Day 16 - Santa Maria del Popolo

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Santa Maria del Popolo - an especially unique church.

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DSCF1155 This wall decoration is hte first thing you see upon entering, there is some sort of dragon carving below it.

DSCF1156 The next decoration to greet you is this very friendly skeletal figure.

DSCF1157 This is the adornment above the entering wall decoratoin, notice the skull.

DSCF1158 There are several cardinals and other important church figures entombed in this church.

DSCF1160 This chapel was designed by Raphael at the request of the papal banker Agnosti Chigi. He worked on it from 1519-1523. It remained unfinished for 130 years before Bernini completed it.

DSCF1161 The dome above the Chigi chapel.

DSCF1166 Looking toward the central portion of the church from outside the Chigi chapel.

DSCF1176 Caravaggio's Crucifixion of St. Peter was produced in 1601.

DSCF1177 The Conversion of St. Paul was also done in 1601.

DSCF1178 This is another work by Caravaggio.

DSCF1179 Looking at the altar, with the apse behind it. Unfortunately I could not go back there, where the only Roman work by French statined glass master Guillaume de Marcillat resides (it was produced in 1509).

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June 16, 2005 in Rome

I have been in classes now for about two weeks, and today I finally realized that one of Rome's great churches (it even says so in my guide book) is within 5 blocks of campus. So after classes today, I went to visit Santa Maria del Popolo (free admission, like most churches in town). This church has works in it from early Renaissance masters (Pinturicchio, Bramante), the high Renaissance master Raphael, and Baroque masters Caravaggio and Bernini. These immortal artists provided paintings, sculptures, architecture, and other decorations for this church.

One of the things that makes this church so unique in Rome is that its chapels are intact. Most older churches have lost their paintings to museums over the years (not that those churches are not still amazing), but in Santa Maria del Popolo you can still see paintings by the masters hung in the setting they were intended for. Caravaggio's Crucifixion of St. Peter and his Conversion of St. Paul are quite striking to see in person (I think my pictures didn't turn out very well of these, not to mention the camera cannot properly relate the feel of such rich oil paintings).

Upon entering the church, I was a little unsure of what to expect as there are some macabre things you see on first glance. Skulls along the entrance wall, as well as some skeletal figures worked into the decorations. These images seem to mainly be confined to the back of the church, but it seemed a bit strange at first. However, when walking through the church you are quickly overcome with the beauty surrounding you. At one time I thought Baroque styling was unappealing, but that was when I looked in college text books. It is hard to describe seeing such things in person, as an atmosphere is created that cannot be accurately conveyed in words and pictures.

- Jay.