Monday, November 11, 2013

Santa Maria del Popolo

The church of Santa Maria del Popolo is in the Piazza del Populi, near the portal itself. It is a relatively small church, by Roman standards, but is so studded with great art that it is difficult to notice the church itself.
St. Peter crucifixion, a more characteristic work by
Michaelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, also
known as Mr. Fruity Butt Pants; St. Paul's conversion,
featuring a horse's butt, is across the small but now
well-lit (when you pay a euro) chapel



























Thus




















Over on the starboard side, the Rovere chapel features a
number of gorgeous Pinturicchio frescoes




















Thus


















Some were done by a "Helper of Pinturicchio" who was also
pretty darn good



















But it's the Chigi chapel (Mr. Chigi was banker to Popes
Julius II and Leo X) that gets most attention (after Mr.
Fruity Butt Pants), with its two Berninis...here, Daniel





















And here, Habukkak (it's a long story)


















And dome, designed by Raphael














Up closer: God, signifying that the Chigis have SCORED!














Other items of interest include this bony inlay, designed to drive away the ghost
of Nero, who was said to have inhabited the precincts; it worked: he is now among
the second fiddles section at symphony hall

















"Don't tread on me"; or possibly St. Cecelia or
Ann Boleyn


















And this hole in the thinner-than-you'd-think stone floor... 














Revealing the nicely-tiled floor below; nothing escapes my practiced eye...















The rest of the church is totally Baroque..."if it ain't Baroque, don't fix it," we have
come to say


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