Historic Churches in Rome Italy

Three churches are the highlights of this walk, two of them major basilicas with roots in the ear ly centuries of Christianity. Not farfrom Piazza Venezia and the Roman Forum off Via Cavour is G the church of San Pietro in Vincoli. Look for Via San Francesco da Paola, a street staircase that passes under the old Borgia palace and leads to the square in front of the church.

Inside are St. Peter's chains (under the altar) and Michel¬angelo's Moses, a powerful statue almost as famed as his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. The Moses was destined for the tomb of Julius II, but Michelangelo was driven to distraction by the interference of Pope Julius and his successors, and the tomb was never finished.

The statue, in¬tended as part of the tomb, is a remarkable sculpture and a big tourist attraction, but crass commercialism has ruined the starkly majestic effect of this memorial. The church is usually jammed with tour groups, and the monument it¬self is a front for a large and ugly souvenir shop.

G Continue along Via Cavour to Santa Maria Maggiore, one of Rome's oldest and most beauti¬ful churches. Built on the spot where a 3rdcen¬tury pope witnessed a miraculous midsummer snowfall, it is resplendent with gleaming mosaics those on the arch in front of the main altar date from the 5th century; the apse mosaic dates from the 13th century and an opulent carved wood ceiling supposed to have been gilded with the first gold brought from the New World.

Via Merulana runs straight from Santa Maria Maggiore to the immense cathedral of Rome, San Giovanni in Laterano, where the early popes once lived and where the present pope still officiates in his capacity as Rome's bishop. The towering facade and Borromini's cool Ba¬roque interior emphasize the majesty of its pro¬portions.

The adjoining Lateran Palace, once the popes' official residence and still technically part of the Vatican, now houses the offices of the Rome Dio¬cese and the Vatican Historical Museum Restoration of the frescoes in the Bene¬diction Loggia, damaged by a 1993 terrorist bomb, continues.

Across the street, opposite the Lateran Palace, a small building houses the Scala Santa (Holy Stairs), claimed to be the staircase from Pilate's palace in Jerusalem. Cir¬cle the palace to see the 6thcentury octagonal Baptistery of San Giovanni, forerunner of many similar buildings throughout Italy, and Rome's oldest and tallest obelisk, brought from Thebes and dating from the 15th century Be. One more church awaits you just down Via Carlo Felice. Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, with a pretty Rococo facade and Baroque interior, shelters what are believed to be relics of the True Cross found by St. Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine and a tireless collector of holy objects.

The Quirinale and Piazza delia Repubblica

Although this tour takes you from ancient Ro¬man sculptures to early Christian churches, it's mainly an excursion into the 16th and 17th cen¬turies, when Baroque art and Bernini tri¬umphed in Rome. The Quirinale is the highest of Rome's seven original hills (the others are the Capitoline, Palatine, Esquiline, Viminal, Celian, and Aventine) and the one where an¬cient Romans and later the popes built their res¬idences in order to escape the deadly miasmas and the malaria of the lowlying area around the G Forum. Palazzo del Quirinale, the largest on the square, belonged first to the popes, then to Italy's kings, and is now the official residence of the nation's president. The fountain in the square boasts ancient statues of Castor and Pol¬lux reining in their unruly steeds and a basin salvaged from the Roman Forum.

Along Via del Quirinale (which becomes Via XX Settembre) are two interesting little churches, each an architectural gem. The first you'll come upon is Sant'Andrea, a small but imposing Ba-roque church designed and decorated by Berni¬ni, who considered it one of his finest works and liked to come here occasionally just to sit and enjoy it.

The second is the church of San Carlo aile Quattro Fontane (Four Fountains) at the in¬tersection. It was designed by Bernini's rival, Borromini, who created a building that is an intricate exercise in geometric perfection, aU curves and movement. Turn left down Via delle Quattro Fontane to a G splendid 17thcentury palace, Palazzo Barber¬ini. Inside, the Galleria Nazionale offers fine works by Raphael (the Fornarina) and Cara¬vaggio and a salon with gorgeous ceiling fres¬coes by Pietro da Cortona. Upstairs, don't miss the charming suite of rooms decorated in 18th¬century fashion.

