A little more excitement in this one (with lots more pictures)! The past two days have had visits to various churches and galleries around Rome so there's a lot more to talk about.
Yesterday (12 July), we visited Chiesa del Gesu (or Church of Jesus). This church was the first Jesuit church in Rome and it is one of my favourites. The ceiling in this church and the church I will talk about that we went to today (Sant'Ignazio) were absolutely spectacular! The ceilings were designed to provide some optical illusion in the Renaissance tradition. You'll have to see in the pictures for yourself! We had a little taste of the political life in Italy when we walked outside the church and there was a public demonstration occuring for workers rights. We walked through a Bourgeois gallery and stopped in an Oratorio (like a church without a priest) on our way to Piazza del Popolo (Square of the People). Before we got there though, we crossed Piazza di Spagna and I found my favourite street in Rome (Via Margutta). This street is the street where a lot of artists lived in Rome and it actually was the street where Gregory Peck's apartment was in "Roman Holiday." Piazza del Popolo is probably the largest square I've seen in Rome (it is so large because it was remodeled under Napoleon). It has an Egyptian obelisk and several churches around it. We visited Santa Maria del Popolo there. It was a pretty amazing church, but not as amazing as others. After our church visits, we were treated to gelato at Rome's best place for gelato. I had rice, cherry, and champagne flavors. They were really good! In the evening we presented our presentation on "The Vatican Library" and I turned in my paper on Savonarola and the changing art eesthetic in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. Both turned out really well.
Church of Jesus Ceiling
That "Shadow" is actually painted.
Via Margutta
Gregory Peck's Apartment in "Roman Holiday"
The North Gate of Rome
Santa Maria del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo
Gelato
Today (13 July), I started the day out right with a cappucino freddo and croissant and then it was time to see probably my favourite church that I've seen so far: Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio. This church is also a Jesuit church. It's my favourite because of the visual illusions that are present in the ceiling and the dome. The dome is actually not a dome, but rather a flat surface painted to look like a dome when you are looking at it from one side. There is actually a spot on the floor where all visual lines converge and the painted ceiling makes the ceiling look like it is twice as tall. Of course, there was also the added feature of a dead body and bones as relics on display -- that always make a church worth it for me. I think that's fascinating. After our visit to this amazing church, it was time to visit Oscar Wilde's favourite gallery in Rome: Galleria Doria Pamphilj. Does the name seem familiar? Dorian Gray? Well, his inspiration for the story is actually in this gallery -- a portrait of Pope Innocent X (a member of the Pamphilj family) by Velázquez. This was probably my favourite gallery in Rome not only because it was the source of inspiration for my favourite novel, but also because it had more than just Italian painters. It included several Flemish masters as well, including Pieter Brueghel. One of his paintings in this gallery is probably one of my new favourite paintings and was certainly my favourite in the gallery. An interesting sidenote about this gallery is that the family Pamphilj still owns the building and there are members of the family that live in Palazzo Pamphilj.
The Optical Illusion Dome
The Optical Illusion Ceiling
The Dome Directly Beneath
The Ceiling From the Other Direction
Galeria Doria Pamphilj
"Pope Innocent X" by Diego Velázquez
"A Winter Scene" by Pieter Bruegel
We had a group dinner tonight in Mona's apartment prepared by one of the best chefs in Rome! He is a chef for the US embassy and sometimes the Dutch and Austrailian. We had some amazing Porcini Risotto and Roasted Rosemary Chicken with a dessert of Espresso Panna Cotta.
See more pictures:
No comments:
Post a Comment