Around and in the Piazza Navonna

In my humble opinion everyone should experience the traffic crush in a large city so they can appreciate how uncrowded South Dakota really is. I know I complain about our “rush minute.” There is nothing to compare with a REAL rush hour. 

There was a demonstration this morning in the Piazza della Republica. I have no idea what the demonstrators were against or for, but I do know that it snarled up the traffic pretty severely. We were off on the bus to the area near Piazza Navona. The bus was much like a sardine can since it was rush hour and demonstration day. We thankfully headed away from the demonstration.

Elephant and Obelisk

Our first mission was shopping at the religious haberdashers around the Piazza della Minerva. The Saint Michaelites are looking for a particular kind of tassel. I was looking for clergy shirts. Barbiconi was one stop. The next was Gammarelli (who, I heard, stitches things up for the pope). It is 200 years old and quite old fashioned. The gentleman who helped us was very patient and most helpful. The prices are kept in a ledger book which he consults. Another man was cutting out a green chasuble on the counter. After measuring me, the gentleman had to take some old fashioned keys and leave the premises to fetch the shirts. I wanted 100% cotton. He told me they had nothing but, they don’t deal in polyester. That was refreshing in this day and age. They do take credit cards, however.

We went across the square to visit Santa Maria sopra Minerva. In the piazza before the church an elephant holds an obelisk. There is a rumor that there are more obelisks in Rome than in Egypt. The spoils of war have found their way northward. This is the only gothic church in Rome. The body of St. Catherine of Sienna lies under the main altar.

A man of 70 years once knelt before the altar here and renounced his belief that the earth moved around the sun. He was to be tried by the Inquisition. As he left, he whispered, “But it does  move.”  His name was Galileo.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva

Michaelangelo's Christ and the Cross

One of Michaelangelo’s little known works stands next to the altar called “Christ bearing the cross.” The tomb of Fra Angelico is nearby. There are also Lippi frescos. 

The dome of the Pantheon

On our way we stopped at the Pantheon which had been a Roman temple to all of the gods. Hadrian rebuilt it in 120 A.D. The dome which covers the round church was used as inspiration for the capitol of the USA, St. Peter’s and several other buildings. It is really a marvel of engineering. The center oculus is open to the sky. It is 30 feet across and the only opening in the building other than the doors. Raphael’s tomb is in this church, as well as Victor Emmanuel II. King Umberto and his queen Margherita are also buried here. It is she after whom the pizza is named.

Time for lunch so we headed to the Piazza Navona and staked out a table near Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, a Baroque masterpiece which holds up yet another obelisk. Entertainment was provided by a guitarist and a man meditating while sitting on a platform balanced on a stick. Previously we had seen a man seated on the ground holding another man aloft. These are real men for they move periodically and you can see some breathing. 

How do they do it?

Ceiling of St. Ignatius

Following the pleasant break we are off to the Church of St. Ignazio. This very Baroque church is described as a riot of illusions. Some of the ceiling figures are leaving their posts and coming down toward you. The dome in the center is an illusion painted because the money ran out before the dome was built.

Another stop we made was at the Church of San Marcello al Corso another Baroque and Renaissance structure.  Many of the chapels in these churches were remodeled and heavily decorated when their care was given over to prominent families, guilds, and societies. No doubt each of these groups tried to out-do the other when it came to paintings, gilding, chandeliers, etc. 

Mosaic ceiling in St. Prassede

The Basilica of the Holy Apostles was visited after a required stop at a nearby gelataria. The required number of calories being consumed and the church reopened at 4 we could make our visit.

Another very crowded bus ride brought us back to the vicinity of our hotel. We walked to Santa Prassede, a small church in the shadow of St. Mary Major. It has the best Byzantine-style mosaics in Rome. It also has a relic - the pillar of scourging - which tradition says is part of the pillar at which Christ was whipped during his passion, trial and death.

Then — back to the hotel for a few moments of rest before heading out to a charming garden restaurant for a delicious dinner. Tomorrow will bring more adventures.