Ecstasy, Rome, Italy. Bernini's The Ecstasy of Saint Therese
(1647-52) in Santa Maria della Vittoria is not a G-rated adventure. Accompanying the sculpture is a description of her religious experience, written by the saint herself and translated into five languages:

"Beside me on the left appeared an angel in bodily form... He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; and his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest ranks of angels, who seem to be all on fire... In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated my entrails. When he pulled it out I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease…"