My plans for a Sunday morning in Rome always try to include a visit to Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza.

The chapel of Sant’Ivo was part of the Sapienza University and not open to the public until sometime in the 1960s. Despite being one of Borromini’s masterpieces, it is only open to the public on Sunday mornings. I have complained about this before.

I therefore got myself to Corso del Rinascimento to go to the church but found this:

Apparently it is closed while work is going on in the interior. Possibly the courtyard might be open during the weekdays. But there is no official date when it will be open again. It was supposed to be open earlier this year.

Bother! I was going to spend the morning inside sketching. I was left with figuring out what else to do. Most churches are not open for visiting on Sundays although some are open in the afternoons.

In my disappointment, I did some more boring shopping for things like sunscreen (now that the sun has reappeared) and garbage bags for the apartment.

I walked past the Pantheon and saw that the fountain in front also has been cleaned. Perhaps because last year was a Jubilee year for the Catholic church many monuments in Rome were spiffed up.

After doing laundry and having some lunch, I went out again to try to sketch en plein air since the weather had finally turned sunny.

The Trevi Fountain was an obvious no go. There’s no where to sit and the crowd was too much.

Hadrian’s Temple, but the cafe or restaurants with seating were in the sun.

I realized I could try sketching the top of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza from Piazza di Sant’Eustachio. But first fortified myself with a gelato from Gunther’s (donated the wafer to the pigeons):

This was the planter where I sat with the door to the gelateria in the background of this photo:

Here was the result after 20 or 25 minutes (until my back was getting too sore):

Trying to sketch quickly meant I didn’t leave enough room to fit in the top of the spiral spire—the unique feature—oops.

I’m planning to meet my cousin and her husband next Sunday. I was going to take them to Sant’Ivo but now that’s not going to happen. I was also thinking of going to San Luigi dei Francesi where some of my favourite Caravaggio paintings can be found. It is one of the few churches open to visitors on Sunday. Unfortunately, I found a queue starting 15 minutes before the doors were to open.

I don’t think I have been here on a Sunday so I waited to see what the queue was like. Ten minutes after opening, they stopped entries and people had to wait until some came out. After half an hour, there was still a queue. There is not much space near the Caravaggio paintings. I looked in through the open door on the left where people were exiting. It looked like a squish.

A few short blocks from San Luigi dei Francesi, there is another church, Sant’Agostino, that has a Caravaggio painting as well as a Raphael fresco. But it was closed.

I did a quick 10 minute sketch of the exterior:

Proportions were way off. I need to take a bit more time.

Back at San Luigi dei Francesi, there was still a queue. I wonder if Pope Francis saying that Caravaggio’s Calling of St Matthew was his favourite painting has increased the interest in seeing it. I recognized some people who went in and popped out shortly after. They could have only spent a minute to take a photo then left.

I thought I would check out nearby Santa Maria Sopra Minerva where there is a Bernini statue in front and a Michelangelo sculpture inside.

But inside the church, the Michelangelo is behind plywood! Some work is being done in the altar area where it stands.

The Pantheon queues for tickets were crazy long. I couldn’t figure out where people were entering as everyone seemed to be standing and waiting to buy tickets.

I don’t know what shoulder season means anymore. October in Rome is very busy. I’m going to have to give more thought about what to do next Sunday.