Church sights in Rome
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Chiesa del Gesù
An imposing, much-copied example of late-16th-century Counter-Reformation architecture, this is Rome's most important Jesuit church. The facade by Giacomo della Porta is impressive, but it's the awesome gold and marble interior that is the real attraction. Of the art on display, the most astounding work is the Trionfo del Nome di Gesù (Triumph of the Name of Jesus), the swirling, hypnotic vault fresco by Giovanni Battista Gaulli (aka Il Baciccia), who also painted the cupola frescoes and designed the stucco decoration.
Baroque master Andrea Pozzo designed the Cappella di Sant'Ignazio in the northern transept. Here you'll find the tomb of Ignatius Loyola, the Spanish…
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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 Rome’s only Gothic church, 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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Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis?
This pint-sized church marks the spot where St Peter, fleeing Rome, met a vision of Jesus going the other way. When Peter asked: ‘Domine, quo vadis?’ (‘Lord, where are you going?’), Jesus replied, ‘Venio Roman iterum crucifigi’ (‘I am coming to Rome to be crucified again’). Reluctantly deciding to join him, Peter tramped back into town where he was arrested and executed. In the aisle are copies of Christ’s footprints; the originals are in the Basilica di San Sebastiano.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria del Popolo
Next to the Porta del Popolo is one of Rome's earliest, richest Renaissance churches. The first chapel was built here in 1099 to exorcise the ghost of Nero, who was buried on this spot and whose ghost was said to haunt the area. It was overhauled in 1462, after which Pinturicchio painted his beautiful frescoes. In Raphael's Cappella Chigi (mostly completed by Bernini some 100 years later) you'll find a famous mosaic of a kneeling skeleton. Adding some fierce, exquisitely rendered drama to the Cappella Cerasi, to the left of the altar are two Caravaggio masterpieces: the Conversion of St Paul and the Crucifixion of St Peter (both 1600–01).
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Chiesa di Sant’Agostino
This early Renaissance church is a favourite of soon-to-be mums, who pop in to pay their respects to Jacopo Sansovino’s sculpture of the Virgin Mary, the Madonna del Parto (1521). The Madonna also features in Caravaggio’s Madonna dei Pellegrini (Madonna of the Pilgrims), which caused uproar when it was unveiled in 1604, due to its depiction of Mary as barefoot and her two devoted pilgrims as filthy beggars. Painting almost a century before, Raphael provoked no such scandal with his fresco of Isaiah, visible on the third pilaster on the left in the nave.
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Chiesa di San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
It might not look it, with its filthy facade and unappealing location, but this tiny church is a masterpiece of Roman baroque. It was Borromini’s first church and bears all the hallmarks of his genius. The elegant curves of the facade, the play of convex and concave surfaces, the dome illuminated by hidden windows, all combine to transform a minuscule space into a light, airy interior.
The church, completed in 1641, stands at the road intersection known as the Quattro Fontane, after the late-16th-century fountains on its four corners, representing Fidelity, Strength and the Rivers Arno and Tiber.
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Basilica di San Clemente
This fascinating basilica provides a vivid glimpse into Rome's multilayered past: a 12th-century basilica built over a 4th-century church, which stands over a 2nd-century pagan temple and 1st-century Roman house. Beneath everything are foundations dating from the Roman Republic.
The medieval church features a marvellous 12th-century apse mosaic depicting the Trionfo della Croce (Triumph of the Cross) and some wonderful Renaissance frescoes in the Chapel of St Catherine, to the left of the entrance. Steps lead down to the 4th-century basilica inferiore, mostly destroyed by Norman invaders in 1084, but with some faded 11th-century frescoes illustrating the life of San…
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Chiesa di Sant’Andrea al Quirinale
It’s said that in his old age Bernini liked to come and enjoy the peace of this late-17th-century church, regarded by many as one of his greatest. Faced with severe space limitations, he managed to produce a sense of grandeur by designing an elliptical floor plan with a series of chapels opening onto the central area. The opulent interior, decorated with polychrome marble, stucco and gilding, was a favourite of Pope Alexander VII, who used it while in residence at the Palazzo del Quirinale.
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Chiesa di Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza
Hidden in the porticoed courtyard of Palazzo della Sapienza, this tiny church is a masterpiece of baroque architecture. Built by Francesco Borromini between 1642 and 1660, and based on an incredibly complex geometric plan, it combines alternating convex and concave walls with a circular interior topped by a twisted spire.
