Where the cardinals are sealed during the mysterious ritual of conclave. The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance.
Site of painter Raphael grave. Circular temple dedicated to "All the Gods", rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian c.AD 120. Transformed into the Christian church Sta Maria ad Martyres in the Middle Ages. Tombs of Raphael and Victor Emmanuel II.
The most important Early Renaissance church in Rome, famous for the Chigi Chapel designed by Raphael, the two Caravaggio masterpieces (Crucifixion of St. Peter and Conversion on the Way to Damascus) in the Cerasi Chapel and the Bernini statue of Habacuc and the Angel.
CHIGI CHAPEL "HABACUC AND THE ANGEL"
(Path of Illumination/Earth)
"Habakkuk and the Angel"
Chapel designed by Raphael
Angel pointing the way down the Path of Illumination (Bernini)
Chigi Chapel's pyramid tomb by Bernini
Skeleton cupermiento covering the "demon's hole" and subterranean crypt
Santa Maria della Vittoria (St. Mary of the Victory) is a small baroque Basilica church in Rome, on Via XX Settembre. The masterpiece in the Cornaro Chapel, to the left of the altar, is Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Scipione's favored sculptor, Bernini.
THE ECSTASY OF SAINT THERESA
(Path of Illumination/Fire)
"…his great golden spear…filled with fire… plunged into me several times…penetrated to my entrails…a sweetness so extreme that one could not possibly wish it to stop."
FOUNTAIN OF THE FOUR RIVERS
(Path of Illumination/Water)
In Bernini's fountain four male figures represent the main rivers of the four continents known back in the 17th Century: the Gange (Asia), Danube (Europe), Nile (Africa) and Rio de la Plata (Americas). An obelisk with dove atop stands tall over the fountain.
The secret passageway between Castle St. Angelo and the Vatican. The Passetto as it leaves the castle disguised as an aqueduct. Note: Access to the Passetto is temporarely closed to the public, but it can be seen from the outside.
The largest shrine on earth. St. Peter's has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people. Catholic tradition holds that Saint Peter's tomb is below the altar of the basilica. For this reason, many Popes, starting with the first ones, have been buried there. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.
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