Daily Rome Shot 101

Photo by Bree Dail.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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One Comment

  1. ThePapalCount says:

    Well this is a busy corner and area and an important one too. Lots of stuff going on.
    Directly in the shot is the famous “Fountain of Moses” in the Largo S Sussana . A rather unflattering depiction of Moses, at least to my eye. But then I have Charlton Heston in my memory and the 16th century sculptor did not. This fountain dedicated to Moses is the end or terminus of the last Roman aqueduct constructed and it provided much needed water to this area of Rome. The fountain dates to 1580s. To the left of the shot is a corner church that is a must see especially for people with a devotion to St Teresa of Avila or to the Carmelite order. Inside S Maria della Vittoria is Bernini’s masterpiece of St Teresa in Ecstasy. It is to the left of the sanctuary in its own small side chapel. Its stunning.
    The art that surrounds Bernini’s work supports the movement you see in Bernini’s piece. A remarkable story to be told. Teresa writes about this incident in her diary. The church itself is terribly beautiful and a fitting place for this great artistic achievement.
    If you turn further to the left, outside the view of this shot, is the Church of Santa Susanna. This church was for many years the “American Church” in Rome given to the Paulist Fathers to administer by Benedict XV in the 1920s. It sits on the early foundations of a 3rd century church. For nearly 500 years a group of Cistercian nuns has continuously lived in the attached monastery. A grand ceremony was held in the 1920s to mark the beginning of the Paulist administration with Cardinal William O’Connell of Boston presiding. From that day until Cardinal Bernard Law, a few years ago, that church was always the Titular Church in Rome of the cardinals of Boston. It catered to English speaking pilgrims, primarily Americans living in Rome and Americans visiting Rome. You could order and collect tickets here for papal audiences and other events.
    While Mother Abbess gave over the control of the church to the Paulists back some 90 years ago Mother Abbess 90 years later wanted it back. It took some doing. Following a tug of war the Cistercians won out and the Paulists and the American community were given St Patrick’s Church near the via Veneto as a new base and its not too far away from this photograph. The cardinal titular of St Patrick’s is the Cardinal Archbishop of Toronto not Boston. Cardinal O’Malley of Boston’s titular church is the same S Maria della Vittoria, which is seen in the photograph, and which houses Bernini’s Ecstasy of St Teresa.
    If you turn to your right and out of the photo frame you would see the massive and massively expensive St Regis “Grand Hotel”. The Grand has been home to the rich and famous of every profession for well over a century. A little further down the street is Rome’s Termini railroad station and so much more.

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