Dome

Aedicule interior, close frontal view of the rays of light and false coffered half dome; The central feature is the marble group of the Ecstasy of St. Teresa, which shows the saint recumbent on a cloud and an angel piercing her heart; the sculpture is illuminated by a hidden window. Bernini depicted Teresa in an attitude of ecstatic abandon, a spiritual swoon caused by the love of God; there are also allusions to her levitation upon receiving the Eucharist at Mass, her mystic marriage to Christ and her miraculous death. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 10/15/2007)