Of course, the whole of Rome is pretty "historic" compared with most cities but there is an area comprising such delights as the Pantheon, the Campo de'Fiori and the Trevi Fountain, which is referred to as the Centro Storico. It is a rather foolish exercise to go tramping round there this lunchtime in the scorching sun but I can never resist it. Even despite the crush of tourists (like myself, I hasten to add), it has a charm all of its own, most especially because of the tremendous building and restoration activity during the counter-reformation.
I go on a "Church crawl" in between getting some photos in the glorious weather, and spend quite a bit of time at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. The obelisk outside this Church has appeared on this blog before; it is one of my compulsory pilgrimage destinations on visits to Rome. I said a prayer at the tomb of St Catherine of Siena and took some photos.This afternoon, the Latin Mass Society are having their Mass at the Church, and saying a special prayer for Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor who sent them a very kind letter of encouragement.
3 comments:
It's one of my favourite places in Rome too. The palazzo on the right in your photograph, which I think is now the library of the senate or some other venerable Italian institution, was formerly the Palazzo Silvestrelli and is the birthplace of Blessed Bernardo Maria Silvestrelli, sometimes called the "second founder" of the Passionists; he was baptised in Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
Is that the one with the Carafa Chapel? Please tell me, how do you think I should feel about that family of Cardinals?
Carafa - mixed bunch. Giovanni Pietro founded the Theatines which were an important reform movement. St Ignatius feared that he would suppress the Jesuits but he didn't. We would find many faults in him today, of course.
Oddly, his relative, Vincenzo entered the Jesuits and became superior general.
But how should you feel? That's up to you.
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