20/09/2025: Unfortunately, restoration work is underway.
But Bernini's Angels are fantastic.
The Madonna of the Miracle is absolutely worth a visit and a prayer.
Go there.
18/09/2025: A basilica of great beauty and importance. Built at the end of the 16th century, it was completely rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century with the contribution of the great Maestro Borromini, who worked on this project from 1653 to 1655. Borromini, in particular, is responsible for the dome and the beautiful bell tower. Unfortunately, only the tambourine of the dome was built following the tragic death of the great Maestro.
The bell tower, however, was designed and completed entirely by Borromini. It is a true masterpiece whose originality and boldness were intended to develop the vertical line of the basilica. The bell tower is a jewel of Borrominian architecture of rare finesse, consisting of four sections, tightly superimposed. The bell chamber, with its structure resembling a small round temple, reminiscent of similar ancient buildings in Rome and Tivoli, rests on a high square base, capped at the corners by columns with Corinthian capitals and surmounted by a large architrave.
Inside the single-nave Basilica, we find other masterpieces, including the two gigantic Angels by the Master Bernini 🤩😲, located on either side of the apse. These are imposing marble works of rare beauty; they are the originals that the artist sculpted, now in his seventies, for the decoration of the Ponte Sant'Angelo, commissioned by Pope Clement IX. These were part of the ten angels that Bernini designed for the bridge, but only these two were executed by him, while the others were entrusted to his students.
The two imposing statues sculpted by Bernini were so beautiful and unique in their features that the Pope deemed it inappropriate to place them on the bridge, exposed to the ravages of time, and wanted to leave them in Bernini's studio, where they remained until 1731, when they were donated to the Basilica by the Master's heirs.
The Basilica is also known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Miracle because in 1842 the Virgin of the Miraculous Medal appeared here to the unbelieving Jew Alphonse Ratisbonne. This historic moment is also captured in a beautiful canvas (left side of the nave) depicting the apparition of the Virgin Mary.
I strongly recommend checking the opening hours, as during religious services, they are obviously open for tourist visits 😉.
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