San Giovanni in Laterano

This afternoon I went to see yet another church. Haha--some friends who had been to Europe before told me that I would get "churched out" in Rome because there are so many lavish churches...but I have enjoyed them all so far. This one, San Giovanni, is my favorite, I think. St. Peter's definitely the biggest and most lavish, but San Giovanni is a much more, um, friendly structure. And it's interesting because of its history. Although most of what we can see today was built during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the original structure dates to 318 AD. This church was the first Christian church in the city of Rome! Imagine how jubilant those early worshippers were when it was finally opened, a real house of worship for the first time after Constantine had legalized Christianity. :)

The current façade and the design of the nave (both pictured below) were designed by Francesco Borromini, the rival of Bernini. I like the style a lot. Only the ceiling doesn't match the Baroque style--it's still that hideously garish Renaissance style because the pope at the time liked it. Eww. But the statues of the apostles, stepping out of the alcoves in the pillars, are really cool. There's also a little box over the altar (it's that shiny gold thing in the middle of the second picture) that contains two statues, of Peter and Paul, that supposedly contain remains from their heads. Kind of gruesome, eh? Word on the street says that the DNA from Peter's head here, and his body at St. Peter's, don't match. Surprise surprise...but of course I don't know that for certain.

This picture right here shows the coolest part. These huge bronze doors are actually the doors from the ancient Roman Senate house in the Forum! Aren't they amazing? (I made Nancy stand there for scale. Granted, she's 5'1", but still. They're huge.) These particular doors were probably cast sometime in the 300s, after a fire had destroyed the previous ones--but they would have been exact copies of the originals. Those Romans were big on tradition and continuity. Anyway, the Church moved the doors from the Forum to this church building to signify the shift of authority in Rome to the Church and the papacy, and away from the old pagan Senate. It was a pretty effective way to get the point across, I think.

This is kind of funny. Lots of churches in Rome have modernized to the point that you don't physically light a candle anymore. You put a coin in one of these little machines, and a light bulb will come on in one of the fake candles. I think it's really corny, not to mention commercialized--if I were inclined to light candles, I would probably feel a little cheesy turning on a light bulb. But whatever floats their boat. I guess it cuts down on fire hazard, right?

Well, I guess that's it for today. Ciao, ragazzi!