Sant'Andrea della Valle
Where Puccini set Tosca
Where Puccini set Tosca
This minor basilica in the district of Sant'Eustachio, Rome, is the official seat of the Theatines, a Reformation-era order of priests dedicated to promoting virtue in clergy and laity alike. It's dome is the third highest in Rome. The nave is formed by gigantic Corinthian-capped pilasters, above which a frieze displays a black-lettered inscription on gold recounting the legend of St. Andrew's martyrdom on a X-shaped cross. The unobstructed sanctuary displays large paintings on the apse wall of the life and death of St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter. The composer Giacomo Puccini set the first act of his opera "Tosca" in a re-imagined interior of this vast church.