Il Gesù, a Glass of Wine and The World Most Awesome Ceiling

There are a lot of amazing, incredible, magnificent (insert adjective here) ceilings in Rome. The Sistine Chapel, for instance. This one, at Il Gesù, I had to see. The only problem is that when I got to the church, it was closed and would be closed, for another hour. Oy. 

Il Gesù

Consecrated in 1584

Oh look, a place where I can have a glass of wine! As I sat there, right across from the church, taking a load off and writing in my travel journal, I also watched, as other people tried to open the door to Il Gesù. A lady, in front of a side door, over and over, would tell people to come back later. I don't really think she worked there. She just looked like she enjoyed being the one to tell people what to do.

Most of the churches reopen around 3 o'clock or 3:30, but not all. So, check the websites, if you are on a time constraint. The website for Il Gesù says it reopens at 4:00 but recommends visiting between 4:30 and 7:00 pm. Maybe they turn the lights on at some point, because when I was there, nowhere near 7, it was already getting pretty dark, as you'll see.

Wine and Il Gesù...

Here is an absolutely gorgeous Vivaldi violin concerto, for your visit to Il Gesù ...

When the church opened, this masterpiece of the Baroque, did not disappoint.

There are painted wood and stucco figures, that were added to the ceiling fresco, extending out beyond the frame, and over the gold guilt coffered ceiling. The effect is stunning! 

Triumph of the Holy Name of Jesus 
1676-1679
Giovanni Battista Gaulli, called Bacaccia 

A glaze of painted shadow were even painted, on the coffered ceiling, to make it look even more three dimensional. Absolutely magnificent.

Central dome with fresco  by Baccacia

As with many churches, in Rome, you put coins in a little box, to make the lights go on, so you can see the masterpieces. 

I loved the mirror, they had put on the ground, so that you could look at the frescoes without ending up with a pinched nerve, or a slipped disc. Great idea, huh?

Il Gesu, is the mother church of Jesuits. In 1540, Pope PauI III recognized the Jesuits, and St. Ignatius, who founded the order, started fundraising. When the church was first conceived, and the foundation was laid during the Renaissance (1550s) it was much more simple and austere. 

Then along came the Counter-Reformation, in the 1600s, with the drama of the Baroque, and you can see that the whole "austere" thing, went out the window. 

It was so dark, I felt like I should be carrying around a torch. I'm sure it didn't help that it was cloudy  and late in the day.

Shafts of light, from the setting sun ...

Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I lit candles, here, for my friends and family. It was so beautiful! Often, I love simplicity (believe it or not) but there was something so beautiful about this little, ornate chapel, that made you feel like you were praying inside a delicate, Fabergé egg. And, it was almost perfectly silent.

True prayer is an expression of the soul,

an urge from the soul.

It is a hunger for God that arises from within,

expressing itself to Him 

ardently, 

silently.

~Paramahansa Yogananda

More photographs of the ceiling. Next time ... a telephoto lens and a camera with higher speeds, for dim light. (Always looking for a reason to go back!)

Constantly, 

inwardly,

talk to Him;

Then He cannot remain away from you.

~Yogananda

Capella della Madonna della strada

With the light (or lack of it) you can either get a photo of the little painting or the interior space. Well, sort of. It's a lovely little icon of the Madonna and child, and there was something about the beautiful warm stonework and the slender, graceful candles, that I just loved. 

Cappella di San Francesco Saverio

I brought up the light on these photos, on my computer, but alas ... still very dark. At least you get a little of it.

The secret of effective prayer

is to change your status

from beggar, to child of God;

When you appeal to Him from that consciousness,

your prayer will have both power and wisdom.

~Paramahansa Yogananda 

It was worth the wait.

Façade of Il Gesù by Giacomo della Porta

Notice the light, in the photo above, top right?

Here's a video from "Smart History" with great information and wonderful shots of the church.

It was time to work my way back up to my neighborhood, East of the Spanish Steps. I was south of the Pantheon, and it was starting to get a little dark outside ...

Heading east, I looked to the South to a view of Piazza Venezia and Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emmanuel II (the first king of a unified Italy.) Romans refer to it as "the typewriter."

I passed many more churches. as I began to head north ...

San Marcello al Corso

And before heading back to my cozy room, I thought I'd better throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain. (It's worked so far!)

Here I am, after throwing a coin in the fountain, to assure my return to Rome!

Check out the Sacred Destinations page on Il Gesù here, for some great info and pictures that were taken, with the lights on! Clearly the photographer had some pull!

Official website of Il Gesù

A few more posts of Rome to come, before moving on to Umbria, though I may have to share some of my recent adventures in Southern California, as well! 

I had a lovely day in Santa Barbara with my Mom, a gorgeous trip to the L.A. Arboretum, and was a guest at the season 1 wrap party of the TV show Las Vegas. (Yes I met Dennis Quaid, and yes, he is still sexy. ;)

Hope you are all enjoying a lovely April, and finding adventures, 

in your own backyard and beyond!

Blessings and light!

Beautiful Sant'Ivo ~ Rome!

Do you have a favorite architect? For me, visiting San Carlo alle quattro Fontane made my choice pretty clear, and then Saint Ivo sealed the deal. Francesco Borromini!

Sant'Ivo is not the easiest place to visit. From what my online research told me, it seemed to be open, only on Sunday mornings, from 9 to noon! Within that short window, on Sundays, you can rest assured that there are services going on, as well. Timing is everything.

I was having a little trouble waking up, after my night on the town with Inta, but I threw my clothes on and headed Southwest toward Piazza Navona. The church is at the south end of the piazza and a block or so east of it. The weird thing is, that the church wasn't even on a couple of my maps. But when you know what you're looking for ... 

via

Thank you Google Maps!

