Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
Bound by the River Tiber and Via del Corso, the
centro storico
is made for aimless
wandering. Even without trying you'll come across some of Rome's great sights: the
Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori, as well as a host of monuments, mu-
seums and churches. To the south, the Jewish Ghetto has been home to Rome's Jewish
community since the 2nd century BC.
Pantheon & Around
PANTHEON
See
Click here
.
CHURCH
ELEFANTINO
( Piazza della Minerva; Largo di Torre Argentina)
Just south of the Pantheon, the Elefantino is a
curious and much-loved sculpture of a puzzled elephant carrying a 6th-century-BC Egyp-
tian obelisk. Unveiled in 1667 and designed to glorify Pope Alexander VII, the elephant,
symbolising strength and wisdom, was sculpted by Ercole Ferrata to a design by Bernini.
The obelisk was taken from the nearby Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
MONUMENT
CHIESA DI SANTA MARIA SOPRA MINERVA
( Piazza della Minerva; 8am-7pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm & 3.30-7pm Sat & Sun; Largo di Torre Argentina)
Built
on the site of an ancient temple to Minerva, the Dominican Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra
Minerva is Rome's only Gothic church. However, little remains of the original 13th-cen-
tury church and these days the main drawcard is a Michelangelo sculpture and colourful
art-rich interior.
Inside, in the
Cappella Carafa
(also called the Cappella della Annunciazione), you'll find
two superb 15th-century frescoes by Filippino Lippi and the majestic tomb of Pope Paul IV.
Left of the high altar is one of Michelangelo's lesser-known sculptures,
Cristo Risorto
(Christ Bearing the Cross; 1520). An altarpiece of the
Madonna and Child
in the second
chapel in the northern transept is attributed to Fra Angelico, the Dominican friar and paint-
er, who is also buried in the church.
CHURCH
