Santa Maria della Pace te Rome 1665

Giovanni Battista Falda's etching captures the Piazza and Church of Santa Maria della Pace in Rome. This place of peace, commissioned by Pope Alexander VII, prominently features the church, its dome topped with a cross, a universal symbol of Christian faith and redemption. The cross, however, is not confined to this Roman church. It appears atop cathedrals across Europe, reaching back to the earliest Christian basilicas and even earlier, in a different form, as the ankh in ancient Egyptian iconography. This symbol, once representing life, was later adopted by Coptic Christians and bears a striking resemblance to the crux ansata. The emotional resonance of the cross lies in its ability to evoke feelings of hope and salvation, deeply rooted in our collective consciousness. Its presence speaks to the cyclical nature of symbols, their capacity to be reborn and to carry meaning through changing times.