Churches of Rome Master Thread
May 11th, 2008, 08:09 AM
#21
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SusanP, I was just listening to Rick Steves on NPR,and he had a guest on talking about Rome. When asked what hidden gem she would recommend to someone interested in art history, she recommended the crypt of Santa Cecilia.
May 11th, 2008, 11:23 AM
#22
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Cimbrone, yes, it's really gorgeous. And so unexpected at the end of the crypt.
rivoli, you can't have Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale, I want it!
The only reason I didn't mention it is that it was already listed. I've been to just about everything suggested here, but of course, there are many more still to see!
rivoli, you can't have Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale, I want it!
The only reason I didn't mention it is that it was already listed. I've been to just about everything suggested here, but of course, there are many more still to see!
May 12th, 2008, 08:58 AM
#25
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Another Borromini church, St Ivo della Sapienza. It is on the Rinascimento a block or so off the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
It's hard to see the church; it's part of an arcaded courtyard housing some archives, which is often closed. Even if you get into the courtyard, the church itself is often closed. But you can see the spire from many places in the neighborhood: it is a spiral, allegedly modeled after a bee's stinger in honor of the Barberini. The three little hills of the Chigi family are up there too.
Maybe because it required a lot of tries before I saw it, I really loved it. The courtyard is like a cloister. The church is small and white, with some whacky convex/concave columnular stuff going on, and beautiful wings and cherubs on the walls.
It's a ravishing contrast to San Andrea delle Valle (gold, ornate, over the top), which is at the end of the street.
It's hard to see the church; it's part of an arcaded courtyard housing some archives, which is often closed. Even if you get into the courtyard, the church itself is often closed. But you can see the spire from many places in the neighborhood: it is a spiral, allegedly modeled after a bee's stinger in honor of the Barberini. The three little hills of the Chigi family are up there too.
Maybe because it required a lot of tries before I saw it, I really loved it. The courtyard is like a cloister. The church is small and white, with some whacky convex/concave columnular stuff going on, and beautiful wings and cherubs on the walls.
It's a ravishing contrast to San Andrea delle Valle (gold, ornate, over the top), which is at the end of the street.
May 13th, 2008, 03:42 AM
#26
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There is a lot of information about the design of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza and other churches by Bernini and Borromini in Jake Morrissey's The Genius in the Design: Bernini, Borromini, and the Rivalry That Transformed Rome. This is a very readable book and is good preparation for a visit to Rome (along with Ross King's Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling)
May 13th, 2008, 04:17 AM
#27
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Bookmarking. This is one of my favorite things to do and I am so glad to find this thread. Keep looking for the UNKOWN ones. When I was in India I did this with temples, churches, chapels and just fell in love with the concept of you can't tell a book by it's cover.
May 13th, 2008, 05:19 AM
#28
As mentioned earlier, if you're interested in all the churches, look on half.com, ebay or Alibiris for a used copy of Holy Rome, A Millennium Guide to the Christian Sights. It's out of print, but I took it to Rome in November and it was amazing...I didn't come across one church that wasn't in the book. And there's so much info in there that is not in a traditional guide book.
