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Santa Maria del Popolo is an awesome church to visit because it's so easy to get to, being very close to the Flaminio metro stop in Piazza del Popolo, and it has spectacular artwork inside by Caravaggio and Bernini, and, it has lots of skeletons and a dragon! Piazza del Popolo was the ancient burial grounds of the Domitia family, the most famous of which was the evil Emperor Nero. After Nero’s burial here, Romans believed that the area became haunted by demons. There grew a walnut tree that often had black crows in it, and these birds were thought to be the physical embodiment of the demons. In 1099, Pope Paschal II cut down this walnut tree and founded Santa Maria del Popolo on the site. Maybe this explains the abundance of symbols of death in this church.
The exterior of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in PIazza del Popolo. The entrance to the church is at the top of those dozen steps near the left edge of the photo. See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Bernini has two sculptures in the Chigi Chapel, on the left side of this church. One (1st - 3rd photos below) are of "Habakkuk with the Angel". Habakkuk is carrying a basket of bread. The angel took him by the hair and transported him to Babylon to help Daniel in the lion's den, who needed food, and is shown in the other Bernini sculpture in the chapel, of "Daniel and the Lion" (4th and 5th photos below). Daniel is kneeling, his head upturned, his lips parted, and his hands raised, asking for deliverance from the lion’s den. At Daniel’s feet is a lion, but strangely, the lion is licking Daniel. This implies the story’s ending, in which Daniel’s prayers are answered. The Chigi Chapel is an extremely ornate burial chapel designed by Raphael for a wealthy banker Agostino Chigi. It is the second chapel on the left side of the church. It is the setting for one of the scenes in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, in which the sculpture of "Habakkuk and the Angel" is one of the four markers leading to the Illuminati's secret lair. The pyramid-shaped tomb, shown in the 6th photo below, and two other sculptures in the chapel are shown in the 7th and 8th photos below. The pyramid is stretched vertically way beyond what an Egyptian pyramid with equal sides and base would be, becoming more like an obelisk.
Bernini's Habakkuk with the Angel, in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Angel and Habakkuk sculpture, by Bernini, in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Bernini's Habakkuk with the Angel, in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Bernini's Prophet Daniel, in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Bernini's Prophet Daniel, in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Pyramidal tomb of Agostino Chigi in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Lorenzetto's Prophet Jonah, in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Montelupa's The Prophet Elijah, in the Chigi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Bernini's sculptures are arranged to lead the viewer to the God. Habakkuk is one of the first things to catch your attention when you enter the chapel, his angel points to Daniel, and Daniel's eyes look directly at the mosaic of God the Father in the ceiling. But Bernini also provides a nice contrast on the floor (See photo below). Above the entrance to the crypt, Bernini added a marble figure of Death, as a circular slab of black marble with a skeleton in the center. The dark background creates the illusion that the viewer is looking directly through the floor into the crypt, while the skeleton, with wings and bent knees, appears to be lunging out of the crypt while carrying the Chigi coat of arms. Gotta love Bernini.
A skeleton in the floor mosaic in the Chigi CHapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
And finally, in the Chigi Chapel, here is the dome made from mosaics by Raphael.
The mosaics of Raphael in the Dome of the Chigi Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Cerasi Chapel is another very famous chapel on the left side of the church due to it holding three masterpiece Renaissance paintings, two by Caravaggio and one by Carracci.
Annibale Carracci's Assumption of the Virgin Mary, above the altar of the Cerasi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. The rather crowded composition is organized around a triad of figures: the Virgin rising from the empty tomb (surrounded by a retinue of angels) and the two apostles gazing upwards in awe. All three wear robes in bright primary colours: blue over red (Mary), yellow over blue (Peter) and pink over green (Paul). The remaining space around the sarcophagus is filled with nine other apostles, bringing their overall number to eleven. See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Caravaggio's 'Crucifixion of Saint Peter', in the Cerasi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. The painting depicts the martyrdom of St. Peter. According to ancient and well-known tradition, Peter, when he was condemned to death in Rome, requested to be crucified upside-down because he did not believe that a man is worthy to be killed in the same manner as Jesus Christ. The large canvas shows the three executioners fighting to straighten the cross. Peter is already nailed to the rafters, his hands and feet are bleeding. The apostle is practically naked, which emphasizes his vulnerability. He is an old man, with a gray beard and a bald head, but his aging body is still muscular, suggesting considerable strength. He rises from the cross with great effort, turning his whole body, as if he wants to look towards something that is out of the picture (God). His eyes do not look at the executioners but he has a lost look. See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Caravaggio's 'The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Way to Damascus', in the Cerasi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. The conversion of Paul from persecutor to apostle is a well-known biblical story. According to the New Testament, Saul of Tarsus was a zealous Pharisee, who intensely persecuted the followers of Jesus, even participating in the stoning of Stephen. He was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus to arrest the Christians of the city. As he drew near Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" He said, “Who are You, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” The painting depicts this moment recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, except Caravaggio has Saul falling off a horse (which is not mentioned in the story) on the road to Damascus, seeing a blinding light and hearing the voice of Jesus. See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The second chapel on the right side is the Cybo Chapel, with its painting above the altar of Immaculate Conception and Saints, by Carlo Maratta.
The Cybo Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, with Carlo Maratta's painting of the 'Disputation over the Immaculate Conception' See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Cybo Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, with Carlo Maratta's painting of the 'Disputation over the Immaculate Conception' See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Cybo Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, with Carlo Maratta's painting of the 'Disputation over the Immaculate Conception' and the 'Tomb of Alderano Cybo' by Francesco Cavallini on the left wall See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Cybo Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, with Carlo Maratta's painting of the 'Disputation over the Immaculate Conception' See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Francesco Cavallini's 'Tomb of Alderano Cybo' on the left wall of the Cybo Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Francesco Cavallini's 'Tomb of Alderano Cybo' on the left wall of the Cybo Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Monument of Francesco Mantica has an awesome skull-and-crossbone at its base.
The skull and crossbones, carved in yellow stone, at the bottom of the monument of Francesco Mantica, in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The tomb of Giovanni Battista Gisleni has an even-more-awesome shrouded skeleton behind bars at its base.
The tomb of Giovanni Battista Gisleni in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The bottom part of the tomb of Giovanni Battista Gisleni in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Another awesome macabre feature in this church is the Winged Dragon, symbol of the Boncompagni family, at the bottom of the Monument of Maria Eleonora Boncompagni. It looks like there might be Opus Sectile work both above the dragon and below it. This is a great excuse for me to go back to Rome someday, to determine whether my guess from these sketchy photos is right or not.
The Winged Dragon, symbol of the Boncompagni family, at the bottom of the Monument of Maria Eleonora Boncompagni in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Winged Dragon, symbol of the Boncompagni family, at the bottom of the Monument of Maria Eleonora Boncompagni in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Winged Dragon, symbol of the Boncompagni family, at the bottom of the Monument of Maria Eleonora Boncompagni in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
The Winged Dragon, symbol of the Boncompagni family, at the bottom of the Monument of Maria Eleonora Boncompagni in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Other features of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo
The Altar of the Right Transcept, designed by Bernini, with the 1659 painting Visitation by Giovanni Maria Morandi, and angels sculpted by Arrigo Giarde (left) and Ercole Ferrata (right), in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
Monument to Odoardo Cicada, ca 1545, marble, in the Chapel of St. Rita da Cascia, in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo See all Santa Maria del Popolo photos.
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