Monthly Archives: December 2017

The Vatican, and Life Drawing

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Day 88, Friday December 1, 2017

The Vatican Museums were too much for us to see in one day so today we are back to finish our visit. This modern sculpture in one of the courtyards is called Sphere Within A Sphere, but it reminds me of the Death Star in the Star Wars movies. Nice reflections though.

On our way to the galleries we missed yesterday we have to retrace some of our steps. Two rooms of animal sculptures were closed yesterday but today they are open. There are sculptures of lots of different animals, and even some animal inspired furniture.This poor bull is being attacked by everyone, a man, a dog, a snake and even a scorpion.  Can you spot the scorpion?On our way through the Map Gallery we stop to get a photo of this ancient map of Italy…and a bit further on, more ancient mosaics that we are allowed to walk on. At least the beautiful centre panel is roped off. The Sala dell’ Immacolata,

and one more mind boggling room are just before the Raphael Rooms.

The Raphael  Rooms were the apartments of Pope Julius II (1503-1513) and they are stunning! For a virtual tour of the rooms where you can check out all the walls, ceilings and floors I suggest you click here. The rooms are beautifully photographed and give a much better idea of their grandeur than my photos.

The Room of Constantine…with amazing wooden window shutters.The Room of Heliodorus
The decoration on the lower part of the walls looks more like it is sculpted than painted.The Room of the Segnatura contains one of Raphael’s most famous paintings, The School of Athens, with its portrayal of famous philosophers. I remember studying this painting way back in my university days.

This painting along with the three other frescoed walls share this amazing ceiling.Here are the ceilings from some of the other rooms. My neck was getting sore from all the looking up!

We continue and enter a room where the painted walls look like wallpaper and drapery. We are surprised that there is also contemporary art on exhibit. There are many famous names here but much of the work is exhibited in small rooms off a corridor on the way to the Sistine Chapel. Their display seems like an afterthought to me. Most people just walk past these rooms in their hurry to visit the main event, the Sistine Chapel. It is a pity because there is some interesting work here.

We saw this Pieta by Vincent Van Gogh, work by Francis Bacon, Kandinsky,  Diego Rivera, Chagall, Klee, Salvador Dali, Edvard Munch, and others along with papal robes designed by Matisse.

I was surprised to see Will Barnet’s Four Generations here as well. It was quite an eclectic collection.

We go back into the Sistine Chapel for a second visit. It was much busier than yesterday and lots of people were standing shoulder to shoulder on the chapel  floor. We were lucky to find spot to sit along the wall and contemplate this Michelangelo masterpiece one more time. Instead of going to St. Peter’s we take the ‘door on the left’ instead of the ‘secret door on the right’ to return to the museums. There is still a whole wing that we have not seen! We get a different view of St. Peter’s from one of the museum windows. It is possible to climb the dome and stand outside at the base of the cupola on the top of the dome. I am hoping we will be able to do that before we leave Rome.

Room after ornate room stretches out before us.Some lovely mosaics, notice how small the tiles are compared to my finger, and the rather strange looking elephant!We think that this was a printing press but the only label is in Italian so we aren’t sure.

Many of the rooms were lined with painted cupboards but I haven’t been able to figure out what they were for. They have labels that say Armarium followed by sequential Roman numerals.  I Google translated and Armarium is closet in Latin and the one I took a picture of was closet 137.  Now I wonder what was in all those closets? We are finished! We have seen as much as we can and we are ‘finished’ physically as well. We both enjoy visiting museums but we also find it very tiring.  Perhaps just too much stimulation? We leave by the double helix staircase designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. It has two intertwined staircases that allow people to ascend without meeting people descending.After a brief rest back at our apartment I take the bus back to La Porta Blu Art School for another session of life drawing. Rebecca was an excellent model and I managed to find my way there and back by myself without incident, although the bus home was over a half hour late again. Poses ranged from 1 to 15 minutes.

Oh yes, and if you didn’t find the scorpion take a look between the bulls back legs.

The Vatican, Rome

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Day 87, Thursday November 30, 2017

We bought tickets online for the Vatican in order to avoid the long line-ups we have read about. Arriving at 10:00 we are able to enter right away, but so is everyone else. There are no lineups anywhere.

The map provided by the museum isn’t the best but between it, a Rick Steve’s travel app, and Bob’s navigational skills we manage to find our way around.  If you walk through all the galleries, it’s 7.5 km, or 4.5 miles long and yes we walked through all the galleries!

