The Sacristy, a photo from Rome, Lazio

Photographer's Note

Rome - San Bernardo alle Terme – Interior of the sacristy

From Wikipedia:

San Bernardo alle Terme is an abbatial church in Rome.
The church was built in 1598 and was initially given to a French Cistercian group, the Feuillants, through the intercession of Caterina Sforza di Santafiora. Later, after the dissolution of the Feuillants during the French Revolution, the edifice and the annexed monastery were ceded to the Congregation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, after whom the church is named.
The German painter Johann Friedrich Overbeck, founder of the Nazarene art movement, is buried here.

Art and architecture
The structure of San Bernardo alle Terme is similar to the Pantheon, since it is cylindrical, with a dome and an oculus. The edifice has a diameter of 22 meters. The dome decoration, made of octagonal coffers, reminds one of the Basilica of Maxentius. The interior is graced by eight statues of saints, each housed in wall niches, the work (c. 1600) of Camillo Mariani. These are a good example of the so-called International Mannerism. The Chapel of St Francis is an addition to the ancient rotunda, and contains a sculpture of that saint by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli. The construction of the church recycled the remains of one of only two circular towers, which marked the corners the southwestern face of the perimeter wall around the Baths of Diocletian, the other tower is today part of a hotel building and lies 225 meters southeast from San Bernardo alle Terme. Between these two tower-like structures, also part of the same perimeter wall, there used to exist large semicircular recess, similar to an exedra, which was probably used as a sphaeristerium. Nowadays, the enormous scale of this recess and that of the wall itself may only be imagined from the layout of the modern Piazza della Repubblica, which followed the original layout of the ancient wall.

Royaldevon, tyro, snunney, jhm, Cricri, danos, timecapturer, Graal, kordinator, pili51 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (139266) 2015-01-15 13:30

Ciao Romano,gli interni delle chiese sono senza dubbio tra le cose piu' spettacolari che si possono osservare,mai uno uguale all'altro ed ognuno con qualcosa di particolare da offrire.Purtroppo non ho mai compreso perche' non riscuotano mai il dovuto successo fotografico.Anche la tua,pur nella sua semplicita' e senza ori o decorazioni sfavillanti,и davvero deliziosa,ben esposta in una situazione difficilissima ed anche ben composta,spero che il popolo di TE mi smentisca..ehehe...buonanotte e complimenti,Luciano

carlo62 (81265) 2015-01-15 13:48

Ciao Romano
questa sera siamo vicini, mi fa piacere.
una composizione molto ...ecclesiastica, sia in riferimento al soggetto, ma soprattutto riferita all'atmosfera.
Eccellente scatto, l'esposizione и ottima.
Buonanotte
Carlo

emka (158156) 2015-01-15 14:02

Ciao Romano,
This time interior of the church, not specially decorated compared to other baroque interiors but very nice. Lovely figure of the Virgin and nice atmopshere with the candle.

WArm regards MAlgo

Royaldevon (85932) 2015-01-16 0:33

Ciao Caro Romanao,

You have great skill at taking indoor shots with low light conditions. Despite the problems,
the features are clear and sharp. The composition is easier to deal with and is very good, the focal sculpture of the saint, nicely placed on the thirds line, with good leads from the row of candles and the altar.

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

tyro (30513) 2015-01-16 1:35

Ciao Romano,

A very interesting note about this church and a beautiful and serene photograph of the sacristy taken in the most beauutiful light. You are a master of these interior shots, particularly of churches.

The illumination here is simply divine and your composition is excellent and finely balanced. The statue is perfectly placed in the frame and nicely balanced by the window which, surprisingly, is not overly bright. And the white embroidered cloth on the left and the row of red candles beneath add to the composition very well too. I like the sublety of the light and shadows and, despite the contrasts, we can still see full detail in the deepest shadows and also in the brightest parts.

Gorgeous light, wonderful colours, perfect exposure and exquisite details and sharpness.

