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Italy 2019

May 2019
Our trip to Rome and Sorrento May 2019 Read more
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  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    Chiesa del Gesù

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    The entrance to this church was hard to find only because the address was listed on the street behind when you simply enter the front, but interesting as the first and model Jesuit church. It is one of the more lavishly decorated churches we visited in a city full of lavish decorations.

    The Church of the Gesù (Italian: Chiesa del Gesù; is the mother church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a Catholic religious order. Officially named Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina (English: Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus at the "Argentina"), its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture. The church served as the model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the Americas. Its paintings in the nave, crossing, and side chapels became models for Jesuit churches throughout Italy and Europe, as well as those of other orders. It is interesting to see the home of the Jesuits, given the prominence of that order in early North America, where we still have today many schools, colleges, etc. with names like Loyola and St. FX

    Article:
    https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Il_Ges&ug…;    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    Chiesa di Sant' Ignazio di Loyola

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Nancy bailed out on this and the next church to spend more time at the Doria Pamphilj.

    The church is set in a small piazza of gorgeous buldings. It is beautiful inside, but the most interesting feature is the "dome".

    Look at the ceiling of the nave overhead. It is breathtakingly, dizzyingly, swimmingly decorated in a riotous, colorful, and amazingly masterful tromp l’oeil 1685 fresco depicting St. Ignatius and his Works by perhaps the greatest baroque master of perspective there ever was, Andrea Pozzo (who was himself a lay brother of the Jesuit order).

    Find the first marble disc set in the floor of the nave, then look back up. This is the spot from which the perspective is designed to all line up and cause the ceiling to literally seem to extend right up into the heavens. Now continue down the nave to the second marble disc set in the floor and take a look at the dome over the crossing up ahead, dimly illuminated by a golden light. Now keep walking toward the transept, but keep your eye on that "dome." The closer you get, the odder and odder it looks. That's because it isn't a dome at all. It's actually another masterpiece of trompe-l'oeil, painted on a flat surface by Andrea Pozzo, on canvas this time.

    Article:
    https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Sant'Igna…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    From Sant' Ignazio, Doug walked through Pz di Pietra past the Temple of Hadrian, an impressive collection of columns that has been incorporated into another structure as is so common in Rome, this time what is now the Chamber of Commerce. A short walk through a maze of lanes filed with small shops and restaurants brings you to Piazza della Minerva which was quite lively with street musicians and artists.

    Built on the site of three pagan temples, including one dedicated to the goddess Minerva, the Dominican Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is Rome’s only Gothic church. While many other medieval churches in Rome have been given Baroque makeovers that cover Gothic structures, the Minerva is the only extant example of original Gothic architecture church building in Rome. Behind a restrained Renaissance style façade the Gothic interior features arched vaulting that was painted blue with gilded stars and trimmed with brilliant red ribbing in a 19th-century Neo-Gothic restoration.

    Inside, to the right of the altar in the Cappella Carafa (also called the Cappella della Annunciazione), you’ll find some superb 15th-century frescoes by Filipino Lippi and the majestic tomb of Pope Paul IV.

    Left of the high altar is one of Michelangelo’s lesser-known sculptures, Cristo Risorto (Christ Bearing the Cross; 1520), depicting Jesus carrying a cross while wearing some jarring bronze drapery. This wasn't part of the original composition and was added after the Council of Trent (1545–63) to preserve Christ's modesty.

    An altarpiece of the Madonna and Child in the second chapel in the northern transept is attributed to Fra' Angelico, the Dominican friar and painter, who is also buried in the church.

    The body of St Catherine of Siena, minus her head (which is in Siena), lies under the high altar, and the tombs of two Medici popes, Leo X and Clement VII, are in the apse.

    Article:
    https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Santa_Mar…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    Galleria Doria Pamphilj

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The Doria Pamphilj collection is housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj and the collection is still owned by the Doria Pamphilj family. The stately home's rooms have been converted to galleries and you can also see the palace chapel and private rooms which retain some of their original furnishings.

