Uffizi Gallery – The Tribuna (Florence, Italy)

Posted on 27 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — 1 Comment ↓

The Tribuna (Tribune)

The essential highlight of our Grand Tour of the Uffizi Gallery is the Tribuna (Tribune), an octagonal room where the most important antiquities and High Renaissance and Bolognese paintings from the Medici collection were displayed in the 18th century and are still are displayed here. Many years before the Uffizi building was officially transformed into a Gallery, the Tribuna was, in a sense, already a “museum.”

To keep the most precious artworks of the Medici collection as well as his jewels and embellishments, Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici (son of Cosimo I de’ Medici) asked his friend and collaborator, the architect Bernardo Buontalenti to design the Tribuna which was realized between 1581 and 1583, making it the most ancient room of the Uffizi Gallery. At that time, the ground floor was still occupied by the Florentine magistrates. In 1737, the Grand Duchess Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici ceded the collection to the Tuscan government and, by the 1770s, the Uffizi (and in particular the Tribuna) was the hub for Grand Tourists visiting Florence.

The most important room at the first floor and the first nucleus of the Uffizi Gallery, it is probably the only room that, from the 16th century, has been rearranged more frequently, with artwork relocated to other museums or replaced so that the paintings and sculptures had more space. Changes were made in 1970 and, in 2012, the restoration of the room was finished.

In 1772, Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom commissioned Johann Zoffany‘s famous painting of the Tribuna. It portrayed the northeast section but varies the arrangement and brings in works not normally displayed in the room, such as Raphael’s Madonna della Sedia. Connoisseurs, diplomats and visitors to Florence, all identifiable, are seen admiring the works of art.

Arrotino

The Tribuna displayed, according to the concept of a museum in that period, not just works of art (such as sculptures and paintings) but also extraordinary natural items such as precious stones, coins, etc., making it a cabinet of curios containing a condensate of knowledge. The structure was octagonal because, according to Christian tradition, eight is the number which draws near Heaven. In ancient times, octagonal plans were recurrent in the construction of important buildings as well as of baptisteries and basilicas, making the Tribuna a kind of profane temple dedicated to art.

The Dancing Faun

The incredible dome, which symbolizes the Vault of Heaven, has an external lantern with a weather vane (its movements internally reproduced on a painted wind rose) which also works as a sundial. During both equinoxes and solstices, the Sun passing through a hole displays the celestial mechanics also to “those who are inexperienced with planets and the motion of heavenly bodies.”

The Two Wrestlers

The iconography of the Tribune’s decorations and furniture was conceived by Francesco I (who dabbled in alchemy) as a full cosmos featuring the four elements:

Earth – represented by the floor, Architect Buontalenti realized it as a wide flower inlaid with polychrome marbles (alabaster from Northern Africa, green porphyry from Turkey, red porphyry from Egypt). Jacopo Ligozzi painted also plants and animals at the base of the walls, along the room’s perimeter.
Water – represented on the dome encrusted by 5,780 precious mother-of-pearls coming from the Indian Ocean and masterly set on a background painted with a scarlet varnish achieved, as it was usual in ancient times, by using millions of red cochineals. The shells on the vault refer to the emblem of Bianca Cappello, the woman that the Grand Duke loved for a long time, and that he married in the same period in which the Tribuna was built. The 130 sq. m. of ceiling was then covered, under the varnish, with layers of gold. The frescoed plinth is now lost.
Fire – represented by the precious red velvet on the high walls provided with gold fringes.
Air – symbolized by the towering lantern open to winds.

The Octagonal Table in the center

At the center of the room is an octagonal table, set with semiprecious stones by Jacopo Ligozzi. The room itself, apart from the paintings, furniture and statues, can be considered a work of art. Among the series of ancient sculptures, which arrived from the Villa Medici in Rome in the 17th century, is the delicate, Ist century A.D. Venere Medici (Medici Venus).

The Medici Venus

No one can enter the Tribuna as the marble mosaic of the pavement cannot sustain the weight of so many visitors. The most important paintings are now in another room that aspires to reproduce the set-up of the octagonal room. The paintings on the walls can be admired at a distance. Still, admiring the Tribuna is, no doubt, a breathtaking experience. The high walls, which terminate with a double drum and a lantern, as well as the windows, ensure that the Tribuna has a natural enlightenment similar to modern museums. The prevalent colors are the same as those in the emblem of the Medici.

Ceiling and wall detail

In the last few years, this room was at the core of the Digital Museum project with a multimedia installation letting visitors observe a 3D version of the sculptures in the Tribune, so they can admire their details and the marvelous project of this room.

Floor pattern detail

Tribuna: First Floor, Uffizi Gallery: Piazzale degli Uffizi (adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria), Florence, Italy. Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 8:15 AM to 6:50 PM. Closed on Mondays, December 25 and January 1. Website: www.uffizi.it. Regular admission: €20. Reduced Price Ticket: €2 for European Union citizens only, aged +18 | -26 upon showing passport or ID, and citizens of non-EU Countries only upon mutual agreement (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein). The ticket office closes at 5.30 PM and closing operations start at 6.20 PM.

Free admission for children under 18 years of any nationality (show passport or ID card, children younger than 12 must be accompanied by adults); persons with disabilities (if handicap is certified under Law 104/92, D.M. 507/97 and D.M. 13/2019); scholars; university students and teachers; student groups and teachers; tour guides and interpreters; journalists (enrolled in the Italian Association of Journalists); employees of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism; and members of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).

Taking photographs and videos is permitted provided they are taken without flash, lights and tripods, for personal, non-profit use only. The museum’s busiest times are weekends, Tuesdays and mornings. Doubtless, the best part of the day to visit the museum is in the afternoon; better after 4 PM once large groups have left the museum. Long lines are inevitable so, despite the slightly higher cost of entrance (extra booking fees), it is better to buy your Uffizi tickets ahead of time to skip the long line and spend more time in the museum.

How to Get There: bus service from Santa Maria Novella Station, bus 23.

Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy)

Posted on 27 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — 1 Comment ↓

Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi), one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence, was on our list of must see places upon our arrival in Florence. In high season, particularly in July, waiting times can be up to five hours so we bought our tickets online prior to our departure for Italy.

Here are some interesting trivia regarding the museum:

With around 2 million visitors annually, it is ranked as the 25th on the most visited art museums in the world. Serious art lovers should visit the Uffizi at least twice to see all of it.
This building was never created to be a museum nor intended to welcome up to an average of 10,000 people a day. It was designed to bring, under one roof, the administrative offices (the name uffizi means “offices” in Italian) of the Florentine magistrates such as the Tribunal, the Archivio di Stato (state archive), judiciary offices, the seats of the Florentine Guilds and a vast theater. At first, the halls of the top floor, where the art-fond family started to place the many pieces of their personal private collections (manuscripts, gems, coins, cameos, etc.) were only accessible to the Grand Ducal family, servants and only a few select guests. However, guests were welcomed on to admire the grandiose collection of Roman sculptures the Medici loved to collect.
According to Giorgio Vasari, architect of the Uffizi and the author of Lives of the Artists (published in 1550 and 1568), artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were said to have gathered at the Uffizi “for beauty, for work and for recreation.”

The construction of this grandiose, U-shaped Renaissance building, right next to Palazzo Vecchio, was begun by painter, art historian and architect Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and was later continued by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti and completed in 1581.

Check out “Palazzo Vecchio“

Statue of Cosimo de Medici

The long and narrow cortile (internal courtyard) is open to the Arno River, at its far end, through a Doric screen that articulates the space without blocking it (architectural historians treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe).

Its perspective length was emphasized by Vasari by the continuous roof cornices of the matching facades, unbroken cornices between storeys and the three continuous steps on which the palace-fronts stand. The niches, in the piers, alternate with columns filled with sculptures of famous artists in the XIX century.

The Uffizi was also planned to display, on the piano nobile, prime art works of the Medici collections. The plan was carried out by Grand Duke Francesco I, Cosimo’s son, who commissioned architect Bernardo Buontalenti to design the octagonal-shaped Tribuna degli Uffizi, the first private room dedicated to items that were “any kind of wonder” (favorite works of art, jewels, etc.) which they through were interesting objects. A highly influential attraction of a Grand Tour and considered the most ancient and precious heart of the Uffizi, the Tribuna collected a series of masterpieces in one room.

Check out “Uffizi Gallery – The Tribuna”

The Tribuna (Tribune)

Over the years, more sections of the palace were recruited to exhibit paintings and sculpture collected or commissioned by the Medici.

After the House of Medici was extinguished, Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heiress, negotiated terms of the famous Patto di famiglia, allowing the art treasures to remain in Florence. One of the first modern museums, the gallery had been open, since the sixteenth century, to visitors by request and, in 1769, the Uffizi Gallery and its treasures were officially opened by Leopold of the Lorraine to the public.

Because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence. For example, some its famous statues were transferred to the Bargello.

Check out “Bargello Museum”

In 2006, the museum’s exhibition space was expanded, from some 6,000 sq. m. (64,000 sq. ft.), to almost 13,000 sq. m. (139,000 sq. ft.), allowing public viewing of many artworks that have previously been in storage.

On May 27, 1993, a car bomb exploded in Via dei Georgofili, damaging parts of the palace and killing five people. The Niobe room, classical sculptures and Neo-Classical interior were most severely damaged but have been restored.

However, its frescoes were damaged beyond repair. The identity of the bomber or bombers are unknown. However, it was almost certainly attributable to the Sicilian Mafia as they were engaged in a period of terrorism at that time.

Check out “Uffizi Gallery – Great Niobe Room”

Great Niobe Room

In early August 2007, Florence and the Gallery was partially flooded during a large rainstorm, with water leaking through the ceiling. Visitors had to be evacuated. In 1966, a much more significant flood damaged most of the art collections in Florence severely, including the Uffizi.

To enter the building, we had to get through lines and the metal detector. Upon entering, we queued, under the eyes of the bust of Peter Leopold by Francesco Carradori, while waiting to have our ticket checked.

Lorraine Antiricetto. With a nich is the second century AD statue of Apollo restored by sculptor and architect Giovan Battista Pieratti in the first half of the 17th century. On the left is a pillar with bas-reliefs that tell the story of military victories. In the foreground is a the sarcophagus used for Hippolytus of Rome, a very important theologian of the ancient Christian Church. On its right is a second century AD statue of a dog.

We then took two flights of Renaissance-era stairs. At the top of the main stairway is the so-called Lorraine Antiricetto, the first vestibule that leads directly onto the first corridor, which displays the busts of the Medici-Lorraines (Lorenzo the Magnificent, Ferdinand II of Lorraine, Leopold II, etc.) responsible for the wealth of art works.

The busts of the Grand Dukes. Above the bust is the coat-of-arms of Alessandro de ‘Medici (attributed to Baccio d’Agnolo)

The busts, placed on wooden stands, each bears a shield on which golden letters show a brief elegy in Latin commemorating what each individual did for the Gallery. Also on display are statues within niches, old bas-reliefs, busts of deities, sarcophagi, urns of good design and sculpture.

then took two flights of Renaissance-era stairs before arriving at the actual entrance to the museum. Upon entry, we were welcomed by stunning frescoed ceilings and the start of its collections.

The museum is organized as a long labyrinth of rooms with amazing works of art displayed roughly in chronological order. To really enjoy these masterpieces, the newly renovated and reopened halls now have a double ceiling with more soft, better lighting.

Rucellai Madonna (Duccio di Boninsegna, 1285, tempera on wood). Here, the Virgin sits on a marvelous inlaid throne and her face, still enigmatic like that of a Byzantine icon, is softened by the hint of a smile. The heavy decoration, typical of Sienese painting of the time, is visible in the golden border of Holy Mary’s garments.

Sala 2 (Giotto and the 13th Century), the first hall, was like the inside of an ancient church, with low lighting (reminding us about candle lights). It features a trio of giant Maestà altarpieces (tempera on wood panels) of Gothic painters – Madonna in Majesty (1285-86, 385 x 223 cm.) by Cimabue (considered the last Italian artist to be influenced by Byzantine art), Madonna di Ognissanti (ca. 1310) by Giotto (the true originator of modern painting) and Rucellai Madonna (1285) by Duccio di Boninsegna (the most important representative of the Sienese school of painting that focused on the importance of color and decoration over drawing).

Madonna in Majesty (Cimabue, 1290-1300, tempera on wood)

Sala 3 (The Gothic Sienese School) pays homage to the 14th-century Sienese school with several delicately crafted works by Simone Martini (Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus, 1333) and the Lorenzetti brothers (Pietro and Ambrogio). Of the brothers’ work here, Ambrogio Lorenzetti ‘s Presentation at the Temple (1342) is the finest.

The Coronation of the Virgin (Angelico Fra, 1434)

Sala 4–6 (International Gothic), introducing us to the refined style of painting known as “international or flamboyant Gothic” (developed during the late XIV and the beginning of the XV century), houses the works of the 14th-century Florentine school – Fra Angelico, Jacopo Bellini, Lorenzo Monaco (Coronation of the Virgin, 1413), and Gentile da Fabriano (Adoration of the Magi, 1423). Here, you can clearly see the influence Giotto had on his contemporaries like Bernardo Daddi and Orcagna.