Via delle Quattro Fontane

Down the hill, Piazza Barberini has Bernini's graceful Tritone Fountain, designed in 1637 for the sculptor's munificent patron, Pope Urban VIII, whose Barberini coat of arms, featuring bees, is at the base of the large shell. Time Out Located on Via Barberini, next to a movie house, Italy Italy offers the Italian version of fast food, tasty and inexpensive (Via Barberini 19. Closed Sun.)

Via Veneto winds its way upward from Piazza e Barberini past Santa Maria della Concezione, a Capuchin church famous for its crypt, where the skeletons and assorted bones of 4,000 dead monks are artistically arranged in four macabre chapels. Via Veneto The avenue curves past the American Embassy and Consulate; the luxurious Excelsior Hotel; and Doney's and the Cafe de Paris, famous from the days of la dolce vita in the 1950s. At the U.S. Embassy, take Via Bissolati to Piazza San Bernardo.

The church of Santa Maria delia Vittoria, on the corner, is known for Bernini's sumptuous Baroque decoration of the Cornaro Chapel, an exceptional fusion of architecture, painting, and sculpture, in which the Ecstasy of St. Theresa is the focal point. The statue repre¬sents a mystical experience in what some regard as very earthly terms. This could be a good point at which to rest.

An interesting side trip from Piazza San Bernardo takes you to the Early Christian churches of Sant'Agnese and Santa Costanza, about a mile beyond the old city walls. Take bus No. 36, 37, 60, or 136 along Via Nomentana to get there. Santa Costanza, a church ¬the round, has vaults decorated with bright 4thcentury mosaics. The custodian of the cata¬comb of Sant'Agnese accompanies you up the hill to see it.

Art buffs should make this side trip; others may find it unrewarding. Via di Sant'Agnese Admission to Sant'Agnese catacombs: From Piazza San Bernardo, it's not far to Piazza delia Repubblica, where the pretty Fountain of the Naiads, a turn of the century addition, fea¬tures voluptuous bronze ladies wrestling happi¬ly with marine monsters.

On one side of the square is an ancient Roman brick facade, which marks the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, adapted by Michelangelo from the vast central chamber of the colossal Baths of Diocletian, built in the 4th century AD. The baths were on such a grandiose scale that the church and its former monastery, around the corner to the right, account for only part of the area they oc¬cupied. Inside the church, take a good look at the eight enormous columns of red granite; these are the original columns of the baths' cen¬tral chamber and are 45 feet high and more than 5 feet in diameter.

The collections of ancient Roman art of the Museo Nazionale Romano are now divided among the old museum in the former monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli (entrance behind the church); a new museum in the Palazzo Massimo (the peach colored building across the square from the old museum); and the small Planetario annex (next to the church in a build¬ing that was part of the ancient baths but served more recently as a movie theater). Another an¬nex, Piazza Navona, will open this year. In addi¬tion to the statues in the Planetario, most of the museum's sculpture, including the Ludovisi Throne, the Lancellotti Discus Thrower, and the Castelporziano Discus Thrower, is destined for Palazzo Massimo.

A delightful fresco from Empress Livia's villa outside Rome, depicting a garden in bloom, is being restored and is not on view. Museo Nazionale Romano: Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Viale E. De Nicola 79, The Villa Borghese to the Ara Pads.

A half mile walk northwest from Piazza delia Repubblica up Via Orlando and Via Vittorio Ve neto leads to Porta Pinciana (Pincian Gate), one of the historic city gates in the Aurelian Walls surrounding Rome. The Porta itself was built in the 6th century AD, about three centuries after the walls were built to keep out the barbarians. These days it is one of the entrances to the Villa Borghese, Rome's large 17thcentury park, built as the pleasure gardens of the powerful Borghe¬se family.

