Wender·Vista
Santa Maria del Popolo
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
at the north gate of Rome, on the Piazza del Popolo

Santa Maria del Popolo

— two Caravaggios in a side chapel, the morning light coming in.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A 15th-century Augustinian church just inside the Porta del Popolo, the old north gate of Rome. The Cerasi Chapel holds two Caravaggio paintings from 1601, the Crucifixion of Saint Peter and the Conversion of Saint Paul, hung as a pair. Across the transept the Chigi Chapel carries Raphael's design, with Bernini's sculptures added a century later. The place is small, layered, and quiet between Mass times.

from the studio
Santa Maria del Popolo
— bring it home

Santa Maria del Popolo, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Santa Maria del Popolo

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Santa Maria del Popolo stands on the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, at the historic entrance to Rome from the Via Flaminia. The church was rebuilt in its current form between 1472 and 1477 under Pope Sixtus IV, replacing an earlier chapel founded in 1099. It is run by the Augustinian Order. The interior carries work by Pinturicchio, Raphael, Caravaggio, Bernini, Bramante, and Sansovino across roughly four centuries of additions. The Italian Ministry of Culture lists it among the most important Renaissance and Baroque churches in the city.

— informed by Wikipedia, Parish site
— the stone

The two Caravaggio paintings in the Cerasi Chapel were commissioned by Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi in September 1600 and installed in 1601. The Crucifixion of Saint Peter and the Conversion of Saint Paul are oil on canvas, each roughly 230 by 175 centimetres. Annibale Carracci's Assumption of the Virgin hangs on the altar wall between them. The Chigi Chapel, designed by Raphael for the banker Agostino Chigi around 1513, holds Bernini's sculptures of Daniel and Habakkuk, added under Pope Alexander VII in the 1650s, layered onto Raphael's original scheme.

— the visit

The church is generally open from 7:30 a.m. to noon and again from 4 to 7 p.m., with shorter Sunday hours, and entry is free. A coin-fed light in the Cerasi Chapel briefly illuminates the Caravaggios, which is the only way to see them properly. Photography without flash is permitted in most of the church. The Metro A line stops at Flaminio, a one-minute walk through the gate. Mornings are quieter than late afternoon, when tour groups loop in from the Piazza del Popolo.

— informed by Parish site
— where
Italy · Rome, Lazio
— position
41.9111° N · 12.4767° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Piazza del Popolo
civic square
at the lake
Pincian Hill
terraced park
1 km SE
Spanish Steps
Baroque staircase
1 km E
Villa Borghese
city park
N
Santa Maria del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo
Pincian Hill
Spanish Steps
Villa Borghese
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Santa Maria del Popolo — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Two oil paintings from 1601 hang in the Cerasi Chapel: the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter. Annibale Carracci's Assumption of the Virgin hangs on the altar wall between them.

Raphael designed it around 1513 for the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi. Bernini added the marble sculptures of Daniel and Habakkuk under Pope Alexander VII in the 1650s, more than a century after Raphael's death.

The current building dates from 1472 to 1477, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV. It replaced an earlier chapel founded in 1099 on the same site, just inside the old north gate of Rome.

No. The church is open to the public free of charge during regular hours. A small coin-fed light in the Cerasi Chapel illuminates the Caravaggios briefly, which most visitors choose to feed.

Take Metro A to Flaminio. The church is a one-minute walk south through the Porta del Popolo, on the north side of Piazza del Popolo. Several bus lines also stop at the piazza.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with ties to the city. The Piazza del Popolo is one of the most loved squares in Rome. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries well.

The Roman ochres, deep reds, and chapel-shadow blacks read into Italianate, Old-World, and jewel-tone maximalist interiors. The piece holds well above a console or in a library, beside dark wood and warm brass.

A single Large carries above a console or a chair. Above a full sofa, a 4-tile or 9-tile Mural reads at room scale, with the Baroque palette holding without going flat.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to humidity and splash, which makes them appropriate for backsplashes, powder rooms, and showers.

A soft microfibre cloth and a little water is all the piece needs. No solvents, no abrasive cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and will not lift or fade with cleaning.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada