In de Plenkertstraat in het prachtige Limburgse plaatsje Valkenburg aan de Geul bevindt zich op nummer 55 een heel bijzonder museum. Museum Romeinse Katakomben heeft niet alleen een aparte naam – katakomben in plaats van het taalkundig correcte catacomben – het is ook een museum dat eigenlijk geen gelijke kent.…
The San Giovanni in Laterano is the most important Roman Catholic church in the world. It is the seat of the Pope as bishop of the diocese of Rome and is therefore the city’s cathedral. It ranks first among Rome’s four major basilicas[1] and five papal basilicas[2]. But more importantly…
I definitely consider it to be the highlight of my most recent visit to Rome: a trip to the Catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, which were reopened to the public in 2014. I had already been to the Catacombs of San Callisto on the Via Appia once, but those…
The San Martino ai Monti is located just north of the Parco del Colle Oppio, a large public park on the Oppian Hill. The Oppius is one of two spurs of the Esquiline Hill; the other is called the Cispius. Nero’s Domus Aurea once stood here, and the area has…
I have procrastinated the gargantuan task of writing a post about the Santa Maria Maggiore for far too long. I have mentioned this major basilica several times now in other posts, and have visited it at least half a dozen times. The church is one of four major basilicas in…
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…
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 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…
We parked our car at a large parking lot on the Via Darsena in Ferrara. This car park has a name that sounds rather strange to people from the Netherlands: it is called Ex Mof. In Dutch, ‘mof’ is a rather derogatory term for a German, the Dutch equivalent of…
The picturesque town of Monselice has a lot in store for casual tourists and seasoned travellers alike. The ruins of an old fortress (Mastio) on top of a hill, beautiful villas, lovely streets, many interesting religious buildings and good food. Moreover, the town has excellent rail connections to cities like…
The Santa Costanza is a little gem. Located on the Via Nomentana, just a stone’s throw away from the Sant’Agnese fuori le Mura, it is not frequented much by tourists and I was in fact the only visitor when I visited the church in January 2017. The edifice used to…
The Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill is best admired from the Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Garden), a lovely park located just north of the church. The park has a terrace near the edge of the hill, which offers a panoramic view of the city, and especially of Trastevere on…
It is easy to confuse the church of San Saba with the Santa Sabina. The names are almost identical, and both are located on the Aventine Hill, at a distance of some 800 metres of one another. I myself mixed up the two when I wrote about the Sienese cardinal…
The so-called ‘Mausoleum of Galla Placidia’ used to be part of the Santa Croce church, a part of which can be seen on the left behind the mausoleum. The Santa Croce is now closed to the public. It was possibly built between 417 and 421, when Galla lived in Ravenna…
The first challenge is to actually find this church. It is just a stone’s throw away from the Santa Maria Maggiore, yet it is still very easy to miss. The Santa Prassede is somewhat hidden between other buildings and the church’s campanile is completely invisible. One enters the church through…