Rome, Italy (Borghese and Barberini)

 21 May 2024 - Rome, Italy (Borghese and Barberini)

We have only two days left in this part of Rome and I wanted to spend it visiting some of the famous art museums.  We had a guided tour of the Borghese gallery which is a beautiful Baroque villa with world class art.  The second floor with all the paintings was closed for renovation so we were able to only see the sculptures and a couple of the paintings moved down from the second floor.  The rest of the paintings are temporarily displayed at the Barberini Museum which we visited the next day.  The Borghese gallery is located in a beautiful park that we were able to relax in for a couple of hours.  In between our art visits, we did some more wandering and saw more beautiful fountains and an amazing view from the Quirinale Plaza, where the Italian President’s Palace (I think he uses it only for formal functions) is located. Rome is absolutely amazing! Now we transfer to a hotel near the Vatican.  Looking forward to seeing St. Peter’s Basilica and museums.

Closeup of Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne.  The hair looks so real and the movement of the figures just blew my mind.  To create such a living object from a slab of marble!

Several floors in the villa have detailed mosaics.  I never really realized before that Rome had such beautiful mosaics.

Bernini’s The Rape of Proserpina is the centerpiece of this beautiful room.  The villa was owned by the Borghese family, a powerful force during the Baroque period.

These mythology stories seem to focus a lot on a male god seeing a female human or goddess and deciding they want them, so they just take them. In this one, Pluto takes Proserpina (unwillingly) to the underworld.  Negotiations ensue and she is allowed to leave the underworld 6 months a year, hence, spring comes back to the world, and when she has to return to the underworld, winter starts.

Look at how his hand is grasping her thigh. Such a realistic depiction. You can see the blood veins in his leg.  All these great artists studied anatomy in detail, using cadavers. Bernini was only 23 years old.

Bernini’s David. He completed this in only 8 months.  Cardinal Borghese was a big patron of Bernini.

This Bernini piece shows the three ages of man - a child, an adult and an old man.  Bernini was only 20 years old when he sculpted this! His father, also a sculptor, probably helped him. This represents three generations of the Aeneas family, fleeing from Troy, as described in the Aeneid. It is famous for its depiction of movement while carrying a great weight.

You can also see, from the back, how he sculpted the skin of a child, an adult and an aged person. How does one know how to do this? Just in awe!

In his time, the cardinal was well known for his art collection. He would hold events where the participants came specifically to view his art, essentially turning his home into an art museum.  

Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath, was painted as a gift to the Pope.  It was a peace offering asking for forgiveness for a crime Caravaggio committed (murder in the moment of drunkenness). He had been banned from Rome and was asking to be allowed back.  Goliath’s head is a self-portrait.

This is a Canova piece, Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victoria, 

This is my absolute favorite piece, Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne.  Once again, a god decides he wants a woman he sees and takes her.  In this case, Daphne’s mother turns her into a laurel tree, preventing the abduction.

Not only does Bernini take on the challenge of showing movement in the figures, he also depicts a human turning into a tree. You just kind of forget that the medium is marble.

The Borghese park is quite large, over 200 acres (bigger than the Vatican).  Private until the 1900s, it now has a children’s amusement park equestrian center, and athletic fields.

Lots of water fountains and walking paths.

A wedding party was having pictures taken.  

The Barberini Gallery was the Baroque home (palazzo) of the Barberini family, another powerful Roman family.  Their crest contains bees and, if you are hunting, you will find bees all over the city on buildings that the family built. Family members lived in the apartment here until 1955.

The palazzos we visited were full of beautifully painted ceilings.

This portrait of a young woman with unicorn is thought to be a betrothal painting, since the unicorn symbolizes chastity.  X-ray analysis shows that it might have been a repaint of an older painting, where the unicorn was a small dog.

Absolutely huge room which was used for entertainment.

Beautiful frescoed ceilings influenced many other ceilings in Rome.

A famous Botticelli painting.

Bernini sculpted lots of famous people in his day.

Leda and the Swan, another mythology story about a woman being seduced by a god, this time Zeus disguised as a swan. This was painted by Sesto, from Leonardo da Vinci’s circle. Da Vinci’s picture has been lost.  Of all the hundreds of paintings he is thought to have done, only 15 are known to exist.

Holbein’s Henry the 8th.  Very square.

Corradini’s Veiled Woman.   The fabric and folds are so delicate.

This is a modern sculpture, copying some of the Baroque sculptures we saw.  We could find no description.

A piece of Americana in the Barberini. Not the best representation. The walls were grafetti paintings.

Almost everywhere you turn, sculptures or Roman ruins are visible.

Another Egyptian obelisk, this one on the Quirinale hill.

There are three more fountains to complete this set. Built in the 1500s, these are located at the intersection of two streets.

Rome, Italy (Pompeii)

 15 May 2024 - Rome, Italy (Pompeii)

Took a LONG day trip south to Pompeii.  It took almost 4 hours to get there because of an accident on the highway.  And over 3 hours to get back because of traffic.  And I thought Rome was crowded - Pompeii was crazy! But I was able to see more than I thought I would - accessibility was pretty good all the way down the main street of Pompeii and in several of the houses/businesses. 

When the eruption occurred in 79 AD, the wealthy city of 10,000 was buried under up to 20 feet of volcanic ash.  Its location was lost to history and the place was not rediscovered until the late 16th century.  Major excavations started in the 18th century and looting was prevalent. Then organized minds prevailed.  Areas were gridded out and records were kept of the findings. By 1960, much of Pompeii had been uncovered  and further excavations were banned or limited to targeted areas. Our guide said that about 30% of the city has not been excavated.  

Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - it is one of the few places in the world where we get an authentic look back at life in the far, far past.  The Roman kept detailed records and some of those were preserved in the ash, along with kitchen utensils, bodies, and, wall paintings. Archeologists have been able to learn the names of people who owned businesses and homes and even, in some cases, the names of the employees in the cafes that were everywhere.

The visit was amazing.  On the one hand, it is very sad to think of the terror the people felt during that time, the devastation, and the chaotic aftermath for the survivors.  On the other hand, we are so privileged to have access to a snapshot in time. It was well worth the drive.

Exited through the 2nd wall of Rome as we headed south to Pompeii.

Pompeii was a major trading center and was full of traders and tourists.  This hotel hosted families and business people.  This is an outdoor bath where hotel visitors could relax. 

The hotel had a beautiful garden.  Archeologists have researched what type of plants were likely in the destroyed garden and have replanted them.

The columns are original to the hotel, but the roof has been recreated.  Everything that was organic, including, wood, plants and people, were incinerated in the eruption.

This is an eating area.  The wood table is gone as well as the cushions that customers would have sat on.  The steps iin the wall was a waterfall for the diners’ pleasure.

The stained walls were often saved.  This red is known as “Pompeii Red” and is seen all over the city. This is a wall in the dining area of the hotel.

This is a school for boys.  They learned reading and writing and also physical skills.  There was also a separate school for boys who were going to be in the army and one for the gladiator slaves.

Training grounds for physical fitness at the school.

This theater was the largest in the area and drew people from adjacent cities. Plays, music concerts and gladiator fights were held here. I believe this was rebuilt after it was found in the volcanic ash.  Many buildings were knocked over on the 2nd day of eruptions by the pyroclastic flows.

Streets had sidewalks and a road.  The road was reserved for cart travel and contained sewage.  

These signs are written in “Vulgar Latin”, which is like street language, not what you would see in books.  The main street had political advertisements.

Unlike Rome, a large part of Pompeii was laid out in grid fashion.

These big stones were placed at street intersections to allow pedestrians to cross the streets without trodding in the sewage.  Rome had standardized wagon width so that the wheels could pass between these boulders.  Just think of how many carts had to pass to wear a groove in the rocks! Carts could not travel on the road during the day, they were restricted to night travel only.

Every couple blocks, a water fountain was built.  Residents used these for drinking water.  They had different designs so the residents could have a way to identify them when arranging to meet each other - “See you at the bull fountain tomorrow!”

Some of the wealthier homes had detailed mosaic floors.

These same wealthy homes featured wall paintings of Greek myths.  Pompeii was first founded in the 8th century BC. In the 4th century BC, the Greeks took over and had a strong influence on the life and culture.

Pompeii homes had a common design.  The main living area had a sunken pool.  The roof was wooden and angled a bit down towards a hole in the center. When it rained, the water fell through the hole and filled the pool. Not sure if the pool served more than a decorative purpose.

Many, many food establishments on the Main Street.  The holes here held pots with food.  People would eat their noon meal at these places.  Most did not have a dining room, so it was street food only.  Very like Rome today.  Except, in Pompeii, the road with all the sewage was 10 feet away, with all the flies and smells.  

This symbol was carved into the road to show that if you turned left at the next street, you would find the brothels.  

This was the large home of a wealthy family.  Archeologists don’t know if there was a real dog at the house, but this floor mosaic at the entrance warned people of the dog.

Most of Pompeii still shows the ash color which covered it for millennia.  This eatery, however, had been polished by visitors’ sweaty and oily hands touching it over the years and it shows the beauty of the original stones.

This room contains the pots and pans that were found when the site was excavated.

Most buildings were two stories high, but collapsed during the eruption.

The rubble above the wall is the ash that covered the city.  When the eruption was over, the city was covered up to 20 feet in this ash which solidified and people weren’t able to dig through.

If this looks like a pizza/bread oven, that is because it is.  This is a bakery on a side street.

This is the home of a very important person.  It was quite large compared to the others.

The roof of the town’s baths.

The guide was explaining that the cubbies on the right side of the baths were where you could store your clothes while you bathed.  Your slave would sit on the bench below and protect your belongings.  If you didn’t own a slave, you could rent one.

The design of the baths was pretty elaborate, with cold, warm and hot rooms.  The vents below allowed water to circulate under the tubs.

The main street ended at the Forum, the center for business and government. It is a large square surrounded by various temples and government buildings.

Mount Vesuvius in the background.  The guide said that there are a total of 25 volcanoes in the area.

This is a controversial statue.  It is modern and many Italians feel it does not belong in an ancient city.

The government buildings in this forum contained records that were invaluable in describing the life of the city.  Land records and wills were found and helped identify citizens of the city.

Excavation continues. The large buildings that we visited were excavated in the 1980s.

The museum on the site contained some of the artifacts found during excavation.  This is an oil lamp.

Approximately 2,000 of the 10,000 citizens died in the eruption, most on the 2nd day.  Their bodies were instantly incinerated in the hot ash.  Archeologists discovered that they could fill the empty holes in the ash with cement and recover images of the bodies.

Some of the statues and temple pieces.  Many were plundered before order prevailed.

When we got back to Rome, We ate dinner at our favorite restaurant.  The staff has gotten to know us well and we enjoy the service and food.

This delightful young man has been our dedicated waiter.