This post is not just about the abovementioned church in the Via del Corso, the modern name of the ancient Via Lata. It is also about the six rooms beneath the church that are together known as the ‘House of Saint Paul’. Since most of the artistic treasures that used…
San Giovanni in Fonte is the name usually given to the octagonal baptistery next to the cathedral of San Giovanni in Laterano, the seat of the Pope as Bishop of Rome. The story of this great basilica is well-known. After his victory over his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge…
I always visit the Aventine Hill when I am in Rome, if only because of the marvellous view of the city, and especially of Trastevere, from the Giardino degli Aranci. The immense fifth church of Santa Sabina is next to this orange garden, and this is an attraction I keep…
The name Chiesa Nuova is obviously just a nickname. The official name of this immense Counter-Reformation church is and has always been the Santa Maria in Vallicella. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and has a subsidiary dedication to Pope Saint Gregorius the Great (590-604). This latter dedication…
The San Lorenzo in Damaso is one of several churches in Rome dedicated to the third century deacon and martyr Saint Lawrence. Other churches in the city seem to be connected to episodes in his life. For instance, the San Lorenzo in Fonte was built on the alleged spot where…
The San Lorenzo is Fonte is an attractive little church that can be found in the Via Urbana, at the intersection of that ancient street with the Via de’ Ciancaleoni. The church is hemmed in between a hostel for pilgrims on the left – the famous Ostello Marello – and…
Tiziano Vecelli (ca. 1488-1576) – known in the English-speaking world as Titian – was arguably one of the greatest Venetian painters of all time. When he died of the plague in 1576 and was laid to rest in a simple grave in the church of the Frari in Venice, he…
Although he considered himself first and foremost a sculptor, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was also an accomplished painter. Pope Julius II (1503-1513) commissioned him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, a project Michelangelo worked on between 1508 and 1512. The great artist later returned to this chapel…
It is the oldest object currently in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence: a crucifix that has been dated to ca. 1180-1200 and that is simply known as Cross no. 432. The painter is unknown and therefore usually just called the Master of Crucifix no. 432. The crucifix was painted on…