A city of open doors
Rome has hundreds of churches, and many of them contain art that would be the star of a museum anywhere else. Most are free to enter, which makes church-hopping one of the best ways to see world-class painting and sculpture on any budget. All you need is respectful clothing, a little patience with opening times and a coin or two for the lighting boxes that illuminate some chapels.
The walk below links a handful of highlights in the historic centre and can be done in a morning.
Caravaggio's Rome
Start near Piazza Navona at San Luigi dei Francesi, the French national church. In a side chapel hang three paintings by Caravaggio on the life of Saint Matthew, including the famous Calling of Saint Matthew, in which a beam of light picks out the tax collector at his table. The drama of light and shadow changed European painting.
Nearby, the church of Sant'Agostino holds his Madonna of Loreto, with pilgrims' dirty feet in the foreground, a detail that shocked contemporaries. At the northern edge of the centre, Santa Maria del Popolo contains two more of his works, the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, alongside a chapel designed by Raphael.
Bernini and Michelangelo
A short walk from Termini, the small church of Santa Maria della Vittoria contains Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, a marble sculpture of overwhelming theatricality, framed by sculpted family members watching from boxes as if at the theatre.
Near the Colosseum, San Pietro in Vincoli houses Michelangelo's powerful Moses, part of the unfinished tomb of Pope Julius II, as well as the chains said to have bound Saint Peter. And of course the Pantheon, a nearly two-thousand-year-old temple that became a church, is a marvel of Roman engineering, its great dome open to the sky through a central oculus.
Visiting respectfully
Churches are places of worship first. Shoulders and knees should be covered, and visitors are expected to stay quiet and avoid moving around during Mass. Many churches close for a few hours around midday, so plan morning and late afternoon visits.
The Pantheon now has a modest entry charge for most visitors, so it is no longer completely free, but it remains one of the best-value experiences in the city.
Good to know
- Carry a light scarf or shawl to cover shoulders when entering churches.
- Keep some small coins for the lighting machines in darker chapels.
- Avoid visiting during services, and check times on the church door.