Palazzo della Sapienza, seat of Rome’s university until 1935 and now home to the Italian state archive, is often used to stage temporary exhibitions.
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Chiesa di Santa Prassede
Famous for its brilliant mosaics, this 9th-century church is dedicated to St Praxedes, an early Christian heroine who hid Christians fleeing persecution and buried those she couldn’t save in a well. The position of the well is now marked by a marble disc on the floor of the nave.
The mosaics, produced by artists whom Pope Paschal I had brought in specially from Byzantium, bear all the hallmarks of their eastern creators, with bold gold backgrounds and a marked Christian symbolism. The apse mosaics depict Christ flanked by Saints Peter, Pudentiana and Zeno on the right, and Paul, Praxedes and Pope Paschal on the left. All the figures have golden halos except for Paschal,…
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Basilica di San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura
St Lawrence Outside the Walls is one of Rome’s four patriarchal basilicas, and is an atmospheric, tranquil edifice that’s starker than many of the city’s grand churches, a fact that only adds to its breathtaking beauty. It was the only one of Rome’s major churches to have suffered bomb damage in WWII, and is a hotchpotch of rebuilds and restorations, yet still has the serenity of a harmonious whole.
St Lawrence was burned to death in AD 258, and Constantine had the original basilica constructed in the 4th century over his burial place, but it was rebuilt 200 years later. Subsequently a nearby 5th-century church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was incorporated into the…
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Chiesa di SS Quattro Coronati
This brooding 4th-century church, rebuilt as a fortified convent after it was destroyed during the 1084 Norman sack of Rome, is dedicated to four Christian sculptors who were killed by Diocletian for refusing to make a statue of a pagan god. As a result, it’s still revered by stone-cutters and masons. The most famous feature is the Cappella di San Silvestro and its well-preserved 13th-century frescoes depicting the story of the Donation of Constantine, a famous document by which Constantine ceded control of Rome and the Western Roman Empire to the papacy.
Also of interest are the beautiful 13th-century cloisters off the northern aisle (ring the bell for admission).
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Chiesa di San Gregorio Magno
You have to ring the bell for admission to this looming church, which is built on the site where Pope Gregory the Great is said to have dispatched St Augustine to convert the British to Christianity. Originally it was the pope’s family home but in 575 he converted it into a monastery. It was rebuilt in the 17th century and the interior was given a baroque facelift a century later.
Inside, the stately 1st-century-BC marble throne in the Cappella di San Gregorio is believed to have been St Gregory’s personal perch. Outside, the Cappella di Sant’Andrea is the most interesting of three small chapels, with frescoes by Domenichino, Guido Reni and Giovanni Lanfranco.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria
On a busy road junction, this modest church is an unlikely setting for one of the great works of European art – Bernini’s extravagant and sexually charged Santa Teresa traffita dall’amore di Dio (Ecstasy of St Teresa). In the last chapel on the left, this daring sculpture depicts Teresa, engulfed in the folds of a flowing cloak, floating in ecstasy on a cloud while a teasing angel pierces her repeatedly with a golden arrow. Watching the whole scene from two side balconies are a number of figures, including Cardinal Federico Cornaro, for whom the chapel was built. It’s a stunning work, bathed in soft natural light filtering through a concealed window. Go in the…
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Basilica dei Santi Apostoli
This much-altered 6th-century church is dedicated to the apostles James and Philip, whose relics are in the crypt. Its most obvious attraction is the portico with its Renaissance arches and the two-tier facade topped by 13 towering figures. Inside, the flashy baroque interior was completed in 1714 by Carlo and Francesco Fontana. Highlights include the ceiling frescoes by Baciccia and Antonio Canova’s grandiose tomb of Pope Clement XIV.
Surrounding the basilica are two imposing baroque palazzi: at the end of the square, Palazzo Balestra, which was given to James Stuart, the Old Pretender, in 1719 by Pope Clement XI, and opposite, Palazzo Odelscalchi, with its impressive…
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Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola
Rome’s most important Jesuit church after the Chiesa del Gesù, this lordly building flanks Piazza Sant’Ignazio, an exquisite 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 the Jesuit architect Orazio Grassi in 1626, boasts a Carlo Maderno facade and a celebrated trompe l’oeil ceiling fresco by Andrea Pozzo (1642–1709) depicting St Ignatius Loyola being welcomed into paradise by Christ and the Madonna. For the best views of the fresco, stand on the small yellow spot on the nave floor and look up. The ceiling, which…
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Scala Santa & Sancta Sanctorum
The Scala Santa is said to be the staircase that Jesus walked up in Pontius Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem. It was brought to Rome by St Helena in the 4th century, and is considered so sacred that you can only climb it on your knees, saying a prayer on each of the 28 steps. At the top of the stairs, and accessible by two side staircases if you don’t fancy the knee-climb, is the Sancta Sanctorum (Holy of Holies), once the pope’s private chapel. A spectacular sight, it’s richly decorated with stunning mosaics and frescoes.
