Side door to the Basilica of San Clemente. At first glance, this basilica appears to be 18th century baroque. However, it has a very deep history. It is actually a construction of four levels spanning 22 centuries. The fourth, or lowest level, contains the unexcavated remains of houses burned during Nero’s fire in the 1st century BC. The third level was partially occupied by a large house known as a Christian refuge in the 1st century AD and later. (Next to the house on this level is also the remains of a Mithric temple.) The next level is the 4th century basilica, called St. Clement, that was built over the house after Constantine made Christianity legal. The church in use today is the top level and was built in the 11th century. This “newer” structure has been a place of worship for 900 years. Those 900 years have seen many embellishments that result in what you see today at the Basilica of San Clemente. (Last year during Lent, I posted some other pictures of the basilica.
Click here.)
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.
"A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1
"On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious." Isaiah 11:10
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Florence Berger, professor emiteria at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, writes of one monastic community where on December 19th the gardener gave the community some of his finest dried or preserved fruits when he called on Christ: 'O Root of Jesse, come and deliver us and delay no longer.'
A Madonna and Child surrounded by Angels on the corner of a building across from the Emergency Entrance of Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital on the Janiculum Hill.
Babbo Natale brought Vincenzo a bread machine for the first day of Christmas. Here is his first loaf on the table for breakfast on the feast of St. Stephen, the second day of Christmas.
The front doors to the Church of Santo Volto di Gesù. This 21st century church was built in 2006 for the Parish of the Holy Face of Jesus. It was designed by architects Piero Sartogo and Nathalie Grenon.
Door of the Villa Medici, now the French Academy. The Villa was built in 1564 above what is now the Spanish Steps. The French Academy was established in a different building in Rome in the 17th century by the “Sun King” Louis XVI and moved by Napoleon when he occupied Rome, after buying the villa from Florence’s Medici family.
In context, this door is dwarfed by the large gates of the Aurelian Wall that open to the piazza from the Via Flaminia, the ancient road to Northern Italy.
Door on Piazza di Spagna. This is the entrance door to the apartment building where the English poet John Keats died, four months after his 25th birthday, in February of 1821. Keats had moved to Italy from London for a better climate because he was suffering from tuberculosis. The window of his room overlooked the Spanish Steps. Today the apartment is a museum dedicated to Keats and Shelly. Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelly, who died in 1822, were among the many Romantic English and American poets, writers and painters who lived in the area.
The Byzantine doors of the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura. The doors were donated by the Consul Pantaleone di Amalfi and produced in Constantinople by an artist named Theodoro in 1070. They were the main doors to the basilica before the fire of 1823. This fire almost completely destroyed the basilica and caused great damage to the doors. The reconstructed basilica was given a larger central door and in 1966, when the Restoration Laboratories of the Vatican Museum finally repaired the damage, the Byzantien doors were placed in the Holy Door opening facing inward to keep them from being exposed to the elements. They were further restored in 1999 by Sergio Angelucci, in preparation for the Jubilee of 2000. There are 54 panels on the doors, depicting Old and New Testament scenes as well as the martyrdom of the the apostles.
The front door to Ambrit Rome International School. The school where I teach has been in the facilities of the Vigna Pia since 1994. The 42-acre property was originally an agricultural training center established by Pope Pius IX in 1847. During the Italian revolution it was occupied by French troops. In 1859 Pius IX opened the facility as a residential school for young people released from prison. From 1916-1918 the Vigna Pia was operated as an Italian Military Hospital. In 1921 Pope Benedict XV gave the property to the Congregation of the Holy Family of Bergamo who continue to this day to use the Vigna Pia for youth work and parochial activity.
The April elections in Italy brought many changes to government, one of which was the defeat of parliament menber Vladimir Luxuria, the first transgender person to serve in the Italian parliament. This week, the actress-politician, who once famously traded her sequined costumes for more sober ensembles in which to conduct the nation's business, was voted the winner of Italy's "L'Isola dei Famosi" ("Celebrity Island"), a survival-themed reality program. As the winner she got €100,000, half of which she is donating to UNICEF.
The reality show, imported from the U.S. program "Survivor," took place on the beaches of Honduras over the course of six weeks and completed broadcasting last week on the government owned TV station Rai 2.
