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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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HISTORIC ROME (CONT.), ITALY3) Santa Maria della Vittoria Church Next, we took the minivan to a coffee shop next door to the Santa Maria della Vittoria for a 15 minute coffee break. Then we walked into the church to the the Cornaro Chapel to view the marble sculpture that represents the element of Fire.The church was gorgeous inside, as every church in Rome has been. It felt pretty intrusive when we went inside. People were praying in the pews and here comes a Dan Brown tour gawking at the specifics from the book. Yikes!
Our tour guide told us that the Priest does not like visitors to his church focusing only on the St. Theresa sculture. But of course, since it was the next marker of the 'path' we headed straight for the sculpture (ew hopefully not bad kharma!).
In the book, Langdon and Vetra are once again too late and find Cardinal Guidera is strung out over a fire to burn to death (Fire). They see the angel in the sculpture pointing the arrow - which Langdon thinks is pointing towards Piaza Novona. 4) Pantheon
Originally a temple for all pagan gods, the Pantheon was converted into a church in 609. It contains the tombs of Rafael and of several Italian Kings. Its interior design contrast with the temple's structural design, but the marble floor still features the original Roman design.
The Pantheon's dome, more than 43 meters high is most impressive. It was the largest dome in the world until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed. At the top of the dome is a large opening, the oculus, which was the only source of light. The front portico has three rows of 8 columns, each one with a diameter of 1.5m. A huge bronze door gives access to the cylindrical building.
Outside of the Pantheon, we visited the Piazza della Rotunda - a square surrounded by shops and of course an obelisk (Another plaza in Rome with a stolen one from Egypt!). There is also a McDonald's directly opposite the Pantheon. Yikes! The piazza is pedestrianised and busy with folks staring at the Pantheon. We took more pics and then walked to our next stop. |
The Ecstasy of St Theresa was completed in 1652 for about $120,000). It was overseen and completed by a mature Bernini during the Pamphilj papacy of Innocent X. During this time, the sculptor's past involvement with the profligate expenses of the prior Barberini papacy had disgraced Bernini and deprived him of much Vatican patronage. Bernini was thus available to the Venetian Cardinal Federico Cornaro (1579-1673), who had chosen the otherwise non-descript church of the Discalced Carmelites for his burial chapel. |
Anyway, the famed sculpture - The Ecstasy of S. Teresa di Avila - depicts the story of an angel visiting St. Teresa in her sleep and piercing her with an arrow. St. Teresa says, "…his great golden spear…filled with fire… plunged into me several times…penetrated to my entrails…a sweetness so extreme that one could not possibly wish it to stop." Many think that St. Teresa's expression looks like she is in the midst of an orgasm, however, others believe that Bernini aims to express the facial and body equivalents to a state of divine joy. 
Next on the tour, we walked to the Pantheon - (which is out of order from the book). The Pantheon was so massive, I couldn't even fit it in my camera frame! Entrance is free and, as such, it is crowded but worth a visit! 
In the book, Langdon thinks the line in the poem (