Day 16 - Exam 2, US Embassy to the Holy See, the Key Hole, San Luigi dei Francesi, Sant'Agostino, Santa Maria del Popolo

Day 16 started off with our second exam. Class afterwards was only a few minutes long as we had to make our way to the Circus Maximus to meet with the US Ambassador to the Holy See, Ken Hackett.

Security at the embassy was tight. No one could get into this place without authorization. Passports were collected, bags were scanned and taken - the works.

We all gathered around the conference room table and Ken Hackett came down to meet us, along with his secretary and an intern. The ambassador explained his work and how he mediates foreign relations between the United States and Vatican City. The man has a very interesting job that many people overlook the need for - who thinks of the US needing an ambassador to the head of the Catholic church? Ken Hackett is also a former Eagle of Boston College and the founder of the Men's Lacrosse team (an entity that no longer exists at BC at the D1 level).

After a great discussion, we all convened outside the embassy on the grounds for a picture.

The whole gang, with Ambassador Hackett in the center in the suit

After the Embassy, we were told of the famous "key hole" through the gardens of the headquarters of the Knights of Malta, near the embassy.

At first, one questions why a line of people would be forming to look through a key hole. Take one look, and you know why instantly. My picture doesn't really do it justice.

Through the hole, you see a line of hedges that forms a path perfectly framing the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. This is quite an impressive spot, as you are standing in Rome (Italy) looking through a key hole that is looking into a garden in the sovereign state of the order of the Knights of Malta that frames St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City (sovereign country) over the expanse of Rome (Italy). In one shot, you are experiencing 3 separate sovereign nations. Pretty cool. (Note: The land on which the headquarters of the Knights of Malta exists is actually recognized by a number of nations as a separate and sovereign state in and of itself. The place even has ambassadors. This means that, technically, the headquarters of the Knights of Malta is the smallest sovereign nation, and not the Vatican).

After lunch, we met up with the whole crew at the Pantheon to begin our tour with Fr. Paris of various Caravaggio paintings still housed in various churches in Rome. The first church was San Luigi dei Francesi.

Caravaggio's The Martyrdom of St. Matthew

Caravaggio's The Inspiration of St. Matthew

Caravaggio's The Calling of St. Matthew

Next was the Basilica of Sant'Agostino.

Caravaggio's Madonna di Loreto

The tomb of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine

We then took a stroll north down the Via del Corso to the Piazza del Popolo ("Plaza of the People") and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo.

Egyptian obelisk in the center of the piazza

Caravaggio's Crucifixion of Saint Peter

Caravaggio's The conversion on the way to Damascus (Conversion of St. Paul)

Apart from the Caravaggios, I also had other interests in this church.

The first was with the Chigi Chapel, which was used in Angels and Demons, and holds Bernini's Habakkuk and the Angel. Unfortunately, the only place in the entire church being renovated was the Chigi Chapel. Luckily, the lights were still on and I could get a picture around the scaffolding of the sculpture.

Bernini's Habakkuk and the Angel

I then searched far and wide in the church for one tomb in particular - that of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. This man was a cardinal during the time of the Borgia papacy. When Rodrigo Borgia was looking to secure votes in conclave, he promised Sforza the position of Vice-Chancellor - the highest paying position in the Catholic Church at the time - for Sforza's vote. Cardinal Sforza became instrumental in the Borgia papacy, and following his death he was interred in this church.

The trouble was that I could not find him for the life of me. I knew that he was wealthy - the Sforza family was certainly well-to-do and would have paid plenty of money to have Ascanio buried lavishly. None of the chapels seemed to have any indication of any member of the Sforza family at all, but the guide said he was there. I even challenged my friends to find it and the first to do so would have gotten a free gelato on me.

I ended up asking the woman at the bookstore when we nothing turned up. She pointed out for me the church "guardian", a very nice man who knew exactly what I was looking for when I asked. He said "Oh, Sforza, he's behind the altar". This was the only place in the church that you could not access just by walking around. The man said he'd have no problem showing us. My guess is that, if someone comes looking for one of those tombs in particular and asks specifically, they must be worthy of the effort to show them.

Sure enough, after being led behind a curtain next to the High Altar, on the left side wall was a massive funerary monument to Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. The long-dead cardinal lays on top of his tomb in a rather seductive pose, somewhat different from what he was in life. Nonetheless, I thanked the guardian immensely and we left the church.

Tomb of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza

We met up with the whole group once again to grab dinner at one of the restaurants that Prof. Coolman brought us to earlier in the trip. Many of us ordered multiple courses, so there was plenty of great food. 

Tomorrow, we will tour the Villa Borghese gallery of art with Fr. Paris.

Thus ends the 16th day.