Day 5 - Sunday, April 16
We started the day at the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument where Father pointed out some of the sights we'd seen and where we were headed next. We explored many churches and saw the relics of many great saints!
Where We Went
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Victor Emmanuel II Monument
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Santa Maria in Ara Coeli
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Church of the Gesù
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Church of St. Agnes
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Basilica of St. Augustine
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Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola
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Basilica of St. Mary of Minerva
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Church of St. Andrew
1. Victor Emmanuel II Monument
Italian: Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II
The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument also known as "Altar of the Fatherland", is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honor Victor Emmanuel II.
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It is not a religious site, as Father mentions in the videos below, but gives a great overview of the city of Rome.
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"The best part about going to the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument is that you can't see the Victor Emmanuel Monument" (paraphrased quote from Father Jenkins)
Father Jenkins points out some of the sites we've seen and where we're headed next
Ascending the monument
Exterior of the monument
2. Santa Maria in Ara Coeli
English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Altar in Heaven
The interior is vast, solemn, and wonderfully picturesque. Twenty-two ancient columns separate the nave from the aisles. The high altar, rich in marbles, has an ancient painting of our Lady much venerated. Raphael's famous Madonna di Foligno, now at the Vatican, was painted for this altar and remained here for some years.
The first chapel in the right aisle, dedicated to St. Bernardine of Siena, was decorated with frescoes by Pinturicchio on the occasion of the Saint's canonization in 1450. In the third chapel of the right aisle, that of the Crucifix, was buried the lady Vannozza , the intimate friend of St. Frances of Rome, about 1430.
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The floor of the nave is paved with fragments of porphyry, serpentine, and other precious marbles. The richly gilded ceiling was presented by the Roman Senate in 1571 , in thanksgiving to our Lady for the Victory of Lepanto.
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The sacristan, if asked, will unlock the shrine of the Santo Bambino, an image of the Holy Child, carved by a Franciscan at Jerusalem in the seventeenth century, out of wood taken from the Garden of Olives. It is greatly venerated in Rome, and frequently carried to the sick for their consolation; even miraculous cures are said to have been wrought by it.
Notable relics in this basilica
The body of St. Helena
Father explains some of the history of the Ara Coeli
Chandelier-lit interior
The tomb of St. Helena
View from the steps leading up the Ara Coeli
Statue of Pope Leo X
3. Church of the Gesù
This noble church, one of the most frequented in Rome, was built for the Society of Jesus between the years 1568-1584. The interior is exceedingly rich and ornate, the profusion of decorations in marble, bronze, gilding, and fresco painting being almost bewildering. The ceiling, dome, and apse glow with frescoes, the best work of Baciccio; its altars are adorned with rich bronzes and sculptures; its walls are incrusted with costly marbles; its pavement is inlaid with porphyry and other precious stones; its sanctuary and side-chapels are bright with lamps kept constantly burning.
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The church is rich in the traditions of the Society and in the memories of its Saints. The body of St. Ignatius, translated in 1587 from the little Church of S. Maria della Strada (now destroyed), is here enshrined, and for three centuries his sons have kept watch over his relics. The body of St. Francis Borgia rested here for a short while, till transferred to Madrid in 1617. At the altars of the Gesù often prayed and served Mass those angelic souls, SS. Aloysius and John Berchmans. Beneath its pulpit often sat St. John Berchmans listening to the sermons and instructions, himself preaching the while by the eloquence of his wonderful modesty and recollection. Before its shrines knelt Blessed Rodolf Aquaviva, Blessed Ignatius Azevedo, Blessed Edmund Campion, and many other illustrious martyrs and missionaries. In the chapel near the entrance to the sacristy are said to have been buried the first companions of St. Camillus de Lellis. At the altar of St. Francis Xavier, St. Benedict Joseph Labre received Holy Communion just before his death.
Notable relics in this basilica
St. Ignatius of Loyola, The right arm of St. Francis Xavier (still incorrupt), SS. Abundius and Abundantius
The students sing Non Nobis, Domine in the Gesù
Exterior of the Gesù
Interior of the Gesù
4. Church of Saint Agnes
Italian: Sant'Agnese in Agone
The Via Agonale connects the Piazza S. Apollinare with the Piazza Navona (or Circo Agonale), a vast oblong square occupying the site of Domitian's Circus Agonalis, and decorated with three handsome fountains. The Church of St. Agnes is its most conspicuous building and stands on or close to the site of the young Saint's martyrdom.
