The Mosaics (Roma part Quatro)

Ever since our private tour with our beloved Elissa in Naples, I have been more interested in the art of mosaics.  It permeated ancient Rome and it carried over into early Christian art.

Rome is a treasure trove of early Christian mosaic art and we were not disappointed. Some of the churches we visited were built before the fifth century AD and you can see how their art and architecture spilled over from ancient Roman art and architecture.

Old and New

Right at the top of the Aventine Hill, two short blocks away from our hotel, are the Santa Sabina church and the Benedictine Abbey.

Santa Sabina is the oldest original ecclesiastical basilica in Rome, built in the early fifth century and named for the woman whose house was originally on this site. She was probably an early converted Christian who was beheaded under Hadrian’s rule for her faith.

What makes this church remarkable is its surviving architecture that takes its form from the Imperial Roman style.

The Pope visits here as part of the Ash Wednesday Penitential Procession from the Benedictine Abbey to Santa Sabina. (As an aside, Thomas Aquinas used to stay here from time to time.)

There are only two mosaics here, but they are doozies:

Tomb of the Master General of the
Dominican Order,
Munio di Zamora (early 14th c)

One other thing about this church:  it has the original cedar carved doors from AD432 one panel of which contains perhaps the oldest known publicly displayed depiction of the crucifixion of Christ. 

The uppermost left-hand panel, courtesy of
Wikipedia

The newer church on our hill is the chapel in the Primatial Abbey of Sant' Anselmo. This is a much newer building, dating from the late 19th early 20th century.  It’s a massive complex: 

The chapel is open to the public.  

The mosaic dome at the front of the chapel

Two side altars

 A whole lot of gold embellishes this chapel.

The cool thing about their Sunday morning mass:  the brothers perform a Gregorian chant throughout the mass.  

And they don't pass the hat! (They must have really rich patrons.) They have a great shop with all sorts of handmade stuff, including candles and rosaries and herbal teas, etc.

This little area on top of the Aventine and adjacent to the Benedictine Abbey, the piazza Cavalieri di Malta,

The Piazza Cavalieri di Malta with the Benedictine 
Abbey in the background

has one other interesting tourist attraction. We call it The Holy Keyhole of Malta. It’s really called The Knights of Malta Keyhole.  Take a peek through it and see St. Peter’s Dome:

Next up, more mosaics.