Be warned, this is a long post, so you might want to get a cup of something hot before you visit the Vatican Museums with us!
One of the first sculptures we see is this copy of Michelangelo’s Pieta. the original is now behind glass because it was badly damaged by a deranged man 45 years ago. I think this is the closest I will get to taking my photo with this incredibly beautiful statue.
 We see many examples of Early Christian and Medieval art. Before this trip I didn’t have a lot of interest in this genre but I discovered that I am rather fascinated by depictions of the Madonna. We even saw a pregnant Madonna, the only one I have ever seen.Next stop was a huge room with several very large tapestries. They were so finely woven that they almost looked like paintings.

This very large angel from1666 was one of four preparatory straw and clay models for bronze castings by Bernini.A enormous collection of ancient sculptures, sarcophaguses, reliefs and  building parts was next. There was also a display of drawings, which I found interesting.  I speculate that there must have been a drawing workshop.
This is a floor mosaic that I remember seeing in books. I always liked the little mouse. The tiles are very small. I can almost feel the wind blowing these garments about.One of the reliefs on display.There is a large collection of vehicles used by Popes over the centuries.
We didn’t know that all papal vehicles come equipped with a throne!The Vatican has an extensive collection of Egyptian artifacts many of which are superior to the ones we saw in museums in Egypt! It is easy to forget that all these hieroglyphs were at one time bright painted like the inside of the coffin.The painted bas-relief fragment is from 2400 B.C.The Mummy of Taymen is from 750-525 B.C. We never saw anything like this in Egypt. It was fascinating, but I know this person never intended to be on display in a museum!There are many galleries of Greek, Etruscan and Roman artifacts and these which are from Syria-Palestine during the Neolithic period 8500-3000 B.C.

We descended this staircase to emerge …

in a very long hallway lined with over a thousand sculptures!There were several museum workers busy dusting and cleaning. I imagine that by the time they finish it must be time to start again.The gallery above opened into this one, lined with even more monumental statues. It simply takes my breath away.A Roman copy of a Greek original dating from the 2nd century A.D. The affection for the child is evident in the way he is held and regarded. I can’t imagine that something so life-like can be carved in stone.I am fascinated with the carved flowing robes. I have a hard time even drawing folds never mind chiseling them from stone.This is the Nile River God with another sculpture filled niche behind.

There is an outside courtyard with a covered display area all around the exterior walls. There we see the biggest toe. Can you imagine the size of the statue this once belonged to? That is my foot beside it.

There are many incredible statues on display…  but I am particularly drawn to these three. The Belvedere Apollo, the Belvedere Hermes, and the Laocoön. The Laocoön was unearthed during  Michelangelo’s time and it had a great influence on his work. 

This sculpture of the River God Arno was the inspiration for Michelangelo’s David in the Sistine Chapel.

The Belvedere Torso was also the inspiration for Michelangelo’s God in the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel.We need to remember to look up. The ceilings in these galleries are as incredible as the art work below them.The Hall of Muses with its magnificent dome, mosaic floor, statues of the nine muses from the 2nd century A.D. and the largest carved stone basin in the world.These statues are monumental! Oh, and we are walking on the beautiful old mosaic floor here too.
It looked like the statue was trying to give this rather bored looking guard something.These bronze hands decorated with gold buttons are from the 1st half of the 7th century B.C. I thought they looked like a modern work of art.More display rooms with ornate ceilings…and lots more pots and other artifacts. In fact there were many rooms like this. We walked through all of them but I have admit that after a while we didn’t even try to look at all the items.
I did love these two horse heads…and there were some great views of Rome from the Gallery windows.Bob is trying to figure out where we go next.Turns out it is this room, with even more sculptures and carved stone artifacts, and yet another incredible ceiling.We both remember seeing a copy of this little boy with his goose in the Louvre many years ago. Interesting that we see it here in Rome too.The Arazzi Gallery is a long hall with more tapestries on both sides.This tapestry has an optical illusion. As we walk by it appears as if Jesus’s eyes are following us and he even seems to move through the doorway. It is very strange.

