Santa Maria sopra Minerva


For my only real solo excursion, I decided to visit the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, as it was one of the churches I had not seen the inside of before. As I was already in the Pantheon area I decided to stop by the Basilica and poke my head in to look around. I was not disappointed by my decision. 
This basilica was simply beautiful. As one of the few churches in Rome with the original Gothic architecture intact, and within the plethora of Roman Churches it certainly stands out. The first thing that catches the eye is the brilliant blue adorning the vaults, with amazing arches and bright gold borders. It looks wholly unlike the traditional basilica style which you would find in a church like Santa Sabina, which is beautiful in its own austere way. 
The chapels were just as wonderful, covered in beautiful art and various recognizable scenes: the Carafa Chapel’s frescoes in honor of St. Thomas Aquinas blew me away with its opulence. The annunciation scene in particular caught my eyes, along with the ceiling. 
I met another unexpected but familiar face in this church as well: Fra Angelico, one of the most renowned renaissance painters. I’d spent a semester in Professor Penny Jolly’s Early Christian / Byzantine Art class, where we examined much of his monastery work and frescoes. It was refreshing to actually meet him in person after studying so much about his work. 
Another magnificent piece was Michaelangelo’s Christ the Redeemer, a lovely statue of Christ standing contrapposto with the cross in his hands. I spent a long while looking at this marble statue, from several different angles. I would have sketched it, but I had not brought my sketching pencil with me, which was a real shame. 
I spent the most time in this church however simply staring at the high vaulted ceiling. The kneeling evangelists over the altar in particular caught my attention, sitting in their field of stars. Their halos were so bright against the blue background and I was entranced. I am usually quite taken with byzantine mosaics and apse work, but this ceiling captured my heart. 
I also spent a fair amount of time simply sitting and enjoying the atmosphere in the church and musing about the surroundings. How many people look out side at Bernini’s elephant and ignore the almost simple facade of this amazing church without ever taking a peek inside to see its beauty? I'm sure there are hundreds of spaces in Rome alone just like that. How many churches have I walked past without looking into simply because they looked small, or the outside was plain and not as commanding as the hard hitters of the Eternal City? What does this space mean to me that it might not for a Roman, and vice versa?
As I walked back to St. John’s, I kept my eyes peeled for those little spaces. Whether it was a small church, a cute little cafe, or a tiny story I made sure to poke my head in and really look. Theres something to be said for touring a city; of course, you come up with a list of what you absolutely must see. But after that, exploring is how you really get to know a city instead of just visiting. Thats where the real interaction with the space can take place. On my walk back I found many little spaces of “Romanness” that I had walked by several times already on my way to a more important destination. Those spots will forever be recorded in not only my memory, but my sketchbook as well. In that way I can develop my own impressions of the city. 

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