Rome Places of Worship
One of the richest places with regards to cultural heritage, Rome, otherwise known as the “Eternal City” and Paris, is one of the richest. Right throughout Rome you can see monuments and buildings that have been there for hundreds of years. In amongst all these edifices, churches stand out as the most widely renowned, such as the Sistine Chapel, for example. However, Rome is a city always filled with tourists, therefore I would invite you to book an appartamento Roma before coming. Next, you will find a list of Roman churches.
St. The Basilica of Saint Peter
This is Christianity’s sanctuary. With a facade 45 metres high and its enormous 136 metre dome, St Pierre’s basilica is the biggest Church in the world, and offers an impressive view over the public gardens bearing the same name, which were conceived by Bernini. Greatness and splendour are the first sensations received when going up the Via della Conciliazione towards Piazza San Pietro. One of the main oeuvres of art in the interior of the church is Michelangelo’s sculpture “Pieta”, which was created between 1498 and 1500.
The Sistine Chapel
The chapel owes its name to Sixtus IV, the pope who ordered the construction of the chapel at the end of the 14th Century. The chapel has been decorated by famous paintings from the 15th Century, such as those by Botticelli and the Ghirlandaio. Later, during the 16th Century, Michelangelo was chosen to paint all of the frescoes on the vaulted ceiling of the chapel: roughly 1000msq. He painted frescoes representing stories from the Bible, such as the stunning “Universal Judgement” which provoked a scandal due to the fact that the 400 figures within the fresco were nude. He also painted here the “Creation of Humanity”.
San Giovanni in Laterano
This is the Cathedral of Rome, and the second largest church after St. Peter’s Basilica. In 314 A.D, the original church was built.D., when the land was handed over to the Pope by the Emperor Constantine. The current building comprises the church, the baptistery, the Palazzo Lateranense, the Scala Santa and the hospital of San Giovanni.
St. Paul’s
This church is located in Via Ostiense and was founded in 330 A.D. Plus, it only reached completion during the 5th century. The church was constructed under orders of Contantine, who wanted to remember the martyr “Diacre Lorenzo”, who became a martyr under Pope Sixtus II during the 3rd Century A.D.D.- with a magnificent resting place.
Santa Maria Maggiore
This church is located upon the Esquilino hill and it is the first Roman church to have been named after the Virgin Saint. It has the tallest clock tower in Rome, and according to historical sources it is the place where pieces of wood dating from Jesus’ crib have been preserved. This is why, during a particular epoch the church was called Santa Maria Ad Praesepe.
As I’m sure you’ll appreciate, visiting these churches requires quite a long time. This impressive modern day metropolis wasn’t built in a day and you should take more than a day to explore it. Take the time to explore and reserve Rome apartments or alloggi Roma for yourselves.