Adoration of the Magi, a masterpiece by Gentile da Fabriano (1423, tempera on wood), with its carved and gilded frame, was commissioned by Palla Strozzi (the richest citizen of Florence according to the census of 1427). A veritable example of the courteous aesthetics and its dreamy flavor, here silver and gold decorations, splendid details, plushy fabrics and gentle figures catch the eye.

At Sala 7 (Cue the Renaissance) the Renaissance proper starts taking shape, driven primarily by the quest of two artists, Paolo Uccello (The Battle of San Romano, 1456) and Masaccio (Madonna and Child with St. Anne, 1424), for perfect perspective.

The Battle of San Romano (Paolo Uccello)

In the center of the room is the unmistakable Diptych of Duke Federico da Montefeltro (ca. 1465 or 1470) by Piero della Francesca, one of the most impressive portraits of the Renaissance.

Madonna and Child Enthroned (Filippino Lippi, 1495-96, tempera on wood)

Sala 8 is devoted to Carmelite monk Fra’ Filippo Lippi (one of the protagonists of the early Renaissance) works such as the Madonna and Child (1455–66, his most famous painting), Coronation of the Virgin, Allegory, Barbadori Altarpiece, etc.). Also here are a few works by Filippino Lippi, Filippo Lippi’s illegitimate son.

Adoration of the Magi (Filippino Lippi, 1496, tempera on wood)

Sala 9 is an interlude of virtuoso paintings by Antonio del Pollaiuolo, plus a number of large Virtues by Piero del Pollaiolo, his less-talented brother, both masters of anatomical verisimilitude greatly influenced the young Botticelli, three of whose early works reside in the room.

Primavera (Sandro Botticelli)

Sala 10-14 (Botticelli Room), the largest hall of the museum, houses the most stunning and breathtaking paintings by Sandro Botticelli such as the Adoration of the Magi of 1475, Primavera, the large panel of the Allegory of Spring and the canvas of The Birth of Venus.

The Birth of Venus (Sandro Botticelli, 1484-85)

However, since spring 2015, the Botticelli Room was getting its first restoration in decades so, during our visit, these iconic paintings were temporarily displayed in Room 41, about halfway down the second floor’s Second Corridor.

Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder (Sandro Botticelli, ca. 1474)

Remaining there until early 2016, these works will be moved back and Room 41 is given over to Flemish and other northern Renaissance works.

Madonna and Child with Saints (Sandro Boticelli)

Sala 15 (The High Renaissance & Leonardo da Vinci) boasts Leonardo da Vinci’s unfinished Adoration of the Magi (1481), the Baptism of Christ (ca.1470-1475) and the beautiful Annunciation (ca. 1472).

Agony in the Garden (Pietro Perugino)

In addition to the works of da Vinci, there are also important works by other famous maestros active during the late 15th and early 16th century such as Pietro Perugino (Pietà, ca.1493-1494), Luca Signorelli, .Lorenzo di Credi (Adoration of the Shepherds) and Piero di Cosimo.

Crucifixion with Mary Magdalene (Luca Signorelli, 1502-05, oil on canvas)

Room 18 (The Tribune) – a small octagonal room (called the Tribuna) designed by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1584 with a pietra dura (stone inlay) floor, mother-of-pearl ceiling dome, and blood red walls covered with High Renaissance and Mannerist paintings.

Ceiling frescoes of one of the salette rooms

Past the Tribune are Sala 19–23 (The Quattrocento beyond Florence), a string of small, narrow rooms (called the salette, in Italian) with lovely but “grotesque” frescoed ceilings (by Lodovico Buti, dating back to 1588), that were reopened in April 2014 after an extensive renovation.

Another ceiling of a salette room

In the middle of the 17th century, the ceilings of the first two rooms were completely redone but the other 3 still contain their original designs which include scenes of battles and other armory-related scenes.

Self Portrait (Albrecht Durer, 1496, oil on panel)

From the end of the 16th century up until 1775, these rooms part of the most ancient section of the Gallery, housed the Medici Armory. The armory was then, in part, moved to the Fortezza da Basso.

Self Portrait (Rubens, oil on panel)

Sold in 1780, Pietro Leopoldo added the rooms to the museum and, only then, did the rooms host paintings by Flemish artists such as Rubens and Rembrandt, designs by Raffaello and prints by Dürer.

Portrait of Pope Julius II (Rafaello, 1443)

These rooms are now a repository for 44 (12 of which are paintings that have been chosen from the large deposit of works owned by the Uffizi Gallery but which were not on display before) of the Uffizi’s greatest paintings by early Renaissance artists working outside of Florence in the 15th century (an era called, in Italian, Il Quattrocento).

Sala 19 displays works by Sienese artists including two large altarpieces of the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, one by Il Vecchietta (the beautiful Madonna in Throne with Saints) and the other by Giovanni di Paolo, as well as works by Matteo di Giovanni and Sano di Pietro.

Madonna and Child Enthroned With Saints (Il Vechietta)

Sala 20 features the greatest artists and works of the Northern Italian Quattrocento masters (Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini and Antonello da Messina).

Sacred Allegory (Giovanni Bellini, 1490-99,oil on panel)

They include Andrea Mantegna’s Portrait of Carlo de’ Medici, the beautiful Madonna of the Caves (set on a light green background panel) and his triptych Stories from the Life of Christ: Adoration of the Magi, Circumcision, and Ascension (1463–70).

Sacred Allegory (Giovanni Bellini, 1490-99,oil on panel)

Also on display here is Giovanni Bellini‘s Portrait of a Gentleman in his Red Cap and his Sacred Allegory; and a pair of rare works by Antonella da Messina, an early Renaissance master from Sicily.

Sala 20 features the greatest artists and works of the Northern Italian Quattrocento masters. They include Andrea Mantegna’s Portrait of Carlo de’ Medici and his triptych Scenes from the Life of Christ: Adoration of the Magi, Circumcision, and Ascension (1463–70).

Scenes From the Life of Christ (Andrea Mantegna, 1463-64, tempera on panel)

Also on display here is Giovanni Bellini‘s Portrait of a Gentleman in his Red Cap and his Alegoria Sacra; and a pair of rare works by Antonella da Messina, an early Renaissance master from Sicily,.

Sala 21 (The Quattrocento of the Veneto ) features works by Vittore Carpaccio, Cima da Conegliano, etc..

Some of the ceiling decorations in Sala 21 was destroyed in 1944 during the bombing of the streets and bridges along the Arno river by the Germans. In memory of this event, a new mural painting, based on a design by Vittorio Granchi, was made in this spot representing the area after its destruction, with the date “August 1944.”

Madonna and Child (Cima da Conegliano, ca. 1504, tempera on panel)

Sala 22 (Quattrocento of Emilia-Romagna) features the works of Lorenzo Costa, Cosmè Tura, etc. and Sala 23 (Quattrocento of Lombardy) the works of Vincenzo Foppa, Bernardino Luini, etc.

The Doni Tondo (Michaelangelo, 1506-08, tempera on wood)

The fairly new Sala 35, opened in January 2013, charts the course of art from the period called “High Renaissance” until its final evolution called “Mannerism,” the artistic movement inspired by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael.

Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Job (Franciabigio, early 16th century)

It displays the Doni Tondo (or the Holy Family with the Infant and St. John the Baptist, ca. 1506-1508) of Michelangelo, the only painting by the great artist remaining in Florence, and certainly the only one that is attributed with certainty to the artist that can be moved (not painted directly on a wall).

Salome (Alonso Berruguette, ca. 1512-16) (1)

Vision of St. Bernard (Fra Bartolommeo)

The new hall also contains works by Andrea del Sarto, Franciabigio, Francesco Granacci, Fra Bartolomeo and Alonso Berruguete, to name just a few.

Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Job (Franciabigio, early 16th century)

Joseph Led to Prison (Francesco Granacci, 1515)

In the center of the room is the Sleeping Arianne, a Roman sculpture dating back to the second century A.C.

Sleeping Ariadne

Sala 66 houses Raphael’s portraits and The Annunciation (1475-80), Leonardo da Vinci ‘s one and only completed panel painting.

Portrait of Pope Leo X with Two Cardinals (Raphael)

The beautiful, long Sala 83 displays 10 works by the great portraitist Titian (also well known by his Italian name, Tiziano), the leading figure of the Venetian school.

Flora by Titian (ca. 1515-17, oil on canvas) is a sensual image greatly admired long before it arrived in the Uffizi’s collection in 1793 (after an exchange with the Imperial Gallery of Vienna). The beautiful woman, appearing as the Goddess of Fecundity, is also a portrait of a future wife, with similar symbols employed in his more famous Venus of Urbino.

They include Flora,Venus of Urbino, Madonna of the Roses, Portrait of a Knight of Malta, Portrait of Francesco Maria della, Portrait of Pope Sixtus IV, Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere, etc.)

The famous Venus of Urbino, by Titian (1538, oil on canvas), is a masterpiece of sophistication and sensuality

Sala 90 includes 3 masterpieces by Michelangelo Merisi (more widely known as Caravaggio). According to lore, the Shield with the Head of Medusa says that the face is actually a self-portrait of when the artist was younger.

Sacrifice of Isaac (Caravaggio)

The very famous Bacchus Holding his Goblet of Wine has extraordinarily detailed particulars that make the setting come to life. The Sacrifice of Isaac reveals elements the artist used often as a young painter.

Medusa (Carravaggio, 1597, oil on canvas covered panel)

Other famous works from the painting collection include:

The author with the Madonna of the Goldfinch (Raphael, 1505-06, tempera on wood) in the background

Though the Uffizi Gallery is known worldwide for its famous paintings, it was once called the “Gallery of statues” since the first collection displayed consisted mainly in ancient Roman and Greek statues.

Doryphoros torso

Some of the famous statues of the Medici’s later collections that we can admire today are the wonderful Venus, in the Tribuna, and the so-called Niobe group for which a room of its own was created.

Hercules and Nessus

Moreover, many are the alternating statues and busts displayed all along the wide corridors which outline the u-shaped second floor of the museum. They include:

Amor and Psyche
Apollino‎
Arrotino (The Tribune)
Britannicus in Toga
Crouching Venus
Dancing satyr from the group «Invitation to the dance
Il Pocellino
Medici Venus (The Tribune)
Niobids (The Tribune)
Spinario
Torso Gaddi
Uffizi wrestlers‎ (The Tribune)

Apollo Playing the Cithara

Along the corridors are wide windows where we had great views of the San Miniato Church, the Bardini Gardens and the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River.

View of the Arno River from the Uffizi Gallery

Uffizi Gallery: Piazzale degli Uffizi (adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria), Florence, Italy. Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 8:15 AM to 6:50 PM. Closed on Mondays, December 25 and January 1. Website: www.uffizi.it. Regular admission: €20. Reduced Price Ticket: €2 for European Union citizens only, aged +18 | -26 upon showing passport or ID, and citizens of non-EU Countries only upon mutual agreement (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein). The ticket office closes at 5.30 PM and closing operations start at 6.20 PM.

How to Get There: bus service from Santa Maria Novella Station, bus 23.

Borghese Gallery (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 26 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Borghese Gallery (Galleria Borghese)

The Galleria Borghese (English: Borghese Gallery), an art gallery housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana, houses the largest collection of private art in the world – a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculpture and antiquities, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V (reign 1605–1621), an early patron of Bernini and an avid collector of works by Caravaggio.

Museum lobby

Borghese used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa at the edge of Rome. The collection was originally housed in the cardinal’s residence near St Peter’s but, in the 1620s, he had it transferred to the Casino Borghese, the central building of his new villa just outside Porta Pinciana. Here are some historical trivia regarding the villa:

The villa was built between 1613 and 1614 by the architectFlaminio Ponzio and Vasanzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese himself.
About 1775, Prince PrinceMarcantonio IV Borghese added much of the lavish Neo-Classical décor. Under the guidance of the architect Antonio Asprucci, the now-outdated tapestry and leather hangings were replaced, the Casina was renovated and the Borghese sculptures and antiquities were restaged in a thematic new ordering that celebrated the Borghese position in Rome.
In 1808, PrinceCamillo Borghese, Napoleon’s brother-in-law, was forced to sell the Borghese Roman sculptures and antiquities to the Emperor.
In 1902, the entire Borghese estate and surrounding gardens and parkland were eventually sold to the Italian government.
The late 18th century rehabilitation of the much-visited villa as a genuinely public museum was the subject of an 2000 exhibition at theGetty Research Institute, Los Angeles, spurred by the Getty’s acquisition of 54 drawings related to the project.

The important collection of paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael and Titian, as well as some sensational sculptures by Bernini and Canova are arranged around 20 decorated rooms over two floors.

Trompe l’oeil ceiling fresco by the Sicilian artist Mariano Rossi

The ground floor gallery is mainly dedicated to Classical antiquities of the 1st–3rd centuries AD, Classical and Neo-Classical sculpture, intricate Roman floor mosaics (including a famous 320–30 AD mosaic of gladiators found on the Borghese estate at Torrenova, on the Via Casilina outside Rome, in 1834) and over-the-top frescoes. Its decorative scheme includes a trompe l’oeil ceiling fresco in the first room (or Salone), by the Sicilian artist Mariano Rossi that makes such good use of foreshortening so much so that it appears almost three-dimensional.The upper floor houses the pinacoteca (picture gallery), a snapshot of Renaissance art.

