CHIESA NUOVA

Chiesa Nuova means “new church” but of course by now it is no longer new. The official name is Santa Maria in Vallicelli, Our Lady in the Little Valley, but everyone calls it Chiesa Nuova. Construction began in 1575 and it was consecrated by the end of that century. This church had no interior decoration when first built, in keeping with the wishes of Father Neri. After his passing, the church brought in major painters and sculptors to create the extremely elaborate decorations that we see today.

Chiesa Nuova will dazzle you with marvelous Baroque-style paintings on the ceiling and dome, along with carved angels and shimmering gold all set in a vast, spiritual space. The murals were created by the most famous ceiling painter of the day, Pietro da Cortona, who created one of his great masterpieces here. This is a sight not to be missed, and it’s also good place to sit down and rest.

Notice the two sets of golden organ pipes on both sides, recently renovated and glistening like solid gold. Chiesa Nuova was built for a priest named Father Filippini Neri, who was a great leader of the church and founder of the order of the Oratorians, which still has branches throughout the world.

The small chapel left of the altar contains a lovely painting of St. Neri. Saint Neri believed in a life of joy, simplicity and humility. To become a member of the order in his day, you had to wear donkey ears, a burlap sack and parade through town, showing your humility. A door to the left of the small chapel leads to the sacristy, where you could purchase postcards of the church and also inquire about the toilet if you are in need.

The large angels along the upper portion of the nave are crafted in the style of Bernini, although he played no direct role in decorating this church. You will be seeing many works by Bernini during your visit to Rome, who, along with Michelangelo, was the greatest of all Italian sculptors, and his indirect influence is certainly noticeable in this church. The angels are made from stucco, a marble dust mixed with plaster and molded, then polished to look like marble that was carved. You will find stucco sculpture in many churches; it’s very durable and makes a very nice, smooth surface.

Immediately adjacent to Chiesa Nuova is the Oratorio, which, although it looks like another church from the outside, contains offices and facilities associated with Chiesa Nuova, including a small avant-garde theater and the oldest public library in Rome.

The Oratorio is notable because of the beautiful curving façade that was designed by Borromini in his typical style, combining the concave with the convex in his special undulating rhythm. There is quite a contrast in architectural styles between these two façades: the curving Borromini-esque on the left, and the plain white Chiesa Nuova on the right. While outside facing the pretty building, you will soon be walking along the alley on the left side, but first consider a food diversion.

If for some reason you are here during lunch time and are hungry, or want to make note of the location of a great restaurant to find later, return across the busy Via Vittorio Emanuele and walk over to the excellent restaurant, Da Luigi, on the first corner to your right. This classic spot is an authentic local eatery where you can have an excellent meal, choosing from their diverse menu of fresh pasta, pizza, fish, meats, salads and antipasto buffet. You will find few tourist in this typical Roman restaurant since it is away from the main sightseeing and hotel districts, yet close enough you can easily come back here for a fine meal.

You are welcome to have a look in the kitchen of this friendly eatery, where you can observe the true Italian system of cooking pasta: boil fresh (hand-made) noodles for a few minutes, then sauté in a pan over flames, swirling together with sauce that combines all the food ingredients in a heavenly combination. Italy has banned cigarette smoking inside restaurants, so for clean air choose an inside table; however the real action takes place outdoors on Da Luigi’s extensive terrace in this small Piazza Sforza Cesarini.

Walk around the left side of Chiesa Nuova and Oratorio, along Via d. Filippini, and you’ll see a beautiful clock tower at the back corner, the Orologia, designed by Borromini. Notice Borromini’s typical convex and concave curves on the little façade of the clock tower. This neighborhood is just filled with interesting streets – you could come back and wander for hours, but we save that area for the end of Walk 3.

Via di Monserrato and Via Giulia

From Chiesa Nuova retun back over Corso Vittorio to the same place you came from, back into the warren of little lanes.Walk towards Piazza Farnese Palace along Via di Monserrato, one of the many quaint, charming little streets in this neighborhood, and then turn onto Via Giulia, which is a relatively wide, straight road. Giulia was a major thoroughfare during the Renaissance about 500 years ago, leading from downtown to the Vatican, lined with palaces which have been divided up into expensive apartments. Notice how many doorbells you find at each of the many large doorways.

The arch across the street connects the Farnese Palace with their private church. The road is named after Pope Julius II, the great Pope who hired Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel and also commissioned Raphael to paint his private rooms in the Vatican during the Renaissance.

Over the centuries this neighborhood went up and down in quality, but it has thoroughly bounced back now as a very expensive, restored district with exclusive apartments in the former palaces and a few art galleries, antique shops and offices at ground level. Centrally-located housing like this has extra value because residents don’t have to fight rush-hour traffic, and instead can walk to work.

You will probably see some restoration work on old furniture and antiques, sometimes out in front of a shop. These streets are not strictly reserved for pedestrians, so walk on the side, be aware, and listen up for cars. There are often no sidewalks, so you will need to walk in the street, but keep your ears open for the few cars, scooters and tiny little trucks zipping past. You will love walking through these cobblestone lanes, peeking into the little courtyards and admiring the façades. Many of these buildings are 400 years old and have been continuously occupied.

These lanes are so photogenic they are often used as locations for feature films, TV programs and model shoots. It’s very rewarding in your travels to have some time when you can simply walk through these peaceful, residential streets. They’re very historic but they don’t have major headline monuments -- it’s a meander that takes you off the beaten track and into the neighborhoods where actual Romans live and few tourists ever venture.

Summary video looking ahead to Viu Giulia, Ponte StAngelo,V Coronari

Continue on to Piazza Farnese.