21 June 2019
Santa Vittoria. In the small basilica Santa Maria de Vittoria outside the center of Rome, famous for its Bernini sculpture ‘The extasy of Theresia’, are also the bones of Santa Victoria. Victoria was also an early martyr. After her death, her skeleton was wrapped in wax. Only her real teeth are visible and a piece of the skeleton of her hand.
A rare and special relic.
Theresia, uninhibited, thought that her first orgasm must come from God. She experienced it as a “religious revelation”: “When she [the soul] returns to herself, there is no doubt that she has been in God and God in her.”
With Theresia and Victoria the Santa Maria delle Vittoria is by far the most sexy church. Maybe this is the reason why this particular church plays an important role in Dan Brown’s book ‘The Bernini Mystery’.
My favourite sculpture of Santa Cecilia is by Stefan Moderno and located in The Santa Cecilia Basilica in Trastevere, a 5th. century church.