The big grey vertical on the left is Piazza Navona. The big white circle, touching the right edge, is the Pantheon. In the, almost dead center, is Sant'Ivo ... see the horizontal rectangle with the little round circle? The little round circle is the church, and the space in the rectangle is the courtyard. You enter on first street parallel to Piazza Navona, to the east. This took a little help to figure out on the ground. After all, it looks a lot different from the street!

In the photo below, just right of center, you can see a little information booth to the right of van. I asked the gentleman inside, who I am sure gets this question all the time, where I could find the entrance to Sant'Ivo. He pointed around the corner, to the left of the building with the flags.

Open only on Sundays? Not on all maps? Don't they know that every art history class, that covers the Baroque, talks about the this church, with it's convex and concave façade, and it's groovy spiral spire? Come on!  

Anyway, here's a bit of Italian Baroque music to go with the architecture ...

Finally! Through a big door and out onto a courtyard ... the first view of the famous façade...

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

Francesco Borromini

1642-60

The Palazzo della Sapienza Courtyard and Sant'Ivo

The church (center) was build for the Palazzo della Sapienza, which was the seat of the University of Rome until 1935 (founded in 1303.) In 1500, Giacomo Della Porta started work to centralize the structures and bring it all together. He created the two story colonnade you see to the right and left of the church, in the photo above. 

Giacomo died before finishing the project so it fell, thirty years later, to Francesco Borromini, who designed the church we are about to enter!

The altar and Church are dedicated to Saint Ivo or St. Ives, patron saint of lawyers and abandoned children. To find out more about St. Ivo (1253-1303) "Advocate of the Poor", click here and here.

Sorry about the photo of the painting. I never could get a good shot of it!

Altar by Giovan Battista Contini

Sant'Ivo, Leone, Pantaleone, Luca e Caterina d'Alessandria in Gloria di Angeli, 

Painted by Andrea del Cortina

The pilasters draw your eye up to the beautiful dome ...

Check out the little cherubim above the windows and around the center.

Not to get distracted, but how cute is this chair? And, I love the floors!

Borromini created incredible drama, which the Baroque is known for, but without having to cover everything in gold gilt. He let the play of light create the drama. It spills in through the windows, over the beautiful, three dimensional details, and across convex and concave surfaces. Bellissima! 

Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see.
~Arthur Schopenhauer 

This girl sat down to sketch. I was jealous but I new my time was limited!

As I mentioned, in the St. John Lateran post, Borromini was a fan of putti or cherubim. I'm not sure of the difference but basically, it's a head with wings. And, in this case, they are very cute!

To love beauty 
is to see light.
~Victor Hugo

There's another one, below, peaking over the ledge! 

I was right about my time being limited. About 10 minutes after I entered the church, several Italians without cameras were making their way into the pews. Crap! Oops, sorry, we're in church. Anyhow, I took a bunch of pictures, like my life depended on it and then was escorted out, along with about 15 other touristi. 

This poor guy, above, was in charge of letting in the actual patrons and keeping out the folks with cameras. I'm guessing he goes through this every Sunday, because he was very good at his job and knew who was there for mass and who wasn't.

When I got outside, I realized that not only was my camera battery dying, but I'd run off without my spare and it was only 11am! Thank goodness for my iPhone. 

While I was fiddling around with my camera, a nice Kiwi lady was trying to communicate with the gentleman about when she would be able to get into the church. "Mezzogiorno ... meno un quarto Signora." My Italian was now coming in handy and fortunately, you learn "time" in Italian 101. I looked at my watch, "Quarantacinque minuti?" "Si," he said.  "O.K.," I told the nice lady from New Zealand, "we've got 45 minutes to hang around, but it's totally worth it."

In the above shot there are lion heads, in the little roundels, representing Pope Sixtus V and the Montalto family. In fact, there are symbols of popes and their families represented all over, if you know where to look. All of which, contributed funds for the building. The Dragon was Gregory XIII. Pope Paul V and the Borghese were the Dragon and the eagle ... Innocent X and the Pamphilij were the Dove, olive branch and so on. 

My photo, taken by a sweet couple of boys from Eastern Europe. 

Courtyard of Giacomo della Porta

Love the stones ... wouldn't that look so pretty in a garden? ;)

In the following photo, if you look in the little roundels above the 3rd floor windows, you can see the Barberini Bees. (Pope Urban VIII)

After visiting with my new friends from Eastern Europe and New Zealand, and taking some photos, it was time to head back into the church, which stayed open for about 15 minutes before closing, presumably until the following Sunday. (If someone has other information, please share!)

A few more angles with my iPhone, and then I just took in the space ... soaring and beautiful! 

We live in a wonderful world 

that is full of beauty,

charm and adventure.

There is no end to the adventures that we can have

if only we seek them with our eyes open.

~Jawaharlol Nehru

Ciao Sant'Ivo! Ci vediamo ... spero!

Later that day, after another visit to Piazza Navona, I went to Pizza Zaza, where I'd eaten on my last two trips to Rome (see the white canvas sun shield, behind the folks walking toward us? That's Zaza.) Well, look up and see what had been right around the corner, the whole time! How could I have missed that wonderful lantern and spire? I guess that's what happens, when you have your face in a pizza!

For more information on Sant'Ivo, check out Sacred Destinations and for a great New York Times article entitled Borromini's Rome, click here. (It discusses both churches of St. Ivo and San Carlo and gives visitor info on these and other works by Borromini.)

This guy cracks me up! Check it out!  ... It's a video about the rivalry between Borromini and Bernini with a funny Italian dude. Great shots of Rome and the buildings, including my favorites! ;)

Warm wishes, my friends, 

for a blessed and peaceful

Passover 

and 

Easter

Have a beautiful weekend!