    This was very worthwhile and unique in that it was closed up for many years before the present owner decided to open it to the public. It is pretty much in the same condition and decorations that the last couple who lived in it (married 1839) left. Great audioguide as you tour the works of art and the private apartments of the couple. Very enjoyable and a nice change from crowds of the day prior. Gives a good idea what all the palazzos were like as you see these large buildings but don't have any idea what they are like inside

    In 1763 the rivalry between the Borghese, Colonna and Doria families over who would succeed the son-less Girolamo Pamphilj ended when Clement XIII granted Prince Giovanni Andrea IV Doria the name, property and all rights to the Pamphilj inheritance. With this honor and all its riches the new heir and his successors in perpetuity were compelled by the terms of the grant to reside in Rome and so he moved with his wife, to the palace on the Corso. In this way the Doria, Pamphilj, Landi and Aldobrandini families were united through marriage over the years. The illustrious family history of Doria and Pamphilj included popes (Pope Innocent X for example who started this incredible collection in 1644) and great leaders, who were in a position to acquire fine works of art. The family's enthusiasm for art led to this incredible collection growing over the years and being passed on from generation to generation.
    The gallery holds 17th century masterpieces by great artists such as Carracci, Caravaggio, Annibale, Guido, Bruegel, Ribera, Dughet and more. Renaissance paintings include those by Titian, Lotto, Parmigianino, Correggio, Lorenzo, Raphael and Garofalo. In addition to the paintings the gallery holds marble busts (for example Bernini's bust of Pope Innocent X), furniture and antique sculptures.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    The Pantheon

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Wow! Another feat of Roman engineering thankfully preserved by its evolution to a Christian Church and mausoleum. Raphael is here along with Emanuele, the first King of Italy (late1800s when the popes handed over government power). It is of remarkable architecture, design and longevity.

    The Pantheon in Rome was built on the orders of Hadrian between 118AD and 125AD, it functioned as a temple to all the Roman Gods. The temple was built to replace Marcus Agrippa's temple which had burnt down in 80AD. The building is in such good condition thanks to renovations made by the Byzantine Emperor Phocas in 608AD when it was converted into a church. The church became the final resting place for several Italian kings including King Vittorio Emanuele II, Umberto I and the artist Raphael who was buried here together with his fiancée.
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    The Pantheon façade features a triangular pediment supported by three rows of columns leading into the front portico. From the rectangular front entrance hall bronze doors lead in to the main part of the building which is circular. The marble veneer covering the interior walls was a later addition but the geometric patterned marble floor is the original Ancient Roman floor.

    Within the building intersecting arches rest on piers which support 8 round headed arches. The star feature of the Pantheon is the dome, supported by a series of arches brilliantly engineered to hold the heavy dome. To further help support the weight of the dome the walls beneath the dome gradually decrease in thickness. Also the builders used lightweight materials on the upper part of the structure and heavier, sturdy materials on the lower section.

    Article:
    http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/pantheon.htm    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    San Luigi dei Francesi

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The next church was a couple blocks from the Pantheon. It was fortunate that a funeral service had just finished and it was open. The interior has so much gold in it, but the feature was certainly the chapel with the three huge paintings by Caravaggio.

    The church of San Luigi dei Francesi is the seat of the Cardinal of Paris, Rome's French National Church, and the heart Rome's French community. The church is named after Louis IX King of France. Construction began on the church in 1518. The plans for the church were made by Giacomo della Porta and architect Jean de Cheneviere began work on the structure, later Domenico Fontana took over the project and saw it through to the church's completion in 1580, and consecration in 1589.

    Giacomo della Porta is responsible for the church's two level façade which bears white travertine marble carvings. Thanks to the immense wealth of the Medici family and the French kings the church interior is lavishly decorated. The ceiling fresco was painted by Joseph Natoire; Domenichino painted the cycle of frescoes in the Polet Chapel; a painting by Francesco Bassano hangs above the altar and three paintings of the life of Matthew by Caravaggio are the church's main attractions.

    Article:
    https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/San_Luigi…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    1
    Day 5

    Piazza Navona

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    This is a very spacious piazza with people enjoying themselves at restaurants and shops all around. Nancy purchased a small Christmas bulb to remember our time in Roma. Although there are some people asking for money there were very few homeless individuals seen during our time in Rome. Whether this represents better social welfare I don't know; it just was. Yes, that is another Bernini fountain - called four rivers. He was unmatched in both talent and speed. He introduced movement into sculpture and brought in the Baroque style.