Pinacoteca (picture gallery)

The entrance hall is decorated with 4th-century floor mosaics of fighting gladiators and a 2nd-century Satiro Combattente (Fighting Satyr). High on the wall is the Marco Curzio a Cavallo, a gravity-defying bas-relief, by Pietro Bernini (Gian Lorenzo’s father), of a horse and rider falling into the void.

Antonio Canova's Venere vincitrice (Victorious Venus or Venus Victrix, 1805–08), a daring depiction of Paolina Bonaparte Borghese, Napoleon's sister

Antonio Canova’s Venere vincitrice (Victorious Venus or Venus Victrix, 1805–08), a daring depiction of Pauline Bonaparte Borghese, Napoleon’s sister

Sala I is centered on Antonio Canova’s Venere vincitrice (Victorious Venus or Venus Victrix, 1805–08), a daring depiction of Pauline Bonaparte Borghese, Napoleon’s sister, reclining topless. It is the most famous piece in the museum and virtually its symbol.

Apollo Chasing Daphne (Gian Lorenzo Bernini)

Kyle and Grace in front of statue of Apollo and Daphne (Gian Lorenzo Bernini)

Gian Lorenzo Bernini‘s spectacular output of secular sculpture of flamboyant depictions of pagan myths also steal the show. In the swirling Apollo e Dafne (Apollo and Daphne, 1622–25, created by Bernini at the tender age of 24 for the Scipione Borghese) in Sala III, Daphne’s hands morph into leaves, while in the dynamic Ratto di Proserpina (Rape of Proserpine, 1621–22) in Sala IV, Pluto’s hand presses into the seemingly soft flesh of Persephone’s thigh.

Rape of Proserpine (Gian Lorenzo Bernini)

All are considered seminal works of Baroque sculpture. Other works include Goat Amalthea with Infant Jupiter and Faun (1615), David (1623) and Aeneas, Anchises & Ascanius (1618–19).

Author in front of statue of Aeneas, Anchises & Ascanius

Sala VIII (Sala de Sileno) is dominated by works by Caravaggio including the dissipated-looking Bacchino Malato (Young Sick Bacchus; 1592–95), the strangely beautiful La Madonna dei Palafenieri (Madonna with Serpent; 1605–06) and San Giovanni Battista (St John the Baptist; 1609–10), probably Caravaggio’s last work.

David (Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1623)

There’s also the much-loved Ragazzo col Canestro di Frutta (Boy with a Basket of Fruit, 1593–95), St Jerome Writing (1606), and the dramatic Davide con la Testa di Golia (David with the Head of Goliath; 1609–10, Goliath’s severed head is said to be a self-portrait sent to the Pope to beg for forgiveness after Caravaggio was accused of murder).

Fragment of mosaics

Upstairs, the pinacoteca displays Raphael’s extraordinary La Deposizione di Cristo (Entombment of Christ, 1507) in Sala IX, and his Dama con Liocorno (Lady with a Unicorn; 1506). In the same room is Fra Bartolomeo’s superb Adorazione del Bambino (Adoration of the Christ Child; 1495) and Perugino’s Madonna con Bambino (Madonna and Child; first quarter of the 16th century).

Leda and the Swan (followers of Leonardo da Vinci)

Madonna and Child (Giovanni Battista Sassoferrato)

Other highlights include Correggio’s erotic Danae (1530–31) in Sala X, Bernini’s self-portraits in Sala XIV, and Titian‘s early masterpiece, Amor Sacro e Amor Profano (Sacred and Profane Love; 1514) in Sala XX.

Sleeping Venus (Girolamo da Treviso il Giovane)

The Deposition (Peter Paul Rubens)

There are also works by Peter Paul Rubens and Federico Barocci. In addition, several portrait busts are included in the gallery, including one of Pope Paul V, and two portraits of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1632, the second portrait was produced after the a large crack was discovered in the marble of the first version during its creation).

Mourning the Dead Christ (Ortolano)

Borghese Gallery: Piazzale del Museo Borghese, 5, 00197 Rome, Italy. Tel: +39 06 841 3979 and +39 06 32810. Open Mondays to Fridays, 9 AM – 6 PM, Saturdays, 9 AM – 1 PM. Website: www.galleriaborghese.it. Admission: € 11.00. To limit numbers, visitors are admitted at two-hourly intervals, so you’ll need to pre-book your ticket and get an entry time.

How to Get There: Pinciana- Museo Borghese (Bus 52, 53, 83, 92, 217, 360, 910)

Villa d’Este – Villa (Tivoli, Italy)

Posted on 26 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The Villa d’Este, a villa near Rome listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, is a fine example of Renaissance architecture and the Italian Renaissance garden. Since December 2014, it has been run as a State Museum by the Polo Museale del Lazio.

Villa d’Este

Here are some historical trivia regaring the villa:

The Villa d’Este was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, son ofAlfonso I d’Este and Lucrezia Borgia; grandson of Pope Alexander VI and the appointed governor of Tivoli (from 1550) by Pope Julius III (the villa was the pope’s gift). Cardinal d’Este, after 5 failed bids for the papacy, saw to its construction from 1550 until his death in 1572, when the villa was nearing completion. He drew inspiration (and many statues and much of the marble used for construction) from the nearby Villa Adriana, the palatial retreat of Emperor Hadrian.
The villa was entirely reconstructed to plans ofpainter-architect-archeologist Pirro Ligorio and carried out under the direction of the Ferrarese architect-engineer Alberto Galvani, court architect of the Este.
The rooms of the Palace were decorated under the tutelage of the stars of the late Roman Mannerism, such as Livio Agresti (the chief painter of the ambitious internal decoration) fromForlì, Federico Zuccari, Durante Alberti, Girolamo Muziano, Cesare Nebbia and Antonio Tempesta. The work was almost complete at the time of the Cardinal’s death (1572).
Pirro Ligorio was responsible for the iconographic programs worked out in the villa’s frescos.
In the 18^th century, the lack of maintenance led to the decay of the complex and the villa and its gardens passed to theHouse of Habsburg after Ercole III d’Este bequeathed it to his daughter Maria Beatrice, married to Grand Duke Ferdinand of Habsburg. The villa and its gardens were neglected.
In 1851, Cardinal Gustav von Hohelohe, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst, obtained the villa, in enfiteusi, from the Dukes of Modena. To pull the complex back from its state of ruin, he launched a series of works. Between 1867 and 1882, the villa once again became a cultural point of reference.
After World War I, Villa d’Este was purchased for the Italian State, restored, and refurnished with paintings from the storerooms of the Galleria Nazionale, Rome.
During the 1920s, it was restored and opened to the public.
Immediately after World War II, another radical restoration was carried out to repair the damage caused by the bombing of 1944.
During the past 20 years, due to particularly unfavorable environmental conditions, the restorations have continued practically without interruption. Among these is the recent cleaning of the Organ Fountain (also the “Birdsong”).

Entrance

Here, Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este brought back to life the splendor of the courts of Ferrara, Rome and Fontainebleau. The villa is surrounded, on three sides, by a sixteenth-century courtyard sited on the former Benedictine cloister. The central main entrance leads to the Appartamento Vecchio (“Old Apartment”) made for Ippolito d’Este. Its vaulted ceilings was frescoed in secular allegories by Livio Agresti and his students, centered on the grand Sala, with its spectacular view down the main axis of the garden.

Courtyard

To the left and right are suites of rooms. The suite on the left contains Cardinal Ippolito’s’s library and his bedchamber with the chapel beyond, and the private stairs to the lower apartment, the Appartamento Nobile, which gives directly onto Pirro Ligorio’s Cenacolo (Gran Loggia) straddling the graveled terrace with a triumphal arch motif.

Cenacolo (Grand Loggia) with its triumphal arch motif

A series of highly decorated rooms, less formal than the Cardinal’s personal apartments above it, are each decorated with a specific theme, all connected to nature, mythology and water. Reached by a large ceremonial stairway that descends from the courtyard, they have high vaulted ceilings (receiving light from a series of openings to the courtyard above), are connected to each other by a long narrow corridor and were used for private moments in the life of the Cardinal; listening to music or poetry; conversation, reading and religious reflection.

Corridor

The ceiling of the corridor, decorated with late 16th century mosaics representing a pergola inhabited by colorful birds (making it seem a part of the garden) and also features three elaborate rustic fountains containing miniature grottos framed with columns and pediments.

Room of Noah

The Room of Noah, dated to 1571 (at the end of the decoration of the villa) and attributed to Girolamo Muziano (famous for scenes of Venetian landscapes), has walls covered with frescoes designed to resemble tapestries, intertwined with scenes of Classical landscapes, ruins, rustic farm houses, and other scenes covering every inch of the ceiling and walls. The major scenes portrayed are the Four Seasons, allegories of Prudence and Temperance, and the central scene of Noah with the ark shortly after its landing on Mount Ararat, making an agreement with God. A white eagle, the symbol of the d’Este, is prominently shown landing from the Ark.

Room of Moses

The next room is the Room of Moses. The fresco at the center of its ceiling shows Moses striking a rock with his rod, bringing forth water for the people of Israel, an allusion to the Cardinal who brought water to the villa’s gardens by making channels through the rock. Other panels show scenes from the life of Moses, a hydra with seven heads, the emblem of the family of Ercole I d’Este(an ancestor of Ippolito) and fantastic landscapes.

Room of Venus

The Room of Venus originally had, as its centerpiece, a large fountain (a basin of water with a classical statue of a sleeping Venus) with an artificial cliff and grotto framed in stucco. In the 19th century, the basin was removed and the Venus (removed after the death of the Cardinal) was replaced by two new statues of Peace and Religion representing a scene at the grotto of Lourdes. The original terra cotta floor, featuring the white eagle of the d’Este family, is still in place. The 17th century painting on the ceiling of angels offering flowers to Venus is the only other decoration in the room.

First Tiburtine Room

The First and Second Tiburtine Rooms both made before 1569 by a team of painters led by Cesare Nebia, both have a common plan and its decoration illustrates stories from mythology and the history of Tiburtine region (where the villa is located). The walls are covered with painted architectural elements (with the spaces between are filled with floral designs, medals, masks and other insignia), including columns and doors and elaborate painted moldings and sculptural elements.

Second Tiburtine Room

Illustrated in the Second Tiburtine Room is the story of the Tiburtine Sibyl, its main theme, plus the legend of King Annius (the Aniene River, which provides the water for the fountains of the villa, takes his name from him). The Sibyl, King Annius and the personification of the Aniene River, along with the Triumph of Apollo, all appear in the frescoes of the room.

Wall painting detail at First Tiburtine Room

The frescoes of the First Tiburtine Room illustrates the story of three legendary Greek brothers (Tiburtus, Coras and Catillus) who defeated the Sicels, an Italic tribe, and built a new city, Tibur (now Tivoli). Their battle, as well as other events in the founding of the region, is illustrated in the central fresco of the ceiling. The decoration of the room also includes the Tenth Labor of Hercules as well as pairs of gods and goddesses (Vulcan and Venus; Jupiter and Juno; Apollo with Diana; and Bacchus with Circe) in painted niches. On the wall is an illustration of the oval fountain, which Ippolito was building at the time the room was decorated.

Salon of the Fountain

The Salon of the Fountain, designed and made between 1565 and 1570, probably by Girolamo Muziano and his team of artists, was used by Cardinal Ippolito as a reception room for guests, who had just arrived through the garden below, and for concerts and other artistic events. A wall fountain, its central element, was finished in 1568 by Paolo Calandrino. Its basin rests on two stone dolphins. The fountain is covered with multicolored ceramics and sculpture, encrusted with pieces of glass, seashells and precious stones, and is crowned by the white eagle of the d’Este family.

The fountain at the Salon of the Fountain

The central niche has reliefs depicting the fountain, the Tiburtine acropolis and the Temple of the Sibyl. On the other walls are images of the house and unfinished garden and fountains, and a small illustration, on the opposite wall, from the fountain of Ippolito’s villa (now a residence of the Pope) on the Quirinal Hill in Rome. The ceiling paintings are devoted to scenes of mythology with each corner having portraits of a different gods and goddesses (tradition says that the painting of Mercury is a self-portrait of Muziano).

Ceiling fresco at Salon of the Fountain

The central fresco on the ceiling, modeled after a similar work by Raphael in the Loggia of Psyche in the Villa Farnesina, depicts the Synod of the Gods, with Jupiter in the center surrounded by all the gods of Olympus. The hall connects with the loggia, and from there a stairway descends to the garden.

Room of Hercules

The Room of Hercules, dating to 1565–66, was also one by Muziano. The ceiling paintings depict eight of the labors of Hercules, surrounded by depictions of landscapes, ancient architecture, and the graces and the virtues. The ceiling’s central painting shows Hercules being welcomed into Olympus by the gods.

Ceiling fresco of Hercules welcomed to Olympus

The Room of the Nobility, done by Federico Zuccari and his team of painters, has a central ceiling fresco depicting “Nobility on the throne between Liberality and Generosity.” The decoration on the walls includes paintings of busts of Classical philosophers (Diogenes , Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras, etc.), the Graces and Virtues, and Diana of Ephesus (the goddess of Fertility).

