Giornale - Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

Branching off from the group, Maisie, Katie, Emily, and I started our slightly rainy walk towards Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Almost immediately, we ran into the Harry Potter store that Dr. Spinner had spoken about. We spent a few minutes looking around at various objects, including a Hogwarts letter written in Italian. The man running the store laughed at Katie and I as we proceeded to recite Hermione’s opening movie scene in perfect unison.

We stopped briefly at the cat sanctuary at the l’area sacra di Largo Argentina as well, but were only able to see the cats for a few minutes before they began to close. Every time I glanced around the room, more cats seemed to appear out of nooks. The woman told us they have over 130 cats, releasing some back onto the streets after being cared for, and keeping the ones who need more assistance within the shelter and ruins. Ruins being used as a sanctuary is one of the best examples of re-purposing a space that we’ve seen in Rome. It’s a softer sort of “layering,” meaning no one is rebuilding on the space. It is more similar to how pagan temples sometimes became churches, only this time instead of altars, there are cats curled everywhere you look.

Upon arriving at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, I was delighted to find the obelisk with Bernini’s elephant out front, as I hadn’t realized these two were in the same location. We all spent another few minutes circling the elephant, pointing out the lively curve of its trunk and tail. Seeing this elephant again after also seeing the turtles that Bernini added to the fountain in piazza Mattei was wonderful. Both animals share a sort of amusing, animated life. The elephant almost smiles, while the turtle’s legs seem to wiggle happily as they make their way up the base of the fountain to the water.

The first thing I noticed when walking into the church was the singing. One of the farther altars was holding a service, and the chanting echoed within the walls, making me look up as if I could watch the sound bounce around the room. This line of sight helped me to notice the three round stained glass windows, way up at the top of the room. They were flower-like in shape, and I remember Katie commenting that she wished we were here on a sunny day, because that sort of light would be incredible. I agree, but even more I would want to see the light come through the orange stained glass near the front of the church. These windows depicted no lettering or scenes, and looked very modern compared to the other ones. The glass would make light golden. For now, with the overcast clouds, it was the many lit candles that gave the church a warm light.

My other favorite part of the church were the organs which seemed to be almost tucked away, high above the few people milling around. I like that you have to look up to see the source of the music, and that it might even take you a moment to find exactly where it is coming from because of the echoes. The organ balconies are carved to look as if they are being held up by angels, a detail that completes the search for sound, as if it is coming from above.

A final detail that caught by eye called back a discussion we had earlier in the week about depictions of nude figures in a church contrasted with visitors being made to cover up. There was an antiquity-styled nude statue of a religious figure with his arm raised, finger pointed, and holding a staff-like cross. Although not entirely nude, I thought again about how we hypothesized that such a distinction may be made to separate holy and mortal figures. 

After departing from the church, we walked to Tassadoro by the Pantheon for a cappuccino, and wandered home through the rain, sneakers getting soaked by puddles.