Church on Sunday

Today, after a little shopping and a little lunch, we toured a few churches. The churches in Rome never cease to amaze me whenever I step inside. They are all completely different with so many amazing things to see. The first church we visited was Sant' Ignazio. This is a Baroque church and was built in 1626.

The major draw in this church are the frescoes painted on the ceiling by Andrea Pozzo. If you stand on designated spots on the floor you see them in the right perspective.
So when you stand on the first marker......

You look up to the ceiling and see this.....

When you stand on the second marker you see this........

The dome is false. It is painted on the ceiling. If you are not standing on the marker but directly underneath it, it looks like this.....

It is not in the right perspective. The "center" of the dome is way off to one side. Pretty trippy for a Catholic church.

Other features of the church....



Some pics taken outside....



The second church we went to see is Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. This is actually a basilica and considered the only Gothic Church in Rome. Outside the church, in the piazza, is a sculpture of an elephant done by Bernini, topped with an Egyptian obelisk found in the adjoining garden in 1665.

Pictures of the interior:







Lastly, we went to Santa Maria in Trastvere. This is one of the oldest churches in Rome, originally founded in 220 A.D. but has gone through renovations through the years. The interior is absolutely beautiful.