Room of the Nobility

The Room of Glory, completed between 1566 and 1577 by Federico Zuccari and eight assistants, with painted illusions of doors, windows, tapestries, sculptures, and of everyday objects used by the Cardinal, is a masterpiece of Roman Mannerist painting. The Allegory of Glory, the central painting of the ceiling, has been lost but there are allegorical depictions of the Virtues, the Four Seasons, and of Religion, Magnanimity, Fortune and Time.

Room of Glory

The Hunting Room, built later than the other rooms (from the end of the 16th or beginning the 17th century), is in a different style. It features hunting scenes, rural landscapes, hunting trophie and, oddly, scenes of naval battles. The “Snail Stairway,” built with travertine stone, descends to the garden. Originally built to access a pallacorda (an ancestor of tennis) court which Ippolito imported into Italy from the French Court, the space where the court was located now houses the cafeteria and bookstore.

Hunting Room

The Villa’s uppermost terrace ends in a balustraded balcony at the left end, with a sweeping view over the plain below. The grounds of the Villa d’Este also house the Museo Didattico del Libro Antico, a teaching museum for the study and conservation of antiquarian books.

L-R: Kyle, Cheska, Grace and Jandy

Villa d‘ Este: Piazza Trento, 5, 00019 Tivoli, RM, Italy. Tel: 0039 0412719036. Fax: 0039 0412770747. E-mail: villadestetivoli@teleart.org. Website: www.villadestetivoli.info.

Open 8.30 AM – 6.45 PM (May to August), 8:30 AM – 4 PM (January, November, December), 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM (February), 8:30 AM – 5:15 PM (March), 8:30 AM – 6:30 PM (April), 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM (October) and 8:30 AM – 6:15 PM (September). Admission: € 8.00. The visitor can take pictures without any physical contact with the cultural heritage and he cannot use either flash or tripod.

How to Get There:

Taking the blue regional COTRAL busRoma Tivoli-Via Prenestina at the bus terminal just outside Ponte Mammolo station of metro line B; the stop Largo Nazioni Unite is about 100m far from the entrance of the Villa.
Taking the urban train line FL2 (Roma-Pescara Line) from Tiburtina stationto Tivoli station (Stazione Tivoli), then, local bus CAT number 1 or 4/ to Piazza Garibaldi stop; the stop is in Tivoli’s main square in front of the Villa.

Hadrian’s Villa (Tivoli, Italy)

Posted on 26 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Our first trip outside Rome brought us to Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana in Italian), a large, important Roman cultural and archaeological site, major tourist destination (along with the nearby Villa d’Este and the town of Tivoli) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site at Tibur (now modern-day Tivoli). It is situated southeast of Tivoli, on a small plain extending on the slopes of the Tiburine Hills. In early times, it was accessed by the Via Tiburtina and the Aniene river, a tributary of the Tiber River.

Hadrian’s Villa

Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was said to dislike the palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, built the villa as his retreat from Rome. Around AD 128, it became his official residence, actually governing the empire from here during the later years of his reign. Therefore, a large court had to live there permanently and a postal service kept it in contact with Rome 29 kms. (18 mi.) away. Although its architect is unknown, it is said that Hadrian had a direct intervention in the design of the villa.

L-R: Cheska, Kyle, Grace and Jandy

After Hadrian, the villa was occasionally used by his various successors. Busts of Antoninus Pius (138-161), Marcus Aurelius (161-180), Lucius Verus (161-169), Septimius Severus and Caracalla have been found on the premises and Zenobia, the deposed queen of Palmyra, possibly lived here in the 270s after her defeat by Emperor Aurelian.

The author with Jandy

In the 4th century, during the decline of the Roman Empire, the villa gradually fell into disuse. It was partially ruined as valuable statues and marble were taken away and, during the destructive Gothic War (535–554) between the Ostrogoths and Byzantines, the facility was used as a warehouse by both sides.

Remains of lime kilns, where marble from the complex was burned to extract lime for building material, have been found. In the 16th century, much of the remaining marble and statues in Hadrian’s Villa was removed to decorate Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este own Villa d’Este located nearby. In the 18th century, many antiquities were also excavated by dealers such as Piranesi and Gavin Hamilton to sell to Grand Tourists and antiquarians such as Charles Towneley. They are now in major antiquities collections elsewhere in Europe and North America.

Today, the villa is a property of the Republic of Italy and, since December 2014, was directed and run by the Polo Museale del Lazio . Because of the rapid deterioration of the ruins, the villa was placed on the 100 Most Endangered Sites 2006 list of the World Monuments Watch.

The site of this luxurious complex is a vast area of land (much still unexcavated) with over 30 buildings (including a theatre, libraries, a stadium, servants’ quarters, etc.) covering an area of at least 1 sq. km. (c. 250 acres or 100 ha.), all constructed in travertine, lime, pozzolana and tufa, plus many pools, fountains and water features; thermal baths (thermae); underground supply tunnels; and classical Greek architecture. Abundant water was readily available from aqueducts that passed through Rome, including Anio Vetus, Anio Nobus, Aqua Marcia and Aqua Claudia.

The ground stretches from north to south on a rise of about 40 m., starting from the foot of Monte Arcese, at the top of which is the town of Tivoli. The scale was so amazing, we spent hours wandering among the extensive ruins but only explored a number of buildings. There are essentially three types of buildings in Hadrian’s Villa – servants quarters, secondary buildings (ex. Great Baths) and noble buildings (ex. Small Baths).

1950s plastic model of Hadrian’s Villa

The villa, described as an architectural masterpiece and the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreates a sacred landscape and shows echoes of many different architectural orders (mostly Greek and Egyptian) and innovations.

Wall of the Poikile

The designs were borrowed and utilized by the very well traveled Hadrian who personally supervised the building work and included these architectural features to remind him of his travels, of the countries he had visited and the times the bisexual Hadrian spent with his deified favorite and lover, Antinous (accidentally drowned in Egypt), around whose youthful charm a cult was established. It is thought that Hadrian modelled parts of his palace on sites he knew and admired throughout his empire, from Athens to Egypt, giving them names such as Lyceum, Academy, Prytaneum, Canopus, Poikile and Tempes. He even made an Underworld.

The Pecile

One of the first stops on our tour of the villa was a little pavilion housing a 1950s plastic model of the villa, giving us an idea of the original appearance of the site. We then passed through a large Wall of the Poikile (a huge rectangular colonnade with a pool in the center, half the structure rests on a large artificial platform), arriving at Hadrian’s Pecile, a huge garden surrounded by an arcade and a large, restored rectangular 232 by 97 m. swimming pool, fishpond or lake in the center of the quadriportico, originally surrounded by four walls (creating a peaceful solitude for Hadrian and guests) with Greek-style colonnaded (these columns helped to support the roof) interior.

The Cento Camerelle (Hundred Chambers)

The less visible Cento Camerelle (Hundred Chambers), beneath the esplanade of the Pecile, consists of dozens of rooms of lower quality that identify them as the living quarters of the Villa’s serving class. To keep these rooms from becoming too humid, it has a hollow double wall separating them from the adjacent hill. and vast amount of rooms in the Chambers help .

The Building with Three Exedrae

The Building with Three Exedrae, a rectangular, highly articulated complex, has a triple exedra with porticoes on three of its outer walls. One wing of the building has mainly open spaces while the other more has more enclosed areas. The north-facing rooms were used for summer banquets.

The Canopus

Caryatids

Statue of Neptune

The Canopus (named after an Egyptian resort next to Alexandria), one of the most striking and best preserved parts of the villa, is a 119 m. long by 18 m. wide lake with Greek-influenced architecture (typical in Roman architecture of the High and Late Empire) that can be seen in the Corinthian columns, connected to each other with marble, and the copies of famous Greek caryatids that surround the pool.

Statue of an Amazon

Statue of Ares

The Serapeum

At its farthest end is the Serapeum, a temple with with a peculiarly-shaped umbrella dome and artificial grotto dedicated to the god Serapis. The Corinthian arches of the Canopus and Serapeum as well as the domes of the main buildings, show clear Roman architecture. Fine mosaics are still preserved in a row of sleeping chambers. Some of the more recent finds and statues from the site are on display in a museum near the Canopus.

The Small Bath (Piccole Terme)

Just northwest of the Canopus, in the central part of the villa, are the ruins of the Great and Small Baths. In front were the palestras, open paved courtyards where excersises took place, then calidariums (hot water bath), tepidarium (warm bath), laconicums (circular shaped saunas) and frigidariums (cold water rinsing room). Scattered throughout are a few latrines, one of a single seater in the Small Baths and two public ones in the Great Baths.

The Great Bath (Grandi Terme)

The Great Baths (Grandi Terme) were paved in opus spicatum (a simple black and white mosaic) while the Small Baths (Piccole Terme) were done in the higher quality marble opus sectile.

Frigidarium of the Great Bath

Both used white marble (especially typical of water basins in the villa) revetments as a type of finish and colored fresco ceiling decorations could also be found throughout each (the Small Baths even have some of the red and white pattern still visible today). The noble Small Baths exhibited more elaborate architecture. At the Octagon Hall, the perspective view through other rooms create an illusion of infinite space.

Beautiful stucco decoration at the Great Bath

The Praetorium, dating to 125-133 CE, has two distinct levels. The upper level, reserved for distinguished guests, has lavishly decorated rooms facing a large garden to the south, with walls and pavements in opus sectile, and Doric columns of cipollino marble. The lower level, composed of three floors of substructions (servants’ lodgings), supported the richly decorated upper part. It has rooms of utilitarian purpose such as storage rooms and perhaps dormitory rooms for the service staff.

The Praetorium

Hadrian’s Villa: Largo Marguerite Yourcenar, 1, 00010 Tivoli RM, Italy. Tel: +39 0774 530203. Admission: €6.50. Open 9 AM to 7 PM.

How to Get There: Frequent buses, operated by Cotral, run from Rome to Tivoli along the Via Tiburtina. They depart from a bus station outside Ponte Mammolo Metro station on Linea B, nine stops from Stazione Termini. This bus service stops on the main road, the Via Tiburtina, about a mile from Hadrian’s Villa. Ask the driver where to get off, then walk along the suburban Via di Villa Adriana to the site’s entrance. An alternative service from Rome to Tivoli, which runs along the Via Prenestina, stops nearer to the villa, but is very infrequent.

An alternative is to catch a second bus out from Tivoli to the archaeological site. A local company called CAT runs a bus service (numbers 4, 4X) from Tivoli to the suburbs near the Villa Adriana. It calls at various bus stops in Tivoli including Piazza Garibaldi. Tickets cost €1 per journey and can be bought at the CAT office, shops and news-stands in Tivoli and from a bar opposite the bus stop (buy your return ticket in advance). Ask the driver where to get off, as the bus drops you a few hundred yards from the site. To return towards Tivoli, leave the villa, walk past the little park and continue straight along the road for a few yards till you find a bus stop. Since the CAT local bus takes the same Via Tiburtina route up into Tivoli as the Cotral buses, you can cross the road and change to the Rome-bound service without riding all the way back into Tivoli.

You can then return to Rome by one of three methods: catch the occasional Via Prenestina bus, walk back to the Via Tiburtina to catch the frequent Rome Cotral bus, or take the CAT service either to the Via Tiburtina or all the way back into Tivoli and change there for a Rome service. It can be slow getting back into Rome during the rush hour, so it’s worth considering visiting on a Saturday when the roads may be clearer.

Castel Sant’Angelo (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Castel Sant’Angelo

The towering, cylindrical Castel Sant’Angelo (English: Castle of the Holy Angel) was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 123 AD (finished in 139 AD) as a mausoleum (a decorated cylinder, with a garden top and golden quadriga) for himself, his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius. The remains of succeeding emperors (the last recorded deposition being Caracalla in 217) were also interred there. Here’s some historical trivia regarding Castel Sant’Angelo:

Entrance

Aside from a mausoleum, the monument has gone through several different uses. In 401, it lost its native function and became a fortified military outpost in order to defend Rome. In 271 AD, it was subsequently included in the Aurelian Walls by Flavius Augustus Honorius. Beginning in the 14th century, after different changes of properties between the noble Roman families, the Castel Sant’Angelo tied its fate to that of the popes who converted the structure into a castle. At the beginning of the 11^th century, the Papal state also used Castel Sant’Angelo as a prison (up to 1906). Prisoners here include Giordano Bruno (accused of heresy and imprisoned here for six years); wizard, masonic alchemist and healer Count Cagliostro; and sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (the only one who managed to escape the fortress). Executions, by decapitation, were performed in the small inner courtyard.
It was once the tallest building in Rome.
The Castel is the only building that has followed the development of the city of Rome for about 2000 years (other Roman monuments were reduced to ruins or used as quarries to pick up materials to recycle in new, modern constructions).
There’s a secret, covered, 800 m. long fortified corridor called the Passetto di Borgo, built by Pope Nicholas III in 1277. It leads from Castel Sant’Angelo to the Leonine walls and Peter’s Basilica. During the famous Sack of Rome (1527), the scurrying Pope Clement VII used it to escape the siege of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V‘s Landsknechte. Borgia Pope Alexander VI also used it in 1494 to escape to the castle and from Charles VIII troops.
The bronze statue of the Archangel Michael on the roof depicts the legendary sighting, by Pope Gregory I (the Great), of the specter in the year 590 when he appeared and sheathe his sword as a sign of the end of the destructive plague that had seized the city, thus lending the castle its present name – the Castle of the Saint Angel.
Its terrace was also the setting for the third act of Giacomo Puccini‘s 1900 opera Tosca where the eponymous heroine, wild with pain for the loss of her lover and chased by the guards, leaps to her death from the Castel’s ramparts.
Decommissioned in 1901, the castle is now a museum, the National Museum of Castel Sant’Angelo (Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo).

