The Angelus was painted by JF Millet (1814-1875) in 1859. His early life was spent in rural France working on the family farm whilst being instructed in the classics by the priests from the local parish. Millet inherited his father’s artistic talent and as a boy copied prints from the Bible and so his artistic […]
In 1823, Saint Paul Outside the Walls basilica, Rome, was destroyed in a terrible fire. During the reconstruction works in 1838, a splendid sarcophagus from the 4th century AD was found near St Paul’s tomb. The beauty and the profound nature of the Biblical scenes that were sculpted on the face of the tomb, has […]
The Immaculate Conception and the Column in the Piazza di Spagna, Rome The column of the Immaculate Conception is situated next to the Piazza di Spagna in the adjacent Piazza Mignanelli in front of the Spanish Embassy in Rome near the Palace of the Propagation of the Faith. It was realised by the architect Luigi […]
Francesco Podesti (1800 –1895), the skilled painter and portrait artist, was entrusted with the task of realising a work to commemorate the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the Vatican. The work was to be frescoed onto the walls of the Borgia Tower, in a room that is adjacent to Raphael’s Fire […]
The 21st November is the World Day of Cloistered Life —Pro Orantibus Day (“For Those Who Pray”). It was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1953 on the day in which we celebrate the liturgical feast of the presentation of Mary in the Temple. To honour this special day, we visit the Chapel of the […]
In Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, pilgrims venerate the statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace, a powerful symbol of hope in a world marred by war and violence. The Statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace Inside the basilica, the remarkable statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace draws the faithful […]
Giovan Battista Salvi, otherwise known as Sassoferrato (1609-1685), is an artist of the 17th Century whose career was distinguished by the painting of great portraits and devotional images particularly of the Virgin Mary. Indeed, he is often referred to affectionately as the “painter of the Madonna’s”. His natural style, that depicted his subjects with a […]
A city like Rome, with its abundance of history and art, can, at times, produce sentiments of inadequacy and disorientation. Here we can find places that open our minds to the possibility of a recuperation of our Christian identity and roots. For a moment, let us abandon the noisy hub-bub of the streets and try […]
Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, better known as Pietro Perugino (1450-1523), was an Umbrian painter of the High Renaissance who realised the exceptional fresco entitled ‘The Handing of the Keys to St Peter’ between 1481/2 in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome. The fresco forms part of a series of mural decorations that gave the Sistine […]
In 1603, Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, commissioned Michael Angelo Merisi, otherwise known as Caravaggio, to produce the masterpiece called “The Sacrifice of Isaac” which is now displayed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. As a young artist, Caravaggio learned how to paint in the workshop of Simone Peterzano by studying life forms, […]