today was INCREDIBLE. i know i say that about everyday, but i saw more beautiful, art historically significant, life-changing (i.e. making me reconsider art history as a major) things today than i probably ever will (until next week maybe...). we started the morning at the fori imperiali, focusing mainly on the forums of augustus and trajan and then on the column of trajan. seeing the column of trajan specifically was amazing because it's another monument that i've recently studied in art history classes; it's HUGE and just as beautiful as i imagined.
view of remains of trajan's forum, trajan's column, and a small temple-like structure in the background (not sure what it is now...i'll look it up later)
so after trajan's column, professor biow led us to the pantheon...wait, what? we're going to the pantheon right now? without any kind of intro or heads up? WHAT?!?!? i was FREAKING OUT like near hyperventilating walking in (for those who know me well, well you know how i can be...). WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW wow. teared up walking in and was stunned silent inside.
the pantheon literally is the most beautiful, tranquil, spiritual, awesome (in the literal sense of the word) space in the world; i haven't been to many but i know nothing can beat the feeling one gets standing in the dead center of the pantheon looking up through its oculus. the discussion of the meaning of the shape, center, space, blah everything about the structure and how it was built to literally connect the cosmos with the earth (the convergence of a circle onto a square, with the emporer hadrian as the center of it all...wow wow wow i get chills just thinking about it (for anyone who hasn't studied the pantheon before, what i just wrote about was probably meaningless to you and for those who have, i'm sorry i just botched such a beautiful and complex line of reasoning). ANYWAY, there's never enough to say about the pantheon and i could go on for days but i won't. you get the idea. i didn't take any pictures there because i was so blown away but brianna did so i'll just steal from her later! the weirdest thing about the pantheon though is where its situated, unassumingly in the middle of this piazza with street vendors and cafes all around it...very unassuming. one of the many mysteries of rome..
so after having such an intense experience at the pantheon, we went to santa maria sopra minerva, a beautiful gothic basilica (actually the only gothic basilica in rome). inside there is an early statue by michelangelo, an exquisitely carved textile-looking statue by bernini and a chapel with an amazing painting (experimenting with perspective) - all for free! i must walk in to more churches around rome because each one is truly a gem.
stefania and her daughter at the caravaggio exhibit line
then, CARAVAGGIO! the largest collection of caravaggio paintings together in one exhibit EVER and definitely worth the wait! although the lighting was TERRIBLE and it was packed with smelly italians (and even worse, smelly tourists...), it was still amazing and breathtaking and i just love caravaggio.
time for class, pictures later!
ok back.
funny side-note: if you've ever read an art history book (or attempted to read one) you know that the language used is incredibly lofty, over-the-top, and convoluted at times (maybe why i gravitate towards it...my writing is usually like that too...sorry). anyway, imagine that, written originally in italian (the trend transcends languages even) then badly translated into english by a very obviously non-native english speaker...BAD NEWS BEARS for people like me trying to read about caravaggio in RUN-ON, overly dramatized, lofty sentences - oy vey. but all in all, a great exhibit and a great day.
the pantheon literally is the most beautiful, tranquil, spiritual, awesome (in the literal sense of the word) space in the world; i haven't been to many but i know nothing can beat the feeling one gets standing in the dead center of the pantheon looking up through its oculus. the discussion of the meaning of the shape, center, space, blah everything about the structure and how it was built to literally connect the cosmos with the earth (the convergence of a circle onto a square, with the emporer hadrian as the center of it all...wow wow wow i get chills just thinking about it (for anyone who hasn't studied the pantheon before, what i just wrote about was probably meaningless to you and for those who have, i'm sorry i just botched such a beautiful and complex line of reasoning). ANYWAY, there's never enough to say about the pantheon and i could go on for days but i won't. you get the idea. i didn't take any pictures there because i was so blown away but brianna did so i'll just steal from her later! the weirdest thing about the pantheon though is where its situated, unassumingly in the middle of this piazza with street vendors and cafes all around it...very unassuming. one of the many mysteries of rome..
so after having such an intense experience at the pantheon, we went to santa maria sopra minerva, a beautiful gothic basilica (actually the only gothic basilica in rome). inside there is an early statue by michelangelo, an exquisitely carved textile-looking statue by bernini and a chapel with an amazing painting (experimenting with perspective) - all for free! i must walk in to more churches around rome because each one is truly a gem.
christ the redeemer by michelangelo
memorial to maria raggi by bernini
brianna and i actually did run into another church after s.m. sopra minerva and ran to italian class (a.k.a. nap time...oy need to work on that). after class we were determined to see the caravaggio exhibit, no matter how long the line was, so we grabbed pizza on the way back to the quirinale and found (happily) a shorter line! great success. it ended up taking us two and half hours but it went by so fast because we talked to the woman standing behind us, stefania, the whole time. she was AWESOME. she actually teaches french so she was very helpful and patient with our broken italian.
she told us some great stories about her travels in america (especially las vegas) and actually is interested in hosting kids from our program now! one of my favorite stories was the ordeal she had attempting to order an "ot do" at a restaurant; naturally, the waitress did not understand her (because she wasn't saying anything that sounded remotely like english) for about twenty minutes...finally she figured out how to express that she wanted a "HOT DOG" (those open "o"s for italians are a nightmare!). the way she still says hot dog though is actually one of the funniest things i've ever heard and she was just awesome. it was a truly rewarding experience spending those two hours with her :)
she told us some great stories about her travels in america (especially las vegas) and actually is interested in hosting kids from our program now! one of my favorite stories was the ordeal she had attempting to order an "ot do" at a restaurant; naturally, the waitress did not understand her (because she wasn't saying anything that sounded remotely like english) for about twenty minutes...finally she figured out how to express that she wanted a "HOT DOG" (those open "o"s for italians are a nightmare!). the way she still says hot dog though is actually one of the funniest things i've ever heard and she was just awesome. it was a truly rewarding experience spending those two hours with her :)
stefania and her daughter at the caravaggio exhibit line
then, CARAVAGGIO! the largest collection of caravaggio paintings together in one exhibit EVER and definitely worth the wait! although the lighting was TERRIBLE and it was packed with smelly italians (and even worse, smelly tourists...), it was still amazing and breathtaking and i just love caravaggio.
time for class, pictures later!
ok back.
funny side-note: if you've ever read an art history book (or attempted to read one) you know that the language used is incredibly lofty, over-the-top, and convoluted at times (maybe why i gravitate towards it...my writing is usually like that too...sorry). anyway, imagine that, written originally in italian (the trend transcends languages even) then badly translated into english by a very obviously non-native english speaker...BAD NEWS BEARS for people like me trying to read about caravaggio in RUN-ON, overly dramatized, lofty sentences - oy vey. but all in all, a great exhibit and a great day.
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