Rome, Italy -- Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri


In 2006, the college chorus I was a member of took a concert tour of Italy. One of the cities visited was Rome (of course!). We toured many fine churches in that city, one of which was the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, which was built in the 16th Century within the ruins of the Roman Baths of Diocletian in the Piazza della Repubblica. In 1561, Pope Pius IV ordered the church to be dedicated to "the Most Blessed Virgin of all the Angels and Martyrs".

Pope Clement XI commissioned the astronomer, mathematician, archaeologist, historian and philosopher Francesco Bianchini to build a meridian line, a sort of sundial, within the basilica. Completed in 1702, the object had a threefold purpose: to check the accuracy of the Gregorian reformation of the calendar, to produce a tool to predict Easter exactly, and, not least, to give Rome a meridian line as important as the one Giovanni Domenico Cassini had recently built in Bologna's cathedral, San Petronio. This feature is a major tourist attraction. Around noon each day, the Sun shines through a small hole in the south wall, casting a small circle of light onto the Meridian, which is marked with the dates.

These photos have had minimal post-processing.

Exterior views

DSC_0778.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0780.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the entrance)

Interior views

DSC_0781.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the dome)


DSC_0782.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0788.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0790.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (an Altar)


DSC_0789.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0785.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the Great Organ)


DSC_0797.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the famous Meridian)


DSC_0799.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the hole through which the Sun shines)

Rome, Italy -- Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri


In 2006, the college chorus I was a member of took a concert tour of Italy. One of the cities visited was Rome (of course!). We toured many fine churches in that city, one of which was the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, which was built in the 16th Century within the ruins of the Roman Baths of Diocletian in the Piazza della Repubblica. In 1561, Pope Pius IV ordered the church to be dedicated to "the Most Blessed Virgin of all the Angels and Martyrs".

Pope Clement XI commissioned the astronomer, mathematician, archaeologist, historian and philosopher Francesco Bianchini to build a meridian line, a sort of sundial, within the basilica. Completed in 1702, the object had a threefold purpose: to check the accuracy of the Gregorian reformation of the calendar, to produce a tool to predict Easter exactly, and, not least, to give Rome a meridian line as important as the one Giovanni Domenico Cassini had recently built in Bologna's cathedral, San Petronio. This feature is a major tourist attraction. Around noon each day, the Sun shines through a small hole in the south wall, casting a small circle of light onto the Meridian, which is marked with the dates.

These photos have had minimal post-processing.

Exterior views

DSC_0778.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0780.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the entrance)

Interior views

DSC_0781.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the dome)


DSC_0782.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0788.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0790.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (an Altar)


DSC_0789.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr


DSC_0785.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the Great Organ)


DSC_0797.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the famous Meridian)


DSC_0799.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr (the hole through which the Sun shines)