Giornale 5 (Santa Maria del Popolo)

I put off my last solo excursion for a few days because I didn’t want to acknowledge the nearing end of the seminar, so I ended up going on the 4^th, our last full day in Rome. I meant to go in the morning, but, instead, went with Erika in search of Caffe Sant’Eustachio. Thankfully, we found it with very little difficulty, thanks to a map and a storeowner’s quick directions. After we bought some coffee to take home, I walked Erika to the Piazza di Spagna, so that she could go to the Keats-Shelley museum, and I could take the metro to Piazza del Popolo. Unfortunately, I got there a little too late, after the church had closed for the afternoon. Having assumed before arriving there that I would be too late, I had made plans to go back and to finish packing and writing some blog entries. I occupied myself with that (and a couple orders of wonderful gelato) until 4, at which point I rushed to the metro, passing Katie and Sandy who, along with some other people, were returning from their day’s adventures. I arrived at the piazza, and stood outside the church, unimpressed by the exterior.

Entering the church, I blinked to let my eyes adjust from the incredibly bright sunlight outside to the darker interior. While I was walking around, I look down and was a little surprised by the lack of mosaics. Many of the other churches that I had seen, such as Santa Maria in Trastevere, had very lovely swirled mosaics inlaid into the floor. Throughout the rest of the church, I was struck by the beautiful masterpieces in the chapels, and in the aisles and apse. The statues of the angels were stunningly beautiful, and seemed quite Bernini-esque in their design. Unfortunately, I did not have my Blue Guide with me at the time, and so I could not look up who built the church. Later, I was able to look in the book and see that I was indeed right in thinking that the statues looked as if Bernini had made them, seeing as he had contributed to a renovation of the church interior. Among the other artwork in the church, the organ, and the bronze oak tree intertwined with the pipes of the organ, utterly floored me. I couldn’t find any mention of who created the tree in the Blue Guide, although the Internet informed me that, once again, it was Bernini’s doing. Raphael’s mosaic in the dome of the church also amazed me, as did a few of the other paintings. Despite all the other great work in the church, Bernini’s work left the greatest impression on me.

 I ended up rushing out of the church a little, since I had seen a priest come and prepare for a mass (I’m not quite sure, but that’s what I assumed he was doing.) Since I had seen the sign asking visitors not to come during prayers, I left, so as not to disturb and disrespect anyone.

However, I’ve always felt a little disrespectful when visiting churches, since I’m not religious. While I do admire the art and the structure of the building, I’m aware that I’m doing it not as a believer of some faith, but fully as a tourist, as a total outsider. And, as with other places, the fact that there were so many tourists took away from any feeling of holiness that should occupy such places of worship. I felt bad for adding to that crowd. It also rather bothered me that there were some tourists that were taking photos of things that they were asked not to photograph. Out of all the places, I feel that, even if they are not religious, the visitors ought to not take photos out of respect and reverence for the church, and for others who do find these places sacred.