Daily Rome Shot 118

4 Comments

1. roma247 says:

   1 April 2021 at 12:43 PM

   When I first saw this photo, I immediately recognized it as a view down Corso Vittorio Emmanuele at Sant’Andrea della Valle, the church I used to pass every day as a student on my way to class. But then I second guessed myself because the foreshortening in the photo makes it look way too close to the Cancelleria palace there on the right. And there are a lot of churches in Rome that look very similar. So I had to double check (thank you Google Street View). I was of course correct the first time.
2. Bryan Baldwin says:

   1 April 2021 at 1:40 PM

   It’s the ‘Tosca’ church, no?
3. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf says:

   1 April 2021 at 3:19 PM

   Well done.
4. roma247 says:

   1 April 2021 at 3:46 PM

   Hmm…that is debatable. It is often assumed so. However, in the story of Tosca, the church of Sant’Andrea is meant to be located on the outskirts of town, such that there is a way for Angelotti to easily escape to Cavaradossi’s villa unseen. That would be impossible from Sant’Andrea della Valle, which is in the midst of the bustle of central Rome. The original play therefore names Sant’Andrea al Quirinale as its setting, which would make more sense from this standpoint.

   Unfortunately, that would be an unlikely setting for the actual action that takes place, since Sant’Andrea al Quirinale is a relatively small church that is in a relatively quiet area, so a) the side chapels are tiny and have no gates like the fictional Cappella degli Attavanti, which supposedly had a key and enough space to hide and change clothes, etc.; and b) there would not likely have been a grand Te Deum sung there with all the pomp and commotion featured at the end of act 1. Quite simply no room for that there.

   And finally, well, Sant’Andrea della Valle is closer to Palazzo Farnese, where Act 2 is set…

   So…that’s a long and contorted way of saying…yeah, I guess so. ;)

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