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Chiesa Di San Luigi Dei Francesi : Church

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9 views

Chiesa Di San Luigi Dei Francesi : Church

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gato
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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83

the Madonna and Child in the second chap- by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi in the 17th
el in the northern transept is attributed to century.
Fra Angelico, who is buried in the church. Prize exhibits include the beautiful 5th-
The body of St Catherine of Siena, minus century Trono Ludovisi (Ludovisi Throne),
her head (which is in Siena), lies under the a carved marble block depicting Aphrodite
high altar, and the tombs of two Medici popes, being plucked from the sea. This shares a
Leo X and Clement VII, are in the apse. room with two colossal heads, one of which

Rome & L a zio S


is the goddess Juno that dates from around
oChiesa di San Luigi 600 BC. The wall frieze (about half of which
dei Francesi CHURCH remains) depicts the 10 plagues of Egypt and
(Map p80; Piazza di San Luigi dei Francesi; h 10am- the Exodus.
12.30pm & 3-7pm, closed Thu afternoon; g Corso The palazzo’s baroque frescoes provide an
del Rinascimento) Church to Rome’s French exquisite decorative backdrop. The walls of
community since 1589, this art-rich baroque the Sala delle Prospettive Dipinte are decorat-

R IioG
bonanza boasts no less than three canvases ed with landscapes and hunting scenes seen

gmH
by Caravaggio: La Vocazione di San Matteo

hts
through trompe l’œil windows. These fres-

eT S
(The Calling of Saint Matthew), Il Martiro coes were painted for Cardinal Altemps, the
di San Matteo (The Martyrdom of Saint rich nephew of Pope Pius IV (r 1560–65) who
Matthew) and San Matteo e l’Angelo (Saint bought the palace in the late 16th century.
Matthew and the Angel), together known as The museum also houses the Museo Nazi-
the St Matthew cycle. onal Romano’s Egyptian collection.
These are among Caravaggio’s earliest reli-
gious works, painted between 1600 and 1602, oPiazza Navona PIAZZA
but they are inescapably his, featuring down- (Map p80; g Corso del Rinascimento) With its or-
to-earth realism and stunning use of chiaro- nate fountains, baroque palazzi (mansions),
scuro (the bold contrast of light and dark). cafes and colourful circus of street perform-
Before you leave the church, take a mo- ers, hawkers, artists and tourists, Piazza
ment to enjoy Domenichino’s colourful 17th- Navona is Rome’s most iconic public square.
century frescoes of St Cecilia in the second Laid out on the ruins of a 1st-century arena
chapel on the right. built by the emperor Domitian – the name
Navona is a corruption of the Greek word
Chiesa di Sant’Agostino CHURCH
agon, meaning public games – it was paved
(Map p80; Piazza di Sant’Agostino 80; h 7.30am- over in the 15th century and for almost 300
12.30pm & 4-6.30pm; g Corso del Rinascimento) years hosted the city’s main market.
This 15th-century early Renaissance church Of its three fountains, it’s Bernini’s high-
contains two outstanding works of art: camp Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain
Raphael’s 1512 Isaiah fresco and Caravag- of the Four Rivers; Map p80) that dominates.
gio’s Madonna dei Pellegrini (Madonna of Depicting personifications of the Nile, Gan-
the Pilgrims), which caused uproar when it ges, Danube and Plate, it’s festooned with a
was unveiled in 1604, due to its depiction palm tree, lion and horse, and topped by an
of Mary as barefoot and her two devoted obelisk. Legend has it that the figure of the
pilgrims as filthy beggars. Also of note is Nile is shielding his eyes from the Chiesa
Jacopo Sansovino’s 1521 Madonna del Parto di Sant’Agnese in Agone (Map p80; www.san-
(Madonna of Childbirth) sculpture, the sub- tagneseinagone.org; Piazza Navona; concerts €10;
ject of local devotion by pregnant women. h 9.30am-12.30pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sun; g Corso del
Museo Nazionale Romano: ¨ Rinascimento), designed by Bernini’s hated
Palazzo Altemps MUSEUM rival, Francesco Borromini. In truth, it sim-
(Map p80; % 06 3996 7700; http://archeo- ply indicates that the source of the Nile was
roma.beniculturali.it/en/museums/national-roman- unknown at the time.
museum-palazzo-altemps; Piazza Sant’Apollinare At the southern end, the Fontana del
44; adult/reduced €7/3.50; h 9am-7.45pm Tue- Moro (Map p80) was designed by Giacomo
Sun; g Corso del Rinascimento) This gem of a della Porta in 1576. Bernini added the Moor
museum houses the best of the Museo Na- holding a dolphin but the surrounding
zionale Romano’s formidable collection of Tritons are 19th-century copies. The 19th-
classical sculpture. Many pieces come from century Fontana del Nettuno (Map p80)
the celebrated Ludovisi collection, amassed at the northern end depicts Neptune fight-
ing with a sea monster, surrounded by sea
nymphs.

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