Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Santa, Ilocos Sur)

Church of St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr

Church of St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr

This interesting and picturesque church is situated near the sea, one kilometer off the highway.  It was first built by Fr. Pedro Torrices from 1849-1855 and was finished by Father Luis Lagar in 1875. In 1886, Fr. Jose Rodriguez Prada restored the church and built a belfry.  A convent, built by Fr. Rafael Redondo, was eventually destroyed.

Church of St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr (3)Its one-storey Neo-Baroque facade has well emphasized super-positioned coupled piers;   a horizontal string cornice designed with block modillon and a undulating Baroque-style triangular pediment.  The three-centered depressed arch main entrance, flanked by semicircular arched windows, has jambs bordered by protruding blocks of stone.  A circular window,  on the choir loft, has lace-like carvings. The bell tower on the right is a new construction.

Church of St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr (4)

Address. National Highway, Santa, Ilocos Sur. Tel: (077) 725 5033. Feast of St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr: November 25.

How to Get There: Santa is located 366.8 kms. from Manila and 41.2 kms. south of Vigan City.

Church of St. Zacharias (Venice, Italy)

Chiesa di San Zaccaria (1)

Church of St. Zechariah

The large 15th-century, formerly monastic (it was originally attached to a Benedictine monastery of nuns) Church of St. Zechariah (Chiesa di San Zaccaria) is located just off the waterfront, to the southeast of Piazza San Marco and St Mark’s Basilica.  The first church on the site was founded in the early 9th century by Doge Giustiniano Participazio  to house the body, under the second altar on the right, of St. Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist), the saint to which it is dedicated, a gift of the Byzantine Emperor Leo V the Armenian. The remains of 8 early doges as well as the artist Alessandro Vittoria (his tomb marked by a self-portrait bust) are also buried in the colonnaded Romanesque crypt of the church.

Nave

Nave

The original church, rebuilt in the 1170s (when the present campanile was built), was replaced by the present Late Gothic-style church designed by Antonio Gambello.  Built between 1458 and 1515, it was built beside (not over) the original church, the remains of which still stands. Seventy years later, the upper part of the façade, with its arched windows and its columns, and the upper parts of the interior were completed by Mauro Codussi in early Renaissance style. Thus, the façade is a harmonious Venetian mixture of late-Gothic and Renaissance styles.

Tomb of St. Zacharias

Tomb of St. Zacharias

The church’s apse, surrounded by an ambulatory lit by tall Gothic windows, is a typical feature of Northern European church architecture which is unique in Venice. The San Zaccaria Altarpiece, one of the most famous works by Giovanni Bellini (whisked away to Paris for 20 years when Napoleon plundered the city in 1797), as well as paintings by 17th and 18th century artists (at the  walls of the aisles and of the chapels).

Chiesa di San Zaccaria (11)

They include works by Andrea del CastagnoPalma VecchioTintorettoGiuseppe PortaPalma il GiovaneAntonio VassilacchiAnthony van DyckAndrea Celesti,Antonio ZanchiAntonio BalestraAngelo Trevisani and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo. The organ of the church was built by Gaetano Callido in 1790.

Chiesa di San Zaccaria (4)

The Chapel of St Athanasius, which was most of the nave and right-hand aisle of the old church, was rebuilt for the nuns in the mid-15th century and then converted into a chapel around 1595. It contains a Domenico Tintoretto altarpiece depicting The Birth of John the Baptist or maybe The Birth of the Virgin. To the right of an altar designed by Vittoria is The Flight into Egypt by Domenico Tintoretto. Over the entrance door is the Crucifixion, claimed to be by Anthony van Dyke, very redolent of the Counter-Reformation in its minimalness and drama.

Chiesa di San Zaccaria (5)

Another door takes you through to the Cappella dell’Addolorata, with cases of relics, and then into the lovely Chapel of San Tarasio, the apse of the old church, built in 1440 by Gambello. It features some very impressive frescoes in the vaulting, painted in 1442 by Andrea del Castagno (in collaboration with a certain Francesco da Faenza).  Discovered in 1923 and cleaned in the 1950s, they are the artist’s earliest extant work and feature his only signature (Andreas de Florentia).

Chiesa di San Zaccaria (7)

There are also three well-preserved Late-Gothic gilded altarpieces by brothers-in-law Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna. The central three panels (dated 1385), on the main level of the high altarpiece (Saints Blaise and Martin, with The Virgin and Child in the center), are signed by Stefano di Sant’Agnese, taken from another work and inserted in 1839 in place of a reliquary. The two saints flanking them (Mark and Elizabeth) are by Giovanni and Antonio Vivarini. More saints, said to have also been added later, are found on the back. A recently discovered and restored predella, on the front of the altar, is ascribed to Paolo Veneziano.

Chiesa di San Zaccaria (8)

Church of San Zaccaria: Campo San Zaccaria 4693, 30122 Venice, Italy. Open Mondays – Saturays, 10 AM–12 PM and 4–6 PM, and Sundays, 4–6 PM. Tel: +39 041 522 1257

Church of St. Peter Martyr (Venice, Italy)

The Church of St. Peter Martyr (Italian: Chiesa di San Pietro Martire), currently one of the two main Roman catholic parish churches (the other is the Basilica of St. Donato) and one of three remaining (before Napoleon there were 18, the third is the Church of St. Mary of the Angels ) in the island of Murano, near Venice, was edificated in 1348 along with a Dominican convent and was originally dedicated to St. John the Baptist.  In 1474, a fire razed it to the ground and, in 1511, it was rebuilt and enlarged to the current appearance and rededicated to St. Peter Martyr.

Church of St. Peter Martyr

In 1806, a few years after the fall of the Republic of Venice, it was closed but was reopened in 1813 as a parish church due to an initiative by Fr. Stefano Tosi, with art from other suppressed churches and monasteries on Murano and other islands. At its reopening the church was renamed St. Peter and Paul (S. Pietro e Paolo) but, in 1840, it reverted to its present name.

During the restoration of 1922-28, the original ceiling and the frescos of the saints above the pillars were revealed.  The colonnade from the demolished convent of Santa Chiara was also reassembled and attached to the west flank of the church in 1924. From 1981 to 1983, the church underwent a restoration campaign financed by the Italian Ministry of Culture.  The roof was repaired and the rotten brickwork was replaced. Save Venice provided emergency funding to repair stone parts of the two-light “bifora” window above the side entrance door.

The church’s Renaissance façade, of naked brickwork, is divided in three sections.  Its 16th-century portal is surmounted by a large rose window. On the left façade is a portico with Renaissance arcades and columns (perhaps what remains of the original cloister) and a bell tower, dating to 1498-1502 (its original bells came from England but have been recast many times since, most recently in 1942 after war damage). The church is 55 m. (180 ft.) long, 25 m. (82 ft.) wide and 13 m. (43 ft.) wide at the nave.

The impressively spacious and tall interior, with a basilica plan, has a nave and two aisles (divided from each other by rows of four arches supported by large columns), a wooden ceiling,  tie beams across the arches and the nave, a trussed roof, a wide and deep half-domed chancel, a high altar and three minor altars for each nave. The spandrels between the arches are nicely decorated with saints.  The quite large presbytery has barrel vaults and two small, wide and deep apsidal chapels.

