Adoration of the Janitors

Rome's church of Sant'Agostino has works by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Sansovino—and lies just off Piazza Navona—yet sadly sees few visitors

Around the corner from San Luigi dei Francesi is another stop on the

Caravaggio tour

, the early Renaissance church of San Agostino.

The first altar on the left inside contains Caravaggio's almost Mannerist

Madonna del Loreto,

with pair of dirty-footed pilgrims kneeling before the willowy, velvet-robed Virgin who's carrying a ridiculously oversized (if marvelously lifelike) Christ child. The picture's beautiful, but a bit weird, and though it's obviously meant to be some sort of adoration of the shepherds, the dirty-footed figures, and the way the man is propping a pole in the crook of his arm, make it look for all the world like an Adoration of the Janitors. 'Course, that may be just me.

Against the entrance wall is a shrine to the

Madonna del Parto,

a pregnant Virgin Mary (carved by

Jacopo Sansovino

in 1521) surrounded by thousands of votive offerings sent in supplication, especially by women who want to ensure a safe childbirth. The third pillar on the right side has a fresco by

Raphael

of Isaiah showing the influence of Michelangelo on the young painter.
Daily.
Via della Scrofa 80 (just northeast of Piazza Navona).

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