- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: North Point Press; 1st ed. edition (April 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0865476187
- ISBN-13: 978-0865476189
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,714,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
As Margaret Vissar took a walk around a small church in Rome, she found herself in the midst of a fascinating story about a building and how it came to be there. The 7th-century church of St Agnes is a constant memorial to a young girl, raped and murdered, whose body lies in the catacombs beneath. In this book, Vissar opens up the spiritual, cultural and historical riches that St Agnes - or any church - has to offer. As she explores the small consecrated space, she goes beyond factual explanations to delve into the significance of the objects, ancient and modern, magnificent and commonplace, that are found there.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Margaret Visser writes on the history and anthropology of everyday life. Her books, Much Depends On Dinner, The Rituals Of Dinner and The Way We Are, have all been bestsellers and have won major international awards. She has lectured extensively and appeared frequently on radio and TV. She lives in Barcelona, Spain, and in south-western France.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The relatively simple Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura just outside the walls of Rome comes under the scrutiny of history, theology, anthropology & folklore to illuminate its physical & spiritual architecture.
Margaret Visser guides us through this organic aged basilica, from its apse to its nave, its catacombs to its campanile, she opens our eyes to its symbolism, its layers of religious expression, the Christian fascination with lambs & virgins, the meaning of martyrdom & the provenance of relics.
Effortlessly, this tranquil & earnest author moves us back through the ages to reveal, like the ancient stones she walks past, the erstwhile Roman attitudes toward our mortal remains & then through Christianity's infancy, in all its forms & purposes.
Part archaeology, part love story, part poetry & part tourist guide, The Geometry of Love is a quintessential read & I fell in love with columns all over again!
A superb example of writing about what you know - this author bequeaths us a unique & enfolding account of the why, where, who, when & what of a charming house of worship.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
If you have ever visited an old and beautiful building, and wondered just what it all meant, then is definately the book to read. At one time, almost every member of society would have understood the many messages that are conveyed through the art and architecture of a church. That knowledge is lost to most people now, yet we still get the sense when we enter a church that there are important stories to be told. Margaret Visser here takes us on a guided tour through a Christian church in Rome, using this one particular church to begin to tell those secret stories. This becomes the starting point for a spirited discussion on the iconography used in religious buildings. Visser's approach is always lively, with a deft mix of anecdote and painstaking research. The book is not aimed at a Christian market, but has a much broader appeal, and has a good deal to interest anyone who has an interest in history, mythology, art, or religion. Few books really invite the reader to open their eyes and have a good look at what is around them, but this achieves exactly that. It is just a shame though that the publishers of this book did not see to include some illustrations of the church in the book, to complement the vivid picture Visser paints for us.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
I found this book a revelation in looking at and understanding a building as bricks and mortar, initiatives for its construction, development and use, a mirror of its age etc. etc. The depth and the sensitivity of her looking, coupled with deep knowledge of the deep meanings and history of words,art, architecture, philosophy, and Catholicism and numerous other -ologies and ism's have enthralled me for weeks, as I read the book slowly and carefully to fully savour it all.
This is a book to have on a shelf by you and to be re-visited every year.
This is a book to have on a shelf by you and to be re-visited every year.
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