inSPIREd Sunday

Here's a detail from Christ Church Cathedral,
in Port Stanley, capital of the Falklands.

And those huge white things
outside the church are
the jawbones of a couple
of very large whales.
(BTW, now that they're
protected the whales are
starting to come back
in the Southern Ocean.)

[To see more churches
(with or without whalebones)
from around the world,
go here.]

the chapel

Late-afternoon shadows fall across the
Agnietenkapel, at the University
of Amsterdam.  We came back to this
neighborhood after dark, to check
out the famous red light district, right
around the corner: an extreme example of the
difference between night and day!

[Linking back to Sunday Shadows
and inSPIREd Sunday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

A detail in Saint-Sulpice, a 17th-century
church in Paris—and the city's second-largest,
only slightly smaller than Notre Dame.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is a small part of the Catholic church
of Franciscus Xaverius, in Amsterdam.
It was filled with people when
I just happened to step in at 5 on a Saturday.
Now I know they have a high mass,
sung in English, on Saturdays at 5:15—in case.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

in the corner

I showed you the exterior of this old church
on Friday.  Here's the interior—
so simple. I love it.

[Linking back to inSPIREd Sunday
and Shadow Shot Sunday.]

Santa Maria della Salute

This 17th-century Venice basilica, which
was built in thanks for deliverance
from an outbreak of plague, is not big on
bling but filled with lovely
shapes and shadows.

[Linking back to The Weekend in Black and White
and to inSPIREd Sunday.]

(Relatively) New

The 17th-century church of 
Santi Luca & Martina fits right in
among the ruins of the
Roman forum.

[Linking back to The Weekend in Black
and White,  inSPIREd Sunday, and
Skywatch Friday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the chapel of St. John the Baptist
in the Frari church, in Venice . . .

and here's a closer look 
at Donatello's ascetic Baptist,
sculpted in wood 579 
years ago.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This church was undergoing restoration when
 I visited Rome back in May.  It's 
Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte (Prayer and Death) . . .

which may explain this symbolism that
appears in multiple places on the façade.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Here's simple side altar in the basilica of
San Miniato al Monte, which has sat
on a hilltop overlooking Florence since 1018.
It's well worth climbing the hill
to visit this beautiful Romanesque church
(and its equally beautiful cemetery,
if you're into that sort of thing).

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

I believe I've shown a few side chapels
and details of this church—
Sant'Andrea della Valle, in Rome.
Here's the beautiful main altar (and a
bit of the ornate organ too).

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

a quiet spot

I love all the bright colors in Santa Croce
 in Florence, but I also think that this
light-filled corridor outside the sacristy is one 
of the most beautiful parts of this church.

[Linking back to inSPIREd Sunday
and Shadow Shot Sunday.]

whose foot?

This gold reliquary, in the church of
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, in Rome,
holds the foot of Mary Magdalene . . .

or so they claim.  I guess you
just have to take it on faith.

[Linking back to inSPIREd Sunday
and Shadow Shot Sunday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the Barberini chapel, in the church 
of Sant'Andrea della Valle.  Opera
buffs will recognize it as the setting for the 
opening scene of Puccini's Tosca.

[To see more churches from 
around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Here's a doorway detail of a little
off-the-beaten-track church,
San Crisogono, which is in Trastevere.
It was built in the 4th century,
rebuilt in the 12th, and finally again
in the early 1600s.
[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the church of Sant'Eustachio, in Rome.
It was originally built in the 8th century,
restored in the 12th, and almost completely rebuilt
in the 17th and 18th centuries.
                             

Like so many Roman churches,
the present-day city has
built up around it—you turn
a corner, and voilà.

The stag with the cross is
the symbol of St. Eustace
(though I don't know why).

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the sanctuary of Santa Maria 
ai Monti, in the very hip
Monti neighborhood of Rome.

[To see more places of worship from
around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is Santa Maria in Aracoeli, in Rome,
way up at the top of the Capitoline Hill.
I've been wanting to see the inside 
of this church for years.  Finally, last month, 
I climbed up there only to be stopped
at the door because there was a wedding
taking place.  The guard decided to
let us in, though—and I'm so glad.  There are
many, many gorgeous churches in Rome, 
but none with dozens of chandeliers like this one.
(And the wedding was beautiful too,
and bilingual: French bride, Italian groom.)

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

letting in the light

The church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
opened its doors very early one 
morning last month for part of a 
series of special musical performances 
(check it out if you understand Italian)—this 
one started at 5:30 a.m.!

[Linking back to The Weekend in Black and White,
Shadow Shot Sunday, and inSPIREd Sunday.] 

inSPIREd Sunday

Don't forget to look up—especially when
you're visiting a church in Italy.
This is Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli,
in Rome (which I also featured here).

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]