Natale in Italia

Christmas is usually a beautiful time of year everywhere, and Italy is no exception. All of the streets in Rome are covered in lights.

Trastevere

Via del Corso

The restaurants are all decorated

near Pantheon

on Largo Argentina

 

There are Christmas trees and nativities everywhere

booth selling nativity pieces

Nativity and tree in Piazza Venezia

And they even have a Christmas carnival in Piazza Navona

Where else can you find cheesy carnivals next to some of Bernini's masterpieces?

Torrone is one of Italy's traditional Christmas sweets. Panettone is the another

In Italy, this witch delivers presents on the Feast of the Magi

just for you dad...

Everything is so beautiful. It makes me very excited to go home and spend the holidays with my family… After Switzerland of course.

La Città Eterna

medieval house attached to a modern building

The thing more than anything else that makes Rome such an interesting place to be are the many layers of history that make the fabric of Rome what it is today. This city has been the center of one of the most powerful empires of all time, and even though it’s had some low points since then, it is still a thriving metropolis. Fortunately for us, the Romans understand the significance of the past, and have preserved many of the relics that survive. You can find traces of rovine pretty much anywhere in the city, as modern structures have been built around/ on top of many of them. Here are some of the more prominent examples that you may know

Largo Argentina

This site was discovered while the city was trying to build something else in its place. When they ran into it while excavating to lay the foundation, they stopped the project (a frequent occurrence here), fully excavated the site, and put it on display in the middle of a piazza. It is now home to 70% of Rome’s stray cats. No joke.

The Coliseum

As one of the most iconic buildings in Rome, this ruin probably gets more visits than any other. Apparently, the admissions collected are enough to pay for the upkeep of ALL of the city’s historic sites. Clearly it is in a more skeletal state than it was during its heyday. It has been said that half the travertine in Rome was plundered from the Coliseum during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

The Roman Forum

A stone’s throw from the Coliseum, the Forum played a major role in Ancient Roman religious and social life.

Capitoline Hill

This has been an important site for millennia. It was the center of the city that was the center of the world. Whenever the Romans were victorious, they would have a victory procession through the forum, and up to the top of Capitoline hill where they would deposit their booty in front of the temple of Jupiter. Its present state is a result of Michelangelo’s commission during the renaissance to once restore the site its importance.

ancient statue of the goddess "Roma"

Theater of Marcellus

Down the street from the Capitoline is the Theater of Marcellus. It amazes me that this ancient theater is still in use today…as an apartment complex. Yet another example of how present day Rome is a direct result of its past.

The Temple of Hercules and the Temple of Fortuna are right next to each other, and even more interesting, they are right next to 2 important medieval churches. The city has always been about religion and politics. Its interesting to see symbols of each from two drastically different periods right next to eachother

Temple of Fortuna

Temple of Hercules

The Pantheon is probably the most direct example of how religion and power affect the fate of a building. It was originally built as a pagan church (by Hadrian I think?), and after the rise of Christianity, it was converted to a Christian church. Because of its change in function, it has been one of the best preserved structures from ancient Rome. Its true savior was its magnificent dome, which was the largest ever constructed in the world for about 1500 years. 

Le Chiese di Roma

One of the major things that anyone who comes to Rome does is visit a TON of churches. And for good reason. There are a ton of different types of churches, and the one thing they all have in common is a complex history. Christianity has had a {legal} presence in Rome since 312 AD with the Emperor Constantine’s edict of Milan. Ever since then, the building, renovation, and restoration of churches has been a continuous activity here. I could easily have a 5,000 word, 150 picture post filled with all the churches I have seen and learned about, but I doubt I could keep anyone’s attention that long (incidentally, if you ARE interested in reading in more detail about buildings in Rome, you can check out the other blog I started where I posted all of the history tour study guides that my friend Aviel and I made together). So I will just show you a few of my favorites, and some of the most important ones.

Santa Maria in Trastevere holds a special place in my heart, because it is in my neighborhood. It is one of the earliest Christian churches anywhere, and has some beautiful mosaics on the exterior

Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere

Early Christian Apse Mosaic

Wood Coffered Ceiling

Santa Maria in Cosmedin, like many early churches has a very stratified building history. It began as a Greek welfare center, and after the legalization of Christianity it was converted into a church. It still has some of the ancient columns from the original structure. It also has one of the most beautiful cosmatesque floors anywhere. These floors were typically made in the middle ages from materials from ancient ruins. The circular pieces are actually slices of ancient column shafts.

medieval campanile (tower)

spolia (practice of recycling ancient found materials) floor

The large column to the left was part of the original structure. All the others were taken from other places

No one can talk about the churches in Rome without mentioning the Vatican. The basilica was built over St. Peter’s grave by none other than Constantine himself. St. Peter, the first bishop of Rome (aka pope) was crucified and buried on this site. It is the largest church in the world. The structural piers that hold up the dome are large enough to fit the footprint of many smaller churches inside. It is filled with artistic treasures, such as Bernini’s baldachin, and Michelangelo’s first Pieta. Do you see all of the wall decorations? All of it is mosaics. Not a single painting adorns the walls inside, it is all made of these tiny stone compositions. 

View from Piazza S. Pietro

Michelangelo's first Pieta

yep. none of that is painted.

Bernini's Baldachin

Believe it or not, the Vatican is not the cathedral of Rome. That honor belongs to St. John Lateran. This church was built at the same time as St. Peter’s, and was the initial residence of the popes. It was built far from the city center at the time, because paganism still had a strong following. Unlike St. Peter’s which was demolished and rebuilt from the 15^th to 17^th century, this church still retains much of its original Constantinian spatial qualities. The decoration inside occurred in several stages, including the nave decoration by Borromini for the Jubilee of 1600.

Transept Entrance: This would have been the main access point for anyone traveling the papal way; the pilgrimage route through Rome that connects St. John Lateran to the Vatican

Nave decoration by Borromini

yet another example of beautiful church flooring

the transept was decorated in the middle ages (a few centuries before the nave renovation)

This apse mosaic dates back to Constantinian era, though it has been heavily restored due to the fact that it has been moved twice as the church has been expanded

Main entrance facade. The three central statues are of Christ and Sts. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, to whom the church is dedicated

Up on Capitoline Hill, right next to Michelangelo’s Camedoglio, is Aracoelli. It is one of the few churches that still have chandeliers lighting the interior. 

Santa Maria Maggiore is the traditional home of Christmas Eve mass; its main relic is the manger of Christ. It also has a side chapel designed by Michelangelo, which was unfortunately under restoration when I visited.

another stratified church: a baroque facade juxtaposed with a medieval tower

Manger relic

San Carlino was designed by Borromini – one of my new favorite architects. He is a baroque architect that was perhaps more inventive than anyone else. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he uses a very minimalist color palate (mostly whites). It is absolutely amazing how his spatial and architectural details make such interesting spaces. 

...I should also mention that it is a very narrow space and is IMPOSSIBLE to photograph without an extremely wide angle lens

Sant’Ivo is another Borromini church, and I think it is the most impressive space I have been in in Rome. The only one that could possibly compare is S. Lorenzo in Torino. It is impossible to capture it in photographs, but if you every come to Rome and have the opportunity to visit this church, you should. You won’t regret it. 

Il Gesu has some of the most INCREDIBLE baroque decoration. Its the prototypical jesuit church, and one of the first churches in Rome of the Counter Reformation. You would never expect the interior from is plain exterior

It’s a shame that pictures can’t really capture the experience. If you ever visit Rome, you will have to check some of these out yourself. Many times, you can’t tell how incredible the interior is from the street, so just wander in to any church you see that is open. You are probably in for a surprise.