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Santa Maria degli Angeli
Rome's Santa Maria degli Angeli is a church designed by Michelangelo to inhabit the remains of an ancient Roman bathhouse...you'd think it'd be more famous.
Piazza della Repubblica/Via Cernaia 9
tel. +39-06-488-0812
www.santamariadegliangeliroma.it
Open daily 7am–6:30pm (Sunday to 7:30pm)
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The interior of Rome's Santa Maria degli Angeli. (Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto)The fact that this church was designed by Michelangelo is about the best thing you can say about it.
He converted it from the Great Hall of the Baths of Diocletian, but the titular convent for some reason decided to have a later architect crank the orientation 90 degrees, turning what had been Michelangelo's nave into a weirdly long transept (the new nave was extended back by punching through the frigidarium of the ancient Baths).
The meridian sundial in the floor (1702) was used to set Rome's clocks for almost 150 years.
Remains of the Baths of Diocletian accessible via the sacristy museum inside Rome's church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. (Photo by Lalupa)Off the right side of the left transept is a small "museum" room with placards describing the baths' and church's history—and a side-door so you can pop out and take a peek at some other crumbling remains of the vast baths complex, open to the sky and flapping with pigeons. Cool.
The church opens off the grandiose Piazza della Repubblica.
Tips
- Planning your day: It only takes around 15–30 minutes to wander around the church itself (make sure you pop into side chapels and such, as there are lots of bits of the ancient complex it inhabits hiding everywhere). Throw in the other parts of the baths complex—the Baths of Diocletian themselves and the Aula Ottagona—and maybe you're looking an an hour to 90 minutes total.
- Free tours!: Sept 16–June 14, You can get a tour of the basilica with an archivist—in English, Italian, or French—on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 10:30am. The catch? You must book it in advance, and have a minimum of 5 people; write to gvaleri@fastwebnet.it, or snail-mail to: Archivista di S. Maria degli Angeli / Via Cernaia, 9 / 00185 Roma / ITALY
- Mass: You can attend services at Santa Maria degli Angeli Monday to Saturdays at 8am, 12:30pm, and 6pm; Sundays at 8am, 10:30am, noon (with organ and choral support), 6pm (organ only), and 7pm (in Spanish).
Related pages
- Baths of Diocletian and Aula Ottagona (other parts of the vast ancient complex this church inhabits)
- The churches of Rome
- Other works by Michelangelo in Rome
- More ancient sights, ruins, and museums in Rome
- More sights near Termini
- Sights in the neighboring Via Veneto/Villa Borghese area
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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.
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