Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 06 487 11 85; Via Vittorio Veneto 27; adult/reduced €6/4; 9am-7pm daily; Barberini)
This
church and convent complex has an interesting multimedia museum telling the story of
the Capuchin order of monks. The main attraction, however, is the extraordinary
Capuchin
cemetery
that lies below, where everything from the picture frames to the light fittings is
made of human bones.
Between 1528 and 1870 the resident Capuchin monks used the bones of 4000 of their
departed brothers to create this mesmerising, macabre memento mori (reminder of death).
There's an arch crafted from hundreds of skulls, vertebrae used as fleurs-de-lis and light
fixtures made of femurs.
Palazzo del Quirinale
PALACE
( 06 4 69 91;
www.quirinale.it
; Piazza del Quirinale; admission €5; 8am-noon Sun mid-Sep-Jun;
Barberini)
Overlooking
Piazza del Quirinale
, this immense palace is the official residence
of Italy's head of state, the Presidente della Repubblica. For almost three centuries it was
the pope's summer residence but in 1870 Pope Pius IX begrudgingly handed the keys over
to Italy's new king. Later, in 1948, it was given to the Italian state.
It's open to the public on Sundays, and at the end of visiting time (at around 12.30pm to
1pm) there's a free concert in the chapel.
On the other side of the piazza, the palace's former stables, the
Scuderie Papali al Quir-
06 3996 7500;
www.scuderiequirinale.it
; Via XXIV Maggio 16;
depends on exhibition)
, host excellent art exhibitions.
tickets around €12;
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
al Quirinale
CHURCH
(Via del Quirinale 29; 8.30am-noon & 2.30-6pm winter, 9am-noon & 3-6pm summer; Via
Nazionale)
It's said that in his old age Bernini liked to enjoy the peace of this late-17th-cen-
tury church, regarded by many as one of his greatest. Faced with severe space limitations,
he managed to produce a sense of grandeur by designing an elliptical floor plan with a
series of chapels opening onto the central area.
Chiesa di San Carlo
alle Quattro Fontane
CHURCH