In the right nave are artworks including a Baptism of Christ (attributed to Tintoretto, it came from above the high altar of the demolished San Giovanni dei Battuti on Murano) plus two works by Giovanni BelliniAssumption with Saints (1510–1513) and the Barbarigo Altarpiece (or The Madonna with Doge Agostino Barbarigo, 1488), taken from the nearby church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and brought here in 1815.

The row of arches supported by large columns

Other paintings include a St. Jerome in the Desert by Paolo Veronese (also from Santa Maria degli Angeli), St Agatha Visited in Prison by St. Peter and an Angel  (also by Veronese), the Barcaioli Altarpiece (or Virgin and Child with Saints) by Giovanni Agostino da Lodi (ca. 1500, it was previously thought to be by Basaiti and came from the demolished San Cristoforo delle Pace), a Deposition from the Cross by Giuseppe Porta, Saints Nicholas, Charles Borromeo and Lucy by Palma il Giovane (which came from the demolished church of Santi Biagio e Cataldo on Giudecca) and a 1495 Ecce Homo (perhaps from the destroyed church of Santo Stefano in Murano). In the left-hand apsidal chapel is a hard-to-see painting by Domenico Tintoretto while a pair of huge paintings by Bartolomeo Latteri (including an impressively architectural Nozze di Cana) covering both side walls of the deep chancel.

The Ballarin Chapel, at the church’s right wing, was built in 1506 after the death of Giuliano Ballarin, the eponymous glassmaker from Murano.

Chiesa di San Pietro Martire: Fondamenta dei Vetrai, Campiello Marco Michieli 3, 30141 Murano, Venice VE, Italy. Tel: +39 041 739704.  Open Mondays to Saturdays, 9 AM – 12 noon and 3 – 6 PM, and Sundays, 3- 6 PM.

Basilica of San Miniato al Monte (Florence, Italy)

Basilica of San Miniato al Monte

Basilica of San Miniato al Monte

From Piazzale Michangelo, a five minute stroll up took us to the unique and beautiful Basilica of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain), a basilica standing atop Monte alle Croci, one of the highest points in the city.  One of the most scenic churches in Italy, it absolutely has the best view of the city.

View of Florence

View of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio (left) and the Duomo (right)

Here, we could see the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio up to the last standing parts of the medieval walls that once surrounded Florence.  A stunning example of original Tuscan Romanesque architecture, it has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany.

Check out “Palazzo Vecchio

Here are some trivia regarding the basilica:

  • The church is dedicated to Miniato or Minas, an Armenian prince or Greek merchant who once served in the Roman army under Emperor Decius.  Miniato was denounced as a Christian after becoming a hermit.  He was brought before the Emperor, who was camped outside the gates of Florence, and was ordered to be thrown to the beasts in the amphitheater.  A panther refused to devour him so, in the presence of the Emperor, he was beheaded.  Miniato was alleged to have picked up his head, put it back on his shoulders, crossed the Arno and walked up the hill of Mons Fiorentinus, to his hermitage. A shrine was later erected at this spot and, by the 8th century, there was already a chapel built there.
  • The basilica served as an important setting in Brian de Palma’s 1976 filmObsession.
  • On June 16, 2012, Dutch royalPrincess Carolina of Bourbon-Parma married businessman Albert Brenninkmeijer

The present church, built on the site of a 4th century chapel, was started in 1013 by Bishop Alibrando (Hildebrand) and was endowed by the Emperor Henry II. The green (from Prato) and white (from Carrara) marble façade, with strict geometric patterns similar to the facades of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, is the most important element of the façade.

The basilica's Romanesque facade

The basilica’s Romanesque facade

The facade was probably begun in about 1090 although the upper parts date from the 12th century or later.  It was financed by the Florentine Arte di Calimala (the eagle that crowns the façade is their symbol), a cloth merchants’ guild who, from 1288, were responsible for the church’s upkeep.

Eagle symbol of Arte di Calimala

Eagle symbol of Arte di Calimala

The lower part of the facade is decorated by fine arcading.  A fine 12th century mosaic of Christ enthroned between the Madonna and St. Miniato, over a central window, decorates the simpler upper part of the facade.

Mosaic of Christ enthroned between the Madonna and St. Miniato

Mosaic of Christ enthroned between the Madonna and St. Miniato

The campanile, which collapsed in 1499, was replaced in 1523 although it was never finished. In 1530, during the siege of Florence, it was used as an artillery post by the defenders. To protect it from enemy fire, Michelangelo had it wrapped in mattresses.

The unfinished campanille

The unfinished campanille

The tripartite Romanesque interior of the basilica, little changed since it was first built, has three naves (without a transept); a trussed timber roof and ceiling (decorated in 1322) in the central nave; and exhibits the early feature of a choir, elevated on a platform above the large crypt (the oldest part of the church).

The trussed timber roof and ceiling

The trussed timber roof and ceiling

Fragments of 13th and 14th century frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi (1341) may be seen in the vaults of the crypt.  Finished about 1062, the austere crypt is divided into 7 small aisles by 38 slender columns that were decorated “in gold” by Gaddi in 1342. Enclosed by a marble column fence and elaborate wrought-iron gate (1338), this vast space contains an impressive 14th century wood chorus.

The crypt

The crypt

Columns, with alternating polystyle pilasters, divide the naves. The side (lateral) naves were finished in 1070. The patterned pavement, in the central aisle, dates from 1207 and includes marble intarsias representing the signs of the zodiac and symbolic animals.

Central Nave

The central nave

The beautiful, freestanding Cappella del Crocefisso (Chapel of the Crucifix), designed by Michelozzo in 1448, dominates the center of the nave. It originally housed the miraculous crucifix, now in Santa Trìnita, and is decorated with panels long thought to have been painted by Agnolo Gaddi. Luca della Robbia or his family did the delicate glazed terracotta decoration of the vault (the crucifix above the high altar is also attributed to him) while the mosaic of Christ between the Virgin and St Minias was made in 1260.

Cappella del Crocefisso (Chapel of the Crucifix)

Cappella del Crocefisso (Chapel of the Crucifix)

The 11th century high altar supposedly contains the bones of St. Minias himself (although there is evidence that these were removed to Metz before the church was even built). The intimate raised choir, with its fine inlaid wooden choir stalls, and the presbytery contains a magnificent Romanesque ambo (pulpit) and screen, both made in 1207. The lectern is supported by a “column” composed of a lion, a monk-telamon and an eagle with outstretched wings.

Blessing Christ, the Pantocrator, flanked by the Madonna, St. Minias and the symbols of the four Evangelists

Mosaic o the Blessing Christ, the Pantocrator, flanked by the Madonna, St. Minias and the symbols of the four Evangelists

The bowl-shaped vault of the apse (c. 1260) is dominated by a great mosaic, dating from 1297,  of the Blessing Christ, the Pantocrator, flanked by the Madonna, St. Minias and the symbols of the four Evangelistswhich depicts the same subject as that on the façade and is probably by the same unknown artist.

Left nave

Left nave

The figures stand out Byzantine-style against a gold background in a field populated with oriental birds (symbolizing souls). The date palm, on the left, symbolizes Christ Resurrected, while the phoenix on the right, spouting flames from its beak, and the peacock on the left, both symbolize the Resurrection of Christ.

