By the time we arrived at our apartment Francesco had texted to say that he had a meeting and wouldn’t be there to greet us. He did, however send detailed instructions and a video and a summary of the steps to make sure we would be able to get in. He also asked if we could wait there until he could drop by to greet us in person.
So…when we got to the apartment Cheryl took a nap and I got to work on photos (You can tell how successful I was in that venture and how much time I’ve had since then because it’s Saturday and I’m just getting started on Thursday’s entry.)
While she was asleep Francesco came and we had a great chat.
Then she woke up.
Along the process of planning for this adventure we’ve been watching YouTube videos. A few of those videos talked about small unpretentious churches – definitely not on the ‘tourist path’ that had GREAT art. That looked interesting and the more I watched, the more I decided that this was something that we ccould really do on Thursday afternoon. So I made a list and we took a walk.
I should also mention that I had a plan, an order that would be most efficient use of our time (and steps). It was a great plan. I was really proud of it.
But you who know me know that one of my favorite things to do in a medieval town is to get lost. It’s the best way to get the feel for the back streets and lanes and alley-ways, the buildings that line them, and the communities they intersect or connect; giving as close as we can get to a feel for the town before cars and busses and 4-lane roads.
So we spent too much time backtracking and retracing our route.
Along the way we passed thru Piazza Navona several times.
The piazza dates to the first century when it was an athletic stadium. It still maintains the long oval shape typical of such stadia. It’s a great plaza probably best known for the Bernini ‘Four Rivers’ fountain. but there are two other fountains as well. One, the ‘Fountain of the Moor’ has a basin with four tritons created by Giacomo della Porta in 1575. A century later in 1673 Bernini added the statue of a Moor wrestling a dolphin. The other Fountain, also created by della Porto, is dedicated to Neptune.
So, Back to the churches, Here’s a brief rundown (in the original order, not the way it turned out):
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pace
This church begun in 1482 and finished sometime in the 17th century)
Features:
Basilica di Sant Agostino
Begun in 1479 and finished in 1483
Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi
Dating to 1589
In the Conarelli (St. Matthew) Chapel are a cycle of paintings by Caravaggio:
I have to tell you that these three (and particularly the third) is (to my eyes) the finest I have seen on this church art tour.
Chiesa del Ss.mo Nome di Gesu all’Argentina
Dating to 1584
This church features multiple wonders (including the right arm of St. Francis Xavier – by which he baptized 300,000 people.
This church as an excellent example of what a skilled painter can do when the church runs low on funds and needs to fool the eye into thinking the ceiling is higher than it looks. This technique is called trompe-l’oeil. In both of these cases the ceiling itself is flat.
There are two statues by guarding the tomb of St. Ignatius
Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Dating 1280-1370
We didn’t get into this church.
It has a famous statue of Jesus by Michelangelo as well as the tombs of St. Catherine and Fra Angelico.
However we did walk past it and got to see the ‘Pulcino della Minerva’ designed by Bernini and executed by his pupil Ecole Ferrata in 1667).
Next on the list
The full list is 26 churches which I divided into 4 groups based on location. The 5 in this group are the ones closest to our apartment. The other groups are: the ones generally in the area of the train station, a group in the general area of the forum, a group across the river in Trastevere, and a couple of churches out the Appian way. Yes, I realize that, except for that last bunch, they are all in walking distance. But when the temperatures are in the 90s there are limits. So we’re gonna have to come back some day to catch the rest.
Along the way we stopped for dinner at a Bao Bao Dumplings. It’s a small chain that has great dumplings and other Asian specialties. Their sesame balls were enough to give us the energy to do one last church and make it home.
And while we were in the neighborhood we stopped by Largo Argentina. Currently a small archaeological site (and cat sanctuary) it is the location where Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC.
Eventually we made it back to the apartment where we succumbed to the realities of jet-lag and the heat and crashed.
Tomorrow starts with a tour of the Vatican Museum and then the Hunts arrive around noon.
Then the party really gets started!
Till then…
Ciao,
R