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Here, in no particular order, is my selection of ten of the Eternal City's finest churches:
 1. Sant’Ivo Alla Sapienza: The astonishing baroque church of Sant' Ivo Alla Sapienza breaks or bends most of the rules of classical architecture. It was the creation of one of the most original minds in the history of architecture, Francesco Borromini.
In 1632 Borromini was appointed to the post of architect to the Sapienza (Rome’s university), one of only two public posts that he ever held, and commissioned to build a church.
Borromini’s church closes the fourth side of the courtyard of the Palazzo della Sapienza. It was begun for Pope Urban VIII (a member of the Barberini family, whose coat of arms was made up of three bees) and completed under the pontificate of Alexander VII (whose coat of arms consisted of three small mounds surmounted by a star).
This original, if eccentric, architect came up with an extremely ingenious design, which is based on two equilateral triangles, interpenetrating to form a six-pointed star. While we know that the plan was originally intended to symbolize the bee of the Barberinis, head, body and four wings, Borromini must also have had in mind that the six-pointed star is the star of David, the accepted symbol of wisdom and therefore appropriate to the church of the Sapienza.
The symbolism, which underlies the plan, is continued in the decoration, which was not carried out until the pontificate of Alexander VII.
There are many references to the Chigi arms in alternate panels of the dome. Further allusions are continued in the narrow sections of the dome where they vie for attention with the six-pointed star of David.
 2. Santa Maria Sopra Minerva: Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is Rome’s only ‘Gothic’ church. It was built on the site of a Temple of Isis (erroneously thought to be a temple to Minerva, hence the name of the church) by the Dominicans, in 1280.
The church is the burial place of several popes as well as members of leading Roman families. The church also contains (most of) the mortal remains of Saint Catherine of Siena, one of Italy’s two patron saints (the other being St Francis of Assisi). The body is, in fact, missing its head,which was was given to the city of Siena, in 1385, as a trade off when its citizens demanded that Catherine be returned for interment in her native city.
The church is also the final resting place of the Florentine artist and Dominican monk, Fra Angelico, who died in Rome, in 1455.
> Michelangelo’s statue of the ‘Risen Christ’, which was unveiled in 1521. Christ is shown standing entirely naked, minus wounds, in a strong contrapposto attitude. He holds the cross and some of the instruments of the Passion.
> The Carafa Chapel with frescoes by the Florentine painter, Filippino Lippi. The chapel was the property of Oliviero Carafa (1430-1511), a scion of a very prominent Neapolitan family and an influential member of the Roman Curia.
> The Chapel of the Annunciation, which was commissioned by Cardinal Juan de Torquemada, a relative of the infamous Inquisitor General. The painting (1485) is by Antoniazzo Romano and depicts three tiny girls in white receiving their dowries while Torquemada looks on. In the Piazza outside the church stands Bernini’s elephant (actually carved by one of his pupils), a product of long consultation between the artist and Pope Alexander VII. The Pope wanted a monument to glorify his reign just as the obelisk in Piazza Navona celebrated the reign of Innocent X. The inscription explains that it takes a robust intelligence to uphold solid wisdom.
The obelisk dates back to the 6th century BC and belonged to a temple of Isis, the remains of which lie under the buildings on the opposite side of the church.
3. Santa Maria del Popolo: The 11th century church was rebuilt between 1472 and 1478 on the instruction of Pope Sixtus IV. The new church had to have a striking façade, as this was the first church most visitors to the city would see. The traditionally favoured projecting porch was rejected in favour of a façade based on ancient Roman temple fronts. The dome over the crossing was the first of the Roman renaissance. Octagonal in shape, it symbolizes the resurrection of Christ.
> Pinturicchio's frescoes in the Della Rovere Chapel. > Caravaggio's two paintings in the Cerasi Chapel.
The pilasters decorating the walls of the Della Rovere Chapel are some of the first examples of a style known as grottesche, derived from Roman wall paintings, which had only been recently discovered in Nero’s Domus Aurea. As the palace had been buried and filled with earth, the Renaissance artists, who had themselves lowered down on ropes, saw only the vaults, which were decorated with frescoes and stucco. The influence on subsequent art would be great. The two side doors to the church have lintels inscribed with the Pope’s name, one of them mispelt (SIXUS rather than SIXTUS).
