Churches in Rome

Every year students ask what churches they ought to go to, considering that there is one on every corner. Of course you have been to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, as it is practically next door, and Bernini's elephant, holding up that obelisk is so prominent. But what other churches should you see?

To help you make decisions about which one to see, I am giving you a list, arranged wherever possible, into walking tours, so that you can see more than one church on an excursion. Please remember to dress appropriately for going into churches.

This will turn out to be a long list, and what I have to say if of necessity rather minimal. Be sure to check what a good tour book (and I recommend the Eyewitness Guide ) says about the places.

So let us begin with Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which is built above an ancient Roman temple to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. In a way then, a place that was sacred more than 2000 years ago, remains sacred today. Inside it is beautiful, and one of few examples of Gothic architecture in Rome. It is the home of the tomb of Santa Caterina of Siena, and two Medici popes are also buried there. Look for the Carafa Chapel, frescoed around 1489 by Filippino Lippi with the Assumption of the Virgin and scenes of Rome in the 15th century.

I. The Jesuit churches.

There are two churches built by the Jesuits near the Sede di Roma. Indeed their presence in the neighborhood is very powerful, if not formative. Our wing of the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj was built to complete a piazza that was partially formed by the Jesuits when they built their Collegio Romano!

Sant'Ignazio di Loyola stands in its own little baroque square.

Some say one should think of the square as a stage set, with the audience standing on the steps of the church.

Like the other Jesuit church, it is a product of the Counter-Reformation, and many of the images, both inside and out are of how heretics (Protestants) will be sent to Hell. A bit unsettling if one is a Protestant.

There are many amazing things to look at inside, but be sure to take a good look at the dome-- it is something else!

The Gesu was the first church built by the Jesuits in Rome. It is at the head of Via del Gesu, just at the intersection with Via dei Plebiscito. It may look to you like a lot of other Roman Renaissance churches, but that's because it set the standard.

II. The Caravaggio churches.

If you don’t know who Carravaggio was, better do a bit of research. He was something of a scamp in his time, did not have a very happy life, and died young, trying to get back to Rome. He was under-appreciated in his lifetime, criticized for such things as painting saints with dirty feet, and yet his use of light is magnificent. There is a copy of his painting of John the Baptist as a young man in the Galleria Doria-Pamphilj. The original is in the museums on the Capitoline hill. You will see others of his paintings when you go to the Galleria Borghese. But the ones in the churches are free (though you have to deposit a coin in a machine to get the best lighting to see them by).

San Luigi dei Francesi (near where the Italian Senate meets, at the foot of Via della Scrofa)

On the left aisle, all the way down are three paintings by Caravaggio of the life of St. Matthew. They have been recently restored, and are quite magnificent. Of particular interest is the first, “The Calling of St. Matthew.” Bring some coins to turn on lights.

Sant'Agostino

Just up the street from San Luigi (go left as you come out the door) and then down a street to your left (there is a sign). On the far left aisle of the church is Caravaggio's “The Madonna of the Pilgrims” (or "Madonna di Loreto"). Again, you will need some coins to light the painting.

This church does not make the Eyewitness Guide, so you will be "one-up" on all the people who miss it!

Santa Maria del Popolo (there are four churches on this piazza; this one is across the piazza from the end of the Corso, on your right)

On the far left aisle, in the last chapel to the front of the church, the Cerasi Chapel, there are two Caravaggios. One is the “Conversion of Paul on the Road to Damascus” and another is the crucifixion of St. Peter. Again, you need coins to light the paintings. Compare the Caravaggio paintings to the altarpiece between them, which is by Annibale Carracci, Caravaggio's chief rival in Rome.

III. A possible walking tour

Begin this walk in the Piazza del Quirinale. One side of the piazza is Via XX Settembre.

Walk up this street (this is where it is flat, if you go down hill, you are going down the street).

Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale

This is an exquisite church, designed by Bernini. It is small, and part of it charm is that it is not laid out in the traditional cross shape, but rather has the long axis going from side to side. It always strikes me as VERY Bernini – the cherubs up in the dome seem to want to climb down and play with you.