The Gallery of Maps is astounding. It seems to go on forever. The walls are lined with huge maps of all of Italy but it is the ceiling that grabs our attention. It is covered with paintings and sculptures and ornate frames.The lighting makes the ceiling look golden in the photo above but this photo shows its true colours. I just don’t know what to say. Words are simple inadequate to describe this very, very long ceiling. It is almost unbelievable.
There are more galleries but we are getting very tired. We decided several hours ago that we need to come finish seeing everything another day. We make our way to the Sistine Chapel. We are so lucky, because it is late in the day there are not many people in the chapel. We find a seat along the wall and look up. There is so much to see. I think it is amazing that we are sitting here, in the Sistine Chapel looking at this masterpiece. We probably spend almost an hour here but it is time to go as we still need to visit St .Peters and see the Pieta.It is night when we leave the Vatican Museums. We go through the ‘secret passage’ that allows us to enter the basilica without having to line up and go through security again.There she is. The Pieta, in all her glory. After spending some time with the Pieta, we walk around the basilica. We wanted to visit the grotto beneath the church but it is already closed. I like the little dragon between the bottom two figures in the sculpture.
St. Peter’s right foot has been rubbed almost away by the touch of thousands of pilgrims over the centuries.
There is a mass taking place so we listen to the organ music and singing for bit before we finally head home. It has been long day. We spent 8 wonderful hours in the Vatican Museums but we are both very tired..

Even The Best Laid Plans….

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Day 84, Monday November 27, 2017

Robert Burns poem ‘To A Mouse’ has the line  “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”  That is what has happened to us. You may have noticed that I have been behind on my blog posts. Well, on our first day in Rome Bob’s wallet went ‘walk about’ with the help of one of Rome’s many pick pockets. We were coming home on the metro and within a couple of minutes Bob noticed his wallet was missing. We thought it was secure, in a front zippered pocket but Rome’s pick pockets are very skilled.

The subways can be very crowded during rush hour. These pictures give an idea of how packed it can be.

This resulted in the loss of his driver’s licence so we could no longer rent a car. We thought about taking busses and trains but all the things we had planned on doing and seeing really required a car. After much deliberation we decided that the best course of action was to cut our trip short and go home early. We spent several days making the police report, cancelling our car rental, changing airline tickets, cancelling accommodations and rebooking other accommodations. We still managed to go sight seeing but all this other stuff was kind of stressful and took a lot of time. I just didn’t have the energy or time to blog in the evenings.

On the bright side, we now are spending three weeks in Rome which we have enjoyed. We both really like Rome. It is a beautiful city with so much history and so much to see and do. We are going to take the bus to Pompeii next week and spend three nights there. Then we will have a few more days in Rome before we fly home.

Day 85, Tuesday November 28, 2017

We cleaned the apartment last night and finished up this morning. Today we move to our new Airbnb for the rest of our stay in Rome. We managed to find a place just a short walk from our current apartment so we will walk our suitcases over. So much easier than having to take the metro or bother with a cab. We spent the rest of the day getting groceries and getting settled in our new apartment.

Day 86, Wednesday November 29, 2017

It rained hard all day which was just fine with me as I had a much needed quiet day planned. We have been so lucky with the weather this trip. Almost the only time we have had lots of rain was on days that we had planned on spending at home..

The Pope’s Angelus Blessing, Rome

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Day 83, Sunday November 26, 2017

Every Sunday at noon is the Angelus Prayer, when Pope Francis speaks to those gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Today we are among the many who are here to see and hear the Pope. We thought we had a great spot right in front of St. Peter’s Basilica with a clear view of the central balcony…then Bob spotted something in the far away window of the building across the square. Oops, this is where the Pope appears, and we are quite far away.
At noon the Pope appears and with a friendly wave and a welcoming “Buongiorno”, to which the crowd replies “Buonjourno”, he begins the Angelus Prayer. 

Good thing I have a telephoto zoom on my camera! The Angelus ends with a blessing for everyone in the square and the blessing includes any religious objects that people have brought with them. The bells of St. Peter’s chime as the crowds begin to disperse. We have seen the Pope!Although the clouds were dark and threatening while we were waiting to see the Pope, by the time the Angelus is finished the sun is peeking through the clouds so we decide to stroll about. We head down the Via della Concillazione, the wide road that leads to St. Peter’s Square…and across the Ponte Sant’Angelo with a good view of the Castle Sant’ Angelo and the Tiber River. By the way, Romans pronounce it ‘teeber’ not ‘tiber.’One of the things I love about Rome, eye candy everywhere!We take a minute to pop into the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, known as the Chiesa Nuova, or New Church. A friendly lady comes to chat and gives us an audio guide tour.