 4. San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane: The exquisite church of San Carlo alle Fontane is also known as San Carlino, because of its small size. The church was built by Borromini for the Order of the Trinitarians. The architect was himself a member of the Order and it is thought that he expected to be buried in the church's crypt. Borromini was given the commission in 1634 and, though the church was consecrated in 1646, the architect only completed the design of the facade shortly before his death, in 1667.
The interior is a complex interplay of convex and concave surfaces using the triangle as a unifying device. The symbolism throughout is based on the Trinity.
As you might expect, given its designer, the cloister of San Carlino is as unusual as the church to which it belongs. The Blue Guide to Rome rightly describes the cloister as 'one of the most original architectural spaces in Rome'.
One of the most surprising aspects of the design can be seen in the corners, which should be supported by columns, but which Borromini leaves open.
 5. Santa Maria in Aracoeli: Santa Maria dell'Aracoeli was originally known as Sancta Maria in Capitolio. Its subsequent name derives from the tradition that an oracle during the time of the emperor Augustus foretold the birth of a son of God, to whose honour the Emperor raised an altar on the Capitol, an altar to heaven (ara+coeli).
The Franciscans took over the church in 1250, rebuilding it with a variety of ancient Roman columns.
The gilded wooden ceiling is richly coffered and commemorates the Battle of Lepanto (1571), credited with saving Christendom from the Turks. It was donated by Marcantonio Colonna, who fought with the troops of the Holy League.
The church sits atop a massive of flight of steps, which were built following the end of the great plague of 1347/8. Rome survived the plague largely unscathed and this was ascribed to the protection of the Virgin Mary. The steps, which were taken from the Temple of Quirinus on the Quirinale, were erected in gratitude. For centuries women wanting to become pregnant would climb the steps on their knees while praying.
> The first chapel on the right is decorated with frescoes by the Reniassance painter Pinturicchio, illustrating the life of a famous Franciscan, St Bernadino of Siena.
 6. San Giorgio in Velabro: The small church of San Giorgio in Velabro, which sits in one of the quietest spots in central Rome, is thought to have been founded in the 7th century. The velabrum or marsh is famous in legend as the spot where the shepherd Faustulus found the twins Romulus and Remus. The marsh was drained by the Cloaca Maxima during the 6th century BC. The simple interior of the church is divided by ancient columns into a nave and two aisles. The columns are capped with both Ionic and Corinthian capitals. The 13th century apsidal fresco, attributed to Pietro Cavallini, depicts St George amongst other figures and has been heavily restored.
The church is said to have been endowed with the head of St George by Pope Zaccaria in the 8th century. The saint, who was martyred in Palestine in 303, was very important in the Eastern church, hence its location here in the Greek enclave of the city. The saint’s head, sword and part of his banner lie in the confessio under the altar.
Note the curious image (left aisle) of the ‘Annunciation‘, in which Gabriel appears to Joseph while Mary cowers in the background. In 1993 the church’s medieval portico was destroyed in a bomb placed by the Mafia. It has since been carefully reconstructed.
 7. Sant’Ignazio: Named after the founder of the Jesuit Order, St Ignatius Loyola, the church of Sant' Ignazio was built between 1620 and 1656. The church was originally part of the Roman College, one of the Society’s earliest educational institutions, which was founded in 1551. By the early 17th century the College’s Chapel had become too small for its 2,000 students. Gregory XV, a college alumnus and the pope who had canonised Ignatius, in 1622, persuaded his fabulously rich nephew, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, to fund the building of a new church. It is most famous for its trompe l’oeil fresco of a dome. It was painted by the Jesuit painter, Fra Andrea Pozzo (1681-1701), and suggests the existence of a dome that is not really there! A disc, set halfway along the nave, is the place to stand for the best view. > The magnificent ceiling fresco of ‘The Apotheosis of St Ignatius’ (1691-4) by Fra Andrea Pozzo. The spectator stands and stares up at a recreation of heaven where the saint is receiving the Light of the Word of God as it proceeds from Christ. The attic story contains personifications of the four quarters of the world liberated from heresy and idolatry through the missionary work of the Jesuit order.
