property also included a convent that was converted to a hospital in 1870.
(Interior of Chiesa di San Cosimato)
Distance walked: 5.7 miles and 4 flights
Total churches visited so far: 100 and one Synagogue. It took some doing but we finally reached a milestone.
Friday, January 19
We had previously visited the French Academy located in Villa Medici. At that time we learned that each weekend the gardens hosted a light show, which was open to the public for free. We planned to wend our way through the city and arrive at the gardens after dark.
Along the way we re-visited Santa Maria in Via Lata. This time the church was open. We were treated to a large and inviting interior decorated in high Baroque style.
While walking up Via del Tritone we happed upon Chiesa di Santa Maria Odigitria. The church dates from 1598 but was most recently renovated in the 19th century. Most of the artwork dates from that period. At one time it was the national church of Sicily.
The display at the gardens was a surprise. We were simply expecting the gardens to be lit up. Instead there was a multi-media presentation including light installations, sound generators and smoke machines. Each section of the garden contained a different presentation. We had a lot of fun with it.
(A night of lights and smoke)
On the way home we visited San Lorenzo in Lucina. It seems that many churches are only open in the evening.
Distance walked: 6.0 miles and 5 flights