The church celebrates the life and legacy of Saint Philip Neri, and this little side chapel is dedicated to him. He is also entombed there in a glass coffin. It is a bit strange to see so many bodies on display in churches here, it is not something we see at home. We wander back towards the Pantheon for photo of the obelisk in the centre of the fountain. I think we are getting close to seeing all the Egyptian obelisks in Rome. I will have to check, but I do know there is one more near by.I wanted a photo to show just how enormous the columns at the Pantheon are.Around the corner behind the Pantheon we find one more obelisk. Bernini designed the base for this one after it was discovered in excavations nearby in 1667.Back to the front of the Pantheon where the long line up has disappeared so we go in to see what it looks like in the daytime. The sun is shining through the oculus, but other than that the lighting isn’t much different than during the evening. We take another quick look around and we are on our way. People try to earn money in all sorts of ways in Rome. This young woman was sculpting sand puppies…and an artist asks to be adopted, but he was nowhere in sight when we walked by.Christmas decorations are making an appearance, and many stores use live evergreens in their decorations. I am curious and a closer look reveals that they are using Oasis, or floral foam, to keep the greens fresh. These displays smell so Christmassy when we walk by.A view down one of the main streets where we wait for our bus. Notice that there aren’t many cars at all. Also notice the gypsy lady prostrated on the sidewalk, begging. I can’t imagine this is an easy way to make money.

We pass Trevi Fountain with its hordes of people and decide it is time to head home.As you already know, I love looking down side streets and into courtyards.  I didn’t even notice the ‘street art’ on the do not enter sign until today when I was posting this.

This lovely apartment building with its garden balconies is on the corner near our own apartment.

All Roads Lead To Rome

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Day 82, Saturday November 25, 2017

The Appian Way was Europe’s first super highway. It is the reason for the saying “All roads lead to Rome.” Built in 312 B.C., it connected Rome with Capua (near Naples), running in a straight line for much of the way. Eventually it stretched over 600 kilometres to Brindisi, on the east coast of Italy. Today is Bob’s birthday and we are going to walk the Appian Way.

We take the metro and then a bus to the outskirts of Rome. Before we start our walk back into Rome we walk a bit further in the opposite direction to visit the Villa Dei Quintili. We buy our €5.00 tickets and when we walk up to the building below it is all locked up and under construction!

Turns out this isn’t the villa, and we need to walk along a dirt path behind this building for a ways to the ruins. The Villa Dei Quintili was the largest villa complex in the suburbs outside Rome. It was built by two brothers, who were later executed by Emperor Commodus who took over possession of their villa. It was then expanded and used by emperors until the 5th century. There are boardwalks in many areas but sometimes we are walking on the original mosaics floors! Hard to believe that this is allowed. There are baths here with a calidarium (hot water) and a frigidarium (cold water). Many of the rooms have remains of mosaics and floor tiles. A few even have traces of frescoes on the walls. 

This all covers a huge area and it was all one villa. When it was first excavated it was thought to have been a town!Back on the Appian Way we are ready to start our walk towards Rome, on the same road that was used by Romans almost 2,000 years ago! We are going to walk in the footsteps Roman Emperors, merchants, saints and maybe even St.Peter! Julius Caesar travelled this road along with thousands of soldiers, and now we are too.
 Romans did not allow anyone to be buried inside the city walls so many people were buried along the roads leading out of Rome. Wealthy people built impressive tombs for themselves. The remains of many of these tombs are visible today.  Sometimes there is as little as a mound of earth but there are also still quite impressive remains of the larger tombs.These are the original stones that were used to build this road. These stones were set upon a bed of gravel and cement. Lime cement was then used to fill the gaps between the stones and the road was said to have been so smooth that the joints between the rocks could not be felt. In the foreground the ruts made by ancient chariot and wagon wheels can be seen.One of the many ‘reconstructed’ tombs along the Appian Way…and a couple more.

The day started out cloudy and cold but the sun came out and warmed us up.There are many grand modern villas along the Appian Way. This is looking down just one of the many long tree-lined driveways we see along our walk.Getting closer to Rome. It is a bit tiring walking on these original paving stones. The cement that made the road smooth has long worn away. We saw lots of people bicycling along here and it looked bone jarring.                                 

This is a small archeaological area along the road that used to be a farmer’s field. Some of the floor mosaics show where they were damaged by the plows used to till the fields!Fall has arrived. The leaves here were a beautiful golden yellow.Inside the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, one of the best preserved tombs along the Appian way, there is an exhibit of modern sculpture by Paola Cream. I like this bird man…and these vessels. The exhibit sign said the show only runs until November 11th, but this is Rome and not everything is what it says it is.

This is the outside of the Tomb of Cecilia, who was noble woman in the 1st century B.C. Inside the hollow round tower is where her body is thought to have been buried.

That was our last stop of the day. The ruins are closed at 4:00 and we still have a a walk and then a bus and metro ride to get home. we ran out of time to visit the catacombs so we will have to return another day.