Don't let the plain exterior dissuade you from visiting, the only Gothic church in Rome is filled with art treasures.
Built on the site of an ancient temple to Minerva from 50 B.C., two talented Dominican monks named Sisto and Ristoro, began this new Gothic Cathedral in 1280. They had previously worked on the Gothic cathedral of Sant Maria Novella in Florence.
The magnificent frescoes of Filippino Lippi in the Carafa Chapel depict the Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great medieval Dominican theologian. Above this composition is the Assumption and the Saints in Glory, these paintings must be seen.
Michelangelo is represented by a statue of Christ the Redeemer or the Risen Christ, started in 1519 and completed by one of his students.
Several funerary monuments are the work of the Baroque master, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. St. Catherine of Siena and Fra Angelico, the painter, are buried here.
Carafa Chapel
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Piazza della Minerva, 42
Pantheon Neighborhood
00186 Rome (RM)
Open:7 am - noon and 4 pm - 7pm daily
Cloister open: 8 am - 1 pm and 3:30 pm - 7:30 pm daily
Concerts are held here from time to time.
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