# Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome

> Santa Maria sopra Minerva is Rome's only Gothic church, two minutes from the Pantheon. Inside are a blue vault with golden stars, Michelangelo's Risen Christ, Filippino Lippi's frescoes and the tomb of St Catherine of Siena. Outside stands Bernini's marble elephant carrying an obelisk. Entry is free; 20–30 minutes is enough.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-sopra-minerva

- City: [Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome), Italy
- YesGo score: 51/100 (Yes, go)
- Time on site: 30 min
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Entry: Free
- Opening hours: ≈ 7:30–19:00 with a midday break
- Highlights: Blue Gothic vault, Michelangelo's Christ, Carafa Chapel
- Outside: Bernini's elephant with an Egyptian obelisk
- Time needed: 20–30 minutes
- Location: Piazza della Minerva, 2 minutes from the Pantheon
- Coordinates: 41.89806, 12.47833
- Facts checked: 10.11.2026

## Key facts

- **1280** — work began on Rome's only Gothic church (source: English Wikipedia)
- **1521** — Michelangelo finished the Risen Christ (source: English Wikipedia)
- **1488–1493** — Filippino Lippi frescoed the Carafa Chapel (source: English Wikipedia)
- **Catherine of Siena** — Italy's patron saint lies beneath the high altar (source: English Wikipedia)
- **1667** — Bernini's elephant and obelisk were set up outside (source: English Wikipedia)

## Rome's only Gothic church

Rome barely built in Gothic: it went from ancient and Romanesque straight to Renaissance and Baroque. The exception is **Santa Maria sopra Minerva**, begun by the Dominicans around **1280**. The name means 'St Mary over Minerva' — it was thought to sit on a temple of Minerva, though the site was really a sanctuary of Isis.

The façade is plain, but inside rise **pointed vaults painted deep blue with gold stars** — a 19th-century restoration, yet the thing that makes the interior unlike anything else in Rome.

## Michelangelo and Filippino Lippi

Left of the high altar stands **Michelangelo**'s marble **Risen Christ**, finished in **1521**, holding the cross and instruments of the Passion. The bronze drapery was added later, and one foot wears a metal shoe because pilgrims kissed the marble away.

In the right transept, the **Carafa Chapel** holds **Filippino Lippi**'s frescoes of 1488–1493 — the Annunciation and the Assumption, bright and full of detail, among the finest Florentine frescoes in Rome. It's railed off, with coin-operated lighting.

## What to see inside

- **Blue starry vault** — Gothic arches the colour of the night sky.
- **Michelangelo's Risen Christ** — left of the altar.
- **Carafa Chapel** — Filippino Lippi's frescoes, right transept.
- **Tomb of St Catherine of Siena** — beneath the high altar.
- **Grave of Fra Angelico** — the Dominican painter, left of the altar.
- **Medici popes' tombs** — Leo X and Clement VII in the choir.
- **Flood markers** — plaques of past Tiber flood levels on the façade.

## Bernini's elephant

In front of the church stands one of Rome's most endearing sculptures — a **marble baby elephant carrying an Egyptian obelisk**, designed by **Gian Lorenzo Bernini** and carved by his pupil Ercole Ferrata in **1667**. The small obelisk was dug up in the convent garden. Romans call the elephant 'Pulcino', the chick. The inscription says a strong mind is needed to bear wisdom, as a strong back bears the obelisk.

## The Dominican convent

The church belongs to a large **Dominican convent**: next door are the Casanatense Library and the Angelicum, the pontifical university that grew out of the convent school. Fra Angelico died here in 1455, and the walls of St Catherine of Siena's room were moved into a chapel off the sacristy.

> **Pair it with the Pantheon** Piazza della Minerva is right behind the Pantheon if you walk round its left side. Drop in before or after your Pantheon slot: far fewer people, and Michelangelo and Lippi for free. Carry a coin for the Carafa Chapel lights.

