PLACES TO VISIT

The Vatican Museums are a vast complex in Vatican City, offering miles of wide- ranging historical, artistic and cultural itineraries of great interest: from Egyptian art to contemporary graphics. The Vatican became the pope’s official residence in the mid-15th century, a time when the Vatican Library and the Sistine Chapel were constructed. The stories of Moses and Christ were painted on the walls by Perugino and Botticelli, and the recently restored frescoes of Michelangelo in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were done by Michelangelo have regained their original colors.

Other notable works in the Vatican Museums include the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Maps, the Pinacoteca, the Carriage Pavilion, and the Bramante Staircase. There are 54 museums in total, containing the world’s largest collection of art that spans 9 miles. Each year, the Vatican Museums welcome an average of 6 million visitors.

Chiesa di Sant’Anna de’ Palafrenieri, the church that is now located within the Vatican, was constructed in the 16th century and began to be used in 1583. On May 30, 1929 Pius XI established the Pontifical Parish of Saint Anne in the Vatican, entrusting its pastoral care to the Augustinians. The first parish priest was Father Agostino Ruelli, appointed on August 7, 1929. On August 18 of that same year, the Augustinians commenced their ministerial service within the parish—a service that continues to this day on behalf of the Holy See, the City of Rome, and the entire Universal Church

Directly connected to the fourteenth century studium generale in Rome, the Augustinian Patristic Pontifical Institute is a pontifical institute in Rome under the Order of St. Augustine. The institute focuses on the study of patristic theology and the history and theology of the Church Fathers.

Located in the square of the same name, the Basilica of Sant'Agostino was one of the first Roman churches of the Renaissance, and its origins date back to the 14th century when the Augustinians decided to build a new structure for their convent. The new church, completed in 1420, however, was too small for the needs of the community and too low concerning the Tiber; so, it was rebuilt between 1479 and 1483 by Jacopo di Pietrasanta and Sebastiano Fiorentino, by order of Cardinal Guillaume d’Estouteville.

Built near via della Scrofa, it was demolished in 1746, when Luigi Vanvitelli enlarged the convent of Sant’Agostino. In 1756, the architect also radically transformed the interior of the church and the dome, the first Renaissance dome in Rome. He also added the lateral spirals of the façade and modified the 15th-century belfry into a square tower. The two-orders façade is covered with travertine blocks coming, according to tradition, from the Colosseum. The Latin cross interior is divided into three naves, with five chapels on each of the side aisles, a transept and an apse flanked by other chapels.

Entering, on the right is the famous "Madonna del Parto" (1516) by Jacopo Tatti known as "il Sansovino", a sculpture venerated as protecting women in childbirth and full of ex-voto. The central nave is framed by pillars supporting round arches, above which are 12 stories of the life of the Virgin Mary. On the third left pillar is a marble group representing “Madonna and Child with St. Anne” by Andrea Sansovino, around which all the poets of Rome used to affix their poems on the day dedicated to the saint. The same pillar is decorated with a fresco by Raphael, depicting the "Prophet Isaiah" (1512), flanked by two putti. In the first chapel on the left, there is the famous painting of the "Madonna of the Pilgrims" by Caravaggio (1604).

On the main altar, built in 1627 to a design by Bernini and made by Orazio Torriani, is the Byzantine icon "Virgin with Child" from the church of Santa Sofia in Constantinople. Of particular importance, the altarpiece depicting S. Agostino between S. Giovanni Battista and S. Paolo Eremita by Guercino and on the sides "S. Augustine washes the feet of the Redeemer" and St Augustine Defeating Heresy by Lanfranco, in the chapel of the right transept dedicated to the saint.

The church also houses some illustrious tombs: in addition to that of Santa Monica, cardinals Lorenzo and Renato Imperiali, the penultimate daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent Contessina de 'Medici and Cardinal Girolamo Verallo. In the past, the remains of famous court ladies were also curiously present, such as Fiammetta, Cesare Borgia's favourite lover, Giulia Campana, Tullia d'Aragona and her sister Penelope. Today the tombs have all disappeared. The court ladies were regular frequenters of the Basilica and had dedicated seats in the front rows to prevent the believers from looking at them and be distracted during the religious functions.