Posted on 04/02/2016 3:58:56 PM PDT by NYer
After 30 years and millions of dollars of restoration, 1500-year-old Santa Maria Antiqua, buried beneath the Roman Forum by an earthquake in 847, has finally reopened to the public, and it is stunning:
“This church is the Sistine Chapel of the early Middle Ages,” Maria Andaloro, an art historian involved in the project, told Reuters.
“It collected the very best of figurative culture of the Christian world between Rome and Byzantium.”
Being buried by the earthquake saved the church from being altered in later centuries, particularly during the Counter-Reformation, said Prof Andaloro.
Among the most significant frescoes is a depiction of the Virgin Mary with child – one of the oldest known Christian icons in the world.
After the ninth century earthquake it was moved to another church in Rome but it has now been returned to Santa Maria Antiqua.
Christian iconography was often superimposed on earlier Byzantine art – a depiction of the angel Gabriel telling Mary she had been chosen to be the mother of Christ was painted on top of a Byzantine queen, for instance.
The church was built inside a vast complex of Roman buildings which were constructed in the first century AD under the rule of the Emperor Domitian.
“It is unique, not just among the hundreds of churches in Rome but also in the whole of Italy,” said Francesco Prosperetti, Rome’s superintendent of archaeology.
“It represents a forgotten period in the history of the Forum because of the earthquake that buried it.”
I found this line unintentionally amusing: “Being buried by the earthquake saved the church from being altered in later centuries, particularly during the Counter-Reformation…” Let’s be honest – the real dodged bullet here was the relentless aggiornamento of the 60s and 70s.
Hit the link for the full story and more pictures. If you search for it, you’ll find more pictures around the web, including at the World Monuments Fund page for the project.
Catholic ping!
Ping!
Interesting story.
Ha ha! Very true.
interesting how it has that uniquely catholic look, built to praise God in it’s design and art....unlike the plain jane ‘churches’ we around now...
Which translates as "Old St. Mary's."
Many of the churches in my area were built in the 70s in the "round" style, plain with little ornamentation. They told us this was how the early Christians did it. This doesn't seem to support that at all.
Rome has to be as interesting as any and more interesting than most.
you are correct, you have been fed a lie....this proves it.
Baltimore is the ancientest city of dem all...
Well, I've been to Baltimore a time or two, as well. The way she's going the Eternal City will outlive her by days without end...unless the Moslems take over. Then Rome will cease and Hajj City will begin.
Thanks for posting
Thanks for posting
I’m having trouble picturing how an earthquake swallows a whole church without crushing it.
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