## How to get there

1. Walk from the [Pantheon](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/pantheon) — 2 minutes round its left side.
2. From [Sant'Ignazio](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/sant-ignazio) — 3 minutes.
3. From [Largo Argentina](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/largo-di-torre-argentina) — 5 minutes north.
4. Buses 40 and 64 and tram 8 to Largo Argentina.

## Is it worth visiting?

Yes — it's free, next to the Pantheon and unlike any other church in Rome. The blue vault, Michelangelo, Lippi and Bernini's elephant outside make four good reasons for a 20-minute stop. Cover shoulders and knees; it may close for a few hours at midday.

## Before you go

Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser.

- [ ] Cover shoulders and knees
- [ ] Bring a coin for the Carafa Chapel lights
- [ ] Find Michelangelo's Christ left of the altar
- [ ] Photograph Bernini's elephant
- [ ] Pair with the Pantheon

## Rome's churches: compare and choose

Churches and basilicas in Rome rated by YesGo.

- [Pantheon](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/pantheon) — YesGo score 82/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · ≈ €5
- [St Peter's Basilica](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/st-peters-basilica) — YesGo score 71/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free; dome ≈ €8–15
- [Sistine Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/sistine-chapel) — YesGo score 64/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Vatican Museums ticket ≈ €25
- [Archbasilica of St John Lateran](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/lateran-basilica) — YesGo score 64/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free; cloister ≈ €5
- [Santa Maria Maggiore](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-maggiore) — YesGo score 62/100 (Yes, go) · 40 min · Free
- [Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/st-paul-outside-the-walls) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free
- [Church of the Gesù](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/church-of-the-gesu) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Santa Maria sopra Minerva](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-sopra-minerva) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Sant'Ignazio](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/sant-ignazio) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Piazza del Popolo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/piazza-del-popolo) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Santa Maria in Trastevere](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-in-trastevere) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Mouth of Truth](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/bocca-della-verita) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Donation ≈ €2
- [Catacombs of Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/rome-catacombs) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €10–12 with guide
- [San Pietro in Vincoli](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-pietro-in-vincoli) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [San Luigi dei Francesi](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-luigi-dei-francesi) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [Santa Maria della Vittoria](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-della-vittoria) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-carlo-alle-quattro-fontane) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [Tempietto](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/tempietto) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [Santa Sabina](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-sabina) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [Trastevere](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/trastevere) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Free
- [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Basilica free; museum ≈ €10–12
- [Basilica of San Clemente](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-clemente) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Upper free; excavations ≈ €10–12

## Around the Pantheon

The Pantheon at opening, Bernini's elephant and Santa Maria sopra Minerva, then Sant'Ignazio and San Luigi dei Francesi for Caravaggio.

1. [Pantheon](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/pantheon) — YesGo score 82/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · ≈ €5
2. [Santa Maria sopra Minerva](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-sopra-minerva) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
3. [Sant'Ignazio](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/sant-ignazio) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
4. [San Luigi dei Francesi](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-luigi-dei-francesi) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free

## Don't mix it up

Santa Maria sopra Minerva isn't Santa Maria Maggiore or Santa Maria in Trastevere. The 'temple of Minerva' beneath it is a legend — the site was a sanctuary of Isis.

## Tips

- Rome's only Gothic interior.
- A coin lights the Carafa Chapel.
- Bernini's elephant is right outside.
- The Pantheon is two minutes away.

## Questions

### Is Santa Maria sopra Minerva free?

Yes.

### What is there to see?

The blue Gothic vault, Michelangelo's Risen Christ, Lippi's Carafa Chapel frescoes and St Catherine of Siena's tomb.

### Where is Bernini's elephant?

On Piazza della Minerva in front of the church, 2 minutes from the Pantheon.

### Why 'sopra Minerva'?

It was believed to stand over a temple of Minerva; it was actually a sanctuary of Isis.

### Who is buried there?

St Catherine of Siena, Fra Angelico and popes Leo X and Clement VII.

### How long do you need?

20–30 minutes.

## How we checked

History, artworks and burials from English Wikipedia. Opening hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge.

## Sources

- English Wikipedia, Santa Maria sopra Minerva and Elephant and Obelisk

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