Entrance Ramp

The building consists of a square, 89 m. (292 ft.) wide base on which a cylindrical colonnaded drum, with a diameter of 64 m. and covered with an earthen tumulus (topped with a statue of Hadrian driving a quadriga), was constructed.

Terrace

View of Rome from terrace

With its chunky round keep, this castle is an instantly recognizable landmark. A huge spiral ramp ascends upwards the Castel Sant Angelo for about 400 feet. The panoramic terrace, two storeys up, offers unforgettable views over Rome.

Angel Statue (Peter Anton von Verschaffelt)

At the top of the fortress, overlooking the terrace, is a bronze statue of Saint Michael holding his sword, executed in 1753 by the Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt. It replaced a marble statue, of the same subject, created in 1536 by Raffaello da Montelupo. Montelupo’s can still be seen in an open court in the Castel interior.

Statue of Michael the Archangel (Raffaello da Montelupo)

The castle’s upper floors are filled with lavishly decorated Renaissance interiors, including the beautifully frescoed Sala Paolina built by Paul III. The notoriously and sumptuously lavish Papal Apartments, complete with gardens and fountains, was built by the infamous Borgia Pope Alexander VI. Known to have the most opulent of decorations and designs, it was said to even have one room painted by Raphael.

Pauline Hall (Sala Paolina)

The Farnese apartment overlooks the interior Courtyard of the Angel, so called because it houses the original angel that used to perch on the top of the castle until 1747. However, this piazza has had other names, such as the ‘Courtyard of Shootings’ or ‘Courtyard of the Bell’ where from there it was possible to hear the bell tolling announcing the impending executions. Leo X built a chapel with a Madonna by Raffaello da Montelupo. Below the apartments are several floors which include prisons and even a torture chamber.

Treasury Room

The Hall of Urns, in what is now known as the Treasury room deep within the heart of the building, is where the urn containing Hadrian’s ashes (scattered by Visigoth looters during Alaric‘s sacking of Rome in 410) are believed to be kept. Its museum has an eclectic collection of Renaissance paintings, sculpture, pottery, military memorabilia and antique Medieval firearms (many used by soldiers fighting to protect the castle).

Ponte Sant’Angelo

The now solely pedestrian, 135 m. (443 ft.) long Ponte Sant’Angelo (formerly the Pons Aelius), also built by Hadrian, faces straight onto the Castel. Renowned for the Baroque additions of statues of angels holding aloft elements of the Passion of Christ, it still provides a scenic approach from the center of Rome and the right bank of the Tiber.

The author at the terrace

Castel Sant’Angelo: Lungotevere Castello 50, Parco Adriano, 00193 Rome, Italy. Open April-September, 9 AM – 7:30 PM, October-March, 9 AM -2 PM. Closed on public holidays. Last admission 1 hour before closing time. Admission: Adults €8, reduced ticket €6. Website: www.castelsantangelo.com. E-mail: info@castelsantangelo.com.

How to Get There:

– Lepanto (Metro A) Ottaviano (Metro A). From Termini take bus #40 Express. From Piazza Navona take Zanardelli St. north to Ponte Umberto I Bridge. After the bridge turn left and Lung Castello will take you straight to the castle. From the Vatican walk east, along Via di Conciliazione Pia, directly to the castle.

Vatican Museum – Sistine Chapel (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The Sistine Chapel

The piece de resistance of our visit to the Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel, a high, rectangular chapel in the Apostolic Palace (the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City) and the very last sala within the museum. A place of both religious and functionary papal activity, it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which each successive pope is selected by the College of Cardinals.

Old Testament Books of the Bible – Isaiah

Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the present chapel, on the site of the Cappella Maggiore, was designed by Baccio Pontelli for Pope Sixtus IV, for whom it is named, and built under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci between 1473 and 1481. The pope also hired the most famous High Renaissance artists (including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Roselli) to create a series of frescos, completed in 1482, depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe l’oeil drapery below. On August 15, 1483, the Feast of the Assumption, Sixtus IV consecrated the Sistine Chapel, dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and celebrated the first mass.

Drunkenness of Noah

Here are some trivia regarding the chapel:

The chapel is 40.9 m. (134 ft.) long by 13.4 m. (44 ft.) wide, the same dimensions of the Temple of Solomon, as given in the Old Testament.
It has an unadorned exterior façade, devoid of architectural or decorative details (common in many Italian Medieval and Renaissance-era churches), which can only be seen only from nearby windows and light-wells in the palace.
It has no exterior processional doorways. Ingress has always been from internal rooms within the Apostolic Palace.
Very large buttresses brace the exterior walls.
The building is divided into three stories. The lowest storey is a very tall basement level, robustly vaulted to support the Sistine Chapel above, with several utilitarian windows and a doorway giving onto the exterior court. The third storey, a wardroom for guards above the vault, has an open, roofed, projecting gangway which encircles the building, supported on an arcade springing from the walls.
The Sistine Chapel has 6 tall arched windows down each side and two at either end, several of which have been blocked.

The tall arched windows on the side walls

The 20.7 m. (68 ft.) high ceiling is a flattened barrel vault springing from a course that encircles the walls at the level of the springing of the window arches. It is cut transversely by smaller vaults over each window which divide the barrel vault, at its lowest level, into a series of large pendentives rising from shallow pilasters between each window.
The pavement, in opus alexandrinum (a decorative style using marble and colored stone in a pattern that reflects the earlier proportion in the division of the interior), marks, from the main door, the processional way used by the Pope on important occasions such as Palm Sunday.
A screen (transenna), sculpted in marble by Mino da Fiesole, Andrea Bregno and Giovanni Dalmata (they also provided the cantoria or projecting choir gallery), divides the chapel into two parts. It is surmounted by a row of ornate, once gilt candlesticks and has a wooden door (formerly an ornate door of gilded wrought iron).

The ceiling frescoes

The chapel’s fame, however, lies mainly in the frescoes by Michelangelo that decorate the interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a masterpiece without precedent that was to change the course of Western art. Michelangelo used bright colors, easily visible from the floor. Ever since they were revealed five hundred years ago, the fame of Michelangelo’s paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel.

Eritrean Sibyl

Here is the timeline of the painting of the walls and ceiling of the chapel:

Of the present scheme of frescoes, the earliest part is that of the side walls, divided into three main tiers. At the central tier of the walls are The Life of Moses and The Life of Christ, two cycles of paintings which complement each other, commissioned in 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV and executed by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Roselli and their workshops. The lower level of the walls, beneath the 2 cycles, is decorated with frescoed hangings in silver and gold. The upper tier, above the narrative frescoes, is divided into two zones. A Gallery of Popes, at the lower level of the windows, was painted at the same time as the 2 cycles.
From 1481–1482, the southern wall was decorated with the Stories of Moses. Starting from the altar, they include Moses Leaving to Egypt (by Pietro Perugino and assistants); The Trials of Moses (by Sandro Botticelli and his workshop); The Crossing of the Red Sea (by Cosimo Rosselli, Domenico Ghirlandaio or Biagio di Antonio Tucci); Descent from Mount Sinai (by Cosimo Rosselli or Piero di Cosimo); Punishment of the Rebels (by Sandro Botticelli); and Testament and Death of Moses (by Luca Signorelli or Bartolomeo della Gatta).

The Last Supper (Cosimo Rosselli)

The northern wall, dating to 1481–1482, houses the Stories of Jesus. They include Baptism of Christ (by Pietro Perugino and assistants); Temptation of Christ (by Sandro Botticelli); Vocation of the Apostles (by Domenico Ghirlandaio); The Sermon on the Mount (attributed to Cosimo Rosselli); The Delivery of the Keys to Peter (by Pietro Perugino); and The Last Supper (by Cosimo Rosselli).

Pietro Perugino’s “”Delivery of the Keys to Peter”

In 1572, the eastern wall was repainted with the Resurrection of Christ by Hendrick van den Broeck (over Domenico Ghirlandaio’s original) and, in 1574, by the Disputation over Moses’ Body by Matteo da Lecce (over Luca Signorelli’s original).
The ceiling of the barrel vault was first painted in brilliant-blue, studded with gold stars, to the design of Piermatteo Lauro de’ Manfredi da Amelia, and with decorative borders around the architectural details of the pendentives.
The ceiling, entirely replacing the old one, was commissioned by Pope Julius II and painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and November 2, 1512. Originally commissioned to paint the 12 Apostles on the triangular pendentives which support the vault, Michelangelo, however, demanded a free hand in the pictorial content of the scheme and he painted a series of 9 pictures showing God’s Creation of the World, God’s Relationship with Mankind, and Mankind’s Fall from God’s Grace. On the large pendentives he alternately painted 12 Biblical and Classical men and women, with Jonah over the altar, who prophesied that God would send Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind. On the highest section, Michelangelo painted 9 stories from the Book of Genesis. Around the arched tops of the upper parts of the windows, on the lowest part of the ceiling, are areas known as the lunettes which Michelangelo painted with the Ancestors of Christ as part of the scheme for the ceiling.

The Ancestors of Christ

Between 1535 and 1541, between two important historic events (the Sack of Rome by mercenary forces of the Holy Roman Empire in 1527 and the Council of Trent which commenced in 1545), Popes Clement VII and Paul III Farnese commissioned Michelangelo to decorate the entire wall above and behind the altar with The Last Judgment (depicting the second coming of Christ on the Day of Judgment as described in the Revelation of John, Chapter 20). The painting of this scene, designed on a grand scale, necessitated the obliteration of two episodes from the Lives, the Nativity of Jesus and the Finding of Moses; several of the Popes and two sets of Ancestors. High on the wall is the heroic figure of Christ, with the saints clustered in groups around him while, at the bottom left of the painting, the dead are raised from their graves and ascend to be judged. To the right are those who are assigned to Hell and are dragged down by demons.
On November 7, 1984, the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling restoration began. The chapel was re-opened to the public on April 8, 1994.

Noah After The Flood

Here are some interesting trivia regarding the paintings:

Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo did not lie on the scaffolding (which he designed and built) while he painted, but painted from a standing position.
The Last Judgment was an object of a bitter dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo because he depicted naked figures (the artist was accused of immorality and obscenity). A censorship campaign (known as the “Fig-Leaf Campaign”) was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua‘s ambassador) to remove the frescoes. The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra, whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname “Il Braghettone” (“the breeches-painter”).
In The Last Judgment, Michelangelo painted his own portrait on the flayed skin held by St Bartholomew. The semblance of Biagio da Cesena, the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies and another of Michelangelo’s critics, was worked into the scene as Minos, judge of the Underworld (it is said that when he complained to the Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to Hell, so the portrait would have to remain).

Adam and Eve

After the ceiling work was finished, there were more than 300 figures showing Biblical scenes such as the Creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood. The painted area is about 40 m. (131 ft.) long by 13 m. (43 ft.) wide which means that Michelangelo painted well over 5,000 sq. ft. (460 m²) of frescoes.

The Great Flood

During the 1984-1994 restoration, the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo, caused the most concern because the emergence of the brightly colored Ancestors of Christ from the gloom sparked a reaction of fear that the processes being employed in the cleaning were too severe and removed the original intent of the artist.

Vatican Museums (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — 1 Comment ↓

The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani) display works from the immense collection built up by the Popes throughout the centuries including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The Sistine Chapel (the very last sala within the museum), with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo, and the Stanze di Raffaello, decorated by Raphael, are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums. The group of museums includes several sculpture museums surrounding the Cortile del Belvedere.

Entrance to the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums trace their origin to the marble sculpture Laocoön and his Sons which was discovered on January 14, 1506, in a vineyard near the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, purchased from the vineyard owner by Pope Julius II and placed on public display at the Vatican exactly one month after its discovery. On October 2006, the Museums celebrated their 500th anniversary by permanently opening the excavations of a Vatican Hill necropolis to the public.

Laocoon and his Sons

Here’s some trivia regarding the Vatican Museums:

It is one of the largest museums in the world.
It has a total of 54 galleries (orsale)
Visited by nearly 6 million people (three times the figure of 30 years ago) in 2013, it is the 6th most visited art museum in the world.

The new building, designed by Luca Beltrami, was inaugurated on October 27, 1932. The museum has paintings including:

Giotto‘s Stefaneschi Triptych
Olivuccio di Ciccarello,Opere di Misericordia
Raphael’s Madonna of Foligno, Oddi Altarpiece and Transfiguration
Leonardo da Vinci‘s Jerome in the Wilderness
Caravaggio‘s Entombment
Perugino‘s Madonna and Child with Saints and San Francesco al Prato Resurrection
Filippo Lippi‘s Marsuppini Coronation

Other notable museums and galleries include:

The Collection of Modern Religious Art, , inaugurated by Pope Paul VI in 1973, houses 600 accumulated works of paintings, sculptures and other graphic works, all donations of contemporary Italian and foreign artists. They include works by Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Carlo Carrà and Giorgio de Chirico.