Right nave

Right nave

The great fresco cycle on the 16 stories of the Life of St. Benedict (taken from “Dialogues” of Gregory the Great and from “Golden Legend” by Jacopo da Varagine), illustrated in chronological sequence (almost like a film) by Spinello Aretino (1387-88), decorates the entrance of the sacristy, to the right of the presbytery. The first undertaking of the Olivetans, it was commissioned by Benedetto degli Alberti.

Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal (1461-66) by Antonio Rossellino

Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal (1461-66) by Antonio Rossellino

On the left of the nave, stairs lead to the Chapel of St. James or Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal (Cappella del Cardinale del Portogallo), a collaboration of outstanding artists of Florence.  One of the most magnificent funerary monuments of the Italian Renaissance, it was designed by Brunelleschi’s associate, Antonio Manetti (but finished, after his death in 1460, by Antonio Rossellino in 1461).

Madonna with the Child and Saints Francis, Mark, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, James and Anthony Abbot

Madonna with the Child and Saints Francis, Mark, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, James and Anthony Abbot

It was built by the Alberti workshop of Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino in 1473 as a memorial (the only tomb in the church) to Cardinal James of Lusitania, the Portuguese ambassador in 1459, who died in Florence on August 27, 1459.  The chapel was decorated by Alesso BaldovinettiAntonio and Piero del Pollaiuolo. The 5 splendid roundels representing the Holy Spirit and the Cardinal Virtues are by Luca della Robbia (1461-66).

Medallions by Luca della Robbia

3 of the 5 roundrels by Luca della Robbia

A fine cloister, adjacent to the church, also designed by Bernardo and Antonio Rosselino, was planned as early as 1426, financed by the Arte della Mercantia of Florence and built from 1443 to the mid-1450s. The fortified bishop’s palace, to the right of the church, was the ancient summer residence of the bishops of Florence from 1295- 1320.  It was later used as a a convent, barracks, a hospital and a Jesuit house.

Bishop’s palace

Bishop’s palace

Defensive walls, originally built hastily by Michelangelo during the 1529-30 siege and expanded into a true fortress (fortezza) by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1553, surround the whole complex and  now encloses the Porte Santea, a beautiful, monumental cemetery laid out in 1854. Carlo Collodi (creator of Pinocchio), Giovanni Spadolini (politician), Pietro Annigoni (painter), Luigi Ugolini (poet and author), Mario Cecchi Gori (film producer), Libero Andreotti (sculptor), Maria Luisa Ugolini Bonta (fine artist), Marietta Piccolomini (soprano), Giovanni Papini (writer) and Bruno Benedetto Rossi (physicist) are buried here.

Porte Santea

Porte Santea

When ascending the stairs of the basilica, the adjoining Olivetan monastery can be seen to the right. It began as a Benedictine community but was then passed to the Cluniacs and, finally,  in 1373, to the Olivetans who still run it. The monks here still make their famous tisanes (herbal tea), liqueurs and honey which are sold to visitors from a shop next to the church.

Olivetan monks

Olivetan monks

Basilica of San Miniato al Monte: Via delle Porte Sante, 34, 50125 Florence, Italy. Tel: +39 055 234 2731.  Open daily, 9:30 AM -1 PM and from 3 – 7 PM; Sundays 3 – 7 PM. Visit the church on Sundays and feast days as the monks accompany Mass in the crypt with Gregorian chant at 10 AM and 5.30 PM. During week days, the Gregorian chant takes place at 5:30 PM in summer. This time might change to 4:30 PM in winter.

 

Palazzo Pitti – Palatine Chapel (Florence, Italy)

Palatine Chapel

The Palatine Chapel, completed in 1575, was originally a large environment forming part of the suites used as dining rooms that Bartolomeo Ammannati created on the ground floor of the Pitti Palace. Later, it was used firstly as a reception room and enhanced by precious vestments.   In 1658, it was used as a lounge for the foreign princes and, in 1661, when Cosimo III married Marguerite Louise d’Orléans, the suite was renovated and used as a residence for the “Wedded Royals.”

For this occasion, Jacopo Chiavistelli decorated the rooms with frescoes featuring subjects and architectures we can only imagine today.  According to the descriptions of the time, they portrayed Cosimo’s challenge and Apollo’s cart, among allegories of Day and Night on the vault, the months of the year and the Zodiac signs, alternating with backgrounds of architecture on the main walls and, on the smaller walls, the weapons of the Medici and the Orleans family.

In 1765, following the arrival of Grand Duke Leopold II of Lorraine in Florence, the area was radically transformed. Deciding to convert the hall into a new palace chapel, Leopold II assigned the renovation project to architects Ruggeri and Paoletti.  They created stages for the court and musicians, opened up the great arched window that replaced the original ones and added choirs to the opposite side.

To the right of the altar, a small choir for the rulers was built while, on the wall behind the altar, a space for hosting ladies was carved out. Finally, the iconographic content of Chiavistelli’s frescoes was changed, with a few retouches, by painter Vincenzo Meucci who transformed it from the profane to sacred.

Ceiling fresco

Initially, in 1766, work commenced on three wooden altars designed for the Chapel. In 1785, the three wooden altars were replaced by a new large single altar designed by painter Santi Pacini and made using parts of the altar, commissioned by Ferdinando I de’ Medici in the 16th century and destined for the Cappella dei Principi in San Lorenzo, which was never finished (the altar, over time, became a true mine of precious material to use for new works). They included two very interesting panels in bas-relief, attributed to Ludovico Cigoli, which were created using the semi-precious stone mosaic technique that dates to the early 17th century.

The first one, constituting the door of the ciborium above, represents “The Adoration of the Magi.” The second one, depicting “The Last Supper,” is positioned in the center of the frontal with allegories of Faith and Charity at the sides. It is flanked by full-relief figures, in niches, of the saints Athanasius and Giovanni Grisostomo. Both panels, set in splendid frames of white marble and golden bronze, feature jaspers, pearls, chalcedonies, quartz, amethysts and lapis lazuli.  The precious ivory Crucifix with the figure of Magdalene at the feet of Christ, a masterpiece of Baroque eburnean sculpture, was left at the top of the new altar.  Today, Lorenz Rues is credited with carving it and Antonio Raggi with creating the figure of Magdalene.

The altar of the chapel

The altar, one of the most precious treasures contained in the Pitti Palace, was definitely created under the direction of Cosimo Siriès (then Superintendent of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure), who was also an artist. He further decorated the altar with holy ornaments in silver (a so-called “residence” with a cross, statues of saints and candlesticks). Unfortunately, all traces of the holy silver elements were lost during the French dominion. However, to this day, the silver and gold wooden ‘baldachin,’ added in 1793, still stands in the same spot.

The choirs were enhanced by adding two columns of alabaster from Montalcino.  The two central doors of the main walls were closed to make space for the new fresco decorations created by Luigi Ademollo.  Ademollo also painted the frescoes on the vault and the decorations on the choirs and small choirs, portraying “various events in the life of Jesus Christ’s” with strikingly scenographic characteristics (the “Crucifixion” on the wall to the right of the altar and “Palm Sunday” on the wall to the left). When Ferdinand III returned to Florence, Ademollo completed the decoration of the Chapel by decorating the left-hand choir in the chapel, built in 1823.

