The Sacred Area of the square that is called the Largo Argentina is one of the most picturesque spots in all of Rome. Here we find, apart from one of the most famous cat sanctuaries of the city, the remains of four Roman temples which once adorned the Field of…
Saint Peter’s Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world. Although it is not the cathedral of Rome, it is arguably more famous than the church that does have the honour of the being the cathedral: the basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. Together with the San Giovanni, the…
The church of the Frisians has been the Dutch national church in Rome since 1989. Its official name is the church of Santi Michele e Magno. San Michele is of course Saint Michael the Archangel, who was credited with ending a terrible plague in Rome in 590. The archangel appeared…
The Florentine painter and architect Giotto di Bondone (ca. 1266-1337) can be counted among the most important Italian artists of all time. Among his most famous works are the frescoes in the Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova, the campanile of the cathedral of Florence and – probably – various frescoes…
This is part 10 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 can be found here. By the time I…
This is part 9 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 can be found here. Past the fifth milestone, I…
This is part 8 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 can be found here. After leaving the Complesso di Capo…
This is part 7 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be found here. The huge Tomb of Caecilia Metella can…
This is part 6 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 can be found here. After admiring the small church of Sant’Urbano alla…
This is part 5 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 can be found here. I followed the Via Appia from the church of…
This is part 4 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be found here. Not far from the Porta San Sebastiano, we find a…
This is part 3 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here. From the Piazzale Numa Pompilio, I followed the Via di Porta…
This is part 2 of my report about my walk along the Via Appia, from the Circus Maximus to the Villa of the Quintilii some 8 kilometres further to the southeast. Part 1 can be found here. It is about 750 metres from the Circus Maximus to the Piazzale Numa…
About a year ago, I read an interesting book about the Via Appia, one of the most famous Roman roads in Italy and called the Regina Viarum, the Queen of Roads, by the poet Statius. When I visited Rome in the summer of 2018, I decided to follow in the…
It was a completely new experience for me. I had never thought I’d get a good laugh in a Jesuit church and yet my visit to the Sant’Ignazio di Loyola in July of 2018 started off in a hilarious way. As with most churches in Rome, the Sant’Ignazio has a…
The Santissimo Nome di Gesù all’Argentina – simply called Il Gesù by just about anyone – is the mother church of the Jesuit Order. Although founded in 1534 and approved six years later, the Order did not provide the Catholic Church with a pope until 2013, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio…
The church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri is located right next to the Roma Termini railway station. It of major interest for two specific reasons. First of all, it is the final church designed and built by the great architect and sculptor Michelangelo (1475-1564). Secondly, the church…
The Santa Maria della Consolazione – Our Lady of Comfort – is a church near the Forum Romanum that appears to be in need of comfort itself. Its state of maintenance is rather poor. Not that it looks like it is about to collapse, but weeds growing from the roof…
Almost every tourist visiting Rome will know the Piazza Venezia, the large square in front of the rather pompous Altare della Patria, the monument for Victor Emmanuel II, Italy’s first king. Most people will also know about the Palazzo Venezia to the west of the square, and about the balcony…
My first visit to the church of San Sebastiano fuori le Mura on the Via Appia was actually by accident. My friend and I had booked a guided tour at the nearby Catacombs of San Callisto and still had to wait an hour or so before it started. We decided…
