San Carlo 1635(begun) Borromini Baroque
(left)Sant’Ignazio
Glorification of St. Ignatius 1691-1694 Pozzo Baroque
Il Gesu
Building 1575-1584(c) Vignola & Della Porta Baroque
Piazza Navona
Fountain of Four Rivers 1648-1651 Bernini Baroque
Rome 2
Renaissance and Baroque Rome
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San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane
San Carlo 1635(begun) Borromini Baroque (left)Sant’Ignazio Glorification of St. Ignatius 1691-1694 Pozzo Baroque Il Gesu Building 1575-1584(c) Vignola & Della Porta Baroque Piazza Navona Fountain of Four Rivers 1648-1651 Bernini Baroque | |
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Building 17th Century Maderno Baroque Ecstasy of St. Theresa 1645-1652 Bernini Baroque |
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The Villa Borghese Cardinal Scipione Borghese, newphew to Paul V Borghese, had the Villa Borghese built as his private residence at the beginning of the 17th century. Located between the Flaminio area and the Parioli area, the main building was inspired by 16th century style. The interior features great works of then-contemporary art by Italy's great luminaries, including Gianlorenzo Bernini. Many of the rooms still feature the works of the great sculptor, and the ceiling decorations reflect the themes carried out in the sculpture itself. The museum also houses ancient sculpture of the Roman period. |
"Outside Porta Pinciana he had a beautiful palace built in one of his Vineyards, or Gardens or Villas, however we wish to call it, in which every delight we might desire or have in this life was to be found. It was entirely adorned with beautiful antique and modern statues, fine paintings, and other precious things, including fountains, fishponds and embellishments..", this is how G. Baglione, a painter and art critic of the period, described Pope Paul V's (1605-1621) urban innovations.
After the purchase of land and vineyards and the concession of water from the Acqua Felice aqueduct in the first decade of the 17th century, work on the construction of the palace began in 1612 and was virtually completed in one year. Whereas the sculptures which were to decorate the building, the construction of the aviary by Girolamo Rainaldi (1617-1619) and the landscaping of the garden took until circa 1620.
Apart from the contribution made by the Flemish architect Vasanzio, the architectural features are to be attributed above all to Flaminio Ponzio, an extraordinary architect in whom the Pope and the cardinal placed absolute trust. Ponzio designed the proportions of the rooms, and the Doric order on the exterior. He freed its architecture from the traditional style of other villas, which was more monolithic and confined, causing unexpected front and side projections to emerge in a dynamic relationship with the upward movement of the towers, which is enhanced by the arrangement of the windows and the doors communicating with the garden avenues on all four sides.
The Villa Pinciana was built as a museum to house fine examples of ancient and modern art, as a music centre, but also as a place for the contemplation of nature (in the form of rare plants and animals), of fossil specimens and of modern technology of the time, i.e. automata, mirrors, bizarre lenses and special clocks.
The villa administered a large farm with vineyards, vegetable gardens, hunting grounds, stables, barns, dovecotes in the towers (whose entrance are still visible),a large aviary, an ice store, a wine cellar and even silkworms. Extremely rare plants imported from Holland and Indies and a zoological garden completed Cardinal Scipione's "Theatre of the Universe".
In contrast with its appearance in 1984, the glowing façade of the villa set in its green garden, has now been returned to its original 17th century splendour. the façade's creamy marble colour and paler background tones have been restored and the pilaster strips and string-courses are a shade of ivory resembling travertine. The colour, the Doric order of pilasters and the harmonious proportions of the whole building are reminiscent of classical architecture. The original double staircase by F.Ponzio has been reconstructed and will be surmounted by a copy of an ancient vase with two cornucopias (the originals are in the Louvre). This replaces the late 18th-century pyramid-shaped staircase and now provides access to the lower ground level containing various amenities. The shutters that altered the original design of the windows have recently been removed. All the busts and statues on the façades, which had sadly deteriorated owing to lack of routine maintenance and were eroded by rain, wind, dust and lichen, have now been restored.
Galleria Borghese
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Rape of Prosperpine 1621-1622 Bernini Baroque David 1623 Bernini, Baroque Apollo and Daphne 1625 Bernini Baroque Pauline Borghese as Venus 1808 Canova Neoclassicism Danae 1535(c) Correggio Mannerism Sacred and Profane Love 1515 Titian Renaissance |
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Borghese Images (thumbnails are clickable for information and larger images). |
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Santa Maria Della Vittoria
Castel Sant’Angelo/Hadrian’s Tomb
Structure Begun 135-139 Roman
Ponte St. Angelo 2nd C. Roman
Angels of Ponte St. Angelo 16th C. Bernini’s Workshop Baroque
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St. Peter's Basilica Visit the online PBS pages on St. Peter's Dome In 324 CE, the emperor Constantine commanded that a church be built on the site of St. Peter's grave. The crucifixion site of St. Peter was reputed to be nearby. For 1,000 years the church of Constantine stood as a symbol of the faith in the West. It was a basilica with central nave and high side aisles. By the 15th century, though, Julius II, the great Renaissance Pope of the Catholic Church, had inherited a badly-deteriorating building that stood in danger of collapse. Julius commissioned the "New St. Peter's" to be built on the site of the ancient church.
