Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
While much of it is still closed, the best part is open: the Church of Santa Maria degli
Angeli.FromnoisyPiazzadellaRepubblica,stepintothevastandcoolchurchbuiltuponthe
remains of a vast and steamy Roman bath complex. The church we see today was (at least
partly) designed by Michelangelo (1561), who used the baths' main hall as the nave. Later,
when Piazza della Repubblica became an important Roman intersection, another architect
renovated the church. To allow people to enter from the grand new piazza, he spun it 90 de-
grees, turning Michelangelo's nave into a long transept. The eight red granite columns are
original, from ancient Rome—stand next to one and feel its five-foot girth. (Only the eight
in the transept proper are original. The others are made of plastered-over brick.) In Roman
times, this hall was covered with mosaics, marble, and gold, and lined with statues.
CostandHours:
Free,Mon-Sat7:00-18:30,Sun7:00-19:30,closedtosightseersduring
Mass, faces Piazza della Repubblica.
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Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria
This church houses Bernini's statue, the swooning
St. Teresa in Ecstasy
. Inside the church,
you'll find St. Teresa to the left of the altar. Teresa has just been stabbed with God's arrow
of fire. Now, the angel pulls it out and watches her reaction. Teresa swoons, her eyes roll up,
her hand goes limp, she parts her lips...and moans. The smiling, cherubic angel understands
just how she feels. Teresa, a 16th-century Spanish nun, later talked of the “sweetness” of
“this intense pain,” describing her oneness with God in ecstatic, even erotic, terms.
Bernini, the master of multimedia, pulls out all the stops to make this mystical vision
real. Actual sunlight pours through the alabaster windows, bronze sunbeams shine on a
marbleangelholdingagoldenarrow.Teresaleansbackonacloudandherroberipplesfrom
within,chargedwithherspiritualarousal.Berninihascreatedalittlestage-settingofheaven.
And watching from the “theater boxes” on either side are members of the family who com-
missioned the work.
Cost and Hours:
Free, pay €0.50 for light, Mon-Sat 8:30-12:00 & 15:30-18:00, Sun
15:30-18:00, about 5 blocks northwest of Termini train station on Largo Susanna, Metro:
Repubblica.
The home of the American Catholic Church in Rome, Santa Susanna holds Mass in English
daily at 18:00 and on Sunday at 9:00 and 10:30. They arrange papal audience tickets (see
here
), and their excellent website contains tips for travelers and a list of convents that rent
out rooms.
Cost and Hours:
Free, daily 9:00-12:00 & 16:00-18:00, Via XX Settembre 15, near
recommended Via Firenze hotels, Metro: Repubblica, tel. 06-4201-4554,