Palm Sunday (Luigi Ademollo)

Between 1791 and 1792, Ferdinand III (who succeeded Leopold II) completely changed the decorative layout of the chapel in an operation that endowed the chapel with its current shapes, based on the design by Bernardo Fallani.

Although dating back to the mid 19th century, the ensemble picks up on the designs and motifs in use in the previous century, establishing a seamless dialog with the articulate decorations in white stucco and gold (carried out between 1685 and 1687 from designs by Giovan Battista Foggini), with scrolls and mottoes referring to Ferdinando and his wife, Violante di Baviera.

The Crucifixion (Luigi Ademollo)

Palatine Chapel: Ground Floor, Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, FlorenceItaly. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Piazza della Santissima Annunziata (Florence, Italy)

Piazza della Santissima Annunziata

On our way to the National Archaeological Museum of Florence, we passed by the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata.  Named after the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation) at the head of the square, in the center of the piazza is the large, bronze equestrian statue of Ferdinando I flanked by the Fountains of the Marine Monsters. The piazza was not designed by Brunelleschi, as is sometimes reported in guide books.

Check out “National Archaeological Museum of Florence

This square doesn’t find itself on many mainstream itineraries but, for a very long time, it was actually the heart of the city and, even today, the piazza is a crossroad for those going to the train station, the Duomo or Piazza Beccaria.

This open, peaceful and airy space, one of the few spaces in Florence that was purposely built in the Renaissance style (which meant that it embraces the idea of a “Utopian society”- ordered and accessible to all men), was designed to be appreciated for its elegance and harmonizing colors.

Equestrian Statue of Ferdinando I

The massive and life size bronze equestrian statue of Ferdinand I of Tuscany (Ferdinando I de’ Medici), astride a stallion, was executed by noted sculptor  Giambologna  (who had, by now, reached international fame for his equestrian statues), was cast in 1602 using bronze from cannons on Turkish galleys captured in war, and was placed in the square in 1608.

Fountains of the Marine Monsters

The Fountains of the Marine Monsters are two Late Mannerist-style fountains, with fantastical figures, all works completed by the late-Renaissance sculptor Pietro Tacca (1577-1640), a loyal student and successor to Giambologna.

Tacca was asked to design them to decorate the port of Livorno, near the Monument of the Four Moors (“Quattro Mori”) he had created between 16th and 17th century. However, in 1641 Ferdinando II, the grandson to Ferdinando I insisted that the two fountains remain in Florence where they still are today.

In addition to the square, there are several important structures to visit – the Palazzo Budini Gattai, the Loggia dei Servi di Maria, the aforementioned National Archeological Museum, the Ospedale degli Innocenti and the Palazzo delle Due Fontane. The piazza’s eastern side is defined by the Ospedale degli Innocenti, the wet by Loggia dei Servi di Maria, and the north by the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata

Basilica della Santissima Annunziata

The Renaissance-style Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, considered the mother church of the Servite Order, was founded in 1250. The facade was added in 1601 by the architect Giovanni Battista Caccini, imitating the Renaissance-style of Brunelleschi‘s facade of the Ospedale degli Innocenti.

Ospedale degli Innocenti

The historic Spedale degli Innocenti, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi (he received the commission in 1419 from the Arte della Seta or Silk Guild of Florence), is regarded as a notable example of early Italian Renaissance architecture.  Originally a children’s orphanage and hospital, it features a nine bay loggia facing the piazza.   Today, it houses a small museum of Renaissance art with works by Luca della RobbiaSandro BotticelliPiero di Cosimo and an Adoration of the Magi by Domenico Ghirlandaio. In 2016, it was restored and restructured.

Palazzo Budini Gattai

The Palazzo Budini Gattai (also known as Palazzo Grifoni), an aristocratic red-brick residence dating from the 16th century, was begun by Giuliano di Baccio d’Agnolo (a pupil of Michelangelo) and was continued, on his death, by Bartolomeo Ammannati, who probably also designed the Italian-style garden laid out in around 1573. At the end of the 18th century, the Grifoni family line died out and the property passed into the hands of the Riccardi family and finally to the Budini Gattai, the present owners of the property.

Why is the last window on the right hand side, at the second floor of Palazzo Budini-Gattai, always open?  Well, according to a legend, the Grand Duke Ferdinand I was called to the army to fight a war with the noble and patrician families of Florence and he had to leave Bianca Cappello, his beautiful young bride of a few months, who gave him the last greeting from the window of the palace. She waited for the return of her beloved husband, spending her days embroidering, and sitting on an armchair beside the window overlooking the square, never giving up hope until the day she died. 

Upon her death, the family carried her body out and closed the window only to find themselves haunted by a frenzy of books flying, furniture dancing, paintings falling down and the lights going out. From that day forward the window remains open, just in case he comes home. Another version tells about the neighborhood of the square who, moved by that sad love story, decided to keep the window open in memory of the woman,

The arches and columns of the Loggia dei Servi di Maria, the romantic loggia (or portico) next to the Palazzo Budini Gattai, complete the symmetry in the square.  It was built, between 1516-1525, on a design created by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder.  Originally, Brunelleschi intended for the circles between the columns on the Loggia for the Hospital to remain empty but, Andrea della Robbia (selected in 1490, long after Brunelleschi’s demise) decorated the six frontal and 4 lateral concaves.

Loggia dei Servi di Maria

The 10 tondi (medallions) have the standard light blue background, with white putti, dressed in swaddling cloth, to represent the abandoned children and orphans. Originally built for the mendicant order, today the Servi di Maria, together with Palazzo Budini Gattai, are now a hotel.

Palazzo delle Due Fontane

Palazzo delle Due Fontane, between via dei Servi and via dei Fibbiai, was originally a building of ancient construction, reconfigured between the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century to provide an adequate backdrop to the square. Its relatively recent façade repeats, while simplifying them, the shapes and colors of the nearby Palazzo Budini Gattai. The building is currently occupied by the Albergo le Due Fontane, an accommodation facility. The ground floor, in particular, has a stone ashlar.

Piazza della Santissima Annunziata: Florence, Italy.

Orsanmichele Church (Florence, Italy)

Orsanmichele Church

Orsanmichele Church

The square Orsanmichele Church was constructed on the site of the now gone kitchen garden of the Benedictine monastery of San Michele (from the contraction of “Kitchen Garden of St. Michael” in Tuscan dialect of the Italian word orto.

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It was originally built in 1337 as a grain market  (chutes for the wheat are still to be seen inside the piers) by architects Simone di Francesco Talenti, Neri di Fioravante and Benci di Cione and finished in 1349. Between 1380 and 1404, the loggia was closed in and designed (by Francesco Talenti) and converted into a chapel of Florence’s powerful craft and trade guilds.

Incredulity of St. Thomas (Andrea del Verrocchio)

Incredulity of St. Thomas (Andrea del Verrocchio)

St. George (Donatello)

St. George (Donatello)

The lower level façade was embellished with 14 architecturally designed external niches (originally 13th-century arches that originally formed the loggia of the grain market) which were filled, from 1399 to around 1430, with statues of the guild’s patron saints. The statues of the three richest guilds were made in more costly bronze (approximately ten times the amount of the stone figures).