.JPG) 8. Santa Maria in Trastevere: Santa Maria in Trastevere is thought to be the oldest church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The present church stands on the site of several earlier ones and dates back to the 12th century. It was built during the pontificate of Innocent II (1130-43), who was a member of the Papareschi, a local Trastevere family.
The famous mosaic on the facade of the church probably dates back to the 13th century. The Virgin is surrounded by ten female figures with lamps (two of which are extinguished) thought by some to be a depiction of the wise and foolish virgins.
The nave re-uses columns from a number of ancient temples. As a result, the columns vary in size and material, some are topped with Ionic, others with Corinthian capitals.
> The 12th century mosaics in the apse of the church are devoted to the glorification of the Virgin. It is the earliest surviving depiction of Mary enthroned and seated beside her son. In the left corner, Innocent II is seen carrying a model of his church.
> Immediately below are a series of 13th century mosaics depicting scenes from the ‘Life of the Virgin’, the work of Pietro_Cavallini . In the centre of the apse below these panels is another mosaic by Cavallini with a representation of the donor, Cardinal Bernardo Stefaneschi , whose arms (crescent moons) can be seen at the base.
In the steps between the altar canopy and the Paschal Candlestick is a small fenestrella opening on to the spot where the famous fountain of oil is said to have gushed forth. From here there is a good view of the aisle with its Cosmatesque pavement and gilded ceiling, which was designed in 1617 by Domenichino, who also painted the panel of the ‘Assumption’ in the centre.
 9.San Clemente: San Clemente is one of the oldest as well as one of the most beautiful churches in Rome. It is in fact two churches, one sitting on top of the other. The lower church sits on buildings from both Imperial and Republican Rome. A visit to the church is to step back in time over 2,000 years.
The basilica at street level was built around 1100 under Pope Paschal II and replicated in form the earlier church. There is a nave and two aisles divided by marble and granite columns, a mosaic pavement and a white marble choir, which was transferred from the earlier church. For centuries this was thought to be the church that St Jerome visited in 392. However, there exists a second church dating back to the 4th century, which was filled in when the new church was built and then forgotten for eight centuries.
In 1857, an amateur archaeologist, Father Joseph Mullooly (since 1677 the church has been administered by Irish Dominican monks), dug his way through the rubble and made the discovery of his life. He had succeeded in unearthing the church mentioned by St Jerome, as early as 392. This was not an end to his discoveries, for below the newly excavated church, he came across an even older Roman building. Later excavations revealed yet a fourth building of the 1st century, destroyed by fire in 64AD.
 10. Santa Maria Maggiore: Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the great patriarchal basilicas (the other three being St John Lateran, St Peter’s and St Paul’s Outside the Walls). Built in the 5th century, after the Council of Ephesus (431) had decided to promote the veneration of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.
Excavations carried out beneath the church have revealed, 6 metres below the present pavement, a 1st century villa and 3rd century frescoes. The church is enclosed in an 18th century shell and is the only example of a basilica that has preserved its classical origins. When entering the interior we are impressed by the classical harmony of the whole building.
The ceiling of the nave was designed at the end of the 15th century by Giuliano da Sangallo for Pope Alexander VI and paid for by the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. Along the walls of the nave, above the architrave, are 36 mosaic panels most dating from the 5th century and depicting scenes from the Old Testament. The 5th century mosaics in the Triumphal Arch depict the ‘Annunciation’ and scenes from Christ’s childhood.
The 5th century apsidal mosaics were replaced at the end of the 13th century by a depiction of the ‘Virgin in Glory’, signed by the artist, Jacopo Torriti. The virgin, sitting on the same throne as Christ, is represented as the Mother of God, in accordance with the conclusions of the Council of Ephesus, 431. Other mosaics illustrate events in the Virgin’s life.
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