Contemporary Art Collection (Collezione Arte Contemporanea)

Matisse Room (Sala Matisse)

The Greek Cross Gallery (Sala a Croce Greca) houses a 3rd century mosaic from Tusculum in the middle and two colossal sarcophagi in red porphyry. The sarcophagus on the left (4th century) belonged to Saint Helen, mother of Constantine the Great (306-337), comes from her mausoleum in Via Labicana. The sarcophagus on the right belonged to Constance, Emperor Constantine’s daughter and was in the Church of Santa Costanza in Via Nomentana.

The 3rd century mosaic from Tusculum at the Greek Cross Gallery (Sala a Croce Greca)

Sarcopahgus of Costanza

The Round Room (Sala Rotonda), built by Michelangelo Simonetti in the late 18th century in a pure Neo-Classical style, has a 21.60 m. diameter dome actually modeled on the Pantheon. It has impressive and fascinating ancient 3rd century mosaics from the Baths of Otricoli (Umbria region ) on the floors and ancient statues lining the perimeter, including a 2nd century gilded bronze statue of Hercules found near the Theater of Pompey. In the middle of the room is a huge round monolithic porphyry basin, measuring almost 5 m. across, which came from the Domus Aurea and was brought here in the late 18th century.

Round Room (Sala Rotonda)

The Gallery of Maps (Galleria della Carte Geografiche) features topographical maps of the whole of Italy, painted between 1580 and 1585 on the walls by friar Ignazio Danti of Perugia, a famous geographer of the time, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585). It remains the world’s largest pictorial geographical study. It takes its name from the 40 maps frescoed on the walls, which represent the Italian regions and the papal properties at the time of Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585). Considering the Apennines as a partition element, on one side the regions surrounded by the Ligure and Tyrrhenian Seas are represented; on the other, the regions surrounded by the Adriatic Sea. The map of the main city accompanies each regional map.

The author at the Gallery of Maps (Galleria della Carte Geografiche)

The Gallery of the Statues (Galleria delle Statue), originally an open loggia of the Palace of Innocent VIII and later walled in during the second half of the 18th century, holds various precious and important Roman statues including some copies of Greek statues of the Classical period (5th-4th century B.C.) such as the bust of Menander; the Apollo Sauroktonos, the lizard-killer, copied from Praxiteles (c.350 B.C.); and the famous Sleeping Ariadne, a Roman copy of the 2nd century from an original by the School of Pergamon (2nd century B.C.). It also contains the Barberini Candelabra.
The Gallery of the Busts (Galleria dei Busti) displays many ancient busts of Roman emperors.
The Gallery of the Candelabra (Galleria dei Candelabri), originally an open loggia built in 1761 and walled up at the end of the 18th century, has a ceiling was painted in 1883-1887. The gallery contains Roman copies of Hellenistic originals (3rd-2nd century B.C.) and some great 2nd century candelabra from Otricoli.

Gallery of the Candelabra (Galleria dei Candelabri)

The Chariot Room, a late 18th century room, contains a large marble Roman chariot drawn by two horses, dating from the 1st century A.D., but heavily restored in 1788. The copy of the famous Discobolus found in Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana) at Tivoli, from a bronze Greek original by Myron (c. 460 B.C.) is also displayed here.

The Chariot Room

The Cabinet of the Masks (Gabinetto delle Maschere) has a mosaic on the floor of the gallery, found in Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana), which shows ancient theater masks. Several famous statues are shown along the walls including the Three Graces (one wove the thread of life, the second nurtured it and the third cut it) and the remarkable Roman Venus of Cnidos (the original, mid 4th century B.C., also by Praxiteles, came from the Greek sanctuary of Cnidos and was much admired in antiquity).
The Room of Muses (Sala delle Muse), octagonal in shape, houses the 4^th century BC statue group of Apollo and the nine Muses (copied from Greek originals and uncovered in 1774 in a Roman villa near Tivoli) as well as and statues by important ancient Greek philosophers and writers (Homer, Socrates, Plato, Euripides, etc.). Its center piece is the famous Belvedere Torso, a 1st century B.C. original by the Athenian sculptor Apollonius and revered by Michelangelo and other Renaissance men for its powerful and vigorous muscolature. Recent studies identify the statue with the figure of the Greek hero Ajax.

Room of the Muses

Belvedere Torso

The Room of the Animals (Sala degli Animali) is so named because of the many ancient Roman statues of animals, heavily restored at the end of the 18^th century.

Room of the Animals (Sala degli Animali)

Museo Chiaramonti, founded in the early 19th century, was named after Pope Pius VII (whose last name was Chiaramonti before his election as pope). This large arched gallery, organized by the Neo-Classical sculptor Antonio Canova in 1807, exhibits a collection of about a thousand Roman sculptures, including portraits of emperors and gods, several fragments, friezes and reliefs of sarcophagi. Noteworthy is a funerari monument of a miller dating from the 1st century A.D. which was found at Ostia.

Museo Chiaramonti

Braccio Nuovo, the New Wing of Museo Chiaramonti built by Raffaele Stern and inaugurated in 1822 by Pius VII, houses important Roman statues and Roman copies of Greek original statues like a statue of Augustus, found at the Prima Porta (north of Rome); a Roman copy of the Doryphorus from an original by the Greek sculptor Polykleitos (440 B.C.); two splendid gilded bronze peacocks (copies of which are in the Courtyard of the “Pigna”), that may come from Hadrian’s Mausoleum; and the statue of The River Nile, a Roman copy of a 1st century Hellenistic statue originally found in the Temple of Isis, near the Pantheon and showing the great Egyptian river with its tributaries. Mosaics are set on the floors.
Galeria Lapidaria, another part of Museo Chiaramonti, has more than 3,000 stone tablets and inscriptions, the world’s greatest collection of its kind. However, it is opened only by special permission, usually for reasons of study.
Gallery of Tapestries (Galleria degli Arazzi) exhibits, along its walls, Flemish tapestries, realized in Brussels by Pieter van Aelst’s School from drawings by Raphael’s pupils, during the pontificate of Pope Clement VII (1523-1534). They were first shown in the Sistine Chapel in 1531 and, in 1838, arranged for the exhibition in this gallery.

Gallery of Tapestries (Galleria degli Arazzi)

Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, founded by Pope Gregory XVI in 1836, has eight galleries and houses important Etruscan pieces such as vases, sarcophagus and bronzes, all coming from archaeological excavations from southern Etruria; the Guglielmi Collection; a large collection of Hellenistic Italian vases and some Roman pieces (Antiquarium Romanorum). In Room II is the notable Regolini-Galassi tomb and Rooms IV-VIII, known as the “Precious,” exhibit gold jewelry realized by Etruscan goldsmiths during the ten centuries of their civilization.
The Missionary Ethnological Museum, inaugurated by Pius XI in 1926, was also moved from the Lateran Palace. The collection consists of artworks and historical vestiges from missions all over the world. There are some interesting models of non-Catholic places of worship, such as Beijing’s Temple of the Sky (originally from the 15th century but re-done in the 18th century), the Altar of Confucius and the Shintoist Temple of Nara, Japan’s ancient capital city. The Buddhist devotional statues are testimonies of spiritual life in Tibet, Indonesia, India and the Far East; the findings of Islamic and Central African culture are also interesting, and so are objects and works of art, especially from Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Museo Gregoriano Egiziano, inaugurated on February 2, 1839 to commemorate the anniversary of Pope Gregory XVI‘s (1831-1846) accession to the papacy, was formerly housed in the Lateran Palace. In 1970, Pope John XXIII had it relocated in the Vatican. The museum houses a grand collection of Ancient Egyptian material such as papyruses, the Grassi Collection, animal mummies and reproductions of the famous Book of the Dead.
The Vatican Historical Museum (Italian: Museo storico vaticano), founded in 1973 at the behest of Pope Paul VI, was initially hosted in environments under the Square Garden. In 1987, it was moved to the main floor of the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran and opened in March 1991. It has a unique collection of portraits of the Popes from the 16th century to date, the memorable items of the Papal Military Corps of the 16–17th centuries and old religious paraphernalia related to rituals of the papacy.
The Carriage Pavilion, a section of the Historical Museum located in a large room under the Square Garden, was founded by Paul VI in 1973. It contains saddles, carriages, papamobili (Popemobiles), automobiles (including the first cars used by popes) and sedan chairs used by various popes and cardinals. Curiosities include some 19th century carriages, a model of Vatican City’s first train engine (1929) and a Berlin built for Pope Leo XII, used by popes for gala occasions until Pius XI’s time.
The Pius-Clementine (Pio-Clementino) Museum, founded Pope Clement XIV in 1771, originally contained Renaissance and antique works. Pius VI, Clement’s successor, enlarged the museum and its collection and, today, it houses works of Greek and Roman sculpture. After passing through a square vestibule and a small room with a magnificent marble cup, visitors enters the Cabinet of Apoxyomenos (shows an athlete scrapping off his sweat with a strigil, a kind of razor used in antiquity), named after a Roman copy of an original Greek bronze work by Lysippos (c. 320 B.C.). Bramante’s Staircase, seen from the next room, was commissioned by Julius II in 1512 as a link between the Palace of Innocent VIII (1484-1492) and the city of Rome. The spiral staircase, built in a square tower, could also be climbed on horseback.

Apoxyomenos

The Sobieski Room (Sala Sobieski) derives its name from the large painting by the Polish painter Jan Matejko (1838-1893), which represents Polish King John III Sobieski’s victory over the Turks in Vienna in 1683. All the other paintings in the room date from the 19th century.

The large painting by the Polish painter Jean Matejko (1838-1893) in the Sobieski Room (Sala Sobieski)

The Room of the Immaculate Conception (Sala dell Immacolata Concezione) contains a big showcase, a gift from the French company Christofle, full of books given to Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) by kings, bishops, cities and dioceses, when the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was promulgated.

Room of the Immaculate Conception (Sala dell Immacolata Concezione)

The Octagonal Courtyard (Cortile Ottagono), named after its shape by Clement XIV in 1772, houses famous statues such as the Apollo Belvedere, a Roman 2nd century copy from a Greek bronze original possibly by Leochares (330-320 B.C.), originally placed in the Agora of Athens and brought to the Vatican by Pope Julius II; the Perseus with the head of Medusa between two boxers by Antonio Canova (1800-1801); and the celebrated Laocoon group, a 1st century Roman copy from the Greek original in bronze by Hagesandros, Athanadoros and Polydoros, found in Rome on the Esquiline Hill in 1506 and purchased by Julius II who had it set in the Vatican. The latter sculpture represents the Trojan priest Laocoon who warned his fellow citizens about the ruse of the wooden horse, a gift of the Greeks. With his two sons, he was condemned to die by the wrath of Athena, victim of some serpents emerging from the sea.

Octagonal Courtyard (Cortile Ottagono)

Apollo del Belvedere

The Picture Gallery (Pinacoteca), situated in a building that dates back to 1932 and designed by the architect Luca Beltrami, was commissioned by Pope Pius IX (1922 -1939) expressly to house a collection of paintings, belonging to various popes and started by Pope Pius VI (1775-1799). It is connected to the Museum complex (at the entrance of the Quattro Cancelli) by an elegant portico. The works, covering a period from the Middle Ages to 1800, are set in chronological order, in eighteen rooms.
Pio Christian Museum (Museum Christianum), founded by Pius IX in 1854, contains Christian antiquities such as statues, sarcophagi, inscriptions and archaeological findings dating from the 6th century, all originally exhibited in the Lateran Museum. Noteworthy is the statue of the Good Shepherd (represents a beardless young man wearing a sleeveless tunic and a bag) restored in the 18th century.
The Gregorian Profane Museum, founded by Gregory XVI, was also formerly housed in the Lateran Palace but relocated to the Vatican in 1970 by Pope John XXIII. It contains original Greek works, Roman copies and sculptures dating from the 1st to the 3rd century A.D. The most famous group is Athena and Marsyas, a copy of a Greek original by Myron (c. 450 B.C.).

Other highlights of the museums include:

The red marble papal throne, formerly in the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano;
Roman sculpture, tombstones, and inscriptions, including the Early Christian Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus and Dogmatic sarcophagus, and the epitaph of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus.
The Raphael Rooms (Stanze di Raffaello) form a suite of four reception rooms in the palace, the public part of the papal apartments for Pope Julius II. They are famous for their frescoes painted by Raphael and his workshop, including the masterpiece The School of Athens. The rooms are the Hall of Constantine (Sala di Costantino), the Room of Heliodorus (Stanza di Eliodoro), the Room of the Signatura (Stanza della Segnatura) and the Room of the Fire in the Borgo (Stanza dell’Incendio del Borgo).

Hall of Constantine (Sala di Costantino)

Room of Heliodorus (Stanza di Eliodoro)

Room of the Signatura (Stanza della Segnatura)

Room of the Fire in the Borgo (Stanza dell Incendio di Borgo)

The Niccoline Chapel
The Sistine Chapel, including the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Courtyard of the “Pigna,” named after a colossal almost 4 m. high bronze pine cone which, in the Classic Age, stood near the Pantheon in Rome, known as the “Pigna Quarter,” was probably first moved to the atrium of the ancient St Peter’s Basilica during the Middle Ages and then moved here in 1608. Two bronze peacocks, copies of 2nd century A.D. originals in the Braccio Nuovo, flank the pine cone. In the middle of the wide-open space are two concentric spheres by sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro (1990).

