Destinacija / Destination
Sličnu fotografiju napravićete i bez ogledala tako što mobilni stavite na pod, a drugim mobilnim rasvetlite tavanicu i svoja lica You can take a similar photo without a mirror by placing your mobile on the floor and lighting the ceiling and your faces with another mobile phone
A t the heart of Rome, the Church of St. Ig- natius of Loyola, with its 17 th -century Ba- roque façade, attracts visitors for unex- pected reasons. Apart from its historical and artistic significance, this church has become a popular tourist attraction thanks to a mir- ror that allows visitors to shoot the perfect selfies to- gether with the ceiling fresco. TikTok has been flooded with videos, while visitors spend up to an hour queu- ing to take their selfies. This trend demonstrates how social media plat- forms can transform cultural landmarks into new tour- ist sensations. This church, which was once a hidden gem, today attracts thousands of people who are on the hunt to shoot the perfect selfie, even outdoing the popularity of famous Rome landmarks like the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain. A strategically posi- tioned mirror enables visitors to shoot their reflec- tion in front an impressive ceiling fresco, the work of architect Andrea Pozzo. Despite its artistic treas- ures, many come to the church purely to shoot selfies, not hanging around to explore its other works of art. I had an opportunity to visit this church recent- ly, where I found an extraordinary scene. There are two lines of visitors in the church: a much longer one on the right and a rather short one on the left. Not knowing what they were for, the line on the right naturally caught my attention. People were queu- ing patiently in front of something that appeared, from a distance, to be an icon. But no – it is actual-
ly an angled mirror, next to which is a slot to insert 1 euro, which instantly illuminates the whole mir- ror and the beautifully painted ceiling, while couples hold their phones over the mirror and take selfies that include the wonderful ceiling fresco in the shot. The pictures, of course, are posted on social media immediately! There’s no denying that these photos really are beautiful, and different...but isn’t it still a strange phenomenon? I later read The Guardian article about this trend, in which one Noemy Timelli, a 20-year-old from Puglia, is quoted as saying that she only came to the church for the selfies. That statement truly illustrates how so- cial media can influence tourists’ priorities. A visitor from Riad called Lama explained to The Guardian that she considered it a good thing, because the young- er generations like this kind of stuff, though she ad- mitted that the majority of them probably don’t care about the art or history. I would add that it is an in- genious marketing trick by the Catholic Church. And The Guardian agreed, adding that “they’ve managed to transform a church into a money-making racket”. You’re wondering whether I also stood in line? Well... I might have done if the queue hadn’t been so long, but I’ll let you in on a secret: you can take a sim- ilar photo by positioning your mobile phone on the floor and using another device to illuminate the ceiling and your faces! It doesn’t even cost a euro, and those two hours spent waiting in line can be better spent in a trattoria, with a dish of cacio e pepe!
98 | Rim » Rome
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