    Piazza Navona is an elongated oval-shaped public square in Rome, it was built on the former Stadium of Domitian. The original name was Circus Agonalis. The Piazza was paved in the 15th century and used as a market place and a venue for special events including mock naval battles. Today is a lively and popular social meeting point in the numerous cafes, restaurants and places of entertainment which line the square. The Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone (1670) is also on the square.

    The main attractions of the square are the three fountains, the most famous being Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. The Fountain of the Four Rivers was completed in 1651 and although originally the artist Borromini was commissioned, ultimately Bernini took over the design. The fountain features an obelisk brought from the Massenzio Circus and surrounding the fountain base are figures representing four great rivers: The Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata.

    The Neptune Fountain (Fontana del Nettuno) or Calderari was designed by Giacomo della Porta and constructed in 1576. Further statues of Neptune and the sea nymphs were added in the 19th century.

    The Fontana del Moro was also created by della Porta. The central statue was designed by Bernini in the 17th century and features a Moor and a dolphin. The Tritons (male mermaids) were added in the 19th century.

    Article:
    http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/piazzanavona.htm    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    Sant Agnese in Agone

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Designed by Bernini's rival Borromini. this is a 17th-century church with frescoes, large-scale sculptures & a shrine containing St Agnes' skull. It is notable for its mosaics, shrine of the virgin martyr St. Agnes, and catacombs. It is also another church with a remarkable story of a mix of history and myth, fact and fiction.

    Saint Agnes was a member of Roman nobility born in 291 and raised in a Christian family. She suffered martyrdom at age 13 during the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Diocletian, on January 21, 304. Saint Agnes is the patron saint of young girls.

    According to tradition, the prefect Sempronius wished her to marry his son, and on her refusal condemned her to death. Roman law did not permit the execution of virgins, so he ordered her to be raped beforehand, but her honor was miraculously preserved.

    St. Agnes was led out to be burned at the stake, but the bundle of wood would not burn. The officer in charge of the troops drew his sword and struck off her head.

    The current basilica, as rebuilt by Honorius in the mid-7th century, stands over an early Christian catacomb. In the 4th century, the soft rock was hollowed out around Saint Agnes's tomb to create a gathering space, probably for her family to observe the anniversary of her death. The visits of her family and friends spread early to others in Rome, and the site became a place of pilgrimage.

    The church of Saint Agnes was then built next to the mausoleum in the 7th century. The floor level of the 7th-century church is at the level of the catacomb floor, and the public street entrances are at the level of the second floor gallery.

    Article:
    https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Sant&#039…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 5

    Santa Maria della Pace

    May 10, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We needed our map to find this in a maze of small alleys. It is less "over-the-top" in decorations, and has very a pleasing, more classical, architectural design and proportions.

    A tiny church off Piazza Navona decorated by Raphael and Peruzzi with architecture by Bramante and Pietro Da Cortona

    This church's curving baroque facade (1556–57) by Pietro da Cortona struggles mightily to belong to a much larger, grander structure—but is instead warped and shoehorned to fit into this pocket-sized piazza just off the northwest corner of Piazza Navona.

    Come inside this Baccio Pontinelli–designed (1480–84) church to see the first chapel on the right frescoed by Raphael with Sibyls (1514), heavily influenced by Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling (which Raphael has snuck in to see even before they were unveiled). The chapel next to it was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.

    Across the aisle is the Ponzetti Chapel, frescoed by Baldassare Peruzzi. Check out the bold purples, greens, skyblue, and burgundies of his Virgin and Child with Saints Brigida and Caterina (Cardinal Ferdinando Ponzetti joins the holy group, kneeling at their feet.)

    We had a pleasant walk home south through Centro Storico re-crossing Campo de' Fiori, getting a brief view of the lovely courtyard at Galleria Spada and through Trastevere. We detoured to the Conad store to get a few groceries and a bottle of Nebbiolo.

    Article:
    https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Santa_Mar…    Read more

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