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The Vatican City

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:47:30 +0000

The Vatican City, independent sovereign state since 1929 (Lateran Pacts), rises on the site where St. Peter was martyred and buried. The first Christian Emperor Constantine, built a splendid basilica there in the 4th century AC which was in later times demolished and rebuilt over a period of almost 120 years (1506-1614). The greatest architects of the period, including Bramante, Michelangelo and Maderno, collaborated in the project of the new church, the largest in the world with its surface adding up to a total of 22,000 square metres. The Basilica of St. Peter’s offers one of the most impressive experiences of architectural space available anywhere. Photographs cannot convey the impact on the visitor of the vastness of the structure, of the splendid decorations and works of art it contains. The alternation, during the construction phase, between the Greek cross and Latin cross plan, and the definitive choice of the latter, explains why one must proceed significantly along the central nave before coming in full view of Michelangelo’s extraordinary dome (which measures 136 m in height and 42m in diameter) The artistic treasures contained in St. Peter’s include the celebrated Pietà by the same Michelangelo, the only work he ever signed, and which he made when he was only 24, using a single block of marble; the baldacchino above the main altar, the authentic visual focus of the church, created by Bernini with bronze taken from the Pantheon, and the bronze statue of St. Peter by Arnolfo di Cambio.
The church is also famous for its almost total absence of paintings, substituted with mosaics by the Vatican School.
St. Peter’s Square can contain 300,000 people; it defines the border with Italy and welcomes visitors with the embrace of the colonnade designed by Bernini. It is the site of important ceremonies tied with the pope’s direct relationship with the people, such as audiences and blessings.

The Vatican Museums and their immense wealth of art, resulting from centuries of papal collections and commissions, offer an extraordinary experience in which the relevance of the works on display is heightened by the splendour of the structures in which they are displayed, and that are in themselves worth a visit. We do not proceed through buildings designed specifically to allow the large numbers of contemporary visitors to see artistic objects in a functional manner, but we walk through the galleries and rooms of papal palaces, at one time reserved for a small elite. The Museums offer a great variety of collections, including ancient Greek as well as Roman art (of which the Vatican owns the largest collection in the world), Egyptian and Etruscan art and, of course, the great masterpieces of Renaissance art with the frescoes of the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel. This is a great opportunity to realize how coming to Rome often has more to do with remembering what we have always somehow known, than with discovering things for the first time. Images that are strongly related to the identity of Western artistic culture are here. The restoration of the Sistine Chapel lasted 20 years and revealed the brilliance of the original colours, allowing us to fully enjoy the details of the biblical episodes on the ceiling and of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo, with its almost 400 figures captured in the most dramatic moment in the history of humanity. The Sistine Chapel also contains the famous 15th century frescoes by Botticelli, Perugino and Ghirlandaio, among others.

In order to avoid long lines, check the opening times that are longer in the summer and, if possible, plan your visit after 12:00am, when the Museums are less crowded.

Castel St. Angelo

marsha — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:11:52 +0000

Castel St. Angelo silently observes you as you cross one of the many bridges of Lungotevere. Its imposing facade is in total juxtoposition to the welcoming arms of St. Peter’s Basilica. Its somber brown walls speak of a history which was anything less than joyful, at best, modestly pleasant. CASTEL (not castle) St. Angelo was built by Emperor Hadrian around 135-139 as a mausoleum for himself and members of his family. Sadly this was also the final resting place for many who were imprisoned here or executed in the small interior square during the time of Papal Rule. The towering cylinder with a garden atop was the original architectural plan. However as the function of the tomb changed, should we say “extensive renovations” were also undertaken. In 401 the tomb became a military fortress and within this time period, the ashes and urns of previous emperors were scattered away. Many of the original features of the tomb were then used in the post-Roman period of expansive construction. In the 17th century, pentagonal ramparts were added to the surrounding of the building reinforcing its primary use at the time as a fortress. Pope Nicholas III eternally and gratefully provided a safe escape to this stronghold from the breached walls of the Vatican, by constructing a covered corridor “Passetto di Borgo” for the security of popes. Probably the only remotely pleasant feature of the history of Castel St. Angelo, is seen in the marble statue of St. Michael afixed atop of the building. It is believed that the archangel himself signalled the end of a devasting plague engulfing the city in 590. Hotel Aureliano and Hotel Genio are located in close proximity to this 360 degree time capsule.

Santa Maria in Trastevere

marsha — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:39:33 +0000

The basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches in Rome, perhaps the first in which mass was openly celebrated. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the church date back to the 340s AD. This is the queen of the churches in Trastevere. The inscription on the episcopal chair says that it is the first church dedicated to the Mother of God, although actually that privilege belongs to Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. In its foundation it is certainly one of the oldest churches in the city. A Christian house-church was founded here about 220 by Pope Saint Callixtus I (217-222) on the site of the Taberna meritoria, an asylum for retired soldiers. The area was given over to Christian use by the Emperor Septimus Severus when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers, saying, “I prefer that it should belong to those who honor God, whatever be their form of worship.” In 340 Pope Julius I (337-352) rebuilt the titulus Callixti on a larger scale, and it became the titulus Iulii commemorating his patronage, one of the original twenty-five parishes in Rome; indeed it may be the first church in which Mass was celebrated openly. It underwent two restorations in the fifth and eighth centuries. In 1140-43 the church was re-erected on its old foundations under Pope Innocent II. The richly carved Ionic capitals reused along its nave were pillaged from the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla. When scholarship during the nineteenth century identified the faces in their carved decoration as Isis, Serapis and Harpocrates, a restoration under Pius IX in 1870 hammered off the offending faces.

The predecessor of the present church was probably built in the early fourth century although that church was the successor to one of the tituli, those Early Christian basilicas that were ascribed to a patron and perhaps literally inscribed with his name. Though nothing remains to establish with certainty where any of the public Christian edifices of Rome before the time of Constantine the Great were situated, the basilica on this site was known as Titulus Callisti, since a legend in the Liber Pontificalis ascribed the earliest church here to a foundation by Pope Callixtus I (died 222), whose remains, translated to the new structure, are preserved under the altar. The façade of the church was restored by Carlo Fontana in 1702, who replaced the ancient porch with a sloping tiled roof— seen in Falda’s view with the present classicizing one . The octagonal fountain in the piazza in front of the church (Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere), which already appears in a map of 1472, was also restored by Carlo Fontana. The image of Mary on the façade is believed to be the earliest iconographic depiction of the Virgin nursing Jesus. The church keeps a relic of Saint Apollonia, her head, as well as a portion of the Holy Sponge. Among those buried in the church, are the relics of Pope Callixtus I and the body of Lorenzo Cardinal Campeggio.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_in_Trastevere)