The Cranky Professor very kindly sent me a spare copy of The Geometry of Love by Margaret Visser, in preparation for our trip.

In Zenit, Catherine Smibert writes today of a documentary currently being filmed, based on the book:

In a city that can overwhelm you with religious art and architecture, one woman breaks it down and helps us take it home. She does this with the help of St. Agnes, whose feast was celebrated in a special way last week.

The feast brought Margaret Visser to Rome once again, this time to film a documentary based on her book "The Geometry of Love: Space, Time, Mystery and Meaning in an Ordinary Church."

Visser’s vision behind the book came from the observation that, though people know how to recognize a church, they often don’t comprehend the background, the symbolism or the story held within its walls.

That’s her literary trademark — to take something obvious and return it filled with riches. The Roman basilica of St. Agnes Outside the Walls was selected for the task.

"In my search for the perfect church, I remembered this one because it went ‘deep,’" explained the South African-born Catholic historian. "I had forgotten that you had to descend 45 steps in order to enter the place."

She noted, "Already its design provided an example of the way in which a building can arouse in you a feeling, a meaning, an understanding, a desire … every stone manages to present Christian love, merely through their correct placement."

It took Visser four years of research in seven languages to uncover all the secrets of the building.

The director of the new documentary, Paul Carvalho, said he found it challenging to translate into visual imagery many of the concepts presented in Visser’s scholarly writing.