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

snunney (130967) 2015-01-16 2:23

Hello Romano,
I am not a religious person, but I do like taking pictures inside churches. The lighting can be difficult to manage but it is usually well worth the effort as you clearly show here. I like the point of view, which displays lots of interesting detail. A perfectly exposed image with a fine range of tones and superb sharpness. An image that captures the spirituality of the place.

jhm (211736) 2015-01-16 5:02

Ciao Romano,

I don't know or I would remove the white and over exposure window, notwithstanding a very nice picture, religion is not the motive but the picture is nice.
What a pleasant picture with all the excellent colours and lovely subject.
Composition and presentation are perfect.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John

Silvio1953 (221593) 2015-01-16 6:02

Ciao Romano, ti ho contagiato con le chiese, bello e semplice questo interno, ottima nitidezza e gran gestione di una luce non facile, bravo, ciao Silvio

Sergiom (117241) 2015-01-16 6:26

Ciao Romano,

J'apprйcie йnormйment le cфtй trиs sombre de cette composition qui n'utilise que la faible lumiиre offerte par cette petite fenкtre pour illuminer le reste avec l'aide de quelques lampions.

Amicalement

Serge

Cricri (176) 2015-01-16 10:05

Ciao Romano
Bel angle de prise, les teintes et la lumiиre parfaitement bien gйrйe, ce qui n'est pas nouveau chez vous, belle prйsentation et rйalisation
Belle soirйe
cricri
PS ( vacances en Suisse demain, pour 15j, a bientфt)

williewhistler (16606) 2015-01-16 10:43

Hello Romano,
The difficult light conditions have been handled very well and whilst statue is star attraction,there area great many interesting details to enjoy in this beautifully produced image.
Best regards Les.

danos (110407) 2015-01-16 11:17

Ciao Romano,
nice the light and the colour management of this corner of San Bernardo with the statue to be placed perfect in the frame.
The lots of candles and the window on the right makes the image even more effective.

Regards,Danos

holmertz (102700) 2015-01-16 11:35

Hello Romano,
There are several sources of light but they are all very discreet, so I suppose that human eyes would have experienced this sacristy as relatively dark. In spite of that the photo has a great clarity with well captured colours and fine sharpness of the interesting details.
Kind regards,
Gert

mesutilgim (0) 2015-01-16 12:50

Hello Romano,
Very nice interior capture with very good pov. The light from the window on the Maria statue is great.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

timecapturer (49288) 2015-01-17 3:46

Ciao Romano
this is beautiful. You have captured the peace and atmosphere of this place succinctly. The detailing is wonderful and the effect both soothing and yet majestic.

Superb!

Enjoy the weekend - B.

rychem (72187) 2015-01-17 8:24

Very nice interior shot with perfect management of light, this lonely burning candle creates a special atmosphere
regards Ryszard

siudzi (34141) 2015-01-17 13:45

Hello Romano,
You have found and captured a very interesting church scene. This sculpture is beautiful and was presented smartly with good level of details and nice soft light to create a charming image. Very well done. TFS!
Best,
Gosia

SWEETFREEDOM (24623) 2015-01-18 0:24

Ciao Romano,
nonostante i diversi tipi di luce hai saputo gestire bene la scena, bella la statua in una scena per noi comune ma sicuramente caratteristica per chi non e' delle ns parti.
ciao
Alessandro

Graal (103040) 2015-01-18 5:23

Ciao Romano,
nice and interesting interior of church here's. Beautiful sculpture. I like the contrast and peaceful atmosphere. Well done photo.
Have a nice Sunday.
Aleksander

abmdsudi (95869) 2015-01-19 5:21

Hi Romano
A serious shot it seems with beautiful light and colours emerging from the low light with excellent result given the circumstances and what an elaborate religious theme. It really glows with excellent definition which is exquisitely exposed. That's sacristy beauty and superb piece of work. Well done shot, Congrats
Best regards

eldancer1 (36343) 2015-01-19 8:15

I like the lighting on this solemn scene! Good pov and dof with nice details. Well done, tfs.

berek (50518) 2015-01-21 22:19

Dear Romano
This photo looks like the Salvador Dali's paintings. I like so much. A great pictures in difficult lighting conditions. congratulations.
Regards.
Burak

kordinator (8738) 2015-01-24 0:30

Dear Romano
Nice interior of the church.
Lovely figure of the Virgin and nice atmopshere with the candle.
Perfect lighting.
I like colors a lot.
Nice photos from Rome.
Great job
Kind regards
Saљa