Within walking distance of Via Veneto and the Borghese Gardens is another Bernini masterpiece located in a neighborhood church.
This intimate Baroque church with its lavishly decorated candlelit interior contains on of Gianlorenzo Bernini’s most ambitious marble sculptural works, the “Ecstasy of St. Teresa” (1646) which is the centerpiece of the Cornaro chapel. This chapel was built to resemble a miniature theater.Sculptures of the chapel’s benefactor, Cardinal Federico Cornaro, and his ancestors sit in boxes, as if watching and discussing the scene before them. Some people may be shocked by the erotic nature of St. Teresa’s sculpture but suffice it to say that Bernini was obviously a master of the medium.
Santa Maria della Vittoria
Via XX Settembre, 17
Via Veneto area
00100 Rome (RM)
p. +( 06)-482.6190
Closed between 12-3:30pm daily
Leave a comment