There are a thousand and one posts out there about the Eternal City… but I’m not here to tell you about The Fontana Di Trevi, the quaint lanes of Trastevere or the shopping experience in Via Veneto…

Instead, I’m here to share with you a different side of Rome: the beauty of its grandiose churches which I indulged on to the max a few years ago during a short holiday break for the New Year.

I do confess, though, that as I set off on my sightseeing tour my original intention had been somewhat different. Other than the indispensable city guide, I had also packed a paperback edition of Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons”. I had already read the book from cover to cover and was eager to follow the trail of its main character, Robert Langdon.

Having sought every nook described in the book to find the clues, I can vouch that the author has his descriptions accurate down to a ‘t’ – or should I say, down to the last star, pyramid and obelisk! I was particularly thrilled to visit two specific churches as I “followed” Robert Langdon around.

The first church is Santa Maria Della Vittoria, where the statue of “The Ecstasy of Santa Teresa” delivered with an uncanny accuracy all that my imagination had conjured up while reading the book.

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The other church was Santa Maria Del Popolo at the far end of Piazza Del Popolo where I located the Chigi Chapel and again, found the mystifying shapes on the coat of arms exactly as Mr. Brown had claimed them to be.

Visiting Rome’s churches proved to be an exhilarating process for me. I never knew what to expect after a while. Each one was unique in some way. In the end, I wound up entering every single one I came across as I quickly grew addicted to the awe-inspiring atmosphere they delivered effortlessly each time, without fail.

I fell in love with their beautiful facades, for one. Some of them had fabulous statues standing before them, and I particularly loved the delightful elephant outside Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Still, beyond the beauty of the exterior of any given church, it was what awaited me inside that truly made my jaw fall slack.

Everywhere I looked, I found beauty and reverence. As the world around me expanded in vast, imposing spaces, I started to feel increasingly humble and small, but the experience, far from intimidating, proved surprisingly empowering.

Lifelike statues of saints and angels, high Baroque ceilings and gigantic columns rising from the floor induce a feeling of communion with the heavens. The candle-lit shrines of serene humility offer moments of peace and an opportunity for a quiet prayer. At the main church halls, the gold-decked walls, luxurious marbles and breathtaking frescos convey a sense of grandeur. As you sit on a pew to rest for a few moments, you can’t help but think that the natural light that comes through the multitude of tall windows, might as well be the warm, blessing hand of the Divine.

Some of the churches are a must for the holy relics that they house, such as San Pietro in Vincoli where the original chains that once bound Saint Peter remain on display.

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The knowledgeable tourists among the hoards of visitors to this church will not leave until they have duly witnessed the chipped surface on the marble on Moses’s knee where, according to legend, Michelangelo accidentally dropped his chisel while working on this statue.

Another famous church for its holy relics is Santa Croce in Jerusaleme (Saint Cross in Jerusalem) which was built to house the fragments from Jesus’s cross that Saint Helen had brought back from the Holy Land. Today, visitors will marvel there at the said pieces as well as the tiny thorns from Jesus’s thorn crown, one nail from His Cross and a finger that belonged to Saint Thomas.

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I found the peculiar facade of Santa Maria Degli Angeli E Gli Martiri utterly fascinating. Inside, I was speechless by how huge it seemed. The effect was particularly humbling. I hope the pictures help to convey some of its beauty and reverence.

The main hall in San Giovanni in Laterano depicts twelve statues of the Apostles. The windows let in the natural light beautifully, and it made for a truly awe-inspiring visit I will never forget.

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Of course, I also visited the Vatican museums and St Peter’s. The artistic perfection involved in the whole experience makes it hard to find the right words to describe it, though. Even at the time, the feeling of awe stole my breath away, and I grew silent as my eyes caressed St Peter’s Dome, Michelangelo’s Pieta, and the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel…

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I do not think that anyone who is not an art expert can ever speak about these legendary works of art effectively and I will not shame myself by making a feeble attempt. Instead, I will say that my life feels substantially more complete since my eyes rested blissfully upon these eternal treasures.

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Santa Maria in Cosmedin is a modest basilica that proved a little tricky to locate. Still, it was worth the effort as I really wanted to see the famous “Bocca Della Verita” that stands on the left wall if its portico. If you’ve seen the classic movie “Roman Holiday”, you may recall the scene where Gregory Peck used it to do a prank on his co-star, Audrey Hepburn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6af1dAc9rXo

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As my visit to Rome coincided with the new year, I was able to enjoy the city’s famous piazzas beautifully illuminated and decorated for the New Year celebrations. On New Year’s Day, the vibe in Piazza del Popolo (The People’s Square) was that of an open air party with street bands and performers entertaining visitors while dozens of balloons flew in the air in the colors of the Italian flag.

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Piazza Navona was particularly lively as well, attracting even more visitors than its famous fountains do from day to day, as people walked around the stalls set up there to browse through bountiful merchandise for the festive season. I quickly noticed that nearly every stall seller seemed to display figurines of witches on broomsticks in one form or another. I used a mixture of basic Italian and confident English to question a local and, as it turned out, the witches on the broomsticks were Italian versions of Santa Claus!

Befana, depicted as an old hag, rides her broom and brings Italian children gifts on the eve of Epiphany day, January 5^th. To naughty kids, instead of gifts, she leaves a stick or a piece of coal. Being a good housekeeper, she often sweeps the house on her way out!

May your houses be duly swept and your lives enriched with the most precious gifts this new year!

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