A block or so further on, at the corner of Via XX Settembre and Via delle Quattro Fontane, is

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

A small church designed by Borromini. It is so small that it is sometimes referred to as San Carolino. Try to get to see the cloister/courtyard too.

It is particularly lovely and tranquil.

Be sure to take a look at the Quattro Fontane while you are there – but beware, their corner is a busy one for traffic.

Cross Via XX Settembre at Via Quatto Fontana, and then continue up Via XX Settembre. As you come to a big street coming in from the left you will be at

Santa Susanna.

The facade was designed by Carlo Madrno, who later created the facade of Saint Peter's. I think this is where you go to pick up tickets for the general audience with the Pope.

Cross the boulevard, and there is another church, well worth your walk so far.

Santa Maria della Vittoria

This is a baroque church, whose outstanding feature is Bernini’s “Ecstasy of
Saint Theresa.” (And it is one of the locations in Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons.”)

This is a good place to stop your walk, but I would suggest that if you have some energy left you do one of the following:

From Santa Maria della Vittoria, go into the Piazza della Repubblica and visit

Santa Maria degli Angeli. This church looks like nothing on the outside – just plain brickwork . But the inside is spectacular, although it was restored in the 18^th century and we are told that this ruined Michelangelo’s original design of the church. But can one ruin Michelangelo? It occupies part of the ancient Baths of Diocletian, so even though it's now a church, you get a sense of what one of these imperial bath complexes was like.

Go out of the piazza onto Via Nazionale, and follow the directions below to find a nice place for lunch or dinner.

OR – from Santa Maria della Vittoria, go down Via Torino, which begins in the circle where Via XX Settembre and the boulevard meet to form Piazza San Bernardo. Cross Via Nazionale, and continue to Via Viminale. You will be at the Opera House!

If you are hungry go right onto Viminale, passing the opera house, and look for Via Napoli. Go left onto Via Napoli, and in the next block, on the right, you will find a nice trattoria called Trattoria Abruzzesi. The food is excellent, the prices are modest, it has lots of pictures of people from the opera (who eat there), and it is air conditioned. There are lots of Italians there if one goes at lunch, or in the evening as late as Italians east dinner. Always a good sign.

Take note on a map of where you would be if you ate here. You are very near to Santa Maria Maggiore, but I'm putting that into an entirely different walk.

IV. Pilgrim and Mosaic churches on the Esquiline Hill

In 1244 Christians lost control of Jerusalem, and it became impossible for Christian Pilgrims to go there. Where were they to go instead? In 1300, Pope Boniface declared the first Jubilee year in Rome. Pilgrims who visited the city and its shrines could be forgiven their sins. Rome came to replace both the earthly Jerusalem, and the Heavenly Jerusalem. There were seven churches that Pilgrims had to go to. They were (are):

San Pietro (St. Peter’s)

Santa Maria Maggiore

San Giovanni in Laterano

San Paolo fuori le mura (St. Paul’s outside the walls)

San Lorenzo fuori le mura (St. Lorenzo outside the walls)

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

San Sebastiano

In addition, there are churches that have scared relics, and pilgrims strove to get to all of these as well.

The walk described below takes in Santa Maria Maggiore, two other churches with relics, and heads you toward San Giovanni in Laterano.

Start at:

Santa Maria Maggiore.

This is one of Rome’s oldest churches, and is also one of the most important. It has a magnificent set of stairs – on the back (you can just see them in this picture)– and fronts onto its own piazza. The church dates back to the first millenium, and has marvelous, well-preserved mosaics from that period. It is a “pilgrim” church, and it has relics. In this case the relic is wood that is believed to be from Christ’s manger.

You leave the city of Rome when you enter Santa Maria Maggiore, and enter the Vatican. Interesting.

(photo by T. Benson)

When you are finished here, come out the front, cross the piazza, and head into the street that goes out of the piazza, a bit to the right – Via Merulana. Take the first little street that you come to on your right and you will be headed straight for the entrance to...

Santa Prassede. This too is an ancient church, and retains more of its original flavor, as later restorations have not overwhelmed the original mosaic work of the altar, and the Chapel of San Zeno. This too is a relic church, and here the relic is a bit of masonry that is supposed to be from the column to which Christ was chained and flogged. It also contains many of the bones of early Christian martyrs. The Chapel is also a mausoleum for Theodora, the mother of Pope Paschal.

