096 due chiese importanti

In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church specified 7 special churches for pilgrims to visit. The seven churches of Rome are:

San Pietro (St. Peter)
San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John in Lateran)
Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major)
Santa Croce in* Gerusalemme (Holy Cross in Jerusalem)
San Paolo Fuori le Mura (St. Paul outside the walls)
San Sebastiano Fuori le Mura (St. Sebastian outside the walls)
San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the walls)

*Linguistic note. I don't understand why this is IN Jerusalem and not OF or FROM Jerusalem.

I recently headed south to the outer wall of Rome to see 2 of these basilicas. Above is the Baroque facade of Santa Croce. In plan, the two outer bays are concave so the elevation looks squished.

As you walk around the building, there's no more baroque; the medieval brick walls are visible and are also very appealing, in a completely different way. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to go inside, and it's on the outskirts of town so I'm not sure if I will make it back to see the interior. It contains relics of wood splinters and nails from the cross.

I'm pretty pleased with the sketch and had some fun with watercolor.


And I also saw San Giovanni, the church of the city of Rome, whose gates are pictured above. It was one of many previous homes of the papacy, and the most impressive part were the 12 enormous statues of the apostles down the central nave.

Bonus: I updated the Mamertine Prison and Roman Forum post with photos.

Today is also notable because it is the beginning of my dad's retirement. Congrats!