Once inside the park, turn right up Viale del Museo Borghese and make for the Galleria Borghese, which holds the family art collection. At press time, the gallery was undergoing ex-tensive renovations, so parts of it may be closed. There is a sculpture collection on the first floor, where you can see Canova's famous statue of Pauline Borghese, wife of Camillo Borghese and sister of Napoleon. Officially known as Venus Vincitrix, it is really a depiction of a haughty (and very seductive) Pauline, lying provocative¬ly on a Roman sofa. The next two rooms hold two important Baroque sculptures by Bernini:

David and Apollo and Daphne. In each you can see the vibrant attention to movement that marked the first departure from the Renais¬sance preoccupation with the idealized human form. Daphne is being transformed into a laurel tree while fleeing from a lecherous Apollo:
Twigs sprout from her fingertips while her pur¬suer recoils in amazement. The gallery's impor¬tant picture collection has been moved to the large San Michele a Ripa complex in Trastevere, where the paintings are now hung in a former church; it will probably be there through 1995. San Michele a Ripa complex: Via di San Mi¬chele.

Viale delle Belle Arti , tel Close by is the Museo di Villa Giulia, housing one of the world's great Etruscan collections. The villa is a former papal summer palace set in lovely gardens. This is the place to study the strange, half understood Etruscan civilization for here are magnificent terracotta statues' figurines, jewelry, household implements, sar: cophagla whole way of life on display.

Among the most precious gems are the Apollo of Veio and the Sarcophagus of the Sposi. When you have had your fill of these treasures, step out into the nymphaeum (the architectural term for this place of cool recesses and fern softened fountains) and take a close look at the full-scale reconstruction of an Etruscan temple in the gar¬den. Piazza di Villa Giuiia , The Pincio is an extension of Villa Borghese, with gardens on a terrace overlooking much of Rome. It was laid out by the early 19thcentury architect Valadier as part of his overall plan for Piazza del Popolo. The Pincio offers a superb view, absolutely spectacular when there is a fine sunset, and it's also a vantage point from which you can study Valadier's arrangement of Piazza del Popolo.

This is one of Rome's largest squares and a tra¬ditional place for mass meetings and rallies. At the center, four dignified stone lions guard an obelisk relating the life and times of Ramses II the Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere 61 in the 13th century BC. Next to the 400yearold Porta del Popolo, Rome's northern city gate, stop in at the church of Santa Maria del Popolo to see a pair of Caravaggios and some Bernini sculptures in a rich Baroque setting.

From here, it's a short walk down Via Ripetta to the large Augusteum, the mausoleum Augustus built for himself and his family. Next to it is an unattractive modern edifice that shelters the Ara Pacis (Altar of Augustan Peace), erected in 13 BC to celebrate the era of peace ushered in by Augustus's military victories. The reliefs on the marble enclosure are magnificent.

The Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere For the authentic atmosphere of Old Rome, ex¬plore the old Jewish ghetto and the narrow streets of Trastevere, two tightly knit communi¬ties whose inhabitants proudly claim descent ¬whether real or imagined from the ancient Ro¬mans. Then climb the Janiculum, a hill with views over the whole city, a vantage point be¬loved of all Romans.

The shadowy area bounded by Piazza Campitelli and Lungotevere Cenci constituted Rome's old Jewish ghetto. Within this cramped quarter, until 1870, all Rome's Jews (and they were many, tracing their presence in the city to an¬cient Roman times) were confined under a rigid all night curfew. At the little church opposite Quattro Capi bridge, they were forced to attend sermons that aimed to convert them to Catholi¬cism, and to pay for the privilege.

Many Jews have remained here, close to the G bronze roofed synagogue on Lungotevere Cenci and to the roots of their community. Among the most interesting sights in the ghetto are the pretty Fontana delle Tartarnghe (Turtle Foun¬tain) on Piazza Mattei; the old houses on Via Portico d'Ottavia, where medieval inscriptions and ancient friezes testify to the venerable age of these buildings; and the Teatro di Marcello, hardly recognizable as a theater now, but built at the end of the 1st century BC by Julius Caesar to hold 20,000 spectators.

Time Out Stop to indulge in American and Austrian baked goods at Dolceroma Cross the Tiber over the ancient Ponte Fabricio to the Tiberina Island, where a city hospital stands on a site that has been dedicated to heal¬ing ever since a temple to Aesculapius was erected here in 291 BC. If you have time, and if the river's not too high, go down the stairs for a different perspective on the island and the Tiber, which has begun to undermine the island in recent years, threatening its structures.