If you can, go out of this church through the back entrance – what would usually be the main entrance. It goes through a small courtyard and down some covered stairs, and puts you on a small street named Via San Martino ai Monti. If you have to go out the way you came in, go to your right and down hill and take the first right again, and you will be on that same street.

Head down hill. The street ends in Piazza San Martini ai Monti, which you should navigate with care, and then continue heading down hill, though now you will be on Via Giovanni Lanza. It ends at Via Cavour. Turn left onto Cavour and continue down hill for somewhere in the vicinity of 50 -75 yards. On your left there will a set of steps (not an alley and then a set of steps, but a set of steps right there, with the first step being from Cavour onto the stairs). This is part of the Salita dei Borgia. Go up these stairs. You will come out into a piazza – Piazza San Pietro In Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains).

San Pietro In Vincoli

This is another “relic” church, and in this case the relic is the chains that bound St. Peter. But a more imposing sight, from the point of view of art, is Michelangelo’s “Moses.” This was originally meant to go on a tomb for Pope Julius II. It has recently been restored.

Timing your visit to San Pietro en Vincoli is important. My recollection is that it often closes in the early afternoon, and re-opens around 3:00 pm.

And this ends the second walking tour.

You can easily get to San Giovani from Santa Maria Maggiore – San Giovanni is at the other end of Via Merulana. It’s not a terribly long walk, but it can also be done by bus.

You can also get there from San Pietro in Vincoli. Go back down the Salita dei Borgia, and turn left to continue down Via Cavour. At the next light cross Cavour, and then cross the intersecting street (Via dei Serpenti). The bus number 117 stops there, and will take you out to San Giovanni.

Another mosaic church

Santa Maria In Trastevere, is believed to be the first Christian church in Rome, and has magnificent mosaics. Like the other mosaic churches it is ancient, and has been restored and renovated from time to time. And, like the others, much of the mosaic work is inside the church, near the altar. However, it is also famous for the mosaics on the facade of the church. These are best viewed after dark, as they are gold, and when lit dominate the church, and the entire piazza.

If you take the tram from Torre Argentina ( numero 8) and get off at the second stop after the tram crosses the river, you will be at the corner of San Francesco di Ripa. Follow this street and it will take you into a small piazza, often full of parked cars. On your right is a pizzeria called “Cave Canem” (beware of the dog in Latin) – excellent spot for lunch or supper. If you walk through the piazza, you go under a little arch and into a big piazza, and this is Piazza Santa Maria In Trastevere.

Another church not to miss is San Clemente.

One of the oldest churches in Rome, it is built on the remains of earlier churches, and places of worship for other cults. You can go down beneath the present church, and in doing so go back centuries. It has been recently restored, and so is probably at its best.

The number 117 bus will let you off at San Clemente if you ask. It is actually on a corner of Via San Giovanni In Laterano. So after you have been there, you can walk up the street to

San Giovanni In Laterano

This is a magnificent church that has been renovated many times, most recently by Borominini. There is also a Baptistery. (Check the Bees flying around in the pattern on the floor of the Baptistery –symbol of the Barberini family, and a Barberini pope.) The adjacent Lateran palace was the home of the popes until they moved to Avignon, and until the late 19^th century the Pope was crowned at the Lateran. The Lateran is the cathedral of Rome and the pope's seat in his role as bishop of Rome.

And of course you will go to San Pietro.

But what about San Paolo Fuori le Mura. (St. Paul’s outside the walls.)? As you may recall from our trip to Ostia, we boarded a train at stop called Porta San Paolo. The very first stop after we left the terminal, was the stop for San Paolo. So, though you may not want to walk there, this is not a difficult spot to get to. The church is wonderful; well worth the trip. Although it burned down and was rebuilt in the 19th century, it gives you the best idea of what an early Christian church looked like.

You must not think of this as an inclusive list. There are many, many, lovely churches in Rome.

(Unless otherwise noted all photos on the Blog were taken by the author.)