8 Comments

Fascinating reminder of fabulous visits we have been fortunate to make this year. All the more uplifting given our current surroundings of a garage showroom waiting for the car to be fixed! 😊

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Yikes, hope the car is back on the road!

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Thank you for this tour inside the church. As I remember from my last visit there’s spolia everywhere, outside and inside.

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You've mentioned (perhaps on Twitter,) the church was built as St Peter's in miniature, now I understand. I'm delighted by the Lumen de Lumine. Were the Cosmati artists fleeing the second iconoclasm too (or also the gradual advance of Islam?), should we view their works as a reclamation/revival too? I stay opposite the financial police up the hill, so this is a church I thought I knew well. Terrific that there's always something new to learn. Thank you so much.

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I think of “Cosmatesque” decoration as a home grown fusion of mosaic and opus sectile (& reclaimed materials), but I’m sure there is an element of decorative cross-pollination too! Thank you, it’s a brilliant church (& is also home to Bernini’s earliest known portrait, but that’s another story)

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I like to go to mass there, it's important to see the machine in motion "and see God made and eaten all day long".

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Ancient and medieval Roman mosaics really are the bee’s knees. Beyond grateful for the unique opportunity to have enjoyed the Chapel of St Zeno all by my lonesome in January, and these pix reinforce the sheer perfection of the mosaics encapsulating such a small space. Excited to make it to Ravenna one day soon to add to the experience!

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You’ll be in seventh heaven when you go to Ravenna!

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