St. John the Baptist (Lorenzo Ghiberti)

St. John the Baptist (Lorenzo Ghiberti)

St. Luke (Giambologna)

St. Luke (Giambologna)

The tabernacles around the outside, from the foremost Florentine Renaissance artists of the 15th (Nanni di Banco, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Andrea del VerrocchioDonatello) and 16th century (Giambologna), were assigned to the principal guilds (Arti Maggiori), the medium guilds (Mediane) and to the guild of the Armorers and Swordmakers.

St. Matthew (Lorenzo Ghiberti)

St. Matthew (Lorenzo Ghiberti)

Those guilds which did not have the privilege of an external tabernacle had their patron saint depicted in fresco or on panel inside the building. The most important tabernacle, in the center of the façade, facing Via de’ Calzaioli, was assigned first to the Parte Guelfa and then to the Tribunal of the Mercatanzia. The tabernacles are:

  • St. Peter by Donatello
  • St. Philip by Nanni di Banco
  • Four Crowned Saints group by Nanni di Banco
  • St. George (1417) by Donatello
  • St. Matthew by Lorenzo Ghiberti
  • St. Stephan by Lorenzo Ghiberti
  • St. Eligius by Nanni di Banco
  • St. Mark by Donatello
  • St. Jacob by Niccolò di Piero Lamberti (?)
  • Madonna della Rosa by Govanni di Piero Tedesco (?)
  • John the Evangelist by Baccio da Montelupo
  • St. Luke by Gianbologna
  • Incredulity of St. Thomas (1467-83) by Andrea del Verrocchio, replacing Louis of Toulouse (1433) by Donatello
  • St. John the Baptist by Lorenzo Ghiberti

The sculptures seen today are modern duplicates.  To protect them from the elements and vandalism, many of the original sculptures have been removed to the museum of Orsanmichele at the upper floor of the church.  Statues of  St. George (and its niche) and St. Louis of Toulouse, both works by Donatello, are in the Bargello Museum (moved in 1892) and in the Museum of Santa Croce of the Basilica di Santa Croce respectively.

Frescoes of saints on the pillars by Jacopo dal Casentino

Frescoes of saints on the pillars by Jacopo dal Casentino

frescoes-of-saints-on-the-pillars-by-jacopo-dal-casentino-2

The façade also has elegant mullioned windows, in the Late Gothic style, and stained glass by Niccolò di Pietro Gerini showing Scenes and miracles of the Virgin (1395-1405).

The Late Gothic interior

The Late Gothic interior

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The almost intact but atmospherically gloomy Late Gothic interior, with its square layout and piers (their positioning recalls the arrangement of the original open loggia) features the monumental marble altar, with Virtues and scenes from the life of the Virgin in relief, not in the center but to the right.

Fresco painting on ceiling by Jacopo dal Casentino

Fresco painting on ceiling by Jacopo dal Casentino

The bejeweled Gothic tabernacle encases a repainting, by Bernardo Daddi, of an older icon of the Madonna and Child (1346), known as the Madonna delle Grazie.  It was commissioned in 1355, a year after the terrible plague, from Andrea Orcagna (Andrea di Cione), but not finished until 1359.

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The Gothic tabernacle

To the left of the nave is the votive altar of St. Anne, built in 1379 by order of the Signoria, with a marble group of St. Anne, the Virgin and Child by Francesco da Sangallo (c. 1526). On the walls there are patchy traces of frescoes that depict the patron saints of the various guilds.

Altar of St. Anne

Altar of St. Anne

Orsanmichele Church: Via dell’Arte della Lana, corner with Via Calzaiouli 50122 Florence, Italy. Tel: +39 055 23885. Admission: free.  The Museum of the Orsanmichele (Museo di Orsanmichele), reached by the bridge from the adjacent Palazzo dell’Arte della Lana, is open every Monday.

Church of Santa Maria Maddalena (Rome, Italy)

Church of Santa Maria Magalena

Church of Santa Maria Magalena

Named after Saint Mary Magdalene, this Roman Catholic church is located on the one of the streets leading from the Piazza della Rotonda in the Campo Marzio area of historic Rome. Started in the 17th century, the current church was completed in 1699 after seventy years of work involving several architects including Carlo QuadriCarlo Fontana (who is thought to have designed the dome) and Giovanni Antonio de Rossi. It is uncertain who designed the curved main Rococo-style (unusual style in Roman church facades) facade, which was finished circa 1735.

Church of Santa Maria Magalena (1)

The elongated, octagonal Borrominesque nave flanked by two chapels

Built in the Baroque style, early guide books credit Giuseppe Sardi with its highly unusual façade decoration. It also displays motifs reminiscent of Borromini. Between 1732 and 1734, Portuguese Manuel Rodrigues dos Santos (historian Alessandra Marino believes that it is Dos Santos, rather than Giuseppe Sardi, that the design should be attributed), an architect of the order, directed the completion of works at the church.  The monastery, on the church’s left, was constructed circa 1678 by Paolo Amato (from Palermo) and completed in the early 1680s by C.F. Bizzacheri.

Church of Santa Maria Magalena (2)

The architecturally complex interior has an elongated, octagonal Borrominesque  nave flanked by two chapels. The main chapel, to the right, is dedicated to and holds the relics of Saint Camillus, its vault frescoed in 1744 by Sebastiano Conca. The church also has a Christ, Virgin, and St. Nicolas of Bari by Baciccia and a San Lorenzo Giustiniani with Infant Jesus by Luca Giordano. The elaborately painted, stuccoed Rococo sacristy is decorated with polychrome marble. Church of Santa Maria Magalena (3)

Church of Santa Maria Maddalena:  Via della Maddalena, Rome, Italy

Pantheon (Rome, Italy)

The Pantheon

The Pantheon and Piazza della Rotunda

The fountain and obelisk

The fountain and obelisk

Built more than 1800 years ago, the magnificent Pantheon still stands as a reminder of the great Roman Empire. It borders the Piazza della Rotonda, a rectangular square with at its center an eighteenth-century fountain crowned with an obelisk.

This constantly crowded square, situated in the historic center of Rome, is not far from Piazza NavonaWith its thick brick walls, large columns and 43 m. high dome, this cylindrical building made an immediate impression on us. As the best-preserved example of an ancient Roman monumental building, the Pantheon has been enormously influential in Western architecture from at least the Renaissance on. Even in its present state, the Pantheon allowed me a glimpse into the marvelous and stunning world of Roman architecture. This wonderful example of second century Roman architecture boasts mathematical genius and simple geometry that even today still impressed an architect like me.

Standin L-R: the author and Jandy. Seated L-R: Grace, Kyle and Cheska

Standing L-R: the author and Jandy. Seated L-R: Grace, Kyle and Cheska

The present Pantheon was built on the site of an earlier building commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), The Augustan Pantheon, along with other buildings, was destroyed in a huge fire in the year 80 AD. Domitian rebuilt the Pantheon, which was burnt again in 110 AD. It was completed by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated about 126 AD. In 202, the building was repaired by the joint emperors Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla (fully Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), for which there is another, smaller inscription on the architrave of the façade. In the walls at the back of the Pantheon’s portico are niches, perhaps intended for statues of Julius CaesarAugustus Caesar, and Agrippa, or for the Capitoline Triad, or another set of gods.