Courtyard of the Pigna

The Borgia Apartment (Appartamento Borgia) a private wing built for Pope Alexander VI (Borgia,1492-1503), was decorated with frescoes by Bernardo di Betto (called il Pinturicchio) and his assistants. After the pontiff’s death, the work on the apartments stopped. However, at the end of the 19th century, they were only reopened to the public. Most of the rooms are now used for the Collection of Modern Religious Art.

Borgia Apartments (Appartamento Borgia)

The double spiral staircase, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, has two parts. A double helix, of shallow incline, being a stepped ramp rather than a true staircase, encircles the outer wall of a stairwell of approximately 15 m. (49 ft.) wide and with a clear space at the center. The balustrade around the ramp is of ornately worked metal.
The Apartment of Pius V, built for Pope Pius V (1566-1572) and frescoed by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari, consists of a gallery, two small rooms and a chapel. It contains Flemish tapestries of the 15th and 16th centuries. The first of the two small rooms, next to the gallery, contains a rich Medieval and Renaissance collection of ceramics found in the Vatican Palaces and in other Vatican properties in Rome; the other room has a suggestive collection of minute mosaics, made in Rome between the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century.

Apartment of Pius V

Vatican Museums: Viale Vaticano, 00165 Rome, Italy. Open in winter Mondays to Saturdays, 8:45 AM to 1:45 PM, and at Easter, July, August and September, Mondays to Saturdays, 8:45 AM to 4:45 PM. Entry is free on the last Sunday of every month. Admission to the museum allowed up to 45 minutes before the closing time. Closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month. The entrance to the museums is on Viale Vaticano, near Piazza Risorgimento.

St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — 1 Comment ↓

St. Peter’s Basilica

The Papal Basilica of St. Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri; Italian: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply St. Peter’s Basilica, the most prominent building in the Vatican City, is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines and the most renowned work of Italian Renaissance architecture. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. Located west of the River Tiber, near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian’s Mausoleum, its central dome Its dome is a dominant feature of the skyline of Rome. Best appreciated from a distance, the basilica is approached via St. Peter’s Square.

Jandy and the author at St. Peter’s Basilica

The basilica has the following specifications:

Area: 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres)
Cost of construction of the basilica: more than 46,800,052 ducats
Geographic orientation: chancel west, nave east
Total length: 730 ft. (220 m.)
Total width: 500 ft. (150 m.)
Interior length including vestibule: 693.8 ft. (211.5 m.), more than ⅛ mile.
Length of the transepts in interior: 451 ft. (137 m.)
Width of nave: 90.2 ft. (27.5 m.)
Width at the tribune: 78.7 ft. (24 m.)
Internal width at transepts: 451 ft. (137 m.)
Internal height of nave: 151.5 ft. (46.2 m.) high
Total area: 227,070 sq. ft. (21,095 m²), more than 5 acres (20,000 m²).
Internal area: 163,182.2 sq. ft. (3.75 acres; 15,160.12 m²)
Height from pavement to top of cross: 448.1 ft. (136.6 m.)
Façade: 167 ft. (51 m.) high by 375 ft. (114 m.) wide
Vestibule: 232.9 ft. (71 m.) wide, 44.2 ft. (13.5 m.) deep, and 91.8 ft. (28 m.) high
The internal columns and pilasters: 92 ft. (28 m.) tall
The circumference of the central piers: 240 ft. (73 m.)
Outer diameter of dome: 137.7 ft. (42.0 m.)
The drum of the dome: 630 ft. (190 m) in circumference and 65.6 ft. (20.0 m) high, rising to 240 ft. (73 m) from the ground
The lantern: 63 ft. (19 m.) high
The ball and cross: 8 and 16 ft. (2.4 and 4.9 m.), respectively
Peter’s Square: 1,115 ft. (340 m.) long, 787.3 ft. (240 m.) wide
Each arm of the colonnade: 306 ft. (93 m.) long, and 64 ft. (20 m.) high
The colonnades have 284 columns, 88 pilasters, and 140 statues
Obelisk: 83.6 ft. (25.5 m.). Total height with base and cross, 132 ft. (40 m.).
Weight of obelisk: 360.2 short tons (326,800 kgs.; 720,400 lbs.)

The author within the nave

Here are some interesting trivia regarding St. Peter’s Basilica:

It is probably the largest church in Christendom.
The dome, rising to a total height of 136.57 m. (448.1 ft.) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross, is the tallest dome in the world.Its 41.47 m. (136.1 ft.) internal diameter, greater in diameter by approximately 30 ft. (9.1 m.) than Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia church (completed in 537), is slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it – the 3 m. (142 ft.) of the Pantheon of Ancient Rome and the 44 m. (144 ft.) of the Early Renaissance Florence Cathedral. Conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom, the architects of St. Peter’s looked for solutions as to how to go about building the dome from the domes of the Pantheon and Florence Duomo.
While it is neither the Pope‘s official seat, mother church (this honor is held by the Pope’s cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran) of the Catholic Church or the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter’s is certainly the Pope’s principal church in terms of use because most Papal liturgies and ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City proper. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining Peter’s Square.
One of the holiest sites of Christianity, Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is traditionally the burial site of its titular, Peter, head of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome, rendering him the first Pope Supposedly, St. Peter’s tomb is directly below below the baldachin and high altar of the Basilica in the “Confession.”
Peter’s, one of the Papal Basilicas (previously styled “patriarchal basilicas”), is one of the four churches of Rome that hold the rank of Major Basilica (all of which are also Papal Basilicas), the others being the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul outside the Walls. However, unlike all the other Papal Major Basilicas, it is wholly within the territory, and thus the sovereign jurisdiction, of the Vatican City State, and not that of Italy.
Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop. The Cathedra of the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, is in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
Within St. Peter’s Basilica are over 100 tombs (extant to various extents), many located in the Vatican grotto, of 91 popes (the most recent interment was Pope John Paul II, on April 8, 2005), since the Early Christian period, in the necropolis beneath the basilica. Many of the tombs of popes are considered outstanding artworks. Other notable people are also buried here. They include, St. Ignatius of Antioch; Holy Roman Emperor Otto II; the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart; Cardinal Bishop of Frascati (having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI); Maria Clementina Sobieska (wife of James Francis Edward Stuart); Queen Christina of Sweden (who abdicated her throne in order to convert to Catholicism); and Countess Matilda of Tuscany (supporter of the Papacy during the Investiture Controversy). Beneath, near the crypt, is the recently discovered vaulted 4th-century “Tomb of the Julii.”
The “Chair of Saint Peter” (cathedra), an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by St. Peter himself and used by many popes, was actually a 12th century gift from Charles the Bald.

Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the façade of the basilica, designed by Maderno, is 114.69 m. (376.3 ft.) wide and 45.55 m. (149.4 ft.) high and is built of travertine stone, with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters, all set at slightly different angles to each other (in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall’s surface), and a central pediment rising in front of a tall attic surmounted by 13 statues: Christ flanked by 11 of the Apostles (except St. Peter, whose statue is left of the stairs) and John the Baptist.

The inscription below the cornice on the 1 m. (3.3 ft.) tall frieze reads: IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII In honour of the Prince of Apostles, Paul V Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate)

The huge cornice, above them, ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression. The facade stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two 5.55 m. (18.2 ft.) statues of Saints Peter and Paul, the 1st-century apostles to Rome. Construction of the current basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter’s Basilica begun by the Emperor Constantine the Great (between 319 and 333 AD), was started on April 18, 1506 by Pope Julius II. In the next 120 years, after a succession of popes and architects, it was solemnly dedicated by Pope Urban VIII on November 18, 1626.

The nave

Cruciform in shape, the basilica has an elongated nave in the Latin cross form with a central space dominated, both externally and internally, by one of the largest domes in the world. In the towers to either side of the facade are two clocks, designed by Giuseppe Valadier from 1786-1790. The one on the right, called the Oltramontano Clock, has one hand showing European mean time. The one on the left, called the Italian Clock, shows Rome time. The oldest bell of the clock on the left, operated electrically since 1931, dates from 1288.

The clock on the left of the facade

Behind the façade of St. Peter’s, stretching across the building, is a narthex (long portico or entrance hall) such as was occasionally found in Italian Romanesque churches. Part of Maderno’s design, it has a long barrel vault decorated with ornate stucco and gilt and successfully illuminated by small windows between pendentives. Its ornate marble floor is beamed with light reflected in from the piazza

The Narthex

A mosaic, one of the most important treasures of the basilica, is set above the central external door. Called the “Navicella,” it is mostly a 17th-century copy of Giotto‘s early 14th century and it represents a ship symbolizing the Christian Church. At each end of the narthex is a theatrical space framed by Ionic columns. Within each is set a equestrian statue – an 18th century equestrian figure of Charlemagne by Cornacchini in the south end and Constantine the Great by Bernini (1670) in the north end.

Statue of St. Peter

Of the five portals (three framed by huge salvaged antique columns)from the narthex to the interior, three contain notable doors. The Renaissance bronze door (called Filarete), the central portal created by Antonio Averulino in 1455 for the old basilica, was somewhat enlarged to fit the new space. The “Door of the Dead,” the southern door, was designed by 20th-century sculptor Giacomo Manzù and includes a portrait of Pope John XXIII kneeling before the crucified figure of St. Peter. The “Holy Door,” the decorated northernmost bronze doors leading from the narthex is, by tradition, walled-up with bricks and opened only for holy years such as the Jubilee year by the Pope. The present door is bronze and was designed by Vico Consorti in 1950 and cast in Florence by the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry. Above it are inscriptions commemorating the opening of the door.

The design of St. Peter’s Basilica and, in particular, its dome, has greatly influenced church architecture in Western Christendom. They include:

Sant’Andrea della Valle (Rome) – designed by Giacomo della Porta before the completion of St Peter’s Basilica, and subsequently worked on by Carlo Maderno.
San Carlo ai Catinari
Sant’Agnese in Agone
St Paul’s Cathedral(London, England) – designed by Christopher Wren
Karlskirche(Vienna, Austria)
Nicholas Church(Prague, Czech Republic)
Pantheon(Paris, France)

Elements of St Peter’s Basilica’s were imitated, to a greater or lesser degree, by a great number of churches built during 19th and early-20th-century Post-Modernism architectural revivals. They include:

Compared with other churches, its entire, “stupendously large” interior, lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding, has vast dimensions so much so that it is hard to get a sense of scale within the building. The nave, framed by wide aisles (which have a number of chapels off them), lead to the central dome and is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. In keeping with Michelangelo’s work, it has huge paired pilasters.

The central dome

The aisles each have two smaller chapels and a larger rectangular chapel, the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Choir Chapel. Though lavishly decorated with marble, gilt, sculpture, stucco and mosaic they, remarkably, have very few paintings, although some, such as Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna” have been reproduced in mosaic. A small icon of the Madonna, removed from the old basilica, is the most precious painting.

The sanctuary culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and contains the so-called “Chair of Saint Peter” (Cathedra Petri ), a large bronze throne in the apse enshrined, with great celebration, in its new home on January 16, 1666. Symbolizing the continuing line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to the reigning Pope, the chair is raised high on 4 looping supports held effortlessly by massive and dynamic bronze statues, with sweeping robes and expressions of adoration and ecstasy, of the four Doctors of the Church – Saints Ambrose and Augustine, representing the Latin Church, and Athanasius and John Chrysostom, the Greek Church. A window of yellow alabaster, behind and above the Cathedra, illuminates, with a blaze of light, the Dove of the Holy Spirit at its center.

The Nave

Two holy water basins, fluttering against the first piers of the nave, are held by four cherubs, each commissioned by Pope Benedict XIII from designer Agostino Cornacchini and sculptor Francesco Moderati, (1720s). They appear of quite normal cherubic size but, once approached, it becomes apparent that each one is over 2 m. high and that real children cannot reach the basins unless they scramble up the marble draperies.
Markers, showing the comparative lengths of other churches, starting from the entrance, are found along the floor of the nave.
Medallions, with relief depicting the first 38 popes, are on the decorative pilasters of the piers of the nave.
Statues, depicting 39 founders of religious orders, are in niches between the pilasters of the nave.
A statue of St. Peter Enthroned, set against the north east pier of the dome, is sometimes attributed to late 13th-century sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio (some scholars dating it to the 5th century). One foot of the statue is largely worn away by pilgrims kissing it for centuries.
The sunken, crypt-like Confessio or “Chapel of the Confession” (in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom), leading to the Vatican Grottoes, is located at the heart of the basilica, beneath the dome and high altar. Maderno’s last work, it contains a large kneeling statue, by Canova, of Pope Pius VI, who was captured and mistreated by the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. Two curving marble staircases, remnants of the old basilica, lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. Here, cardinals and other privileged persons could descend in order to be nearer to the burial place of the apostle. Around its balustrade are 95 bronze lamps.
The Niche of the Pallium (“Niche of Stoles”), in the Confessio, contains a bronze urn, donated by Pope Benedict XIV, to contain white stoles embroidered with black crosses and woven with the wool of lambs blessed on St. Agnes’ Day.

