We made a quick trip down to st. peter’s this morning, to catch the partially unveiled, life-size creche in the square. A spectacle is clearly forming; TV cameras setting up (complete with cranes), lots of people despite the impending downpours. The creche itself seemed to follow a 1950s disneyland aesthetic, if not more crude…
in the umbrella pines.
I’ve wanted to make a panorama of this space since we arrived here…
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They’ve got what you need. Electric water fountains, mini loaves of bread, every animal imaginable, tiny flickering fireplaces…
Dec. 8 was a national holiday here, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and I wanted to get a sense of what that means for Rome. I realized right away this a big family day out, and to me, it seemed to be the harbinger of the holiday season much like Thanksgiving in the U.S.
Audio – walking north across Ponte Sisto:
on the other side of ponte sisto - via dei pettinari
I went out in the morning and caught some of the services in churches along my walk. My first stop, at Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini, turned out to be the luckiest; I arrived just in time for some lovely early music.
My next stop was in another of my favorite churches, mainly for its name and location: Santa Barbara dei Librari, or Saint Barbara of bookbinders and printers, booksellers. It’s dedication has a complicated history. It’s tucked into the end of a tiny niche of a street; here’s a photo of the exterior at night from a couple months ago.
Exterior of Santa Barbara dei Librai at Night
When I went in yesterday, someone was playing the organ, whose pipes and keyboard are crammed into a tiny loft above the entrance. But the most interesting thing was the diorama installed in a window, depicting the church’s little corner street Dickensian style, with the nativity conveniently occurring on the front steps.
Then on to San Carlo ai Catinari, where it seemed like a Bishop gathering was taking place at the beginning of their service. What struck me there was how paparazzi-like the average Italian tourist was behaving, especially during a service where you’re technically not even supposed to visit, let alone hold your camera up above your head for flash photos. Even the people sitting in the pews were holding up cell phones. The best part were the people climbing up into the wood pulpit to snap a few choice views.
They also had slightly gaudy créche taking over one of the side chapels.
There were some nice moments of singing and swinging the incense:
The cats of Largo Argentina were out in full force, basking in the sun and enticing unknowing tourists into thinking that they’re actually friendly.
Intersection at the north end of the Largo:
Quickly stepped into Chiesa del Gesu, which was nice and glowy from the sunlight, Then further up to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva to see how the light was working on its ceiling. A modest service taking place there, with the familiar signs warning off tourists. Some kids were playing soccer against the facade.
Lots of people at Piazza Rotunda and the Pantheon.
Audio of weaving through the crowds from the Piazza through the Portico into the Pantheon interior:
Inside nearby Sant’Eustachio a priest was giving a husky reading:
I’m not aware of any st. nicholas celebrations in Rome , so I dug up some reminders.
Review of our recent project, up at Fredericks & Freiser through Jan. 7.
NYTimes.com article.
Borromini, 1642-1660
made a quick trip to the vatican post office, recorded some sound in the middle of the square. there was some work going on around the obelisk.
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Made it to Chiesa di Santa Maria dell’Orazione e Morte. A church run by an old foundation created to care for the remains of the unknown dead. There were once several crypts but they were destroyed when the Tiber walls were created, now there is only one crypt/’cemetarium’ left.
We were fortunate that the cemetarium was open; we were all alone down there. Still thinking about the vertebral chandeliers and their finger-bone details, and what they signify for the poor and forgotten…what were their makers thinking about?
As we were just about to climb up the stairs and out, someone turned off the lights…had a brief, comically terrifying moment.