Jandy and the author. The inscription above reads: M•AGRIPPA•L•F•COS•TERTIVM• FECIT meaning "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time."

Jandy and the author. The inscription above reads: M•AGRIPPA•L•F•COS•TERTIVM• FECIT meaning “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time.”

The entrance doorway

The entrance doorway

In 609, the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to St. Mary and the Martyrs (LatinSanta Maria ad Martyres) on May 13, 609.

The building’s consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment, destruction, and the worst of the spoliation that befell the majority of ancient Rome’s buildings during the early medieval period. This circular building, with a front portico of three rows of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment, has a rectangular vestibule that links the porch to the rotunda.  The rotunda, under a coffered concrete dome, has a central opening (oculus) to the sky.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon

Here’s some interesting trivia regarding the Pantheon:

  • The name Pantheon refers to the building’s original function as a temple for all the gods. However, the generic term pantheon has sometimes been applied to other buildings in which illustrious dead are honored or buried.
  • Its date of construction has been confused as Hadrian retained Agrippa’s original inscription – M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM· FECIT meaning “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time.”
  • It is one of the best-preserved of all ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history.
  • Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s dome, substantially larger than earlier domes, is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, spanning 150 Roman ft. It was the largest dome in the world until 1436 when Brunelleschi‘s 42-m. dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence was constructed.
  • The building was originally approached by a flight of steps but these were eliminated after later construction raised the level of the ground leading to the portico.
  • The Pantheon was probably constructed by using an elaborate setup of costly wooden scaffolding.
  • The grey 39 ft. (11.9 m.) high, 5 ft. (1.5 m.) diameter granite columns that were actually used in the Pantheon’s pronaos, each weighing 60 tons, were quarried at Mons Claudianus in the eastern mountains in Egypt. Each of these was dragged, on wooden sledges, more than 100 kms. (62 miles) from the quarry to the Nile River, floated by barge when the water level was high during the spring floods,  then transferred to vessels to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the Roman port of Ostia. There, they were transferred back onto barges and pulled up the Tiber River to Rome. After being unloaded near the Mausoleum of Augustus,  it was necessary to either drag them or to move them on rollers to the construction site 700 m. away.
  • Most of the bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant’Angelo used about 90% of the bronze from the ceiling of the Pantheon’s portico, ordered melted down by Pope Urban VIII (1623 to 1644). The remaining amount was used by the Apostolic Camera for various other works. It is also said that the bronze was used by Bernini in creating his famous baldachin above the high altar of  Peter’s Basilica (however, one expert states that the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice).
  • The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, are ancient but not the original ones of the Pantheon. The current doors, manufactured too small for the 40 Roman ft. high door frames, have only been there since about the 15th century.
  • The height to the oculus (30 Roman feet in diameter) and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 m. (145 Roman feet or 141 feet 8 inches), so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube. In a similar note, the interior could house a sphere 43.3 m. in diameter. If the dome of the rotunda were flipped upside down it would fit perfectly inside the rotunda.
  • From the outside, the Pantheon appears rectangular in shape but it is only the first small room (cella) that has corners. The rotunda is completely round.
  • The Pantheon has no windows. The oculus, an engineering gem of the Roman world at the dome’s apex, and the entry door are the only natural sources of light in the interior.
  • Though often drawn as a free-standing building, the Pantheon abuts a building at its rear which helps buttress the rotunda but was no interior passage from one to the other.
  • The interior of the dome was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. Throughout the day, the light from the oculus moves around this space in a reverse sundial effect.
  • The oculus, still lined with the original Roman bronze, also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. Never covered, rain falls into the interior and runs off the slightly convex floor to the still functioning Roman drainpipes underneath.
  • No oculus had even dared come close in size to the one in the Pantheon.
  • In 2013, the Pantheon was visited by over 6 million people.
  • Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. Two kings of Italy are also buried in the Pantheon: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto’s Queen, Margherita.
  • The Pantheon is in use as a Catholic church. Masses are celebrated there on Sundays and holy days of obligation. Weddings are also held there from time to time.

Pantheon (8)

A state property, the Pantheon is ruled by Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism through the Polo Museale del Lazio. The National Institute of Honor Guards to the Royal Tombs, founded in 1878, maintain the royal tombs and also organize picket guards at the tombs.

The dome and oculus

The dome and oculus

The 4,535 metric ton (4,999 short ton) Roman concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of 9.1 m. (30 ft.) diameter voussoirs  that form the oculus while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by 8 barrel vaults in the 6.4 m.(21 ft.) thick drum wall into eight piers.  The thickness of the dome varies from 6.4 m. (21 ft.) at the base of the dome to 1.2 m. (3.9 ft.) around the oculus. The material used in the concrete of the dome also varies.

Pantheon (3)

During the construction of the Pantheon, the most important problem the Romans faced was the massive weight of the large dome. To substantially reduced stresses in the dome, successively less dense aggregate stones in higher layers of the dome were used. At its thickest point, the aggregate is travertine, then terracotta tiles and, lastly, at the very top, where the dome would be at its weakest and vulnerable to collapse, tufa and pumice, both porous light stones. The elimination of the apex by means of the oculus actually lightened the load.

Pantheon ( 4)

The evenly spaced, difficult to achieve layout of the dome, featuring elegant sunken panels (coffers) in five rings of 28, is presumed to have symbolic meaning, either numerical, geometric, or lunar. In antiquity, the panels may have contained bronze stars, rosettes or other ornaments. Most likely, they were struck with a device that was exacted from floor level

Family (2)

Hidden chambers engineered within the rotunda formed a sophisticated structural system. The top of the rotunda wall features a series of brick relieving arches, visible on the outside and built into the mass of the brickwork.  Inside, there are relieving arches over the recesses, all hidden by marble facing on the interior and possibly by stone revetment or stucco on the exterior.

High Altar (1)

Half dome above the high altar

High altar

High altar

The present high altars and the apses inside were commissioned by Pope Clement XI (1700–1721) and designed by Alessandro Specchi.

A 7th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Child, given by Phocas to Pope Boniface IV on the occasion of the dedication of the Pantheon for Christian worship on May 13, 609, is enshrined on the apse above the high altar. The choir, added in 1840, was designed by Luigi Poletti.

Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari (1686)

Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari (1686)

Annunciation (Melozzo da Forli)

Annunciation (Melozzo da Forli)

The first niche, to the right of the entrance, holds a Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari (1686) painted by an unknown artist. The Chapel of the Annunciation, the first chapel on the right, has a fresco of the Annunciation attributed to Melozzo da Forlì.

On the left side is a canvas of St Lawrence and St Agnes (1645–1650) by Clement Maioli. The Incredulity of St Thomas (1633), by Pietro Paolo Bonzi, is on the right wall. A 15th-century fresco of the Tuscan school, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin, is in the second niche.

St Lawrence and St Agnes (Clement Maioli)

St Lawrence and St Agnes (Clement Maioli)

Incredulity of St Thomas (1633, Pietro Paolo Bonzi)

Incredulity of St Thomas (1633, Pietro Paolo Bonzi)

Tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II

Tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II

In the second chapel, originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit and designed by Manfredo Manfredi, is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II who died in 1878.

