The room behind the music
Rome's Waldensian church, a concert room
Who the Waldensians are, how their first Rome church came to stand near Piazza Venezia, and why a Protestant room suits an arias concert.
Reserve seats for the arias ↗Quick answer
The Waldensians are a Protestant church traced to Peter Waldo in Lyon around 1173. Their first place of worship in Rome, the Waldensian Evangelical Church on Via Quattro Novembre, was inaugurated in 1884 and is described by Rome's tourism board as a single room with excellent acoustics. It is a different building from the Waldensian temple in Piazza Cavour.
Who the Waldensians are
The Waldensian movement is attributed to Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant of Lyon who gave away his property around 1173. It spread into the Cottian Alps, in what is now France and Italy, and remains most active in Piedmont. In 1848 King Charles Albert of Sardinia granted its members civil rights. After the Reformation it took on Calvinist theology. In 1975 the Waldensian Evangelical Church united with the Methodist Evangelical Church to form the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, which is majority Waldensian with a Methodist minority. The Waldensian College began training ministers in 1855 in Torre Pellice, moved to Florence a few years later and relocated to Rome in 1922.
The church on Via Quattro Novembre
Rome's tourism board places the Waldensian Evangelical Church at Via Quattro Novembre 107, near Piazza Venezia. It describes it as the first place of worship built by the Waldensians in Rome and says it was inaugurated in 1884 to a design by Benedetto Pandolfi. The outside is neo-Romanesque. Inside, the board describes a mix of neo-Renaissance, neoclassical and neo-Romanesque elements in one rectangular room with a coffered ceiling and two rows of mullioned windows, the right-hand ones false.
Glass, organ and acoustics
The stained glass carries symbols of the Waldensian Church and of the reformed churches of Scotland and the Netherlands. A pipe organ, opus 698, was built in 1954 by the Carlo Vegezzi Bossi company and can be played alone or to accompany vocal and instrumental groups. The tourism board credits the room's excellent acoustics for its use as a concert venue. The booking page for the arias concert calls the church cosy and says the small space puts you just feet from the musicians, and the arias are sung to a grand piano.
Not the church in Piazza Cavour
Rome has a second Waldensian building that is easy to mix up with this one. The Waldensian temple in Piazza Cavour, in the Prati district, was inaugurated in 1914 and designed by Rutelli, Pazzi and Bonci; it was the first place of worship in Rome built with reinforced concrete load-bearing structures. Its interior decoration, the facade mosaic and the stained glass are by Paolo Antonio Paschetto, and the tourism board calls it an Art Nouveau jewel. It is a separate building. The concert evenings described here point to the church near Piazza Venezia.
Visiting a church for a concert
A concert in a place of worship asks a little more of its audience than a theatre does. Keep voices low before the music, take your seat early and follow the usual concert habits. The booking page says the location of the evening varies with the option, so read the venue in your confirmation. The organiser also runs a concert hall on Via Firenze, which one of its other evenings uses. The tourism board refers visitors to the church's own contacts for visiting conditions, so do not treat it as a sightseeing stop.
Reading your confirmation
The ticket says the location varies with the option you book, so your confirmation is the document to trust. The organiser's dinner evening names the Waldensian Church on Via Quattro Novembre 107 as its concert place, while its Freddie Mercury evening names a concert hall next to the Methodist church on Via Firenze. Check which evening you have chosen, and bring the confirmation so that you can show the right address to a taxi driver.
Frequently asked questions
Is the concert in a Catholic church?
No. It is described as a Waldensian church, and the Waldensians are a Protestant church.
Which Waldensian church is it?
The church near Piazza Venezia, on Via Quattro Novembre. The temple in Piazza Cavour is a different building. Your confirmation names the venue.
Can I visit the church without a ticket?
Rome's tourism board refers visitors to the church's own contacts for opening and visiting conditions.
When was the church on Via Quattro Novembre inaugurated?
In 1884, to a design by Benedetto Pandolfi, according to Rome's tourism board.
Who are the Waldensians?
A Protestant church traced to Peter Waldo in Lyon around 1173. It united with the Methodist Evangelical Church in 1975.
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