Behind the Scala building you’ll see what appears to be a cut-off cross-section of a building, adorned with a showy gold mosaic. This is the …
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Chiesa di Santa Maria in Aracoeli
Marking the highest point of the Campidoglio, this 6th-century church sits on the site of the Roman temple to Juno Moneta. According to legend it was here that the Tiburtine Sybil told Augustus of the coming birth of Christ, and the church still has a strong association with the nativity. Features include an impressive Cosmatesque floor and an important 15th-century fresco by Pinturicchio. Local football hero Francesco Totti got married here.
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Chiesa Nuova
Not exactly new as the name ‘New Church’ would suggest, this imposing baroque church was built in 1575 as part of a complex to house Filippo Neri’s Oratorian order. Originally Neri had wanted a large, plain church, but after his death in 1595 the artists moved in – Rubens painted over the high altar, and Pietro da Cortona decorated the dome, tribune and nave. Neri was canonised in 1622 and is buried in a chapel to the left of the apse.
Next to the church is Borromini’s Oratorio dei Filippini and behind it is the Torre dell’Orologio, a clock tower built to decorate the adjacent convent.
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Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli
Pilgrims and art lovers flock to this basilica for two reasons: to see St Peter's chains and to see Michelangelo's tomb of Pope Julius II. The church was built in the 5th century to house the chains that bound St Peter when he was imprisoned in the Carcere Mamertino. Some time after St Peter's death, the chains were sent to Constantinople for a period before returning to Rome as relics. They arrived in two pieces and legend has it that when they were reunited they miraculously joined together. They are now displayed under the altar.
To the right of the altar is Julius' monumental tomb. At its centre is Michelangelo's buff Moses, with two small horns sticking out of his…
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Chiesa di San Martino ai Monti
This was already a place of worship in the 3rd century – Christians would meet here, in what was then the home of a Roman named Equitius. In the 4th century, after Christianity was legalised, a church was constructed, later rebuilt in the 6th and 9th centuries. It was then completely transformed by Filippo Gagliardi in the 1650s. It’s of particular interest for Gagliardi’s frescoes of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano before it was rebuilt in the mid-17th century and St Peter’s Basilica before it assumed its present 16th-century look. Remnants of the more distant past include the ancient Corinthian columns dividing the nave and aisles.
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Chiesa di San Paolo entro le Mura
With its stripy neo-Gothic exterior and prominent position, Rome’s American Episcopal church is something of a landmark in this city. Inside, the unusual 19th-century mosaics, designed by the Birmingham-born artist and designer Edward Burne-Jones, feature the faces of his famous contemporaries. In his representation of The Church on Earth, St Ambrose (on the extreme right of the centre group) has JP Morgan’s face, and General Garibaldi and Abraham Lincoln (wearing a green tunic) are among the warriors. In the small garden outside the church there are a number of modern sculptures.
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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 what is a very pretty church, complete with Romanesque bell tower and a long 12th-century columned portico. Inside, the otherwise standard baroque decor 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) features a stunning 13th-century fresco by Pietro Cavallini in the nuns' choir – the door is to the left of the church as you face it. Inside the church itself, below the altar, Stefano Moderno's mysterious, breathtaking sculpture is a delicate rendition of exactly how Saint Cecilia's miraculously preserved body was apparently found when it was unearthed in the Catacombs of San Callisto in 1599. Beneath the church you can visit the excavations of a maze of Roman houses, one of which is thought to have been that of the young Cecilia.
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Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini
The last resting place of Francesco Borromini and Carlo Maderno, this graceful 16th-century church was commissioned by the Medici Pope Leo X as a showcase for Florentine artistic talent. Jacopo Sansovino won a competition for its design, which was then executed by Antonio Sangallo the Younger and Giacomo della Porta. Carlo Maderno completed the elongated cupola in 1614, while, inside, the altar is by Borromini.
A favourite venue for concerts, the church’s 17th-century organ is played at noon Mass every Sunday.
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