In contrast to many people’s beliefs, Madonna Della Stradata Chapel started with very little amount of funds. The original devotion to Our Lady of the Way began from the founding of the first Church of the Society of Jesus. The legend has it that the fresco, Our holy mary lady of the way floated above the water after flooding in Rome. After the event and many considerations over time, Ignatuis and his followers decided to have a church for the Society of Jesus after being declared innocent by Pope Paul III. However, after getting rejected by a pastor, the pope had to found it himself and gave it to Ignatius. Today, Madonna Della Strada Chapel serves the community as a shelter for people to rest from the craziness of the modern society. The chapel is not only historically significant as mentioned above, it boasts its aesthetic and architectural designs. One can clearly see the influence from the Italian renaissance era at the same time, being harmonious with the surrounding lake and vegetation, and other buildings.
As the design and the alignments of the building itself, the five arches facing away from the lake symbolize the five senses of humans in worshipping God.
On the large main fresco in the chapel, we can appreciate all the martyrs who have served and loved Jesus and virgin Mary even at the expense of their own lives and many Saints including St. Ignatius. Also each window has distinct images that can be symbolically interpreted from top to bottom, depending on the color, texts, and the position. For instance, the sacred heart window is devoted to the sacred heart of the lord, symbolizing the beginning and the end of all things, the name of Christ, the sacrifice of the mass, the fruitful result of the sacrifice, and the bread of the living. The characteristics of individual items and alignments of them have been formed surrounding Jesus and Virgin Mary, and really make them