Started in 1885, the tomb consists of a large bronze plaque, surmounted by a Roman eagle, and the arms of the house of Savoy.

The golden lamp above the tomb burns in honor of Victor Emmanuel III who died in exile in 1947.

The Roman eagle and the arms of the House of Savoy

The Roman eagle and the arms of the House of Savoy

St Anne and the Blessed Virgin (Il Lorenzone)

St Anne and the Blessed Virgin (Il Lorenzone)

The third niche has a sculpture of St Anne and the Blessed Virgin done by Il Lorenzone.  In the third chapel is The Madonna of Mercy between St Francis and St John the Baptist, a 15th-century painting of the Umbrian school, also known as the Madonna of the Railing, because it originally hung in the niche on the left-hand side of the portico where it was protected by a railing.

It was moved to the Chapel of the Annunciation and then, sometime after 1837, to its present position. The bronze epigram commemorated Pope Clement XI‘s restoration of the sanctuary.

The Madonna of Mercy between St Francis and St John the Baptist

The Madonna of Mercy between St Francis and St John the Baptist

St. Anastasio (Bernardino Cametti)

St. Anastasio (Bernardino Cametti)

On the right wall is the canvas Emperor Phocas presenting the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV (1750) done by an unknown artist.

There are three memorial plaques in the floor, one commemorating a Gismonda written in the vernacular.

The final niche, on the right side, has a statue of St. Anastasio (1725) done by Bernardino Cametti.

Assumption (1638, Andrea Camassei) (2)

Assumption (1638, Andrea Camassei)

St Joseph and the Holy Child (Vincenzo de Rossi)

St Joseph and the Holy Child (Vincenzo de Rossi)

On the first niche to the left of the entrance is an Assumption (1638) done by Andrea Camassei. The Chapel of St Joseph in the Holy Land, the first chapel on the left, is the chapel of the Confraternity of the Virtuosi at the Pantheon referring to the confraternity of artists and musicians that was formed here by Desiderio da Segni, a 16th-century Canon of the church, to ensure that worship was maintained in the chapel.

The institution still exists but is now called the Academia Ponteficia di Belle Arti (The Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts), based in the Palace of the Cancelleria. The altar in the chapel, covered with false marble, has a statue of St Joseph and the Holy Child done by Vincenzo de Rossi.

Adoration of the Magi (Francesco Cozza)

Adoration of the Magi (Francesco Cozza)

Adoration of the Shepherds (Francesco Cozza)

Adoration of the Shepherds (Francesco Cozza)

The paintings Adoration of the Shepherds, on left side, and Adoration of the Magi on right were done in 1661 by Francesco Cozza, one of the Virtuosi.

The Dream of St Joseph, the stucco relief on the left, was done by Paolo Benaglia while Rest during the flight from Egypt, the one on the right, was done by Carlo Monaldi.

Stucco relief Dream of St Joseph (Paolo Benaglia)

Stucco relief Dream of St Joseph (Paolo Benaglia)

Rest during the flight from Egypt (Carlo Monaldi)

Rest during the flight from Egypt (Carlo Monaldi)

Bust of Baldassare Peruzzi

Bust of Baldassare Peruzzi

On the vault are several 17th-century canvases, from left. to right: Cumean Sibyl by Ludovico Gimignani; Moses by Francesco RosaEternal Father by Giovanni PeruzziniDavid by Luigi Garzi; and Eritrean Sibyl by Giovanni Andrea Carlone.

The second niche has a statue of St Agnes and Agnus Dei done by Vincenzo   Felici (1700). The bust on the left is a portrait of Baldassare Peruzzi, derived from a plaster portrait done by Giovanni Duprè.

St Agnes and Agnus Dei (1700, Vincenzo Felici)

St Agnes and Agnus Dei (1700, Vincenzo Felici)

Tomb of King Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy

Tomb of King Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy

The next chapel, opposite the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II, is the tomb of Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia. Originally dedicated to St Michael the Archangel and then to St. Thomas the Apostle, the present design is by Giuseppe Sacconi and completed, after his death, by his pupil Guido Cirilli.

It consists of a slab of alabaster mounted in gilded bronze and a frieze with allegorical representations of Generosity, by Eugenio Maccagnani, and Munificence, by Arnaldo Zocchi. The altar with the royal arms is by Cirilli.

Generosity (Eugenio Maccagnani)

Generosity (Eugenio Maccagnani)

Munificence (Arnaldo Zocchi)

Munificence (Arnaldo Zocchi)

Bust of the painter Raphael (Giuseppe Fabris)

Bust of the painter Raphael (Giuseppe Fabris)

The third niche, with the inscription on the sarcophagus Ossa et cineres (“Bones and ashes”), holds the mortal remains of the great artist Raphael while to the right of his sarcophagus is that of his fiance, Maria Bibbiena who died before they could marry.

The sarcophagus, given by Pope Gregory XVI, has an epigraph, written by Pietro Bembo, that reads ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI / RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI (“Here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die”).

Tomb of Raphael

Tomb of Raphael

Madonna del Sasso (1524, Lorenzetto)

Madonna del Sasso (1524, Lorenzetto)

The present arrangement, designed by Antonio Munoz, is from 1811. The bust of Raphael (1833) was done by Giuseppe Fabris.

The two plaques commemorate Maria Bibbiena and Annibale Carracci. Behind the tomb is the statue, commissioned by Raphael and made by Lorenzetto in 1524, known as the Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the Rock) so named because she rests one foot on a boulder.

Chapel of the Crucifixion

Chapel of the Crucifixion

St. Rasius (1727, Francesco Moderati)

St. Rasius (1727, Francesco Moderati)

The Roman brick wall is visible in the niches of the Chapel of the Crucifixion. The wooden crucifix on the altar is from the 15th century.

On the left wall is a Descent of the Holy Ghost (1790), done by Pietro Labruzi, while on the right side is the low relief Cardinal Consalvi presents to Pope Pius VII the five provinces restored to the Holy See (1824) made by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bust is a portrait of Cardinal Agostino Rivarola. The final niche on this side has a statue of St. Rasius (S. Erasio) (1727) done by Francesco Moderati.

Chapel of the Madonna of Mercy

Chapel of the Madonna of Mercy

Statue of Archangel Gabriel

Statue of Archangel Gabriel

The unifying theme of the ecclesiastical interior design, a striking synthesis of tradition and innovation which contrasts with the temple’s structural design, is circles and squares. The checkerboard marble floor pattern, still the ancient Roman original, consists of a series of geometric patterns which contrast with the concentric circles of square coffers in the dome.

From floor to ceiling, each interior decorative zone is subdivided according to a different scheme and, as a result, do not line up. Even though the cylindrical space, topped by a hemispherical dome, is inherently ambiguous, the overall effect is immediate viewer orientation according to the major axis of the building. This discordance has not always been appreciated.  In fact, in the 18th century, the attic level was redone according to Neo-Classical taste.

Pantheon: Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Rome, Italy. Tel: +39 06 68300230. Open Mondays to Saturdays, 9 AM – 6.30 PM, and Sundays, 9 AM –1 PM. There is no admission charge and no security screening.

