An astounding piece of art. Can out rival European churches.
I had heard stories about the beauty of St Aloysius Chapel from the Jesuit priests I had worked with in St Joseph's PG College, Bangalore. Truly you should write about it Marianne-- said Fr Praveen Martis who had been my principal and Fr Ambrose Pinto who poached me from the Deccan Herald to start the Media section. Both men said since I enjoy renaissance art and had written extensively about it for the newspapers while I did my Erasmus Mundus in Europe, I SHOULD take a trip.
The beauty of the frescoes across every wall and roof.
So telling Everest the driver to wait in the shade of the rain trees we slipped off our shoes and walked into the silent and cool church. How it can be called a chapel is beyond me. Its as big as the St Patricks Church in Bangalore, and much more colourful. Reluctantly taking off my shoes, as I had just had a mandatory pedicure, I need not have worried as the floors were spotless.
Intricate frescoes on the roof!
I walked literally with my mouth open. Such beauty I had seen only in Rome and Milan, maybe Venice and Turin. None of the glitzy German churches could compare, infact our Portuguese legacy churches in Goa are far superior to the German churches or even Polish churches.
Every inch of the roof is adorned.
But unlike the European churches there was no literature or any guide to explain the art we were gawping at. We just wandered around and stared and took pictures. All done in the renaissance styles we had seen on our several visits to Rome and other parts of Europe, especially Italy.
Br Antonio Moscheni the Italian who was the artist.
Born near Bergamo in Italy, in 1854, Br Moscheni was apprenticed under the masters who worked in the Vatican and Fresco art became his passion. In 1889 he joined the Jesuits and painted several churches in Yugoslavia and Albania. He also painted several churches in India including a cathedral in Mumbai. Sadly in 1905 he fell ill and died after falling greviously ill. I personally wonder if the lead in the paint affected him and he finally passed away. We humans are stupid and do not check what can cause fatal illness in us by using different chemicals. Then we wonder how we got cancer.
It was when Everest the driver told us to go to the museum that we went in and got a lot of information. The chapel is so famous because of its frescoes and for that visitors come from all over the world to see them.
Always give a token gift of cash for the upkeep of the church. And dress with care!
