Monday Church-Day

Actually I wanted to do some window shopping today as it was promised to be sunny with a clear blue sky all day.  The plan was to visit some of the countless churches my guidebook recommended on the way.
Started with San Clemente near thr Colosseo.  The interior was quite nice with a lot of marble, but the most interesting part was hidden underground. During excavations earlier layers of the building were revealed. First there was a Roman Mithras temple and a mansion, then in the 4th century a Christian church was built on top. In the 12th century another one that was slightly modified in the 18th century to appear as seen today. You can actually go to the dimmly lit underground and see all these layers including some frescos from the 9th century. Most amazing.
Next was SS. Quattro Coronati with a nice cloistered courtyard. Been there done that. The huge Santa Maria Maggiore was more interesting again. Bernini has his tomb here along with some popes and the wooden ceiling is covered with the first shipment of gold from the New World. The whole interior is richly decorated and the canopy over the main altar looks at a first fleeting glance similar to the one Bernini did for San Pietro but at a closer look it just looks like a cheap copy without any of the elaborate carvings.
Went down to Via Nazionale and walked it from one end to the other. This is the place for affordable clothes. Especially if you're interested in leather jackets. Sat down outside a bar just because they had cider and ordered a salad along with it. Had a long and interesting chat with the American couple that was sitting at the table next to mine before I continued to Piazza della Repubblica and the Michelangelo designed Santa Maria degli Angeli with its still working Meridian inside.
Went over to San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Sant' Andrea al Quirinale. The first one being Boromini's last work excels in its elegant simplicity. His eternal rival Bernini designed the other one right next to it only devided by a small park. The almost oppressing lavishness of its interior design is such a difference that I strongly recommend visiting both churches.
Walked over to the last sight of today: The Capuchin museum at Santa Maria Immacolata with its very special crypta. Learned a bit about the order and what it is about since I didn't really knew anything about them except that they're monks.
But the crypta was what I was here for. From the 17th to the 19th century the monks had taken their brothers' bones and used them for decorating the crypta. Patterns made of ribs, shoulder blades or vertebrae decorate the walls and ceiling. Hundreds of skulls and bones are pilled on the walls forming alcoves for skeletons lying or standing dressed in the monks' garment. It's so amazing.
Had some ice cream and dinner at Trastevere again before I headed home in the dusk. Only then did I realize how much I had seen today.