Art In Rome: Santa Maria sopra Minerva

where: Piazza della Minerva
open: Monday to Friday 6:55-19:00, Saturday 10:00-12:30 and 15:00-19:00, Sunday 8:10-12:30 and 15:30-19:00
getting there: from the left of the Pantheon on Via della Minerva

Just around the corner from the Pantheon is the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
In front of the church is Bernini's famous sculpture of an Egyptian elephant carrying an obelisk, the Pulcino della Minerva.

The church itself dates back to the 13th century and was built on the site of a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Minerva and is considered the only Gothic church in Rome.

Inside the church are frescoes by Filippino Lippi, Fra Angelico, and Antoniazzo Romano, and altarpieces by il Baciccio and Carlo Maratta.
By the main altar there is the marble sculpture of Christ by Michelangelo.

The church holds the tombs of Fra Angelico, Saint Catherine of Siena and of popes – Leo X, Clement VII and Urban VII.