(no subject)
before i go into my touristy action packed day, i have to laugh and tell you guys that I won the "Value Award" from my work, a prize of 500 bucks for the employee who shows 6 different forms of value. now, im laughing because Natalie and I went in on this together, and she nominated me and wrote some elaborate things about me. They NEVER ever pick a creative team member to win...its always some joker in marketing or account services. But when they announced my name, i guess i got a really loud applause. the irony is that i have perfected the art of "multitasking" at work and its hysterical that i win something that touts hard work when im on a month long lazy vacation on the other side of the globe. so Natalie and I are splitting the winnings...i mean, the award.
ok, thats all. oh, and INXS, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie are still popular in Rome.
and now, on to the Pier 39 of Rome: St Peters Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel.
i had to go. i mean, cmon. an art history degreed person pays a ton of money in tuition for 4.5 years to learn about the stuff that people are paying out the wazoo here to see. So i woke up at 9am and trekked up the hill to the Gianicolo park, and took in the view of the city and the statues of Garibaldi and his wife Anita. then it was down the other side of the hill, left on via d. Conciliazone, and straight into the open arms of Bernini's Piazza S. Pietro. i wish i had woken up at like 7 am and rushed over to see the Piazza before the floods of people arrived. the huge rows of Doric columns, the massive arching sweep to allow as many people into the Piazza to view the pope's addresses. and then i stood in the crazy line to get past the metal detectors to head into St Peter's Basilica.
So the first thing you see when you enter the doors is Bernini's enormous Baroque canopy (the Baldacchino), way down at the other end under the dome. the columns holding it up were created from bronze pulled from the retaining walls of the Pantheon by order of the Pope. its gorgeous from afar, but not my first stop. i took an immediate right and headed to the right hand niche area that houses Michelangelo's Pieta. Sadly, there is protective glass in front of it since some loony attacked it in 1972, damaging the Madonna's nose and fingers, while shouting "I AM JESUS CHIRST". but i think my camera took an ok picture.
Navigated through the masses of people taking portraits of themselves in front of say, a crypt housing the body of a pope, and into the main Dome area, designed by Michelangelo. if you can just block out the people, it's pretty amazing. took it in for several minutes, as well as closer looks of Bernini's canopy and his crazy gaudy apse. headed downstairs to the crypt area, to look at more tombs of Popes, the infamous red wall that St Peter was supposedly buried behind. then back upstairs to look at yet another Bernini masterpiece, Alexander VII's monument.
Realizing that i have only seen St Peters, i headed over to the Vatican Museums, paid the hefty 12 euro and wandered through hall after hall after hall of tapestries, map rooms, and the gorgeous Raffaello rooms, including the Signature Room which houses the School of Athens (read more here) . Then of course it was into the Sistine Chapel, to view the Creation, Adam and Eve, the Drunkeness of Noah and every other fresco. The nice thing about this room is that although it is packed full of people, guards are constantly shushing the yakkers, so its pretty quiet (except for the occasional "NO CAMERAS PER FAVORE!"). the highlight, though, was Michelangelo's Last Judgement, with Christ saving the people on his right and damning the ones on his left.
After the Sistine, i walked over to the Pinoteca galleries, to finally see the Caravaggio Deposition of Christ. other people could lurk in the Sistine Chapel all day, but i spent a good 30 minutes in this one room with the Caravaggio. Also got to see Raffaello's Transfiguration, in a very dramatically lit dark room. gorgeous.
the biggest surprise, though, was the Vatican's tiny Modern religious art collection. Who knew that they hold some Max Beckmann (oh irony), a Francis Bacon, an awesome Ben Shahn, an Otto Dix! (those of you who know me well, know of my love for Otto Dix), 2 Dali's, a Matisse, a couple Chagalls, a Klee, a Kandinsky, and even a tapestry by Buffett. so many others i can't think of. funny though, most people literally RAN through these galleries because they are right before the entrance to the Sistine. I wanted to tell them "look at the Francis Bacon!", but they came here on a purpose.