How to Get There: You have to walk to get there as the narrow streets where you find the Pantheon are far too narrow for buses. By bus, get off at the Trevi Fountain stop then walk for 5 mins. There is also no Metro station nearby.Take Line A, stop at Barberini station and then walk for about 10 mins.

Vatican Museum – Sistine Chapel (Vatican City)

The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel

The piece de resistance of our visit to the Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel, a high, rectangular chapel in the Apostolic Palace (the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City) and the very last sala within the museum. A place of both religious and functionary papal activity, it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which each successive pope is selected by the College of Cardinals.

Old Testament Books of the Bible - Isaiah

Old Testament Books of the Bible – Isaiah

Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the present chapel, on the site of the Cappella Maggiore, was designed by Baccio Pontelli for Pope Sixtus IV, for whom it is named, and built under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci between 1473 and 1481. The pope also hired the most famous High Renaissance artists (including Sandro BotticelliPietro PeruginoPinturicchioDomenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Roselli) to create a series of frescos, completed in 1482, depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe l’oeil drapery below. On August 15, 1483, the Feast of the Assumption, Sixtus IV consecrated the Sistine Chapel, dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and celebrated the first mass.

Drunkenness of Noah

Drunkenness of Noah

Here are some trivia regarding the chapel:

  • The chapel is 40.9 m. (134 ft.) long by 13.4 m. (44 ft.) wide, the same dimensions of the Temple of Solomon, as given in the Old Testament.
  • It has an unadorned exterior façade, devoid of architectural or decorative details (common in many Italian Medieval and Renaissance-era churches), which can only be seen only from nearby windows and light-wells in the palace.
  • It has no exterior processional doorways. Ingress has always been from internal rooms within the Apostolic Palace.
  • Very large buttresses  brace the exterior walls.
  • The building is divided into three stories. The lowest storey is a very tall basement level, robustly vaulted to support the Sistine Chapel above, with several utilitarian windows and a doorway giving onto the exterior court. The third storey, a wardroom for guards above the vault, has an open, roofed, projecting gangway which encircles the building, supported on an arcade springing from the walls.
  • The Sistine Chapel has 6 tall arched windows down each side and two at either end, several of which have been blocked.
The arched windows

The tall arched windows on the side walls

  • The 20.7 m. (68 ft.) high ceiling is a flattened barrel vault springing from a course that encircles the walls at the level of the springing of the window arches. It is cut transversely by smaller vaults over each window which divide the barrel vault, at its lowest level, into a series of large pendentives rising from shallow pilasters between each window.
  • The pavement, in opus alexandrinum (a decorative style using marble and colored stone in a pattern that reflects the earlier proportion in the division of the interior), marks, from the main door, the processional way used by the Pope on important occasions such as Palm Sunday.
  • A screen (transenna), sculpted in marble by Mino da FiesoleAndrea Bregno and Giovanni Dalmata (they also provided the cantoria or projecting choir gallery), divides the chapel into two parts.  It is surmounted by a row of ornate, once gilt candlesticks and has a wooden door (formerly an ornate door of gilded wrought iron).
The ceiling frescoes

The ceiling frescoes

The chapel’s fame, however, lies mainly in the frescoes by Michelangelo that decorate the interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a masterpiece without precedent that was to change the course of Western art.  Michelangelo used bright colors, easily visible from the floor. Ever since they were revealed five hundred years ago, the fame of Michelangelo’s paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel.

Eritrean Sibyl

Eritrean Sibyl

Here is the timeline of the painting of the walls and ceiling of the chapel:

The Last Supper (Cosimo Rosselli)

The Last Supper (Cosimo Rosselli)

Perugino's Keys to Peter

Pietro Perugino’s “”Delivery of the Keys to Peter”

  • In 1572, the eastern wall was repainted with the Resurrection of Christ by Hendrick van den Broeck (over Domenico Ghirlandaio’s original) and, in 1574, by the Disputation over Moses’ Body by Matteo da Lecce (over Luca Signorelli’s original).
  • The ceiling of the barrel vault was first painted in brilliant-blue, studded with gold stars, to the design of Piermatteo Lauro de’ Manfredi da Amelia, and with decorative borders around the architectural details of the pendentives.
  • The ceiling, entirely replacing the old one, was commissioned by Pope Julius II and painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and November 2, 1512. Originally commissioned to paint the 12 Apostles on the triangular pendentives which support the vault, Michelangelo, however, demanded a free hand in the pictorial content of the scheme and he painted a series of 9 pictures showing God’s Creation of the WorldGod’s Relationship with Mankind, and Mankind’s Fall from God’s Grace. On the large pendentives he alternately painted 12 Biblical and Classical men and women, with Jonah over the altar, who prophesied that God would send Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.  On the highest section, Michelangelo painted 9 stories from the Book of Genesis. Around the arched tops of the upper parts of the windows, on the lowest part of the ceiling, are areas known as the lunettes which Michelangelo painted with the Ancestors of Christ as part of the scheme for the ceiling.
The Ancestors of Christ

The Ancestors of Christ

  • Between 1535 and 1541, between two important historic events (the Sack of Rome by mercenary forces of the Holy Roman Empire in 1527 and the Council of Trent which commenced in 1545), Popes Clement VII and Paul III Farnese commissioned Michelangelo to decorate the entire wall above and behind the altar with The Last Judgment (depicting the second coming of Christ on the Day of Judgment as described in the Revelation of John, Chapter 20).  The painting of this scene, designed on a grand scale, necessitated the obliteration of two episodes from the Lives, the Nativity of Jesus and the Finding of Moses; several of the Popes and two sets of Ancestors.  High on the wall is the heroic figure of Christ, with the saints clustered in groups around him while, at the bottom left of the painting, the dead are raised from their graves and ascend to be judged. To the right are those who are assigned to Hell and are dragged down by demons.
  • On November 7, 1984, the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling restoration began. The chapel was re-opened to the public on April 8, 1994.
Noah After The Flood

Noah After The Flood

Here are some interesting trivia regarding the paintings:

  • Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo did not lie on the scaffolding (which he designed and built) while he painted, but painted from a standing position.
  • The Last Judgment was an object of a bitter dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo because he depicted naked figures (the artist was accused of immorality and obscenity).  A censorship campaign (known as the “Fig-Leaf Campaign”) was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua‘s ambassador) to remove the frescoes. The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra, whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname “Il Braghettone” (“the breeches-painter”).
  • In The Last Judgment, Michelangelo painted his own portrait on the flayed skin held by St Bartholomew. The semblance of Biagio da Cesena, the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies  and another of Michelangelo’s critics, was worked into the scene as Minos, judge of the Underworld (it is said that when he complained to the Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to Hell, so the portrait would have to remain).
Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

  • After the ceiling work was finished, there were more than 300 figures showing Biblical scenes such as the Creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood. The painted area is about 40 m. (131 ft.) long by 13 m. (43 ft.) wide which means that Michelangelo painted well over 5,000 sq. ft. (460 m2) of frescoes.
The Great Flood

The Great Flood

  • During the 1984-1994 restoration, the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo, caused the most concern because the emergence of the brightly colored Ancestors of Christ from the gloom sparked a reaction of fear that the processes being employed in the cleaning were too severe and removed the original intent of the artist.