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Michelangelo sculpture in Basilica di S. Maria sopra Minerva (photograph by Hallie Cohen) |
The Basilica di S. Maria sopra Minerva, the only remaining
Gothic cathedral in Rome, was celebrating its last mass of the day shortly after dusk. A choir singing "Oh Holy Night" peeled through the vaulted arches. The
streets were filled with the usual sightseers to the Pantheon which is right
around the corner. Minerva is the home to priceless works of art, amongst them
Filippino Lippi’s “Annunciation With St. Thomas of Aquino," Bernini’s “Memorial to Maria Raggi,” which turns marble into the illusion of fabric and Michelangelo’s “Statue of the Redeemer”—not to speak of the fact
that Fra Angelico is buried there. But what is most astonishing is the totally
inauspicious façade which belies the treasures to be found within. It’s a
metaphor for something, though one isn’t totally sure what. Rome certainly gets
its cards on the table, a walking and talking historical theme park. But sopra
Minerva is like that soft spoken kid who turns out to be a genius or
the shy wallflower with the wondrous soul. Hidden beauty is the theme here along with the notion of the play within the play or invisible worlds which lurk beneath
the surface of everyday reality. Perhaps the real significance lies in the word
sanctuary which means sacred place. What’s sacred is that which is enduring,
but it’s not always what’s immediately visible to the eye.
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