Building sights in Rome
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Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Built on the site of an ancient temple to Minerva, the Dominican Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is the only Gothic church in Rome, although little remains of the original 13th-century design. Inside, in the Cappella Carafa (also called the Cappella della Annunciazione), you’ll find two superb 15th-century frescoes by Filippino 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). 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 …
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Basilica di Santa Sabina
A genuinely spiritual spot, this solemn basilica was founded by Peter of Illyria in around AD 422. It was enlarged in the 9th century and again in 1216, just before it was given to the newly founded Dominican order – look out for the mosaic tombstone of Muñoz de Zamora, one of the order’s founding fathers, in the nave floor. A 20th-century restoration returned it to its original look. One of the few surviving 4th-century elements are the basilica’s cypress-wood doors. They feature 18 carved panels depicting biblical events, including one of the oldest Crucifixion scenes in existence. It’s quite hard to make out in the top left, but it depicts Jesus and the two thieves alt…
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Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola
One of Rome’s most ornate baroque churches, the 17th-century Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola lords it over exquisite Piazza Sant’Ignazio, a small rococo square laid out in 1727 to resemble a stage set. Note the exits into ‘the wings’ at the northern end and how the undulating surfaces create the illusion of a larger space. The church, built by Jesuit architect Orazio Grassi, boasts an imposing Carlo Maderno façade and a celebrated trompe l’oeil ceiling fresco (the ceiling is in fact completely flat) by Andrea Pozzo (1642–1709) depicting St Ignatius Loyola being welcomed into paradise by Christ and the Madonna. To get the best effect, look up from the small yellow spot on…
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Chiesa di SS Giovanni e Paolo
While there’s little of interest at this much-tweaked 4th-century church, the Roman houses that lie beneath it are fascinating. According to tradition, the apostles John and Paul lived in the Case Romane (06 704 54 544; www.caseromane.it; adult/12-18yr & over 65yr/under 12yr €6/4/free; 10am-1pm & 3-6pm Thu-Mon) before they were beheaded by Constantine’s anti-Christian successor, Julian. There’s no direct evidence for this, although research has revealed that the houses were used for Christian worship. There are more than 20 rooms, many of them richly decorated. Entry is to the side of the church on Clivo di Scauro. Guided tours are available in English on request.
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Palazzo delle Esposizioni
This huge neoclassical palace is Rome’s premier cultural centre. Boasting cathedral-scale exhibition spaces, art labs, a bookshop, café and restaurant, it hosts everything from multimedia events and art exhibitions to concert performances, film screenings and conferences. Blockbuster events have included a Mark Rothko retrospective, a photo exhibition dedicated to Bruce Chatwin and a celebration of Charles Darwin’s centenary. In various former lives, the palazzo served as HQ for the Italian Communist Party, a mess for allied servicemen, a polling station and even a public loo.
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Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Lucina
Little remains of the original 5th-century church that was built here atop an ancient well sacred to Juno. But that shouldn’t detract from the very pretty exterior, complete with a Romanesque bell tower and a long 12th-century columned portico. Inside, the otherwise standard baroque décor is elevated by Guido Reni’s Crocifisso (Crucifixion) above the main altar, and a fine bust by Bernini in the fourth chapel on the southern side. The French painter Nicholas Poussin, who died in 1655, is buried in the church.
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Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
The last resting place of Saint Cecilia (the patron saint of music), the Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere features a stunning 13th-century fresco by Pietro Cavallini in the nuns’ choir. Below the altar, Stefano Moderno’s delicate sculpture shows exactly how Saint Cecilia’s miraculously preserved body was found when it was unearthed in the Catacombe di San Callisto in 1599. Beneath the church you can visit the excavations of several Roman houses, one of which might have belonged to Saint Cecilia.
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Chiesa di Santo Stefano Rotondo
‘Such a panorama of horror and butchery no man could imagine in his sleep, though he were to eat a whole pig, raw, for supper.’ So wrote Charles Dickens after seeing the 16th-century frescoes at this otherwise tranquil church. The X-rated images graphically depict the various ways in which martyrs were killed in early Christendom. The church, one of Rome’s oldest, dates to the late 5th century, although it was subsequently altered in the 12th and 15th centuries.
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Moschea di Roma
To the northwest of Villa Ada, Paolo Portoghesi’s vast postmodernist mosque sits amid the greenery of the posh Parioli district. One of Europe’s largest mosques (it extends for some 30,000 sq m), it was paid for by the Saudi royal family and inaugurated in 1995, 11 years after the first stone was laid. It’s open daily for Muslims to pray and on Wednesday and Saturday mornings for visitors. Note that visits are suspended in August, during Ramadan and on Italian and Islamic holidays.
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Basilica di SS Cosma e Damiano
Backing onto the Roman Forum, this 6th-century basilica incorporates parts of the Foro di Vespasiano and Tempio di Romolo, visible through the glass wall at the end of the nave. The real reason to visit, though, are the vibrant 6th-century apse mosaics, depicting Christ’s second coming. Also worth a look is the huge 18th-century Neapolitan presepio, in a room off the tranquil 17th- century cloisters.
reviewed
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Chiesa di Santa Pudenziana
This, the church of Rome’s Filipino community, boasts a sparkling 4th-century apse mosaic, the oldest of its kind in Rome. An enthroned Christ is flanked by two female figures who are crowning St Peter and St Paul; on either side of them are the apostles dressed as Roman senators. Unfortunately, you can only see 10 of the original 12 apostles, as a barbarous 16th-century facelift lopped off two of them and amputated the legs of the others.
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