Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Incorporated into the palazzo, the 4th-century
Basilica di San Lorenzo in Damaso
MAP
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II)
, is one of Rome's oldest
7.30am-noon & 4.30-8pm;
churches.
MUSEO BARRACCO DI SCULTURA ANTICA
MUSEUM
(
www.museobarracco.it
;
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 166; adult/reduced €6.50/5.50; 10am-4pm Tue-Sun Oct-May,
3-7pm Tue-Sun Jun-Sep; Corso Vittorio Emanuele II)
This charming museum boasts a fascinating
collection of early Mediterranean sculpture. You'll find Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Assyri-
an , Cypriot and Egyptian works, all donated to the state by Baron Giovanni Barracco in
1902.
The
palazzo
housing the museum, known as the Piccolo Farnesina, was built for a
French clergyman, Thomas Le Roy, in 1523.
CHIESA DI SANT'ANDREA DELLA VALLE
CHURCH
( Piazza Vidoni 6; 7.30am-noon & 4.30-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 7.30am-12.45pm & 4.30-7.45pm Sun; Corso Vit-
torio Emanuele II)
A must for opera fans, this towering 17th-century church is where Giacomo
Puccini set the first act of
Tosca
. Its most obvious feature is Carlo Maderno's soaring
dome, the highest in Rome after St Peter's Basilica, but its bombastic baroque interior re-
veals some wonderful frescoes by Mattia Preti, Domenichino and, in the dome, Lan-
franco.
Competition between the artists working on the church was fierce and rumour has it
that Domenichino once took a saw to Lanfranco's scaffolding, almost killing him in the
process.
TOP SIGHT
CHIESA DEL GESÙ
An imposing example of late-16th-century Counter-Reformation architecture, this is Rome's most important Je-
suit church. The facade by Giacomo della Porta is impressive, but it's the awesome gold and marble interior that
is the real attraction. The most astounding artwork is the
Trionfo del Nome di Gesù
(Triumph of the Name of Je-
sus), the swirling, hypnotic fresco by Giovanni Battista Gaulli (aka Il Baciccia), who also painted the cupola fres-
coes.
Baroque master Andrea Pozzo designed the
Cappella di Sant'Ignazio
in the northern transept. Here you'll
find the tomb of Ignatius Loyola, the Spanish soldier and saint who founded the Jesuits in 1540. The altar-tomb is
an opulent marble-and-bronze affair with columns encrusted with lapis lazuli. On top, the terrestrial globe, repres-