The interior, which has the form of a Greek cross, is rich in marbles, sculptures, bronzes, and antique columns. The high altar has four columns of verde antico, two of which belonged to the Arch of Marcus Aurelius in the Corso, taken down by Alexander VII. All the altars have statues or marble reliefs of exquisite beauty.
The Crypt. —Beneath the church are some vaulted chambers, part of Domitian's Circus Agonalis, in one of which St. Agnes was exposed to insult before her martyrdom, but miraculously protected by an angel, and in another was imprisoned.
Notable relics in this basilica
The skull of St. Agnes.
The skull of St. Agnes
Exterior of the church
5. Basilica of St. Augustine
Italian: Basilica di Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio
The architect was Baccio Pintelli, whose other works are the Sistine Chapel, S. Pietro in Vincoli, the Hospital of S. Spirito, S. Maria della Pace, Ponte Sisto, &c. The cupola was the first of its kind constructed in Rome. The façade and broad flight of steps leading to the entrance are said to have been built with stones fallen from the Colosseum.
St. Philip Neri, who studied theology in the adjoining Augustinian monastery, was often seen in this church, his favorite place of prayer being the chapel of the Crucifix.
Notable relics in this basilica
The church is rich in important relics, the chief being: The body of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, under the altar of the Blessed Sacrament (at the end of the left aisle), the bodies of SS. Trypho, Respicius, and Nympha, martyrs, under the high altar.
The students sing the Regina Coeli in front of the relics of St. Monica
Exterior of the basilica
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Interior of the basilica
6. Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Italian: Chiesa di Sant' Ignazio di Loyola
At the back of the Roman College is the Church of S. Ignazio, belonging to the Jesuit Fathers. It was begun in 1626, in honour of the great Founder of the Society of Jesus, on occasion of his canonization , Cardinal Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XV, undertaking with princely liberality to defray all the expenses. The façade is by Agliardi, a pupil of Bernini; the rest of the building is from designs by Dome nichino and Father Grassi. The proportions of the church are singularly noble, and the nave is one of the finest architectural works of the seventeenth century.
More attractive than the frescoes are two other great works of Pozzi, the altars in the right and left transepts, which were designed by him, and beneath which are the bodies of the angelical youths, St. Aloysius and St. John Berchmans, in magnificent urns of lapis lazuli. The altar tomb of St. Aloysius has for its centerpiece a large marble relief of the young Saint surrounded by angels, the work of the eminent sculptor Le Gros.
Notable relics in this basilica
St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Robert Bellarmine and St. John Berchmans (the patron saint of altar servers)
Exterior of the church
The holy relics of St. Aloysius Gonzaga
Interior of the church
The incredible illusionistic frescoes of Sant'Ignazio
7. Basilica of Saint Mary of Minerva
Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva
This, the head church of the Dominicans in Rome, was begun probably about 1285, by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro, architects of S. Maria Novella in Florence. It was completed in 1370. It is the only Gothic church in Rome and stands on the site of a temple of Minerva, erected by Pompey as a memorial of his victories in Asia.
The chief attractions to pilgrims are the shrine of St. Catherine of Siena, the splendid chapel of St. Thomas of Aquin in the right transept, with frescoes by Filippino Lippi, the tomb of Fra Angelico of Fiesole, the prince of religious painters and the painting of the Annunciation in the fourth chapel. The church has also works of art by Maratta, Baciccio, and Barocci; also a beautiful statue of our risen Lord, by Michael Angelo, that stands on the left of the sanctuary.
St. Catherine, while in Rome, stayed at a convent in the present Via S. Chiara, off the Piazza di Minerva. The cell she occupied, and where she breathed forth her pure soul to God (A.D. 1380), may still be visited; though, as stated above, the original walls were transferred to the Minerva in 1637, and only the ceiling and floor of the present room are of St. Catherine's time.
Notable relics in this basilica
St Catherine of Siena, Popes Leo X, Clement VII, Paul IV, Urban VII and Benedict XIII.
Interior of the basilica
Sarcophagus of St. Catherine of Siena
8. Church of St. Andrew of the Valley
Italian: Sant'Andrea della Valle
In the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, not far from the Gesù, is the noble Church of St. Andrew the Apostle, which takes its name from the Palazzo Valle on the other side of the street.
The chief objects of interest are the paintings by Domenichino in the vaulting of the apse; they represent the call of SS. Peter and Andrew, and the flagellation of St. Andrew. The large central painting of the martyrdom of St. Andrew is by Calabrese.
Painting of St. Andrew
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Exterior of the church
