Santa Maria sopra Minerva

I know that this post is a little late, but I was all posted out yesterday! We actually not only went to the Pantheon on our walk, we also went to a church called Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This means Mary on top of Minerva because this church was built on the ruins of a Temple of Minerva. My guidebook says that this is one of the few churches in Roma to have Gothic Architecture. This church, along with the Pantheon, are located in the Piazza della Rotonda which is about a block away from my classroom. In the front of the church is the Obelisk of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This is an interesting sculpture that was found in the garden of the monastery of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The obelisk itself is a giant elephant with a tower on top of it. It was originally intended to decorate the Palazzo Barberini as a joke. Santa Maria sopra Minerva has many extremely beautiful works of art. One of the more famous is the Risen Christ by Michelangelo. Something else that is truly amazing at this church is that the body of St. Catherine of Siena is entombed at the front of the church under what looks like an altar. One of my classmates was doing research and said that the tomb contains everything except her head, which was taken back to Siena where they thought she wanted to be buried. The church is amazing and eerie all at the same time. I loved the architecture and the stained glass windows. Enjoy the pictures : )