Then continue across Ponte Cestio into Trastevere, a maze of narrow streets that, de¬spite creeping gentrification, is still one of the city's most authentically Roman neighborhoods (for another, explore the jumble of streets be¬tween the Roman Forum, Santa Maria Maggio¬re, and the Colosseum). Among self-consciously picturesque trattorias and trendy tearooms, you'll also find old shops in alleys festooned with washing hung out to dry and dusty artisans' workshops.

Trastevere's population has become increasingly diverse, and it has acquired a repu¬tation for purse snatching and petty thievery, so keep purses and cameras out of sight as you stroll these byways. Be sure to see Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, the heart of the quarter, with one of Rome's oldest churches, decorated inside and out with 12th and 13thcentury mo¬saics.

Follow Via della Scala to Via della Lungara, where Raphael decorated the garden loggia of Villa Farnesina for extravagant host Agostino Chigi, who delighted in impressing guests by having his servants clear the table by casting precious gold and silver dinnerware into the Tiber. Naturally, the guests did not know he had nets stretched under the water to catch everything. Via delta Lungara 230, From Porta Settimiana you can follow Via Gari¬baldi as it curves up to the Janiculum, past the church of San Pietro in Montorio, known for its views and for the Tempietto, Bramante's little temple in the cloister. Beyond the impressive Acqua Paola Fountain, you'll come upon the Ja¬niculum Park, which offers splendid views of Rome.
The Catacombs and the Appian Way this tour offers a respite from museums, though it's no easier on the feet.

Do it on a sunny day and take along a picnic or have lunch at one of the pleasant restaurants near the catacombs. The Rome EPT office offers a free, informative pamphlet on this itinerary. Take Bus 18 from San Giovanni in Laterano to the VIa Appla Antica (the Queen of Roads), completed in 312 BC by Appius Claudius, who also built Rome's first aqueduct. (Stay on the bus until you reach the catacombs; the most interesting walk along the ancient road lies beyond them.) You pass Porta San Sebastiano, which gives you a good idea of what the city's 5thcentury fortifications looked like and farther along you'll see the little church of Domine Quo Vadis, where tradition says that Christ appeared to St. Peter, inspir¬ing him to return to Rome to face martyrdom.

There are two important catacombs on the Via Appia Antica. The first you come upon is that of San Callisto, one of the best preserved of these underground cemeteries. A friar will guide you through its crypts and galleries.

The 4thcentury catacomb of San Sebastiano, a little farther on, which was named for the saint who was buried here, burrows underground on four levels. The only one of the catacombs to re-main accessible during the Middle Ages, it is the origin ofthe term catacomb, for it was located in a spot where the road dips into a hollow, a place the Romans called catacumbas (near the hollow). Eventually, the Christian cemetery that had existed here since the 2nd century came to be known by the same name, which was applied to all underground cemeteries discovered in Rome in later centuries.

Via Appia Antica On the other side of Via Appia Antica are the ruins of the Circus of Maxentius, where the obe¬lisk now in Piazza Navona once stood. Farther along is the circular Tomb of Cecilia Metella, mausoleum of a Roman noblewoman who lived at the time of Julius Caesar. It was transformed into a fortress in the 14th century.

Time Out There are several trattorias along the Via Appia Antica, most of them moderately priced . For a sandwich or a snack, the bar on the corner of Via Appia Antica and Via Cecilia Metella, just beyond the tomb, can provide sustenance and a relaxing pause in the adjoining garden. The Tomb of Cecilia Metella marks the begin¬ning of the most interesting and evocative stretch of the Via Appia Antica, lined with tombs and fragments of statuary. Cypresses and umbrella pines stand guard over the ruined sepulchers, and the occasional tracts of ancient paving stones are the same ones trod by trium¬phant Roman legions.

Most of Rome's sights are either inexpensive or, more commonly, free of charge. You could con-struct several memorable itineraries devoted exclusively to architecture and religious art taking in dozens of piazzas, churches, streets, and fountains and not part with a single lira. Museums and galleries, of course, usually do charge admission, but it's rarely steep, and there are some surprising exceptions, such as the following: The ColosseumLower Level (Ancient Rome). The Tombs ofthe Popes (The Vatican). The Vatican Museums on the Last Sunday of the Month (The Vatican Museums). The Pantheon (Old Rome). Villa Farnesina (The Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere).