Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva is located in Piazza della Minerva in Rome, near the Pantheon. This church is the only Gothic temple in the capital of Italy that has survived to this day. Like many other relatively little-known churches in Rome, you can unexpectedly encounter an outstanding work of art.
History
Once upon a time there was an ancient Roman pagan sanctuary of the goddess of wisdom Minerva on this site. In the 8th century Monks who were forced to leave Constantinople due to persecution of the iconoclasts built their church here. In the middle of the 13th century. The church passed to the Benedictine monks. In the 13th-14th centuries, by their order, Florentine builders built a new temple for them, modeled after one of the local basilicas. Subsequently, the church was partially reconstructed several times.
In this basilica in 1431 and 1447. Papal conclaves were convened. During the period of dominance of the Inquisition, the church and its surroundings were at the forefront of the fight against “heretics”. In particular, it was in the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva that the well-known Count Cagliostro renounced his errors. And in 1633, in a nearby monastery, Galileo Galilei was forced to abandon truly scientific views.
Prominent religious figures were buried in the Dominican church, including the patron saint of Italy, Catherine of Siena, as well as a number of Roman popes.
Modernity
The facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva does not make much of an impression. In front of the entrance, the only thing that attracts attention is the Egyptian obelisk on the back of an elephant, sculpted according to a sketch by Giovanni Bernini (architect of the Vatican's St. Peter's Square) by his student.
But the magnificent interior in the Gothic style pleases the eye: rib vaults stylized as a starry blue sky, openwork arches, stained glass windows. Under the main altar of the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, St. rests in a beautiful reliquary. Catherine of Siena is the first woman to be awarded the title "Teacher of the Church." To the left of the altar, next to the pylon, there is Michelangelo's sculptural masterpiece - the marble statue of the Risen Christ.
The master created an almost completed sculpture in Florence. In Rome, one of his students was supposed to complete it, but did so unsuccessfully. The sculpture had to be completed by a more capable student, Federico Frizzi. In the 17th century, at the insistence of the church, Christ's genitals were hidden with a bronze loincloth, which looked like a foreign element.
There are private chapels along the perimeter of the side walls of the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Among them, the Aldobrandini Chapels (architect Giacomo della Porta) and the Annunciation Chapels (architect Carlo Moderno) are especially impressive. You can get a better look at paintings and sculptures by inserting 50 cents into the machine to turn on the backlight.
Information for tourists
Address of the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva: Piazza della Minerva, 42. Opening hours: from 7 to 10. On Saturday and Sunday, the church opens an hour later, and closes during the day from 12:30 to 15:30. Free admission. Directions: take the red metro line to Barberini station, or take buses no. 62,63, 83, 85 and 160 to the Corso/Minghetti stop.