ok, so thats all. im so tired. i need a siesta before tonights soul night in a pub off of Piazza Navona.
tomorrow: taking in yet more Caravaggios and actually going shopping. SHOPPING! wiht money i don't have.
ok, thats all. oh, and INXS, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie are still popular in Rome.
and now, on to the Pier 39 of Rome: St Peters Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel.
i had to go. i mean, cmon. an art history degreed person pays a ton of money in tuition for 4.5 years to learn about the stuff that people are paying out the wazoo here to see. So i woke up at 9am and trekked up the hill to the Gianicolo park, and took in the view of the city and the statues of Garibaldi and his wife Anita. then it was down the other side of the hill, left on via d. Conciliazone, and straight into the open arms of Bernini's Piazza S. Pietro. i wish i had woken up at like 7 am and rushed over to see the Piazza before the floods of people arrived. the huge rows of Doric columns, the massive arching sweep to allow as many people into the Piazza to view the pope's addresses. and then i stood in the crazy line to get past the metal detectors to head into St Peter's Basilica.
So the first thing you see when you enter the doors is Bernini's enormous Baroque canopy (the Baldacchino), way down at the other end under the dome. the columns holding it up were created from bronze pulled from the retaining walls of the Pantheon by order of the Pope. its gorgeous from afar, but not my first stop. i took an immediate right and headed to the right hand niche area that houses Michelangelo's Pieta. Sadly, there is protective glass in front of it since some loony attacked it in 1972, damaging the Madonna's nose and fingers, while shouting "I AM JESUS CHIRST". but i think my camera took an ok picture.
Navigated through the masses of people taking portraits of themselves in front of say, a crypt housing the body of a pope, and into the main Dome area, designed by Michelangelo. if you can just block out the people, it's pretty amazing. took it in for several minutes, as well as closer looks of Bernini's canopy and his crazy gaudy apse. headed downstairs to the crypt area, to look at more tombs of Popes, the infamous red wall that St Peter was supposedly buried behind. then back upstairs to look at yet another Bernini masterpiece, Alexander VII's monument.
Realizing that i have only seen St Peters, i headed over to the Vatican Museums, paid the hefty 12 euro and wandered through hall after hall after hall of tapestries, map rooms, and the gorgeous Raffaello rooms, including the Signature Room which houses the School of Athens (read more here) . Then of course it was into the Sistine Chapel, to view the Creation, Adam and Eve, the Drunkeness of Noah and every other fresco. The nice thing about this room is that although it is packed full of people, guards are constantly shushing the yakkers, so its pretty quiet (except for the occasional "NO CAMERAS PER FAVORE!"). the highlight, though, was Michelangelo's Last Judgement, with Christ saving the people on his right and damning the ones on his left.
After the Sistine, i walked over to the Pinoteca galleries, to finally see the Caravaggio Deposition of Christ. other people could lurk in the Sistine Chapel all day, but i spent a good 30 minutes in this one room with the Caravaggio. Also got to see Raffaello's Transfiguration, in a very dramatically lit dark room. gorgeous.
the biggest surprise, though, was the Vatican's tiny Modern religious art collection. Who knew that they hold some Max Beckmann (oh irony), a Francis Bacon, an awesome Ben Shahn, an Otto Dix! (those of you who know me well, know of my love for Otto Dix), 2 Dali's, a Matisse, a couple Chagalls, a Klee, a Kandinsky, and even a tapestry by Buffett. so many others i can't think of. funny though, most people literally RAN through these galleries because they are right before the entrance to the Sistine. I wanted to tell them "look at the Francis Bacon!", but they came here on a purpose.
ok, so thats all. im so tired. i need a siesta before tonights soul night in a pub off of Piazza Navona.
tomorrow: taking in yet more Caravaggios and actually going shopping. SHOPPING! wiht money i don't have.