La Quarta Settimana

Week four started off with a special visit to the Oratory of the Confraternity of the Gonfalone. We had a private entrance to the oratory, so we had the space all to ourselves, creating an ideal classroom setting to analyze the late sixteenth-century frescoes depicting Christ’s Passion. Up until this point, we have been observing spaces largely patronized by ecclesiastical entities. Visiting the oratory gave us the opportunity to engage with a different kind of patronage, that of a confraternity made up of laymen.

On Tuesday we met at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Erin presented on the early Christian nave mosaics depicting Old Testament scenes. She provided us with a provocative question: why choose Old Testament scenes in the largest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary? The combination of our first-time use of headsets plus Erin’s interesting prompts, proved to be a very production visit to Santa Maria Maggiore.

Tuesday’s session continued with trips to Santa Prassede and Santa Pudenziana. Upon arriving at Santa Pudenziana, we realized that a funeral was taking place inside the church and that we would have to wait until the service was over to continue class. This was a reminder to all of us that these spaces are not simply preserved moments in history, but actual functioning sites of religious practice.

Emma presented the early Christian apse mosaic at Santa Pudenziana, asking us to consider whether the figure of Christ was based on an emperor prototype or that of a pagan god. We had the great fortune to connect with Mario, the caretaker of the church. He gave us a special tour of the building, taking us upstairs to the clerestory level to view the impressive mosaic at a very close range. This was such an exciting treat for all of us that we continued class straight through lunch!

On Wednesday the students had their first midterm exam for the 400-level seminar. They all did extremely well, proving this kind of on-site learning is quite effective.

Thursday was our first trans-Tiber day. We ventured across the river to Trastevere to visit the early Christian churches Santa Maria in Trastevere and Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. In Santa Maria in Trastevere we discussed the use of spolia in the nave columns and the re-appropriation of antiquity for Christian purposes. We also examined the Pietro Cavallini mosaics of the life of Virgin in the space of the apse. We compared their thirteenth century style to that of the earlier mosaics we had seen previously in the week.

At Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, we viewed the fragmented Cavallini Last Judgment frescoes in the nun’s choir of the convent. We compared Cavallini's technique in frescoes to that of the mosaics we had just seen at Santa Maria in Trastevere. As we were viewing the frescoes in the space above the church, a wedding began to take place down below. We were able again to see a church space activated by its congregation. This seemed like an appropriate way to end our week of basilicas and mosaics.