The Capitoline Hill was once the bustling center of ancient Rome. It was home to city’s most important site of worship, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, while it also hosted a temple dedicated to Jupiter’s consort, Juno, and a site called ‘the asylum’, where Romulus was said to have recruited the city’s very first citizens.
By the early Middle Ages, however, the temples on the Capitoline had fallen into disuse and disrepair. The steep hill was uninhabited and covered with olive trees. Yet, this didn’t keep a group of Greek monks from building a church on the site of the Temple of Juno in the seventh century. Their church was meant to honor a legendary miracle which happened on this hill and was said to have foretold the coming of Christ.
The legend (which probably originated in the fourth century), suggests that during a visit to the Capitoline Hill, Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, saw the sky open. Between the clouds he saw a beautiful woman, seated on an altar, and holding a baby. In response to this vision, Augustus is said to have exclaimed, “Here is the altar of God’s son,” and to have fallen upon his knees. Alternatively, it is also said that an oracle, speaking to Augustus, foretold the birth of the Jesus on this site.
For these reasons, the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli (or Saint Mary of the Altar in the Sky) stands high on the Capitoline Hill. Here at the eCool Compound, it is one of our favorite churches. A clever friend once quipped that it has the “smoothest floor in all of Rome” and she is absolutely correct. On a bright sunny day, sunlight absolutely dances across the highly-polished and foot-worn marble floor.
Yet, here at the eCool compound, we’re partial to another aspect of this church’s decor. It’s those nutty chandeliers that please us so very much. We love the way they dangle between the columns, but we are even more taken by the way in which they arch over the altar (see the upper right corner of this photo and look closely!).