The badalchin

The High Altar, surmounted by a baldachin (baldacchino), its central feature, was the first work designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini at St. Peter’s. This 30 m. (98 ft.) high, pavilion-like structure, claimed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world, stands beneath the dome and above the Papal Its design, based on the ciborium (of which there are many in the churches of Rome), serves to create a sort of holy space above and around the table on which the Sacrament is laid for the Eucharist and emphasizing the significance of this ritual.
As part of the scheme for the central space of the church, Bernini had the piers, , hollowed out into niches, and had staircases made inside them, leading to four balconies. On the balconies Bernini created showcases, framed by the eight ancient twisted columns, to display the four most precious relics of the basilica. Set in each of the niches, within the four huge piers (begun by Bramante and completed by Michelangelo) supporting the dome, are the huge statues of the saint associated with the basilica’s primary holy relics – Saint Helena, Constantine’s mother, holding the True Cross and the Holy Nails (by Andrea Bolgi); Saint Longinus holding the spear that pierced the side of Jesus (by Bernini, 1639); Saint Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, with the Andrew’s Cross (by Francois Duquesnoy) and Saint Veronica holding her miraculous veil with the image of Jesus’ face (by Francesco Mochi).

Statue of St. Longinus (Bernini)

North Aisle

Michelangelo‘s Pietà is in the first chapel of the north aisle.
The monument of Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated in 1654 in order to convert to Catholicism, is on the first pier in the right aisle.

Monument to Pope Innocent XI

The second chapel, dedicated to Sebastian, contains the statues of popes Pius XI and Pius XII. The space below the altar, housing the remains of Pope John Paul II (placed here on May 2, 2011), used to be the resting place of Pope Innocent XI whose remains were moved to the Altar of the Transfiguration on April 8, 2011.

Altar of the Transfiguration

The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the large chapel on the right aisle, contains the tabernacle by Bernini (1664). Resembling Bramante‘s Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio, it is supported by two kneeling angels and, behind it, is a painting of the Holy Trinity by Pietro da Cortona.
The monuments of popes Gregory XIII by Camillo Rusconi (1723) and Gregory XIV are near the Altar of Our Lady of Succor.
An altar containing the relics of Petronilla, with an altarpiece “The Burial of St Petronilla by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), 1623, is at the end of the aisle.

South Aisle

Baptistery

The baptistery, the first chapel in the south aisle, was commissioned by Pope Innocent XII and designed by Carlo Fontana, (great nephew of Domenico Fontana). The font, previously located in the opposite chapel, is the red porphyry sarcophagus of Probus, the 4th-century Prefect of Rome. The lid came from a sarcophagus which had once held the remains of the Emperor Hadrian. Previously stored in the Vatican Grotto, workmen broke it into ten pieces during removal and Fontana restored it expertly and surmounted it with a gilt-bronze figure of the “Lamb of God.”

Monument to the Royal Stuarts

The Monument to the Royal Stuarts, set against the first pier of the aisle, is a Neo-Classical tomb (designed by Canova and unveiled in 1819) for James and his sons, Charles Edward (known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”) and Henry, Cardinal and Duke of York. Opposite it is the memorial to Maria Clementina Sobieska, James Francis Edward Stuart’s wife.

Monument to Maria Clementina Sobieski

The second chapel, that of the Presentation of the Virgin, contains the memorials of Pope Benedict XV and Pope John XXIII.

Monument to Pope Benedict XV (Pietro Canonica, (1928)

The tombs of Pope Pius X and Pope Innocent VIII are set against the piers.
The Choir Chapel, the large chapel off the south aisle, contains the Altar of the Immaculate Conception.
The tomb of Pope Pius VIII is at the entrance to the Sacristy.

Monument to Pius VIII (Pietro Tenerani, 1866)

The altars of Saint Thomas, Saint Joseph and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter are at the south transept.
Towards the end of the aisle is the tomb of Fabio Chigi, Pope Alexander VII. The work of Bernini and called by Lees-Milne “as one of the greatest tombs of the Baroque Age,” it is awkwardly set in a niche above a doorway, utilized by Bernini in a symbolic manner, into a small vestry. Pope Alexander, facing outward, kneels upon his tomb. The tomb, supported on a large draped shroud in patterned red marble, is supported by four female figures, of whom only the two at the front, representing Charity and Truth, are fully visible. The foot of Truth rests upon a globe of the world, her toe being pierced symbolically by the thorn of Protestant England. The skeletal winged figure of Death, coming forth, seemingly, from the doorway as if it were the entrance to a tomb, has its head hidden beneath the shroud, but its right hand carries an hour glass stretched upward towards the kneeling figure of the pope.

Monument to Pope Leo XI (Alessandro Algardi)

The white marble Monument to Leo XI, by Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654), has roses carved on the plinth and the inscription “Sic florui”, refer to the fact that he reigned only 27 days, in 1605. Beside him are two female allegories: Fortitude and Generosity.

Monument to Pope Pius VII

The Monument of Pius VII, occupying part of the left wall of the Clementine Chapel, is the work of the Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844).Two winged cupids, one symbolizing time (hourglass) and the other history (book), are located on the sides of the throne. The two statues of “Knowledge” and “Fortitude,” on high pedestals, are located on the sides of the Doric door. The first is depicted in a meditative pose, with the Bible open and, at its feet, an owl, the symbol of prudence. The second figure is dressed in lion skins, while one foot stands on a club.

Altar of the Lie

Passing from the transept to the left aisle, on the left is the Altar of the Lie or the Altar of Ananias and Sapphira. Its mosaic, after a painting by Cristoforo Roncalli (known as Pomarancio, 552-1626), shows the punishment of the couple who had lied to St. Peter about the price of a field sold by them, and were therefore immediately struck dead.

St. Peter’s Basilica: Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City. Open daily, April -September, 7 AM -7 PM; October – March, 7 AM – 6 PM.

How to Get There:

By Subway – Take Linea A (red line) toward Battistini and exit at Ottaviano-S. Pietro. Walk south on Via Ottaviano toward St. Peter’s Square.
By Walking – From the city center, the most direct route is to cross the Tiber and walk straight up Via Conciliazioni. A more interesting route is to go under the Passetto arch near Castel S. Angelo and walk up Pio Borgo, providing a more dramatic entrance from the right (north) side of the Piazza.

Palatine Hill (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 24 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The Roman Forum

The surprisingly peaceful and majestic Palatine Hill (Latin: Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; Italian: Palatino) is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands 40 m. above the Forum Romanum, looking down upon it on one side, and upon the Circus Maximus on the other. Here are some interesting trivia regarding the Palatine Hill:

The English word “palace,” the Italian word “palazzo,” the French word “palais,” the German word “palest,” the Czech word “palace,” etc., are all derived from the Palatine.
Cacus, a ferocious, fire-breathing giant cannibal , was said to have once lived in a cave the Palatine. Regularly terrorizing the residents of neighboring Aventine Hill, he was finally defeated by the hero Hercules.
The Palatine is site of the festival of the Lupercalia, derived from the Lupercal, the cave where Romulus the mythical founder of Rome, and his twin brother Remus were found and raised by the she-wolf.
Regarded as one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in the city because of its mythical association, central location, spectacular views of the city, cooler summer temperature and cleaner air, the Palatine was the site of the residences of many affluent Romans of the Republican period (c.509 BC – 44 BC) and, during the Empire (27 BC – 476 AD), was the site of the palaces, now in ruins, of Emperors Tiberius (14 – 37 AD) and Domitian (81 – 96 AD).
The emperor Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) was born on the Palatine. He later lived there in luxury, with his wife Livia (58 BC – 29 AD). The remains of the House of Augustus and the House of Livia, with some of the most impressive ancient art in the city, are beautifully decorated with colorful frescoes. Beside his own palace, Augustus also built a temple to Apollo. Situated near the House of Livia is the temple of Cybele, currently not fully excavated and not open to the public. Cut into the side of the hill behind this structure is the so-called House of Tiberius.
In 41 AD, the 28 year old Emperor Caligula was assassinated in the cryptoporticus, a a semi-subterranean, barrel-vaulted corridor of about 130 m. beneath the palaces on the Palatine, stabbed up to 30 times by his loyal guard who responded by indiscriminately slaughtering anyone (including innocent bystanders) who were nearby.
During the Middle Ages, convents and churches (the oratory of Caesarius, Santa Anastasia, Santa Lucia, San Sebastiano) were built over the remains of older buildings of the Palatine, and the noble Frangipani family used them, along with the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine, to create a fortified stronghold.
In 1550, during the Renaissance Period, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese purchased a section of the Palatine and created beautiful Farnese Gardens, the first private botanical gardens in Europe. Featuring a nymphaeum, an aviary, a tree-shaded park of terraces, lawns, flowerbeds, pavilions, fountains and a wealth of art, over time it fell into disuse but some parts can still be visited today.

The Palatine Hill, and the Forum Romanum beneath it, is now a large open-air museum. Using the same ticket as the Colosseum, we visited it via the entrance on Via di San Gregorio, the street just beyond the Arch of Constantine, going away from the Colosseum.

Check out “Colosseum” and “Arch of Constantine“

Jandy and Grace at the Via di San Gregorio entrance

Overlooking the Roman Forum is the enormous Flavian Palace (also known as the Domus Flavia or the Domus Augustana) which was built, extended and modified largely during the reigns of Vespasian, Titus and Domitian of the Flavian dynasty (69 – 96). This palace, which extends across the Palatine Hill, looks out over the Circus Maximus, a huge structure which could accommodate 300,000 spectators. During the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus (146 – 211), the imposing brick building of the greater part of the palace visible from the Circus was undertaken.

Domus Severiana

The 621 m. (2,037 ft.) long and 118 m. (387 ft.) wide Hippodrome of Domitian or Stadium, which could accommodate 150,000 spectators, was built between AD 81 and 96. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, immediately adjacent to the Flavian palace of Severus, it is the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire.

House of Livia

House of Augustus

Temple Antoninus

The Hippodrome has the appearance of a Roman Circus (its name means “circus” in Greek) but is too small to accommodate chariots. Hippodromes, originally areas for exercising horses, were later used, in Rome, to describe elongated rectangular gardens or as a Greek stadium that is a venue for foot races. The tower is part of a medieval fortification

Circus Maximus

During the Severan period, it was used for sporting events and, while it is certain that it was most likely originally built as Domitian’s private stadium-shaped garden, its exact purpose is disputed.

Basilica of Maxentius

Temple of Venus and Rome

Antiquarium Forense

The nearby, small Palatine Museum exhibits Roman statuary (most coming from the Hippodrome) and artifacts dating from before the official foundation of Rome.

Palatine Museum

Claudian Aqueduct

On the eastern side of the Hippodrome is a large exedra decorated with sculptures and fountains commanding views of the garden below.

Farnese Gardens

Aviaries of the Farnese Gardens

Palatine Hill: Piazza di Santa Maria Nova, Rome. Admission: €12 (including admission to the Colosseum and Roman Forum). Tickets to the House of Augustus and House of Livia need to be booked separately and in advance.

How to Get There: Located close to the Colosseum and Roman Forum, the area around Palatine is walking distance from the Circus Maximus and Piazza Venezia. Well-served by public transport, lots of buses, such as the 75 and 87, stop near the Colosseum and it is also a short walk from the Colosseo (Line B) metro station. If going to Palatine by bus or taxi, keep in mind that the Via dei Fori Imperiali (the road connecting Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum), is mainly closed to traffic on Saturdays and Sundays.

This travel blog, a diary of the author’s local and international travels, aims to provide the reader with news and information on people, places and events that would interest the avid traveler and tourist. But, it also aims to be much more, providing insights on the wonders of this beautiful country, as well as the world, beyond the strict confines of the city. Have a BLAST seeing old churches, exotic temples, educational museums as well as palm-fringed islands; white sand beaches; thundering waterfalls; placid lakes; fiery sunsets; turquoise seas; cathedral-like caves; swirling rivers; majestic mountains; stupendous, amphitheater-like rice terraces; awesome volcanoes and the like. Get to know the movers and shakers in the tourism industry; find out where to titillate the palate; rejuvenate your body; feed your adrenalin, unwind and relax; satisfy your craving for history and culture; and find out what's being celebrated and where.

BENJAMIN “BENJIE” LAYUG, an architect by profession (he finished his B. S. Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982), is also a copy editor for two publishing houses; travel writer; blogger; architectural historian; author; concert. movie and musical reviewer (for www.pep.ph); and a motivational speaker.

As a free-lance travel writer, he has, in the past, contributed articles to Travel Update, Philippine Daily Inquirer, COLORS, TODAY, 7107 Islands Magazine, Business Day and Bluprint. He currently writes for Artplus Magazine and the Business Mirror.

He is also the author of the following travel books:

A Philippine Odyssey (New Day Publishers, 2005)
Pathfinder’s Travel Guide: Boracay (Great Books Trading, 2006)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches (New Day Publishers, 2007)
A Tourist to Notable Philippine Historical Landmarks, Monuments and Shrines (New Day Publishers, 2010)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Museums (New Day Publishers, 2012)

Some of his books now appear in the local library shelves of the National Library of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Sto. Tomas, U.P. Diliman, Centro Escolar University, San Sebastian College, Miriam College, Silliman University, to name a few, as well as internationally at the National Library of Australia and the University of California Berkeley Library.

Now a senior citizen, he is probably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, active travel blogger in the country today. He also has a lifestyle blog called F.Y.I.:Firing Your Imagination (www.firingyourimagination.blogspot.com). Benjie has traveled to two-thirds (53) of the country’s 81 provinces and over 20 countries in 4 continents.