The most beautiful religious buildings Rome

On the right of the Portique's portico, this oratory was erected in 1689, with a rich façade of stucco decorations.

The church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale was commissioned by the Jesuits in Bernini in 1658 and completed in 1661. Having chosen to organize the space along the small axis of the ellipse, Le Bernin placed concave walls on either side of the porch, which partially hide the building's receding walls. The whole is joyful. This is the work of a single artist, brilliant in his art, executed in a single stroke and a fine example of the aesthetics of that time.

The cult of Cybele came from the East and was introduced to Rome in 200 BC. Considered the mother of the gods or the great goddess, she was the goddess of fertility and her symbol was the betyl, a black stone with a phallic shape. The construction of this temple began in 204 and was completed in 191 BC. It was damaged several times in the course of history, notably during two devastating fires: in 111 BC and in year 3 of our era. Augustus had it restored.

Only eight Ionic columns (4th century AD) will show you the location of the Temple of Saturn. This is all we have left of the building in which the treasure and official government documents were kept. The feasts dedicated to the god Saturn (the Saturnalia) began every year on December 17 and they signed the end of the year. Curiosity: near the temple stood the Miliarum Aureum, a kind of milestone that was supposed to mark the "zero point" from which all the distances of the Empire were calculated.

This gigantic building, of which only the northern half remains, was undertaken by Emperor Maxentius and completed by Constantine. It was the seat of the prefecture at the beginning of the 4th century. The entrance was through the Sacred Way and the basilica extended over 6,000 ^m2, entirely decorated with marble. The tiles were made of gilded bronze. There were also colossal statues such as that of Constantine, of which only the head and a hand remain in the courtyard of the Conservative palace.

Nicolas V commissioned the decoration of the Nicoline chapel from Fra Angelico, who painted the frescoes and vault from 1447 to 1451. At the time, the chapel was intended for the private use of the Pontiff, who celebrated Mass there in complete privacy. It is therefore probably the Pope himself who chose the iconographic declination around the two figures of Saint Lawrence and Saint Stephen.

For reasons of paint protection, the chapel can only be seen behind a barrier that prevents access.