In 1546 Michelangelo took over work on the construction and design of St. Peter's in Rome, under the watchful eye of Pope Julius II. Michelangelo's dome is 138 feet in diameter and 452 feet high. Construction of St. Peter's was completed after Michelangelo's death in 1626. Among the many art treasures in the basilica, one of the most famous is Michelangelo's sculpture the Pietà. It is the only scupture that Michelangelo ever signed. Look carefully at the band crossing the Virgin's breast for the signature ofthe artist. The Pieta is located in the first chapel to the right of the entrance. The interior includes the Baldachino by Gianlorenzo Bernini 1624-1633. The columns are nearly 100 feet high. It stands on the site where the faithful believe St. Peter, the first pope, is buried. You can climb up into Michelangelo's dome, or take an elevator partway. The view from the top is worth the effort of the climb!
Learn more about DOMES.
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The Sistine Chapel and its Ceiling Built between 1475 and 1483, in the time of Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere, the Sistine Chapel has originally served as Palatine Chapel. The chapel is rectangular in shape and measures 40.93 meters long by 13.41 meters wide, i.e. the exact dimensions of the Temple of Solomon, as given in the Old Testament. It is 20.70 meters high and is roofed by a flattened barrel vault, with little side vaults over the centered windows. The architectural plans were made by Baccio Pontelli and the construction work was supervised by Giovannino de' Dolci. The first Mass in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on August 9, 1483. The wall paintings were executed by Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli, Luca Signorelli and their respective workshops, which included Pinturicchio, Piero di Cosimo and Bartolomeo della Gatta. Julius II's decision to completely renovate the decoration of the Ceiling was probably due to the serious problems of a static nature that affected the Sistine Chapel from the earliest years of his pontificate (1503-1513). They must have been the result of the excavations carried out both to the north and to the south of the building for the construction of the Borgia Tower and for the new St Peter's. After a long crack had opened in the Ceiling in May 1504, Bramante, then the Palace architect, was charged with finding a solution and he fixed some tie rods in the area above the Chapel. However, the damage suffered by the old painting must have been such as to convince the pontiff to entrust Michelangelo with a new pictorial decoration. On 8 May 1508, the artist signed the contract which foresaw the painting of twelve apostles in the pendentives and ornamental motifs in the rest. Subsequently, at the request of Buonarotti himself, who considered the project to be a "poor thing", the Pope gave him a new commission in which he left the full planning of the programme to the artist. It is quite likely that for his creation the artist availed of the cooperation of the theologians of the papal court. Michelangelo placed nine Central stories illustrating episodes of the Genesis within a powerful painted architecture, with at their sides figures of Nudes, holding medallions with texts taken from the Book of Kings. At the base of the architectural structure twelve Prophets and Sibyls seated on monumental thrones are countered lower down by Christ's forefathers, portrayed in the Webs and in the Lunettes (north wall, south wall, entrance wall). Finally, in the four corner Pendentives, the artist illustrated some episodes of the miraculous salvation of the people of Israel. Michelangelo completed the first half of the Ceiling, that is from the entrance wall to the Creation of Eve, in August 1510. The work must have been completed by 31 October 1512, as the Pope celebrated Mass in the Chapel on 1 November.~Vatican Museums At left is an overview of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Please take the VIRTUAL TOUR at the Vatican Museums online source. |
Sistine Chapel CeilingClick on the thumbnails for a larger image |
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The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel Painted by Michelangelo between 1536 and 1541, the Last Judgement is centred around Christ, with his gesture indicating the final pronouncement of damnation. Heroically calm, Christ raises his right arm..caught in the moment before his final judgement is spoken. (Matthew 25:31-46) The figures around him swirl in motion.The Saints and the Elect, arranged around Christ and the Virgin anxiously await the verdict. The composition is bracketed by the two upper lunettes with groups of angels bearing in flight the symbols of the Passion (on the left the Cross, the nails and the crown of thorns; on the right the column of the scourging, the stairs and the spear with the sponge soaked in vinegar). Next to Christ is the Virgin, (note the blue "mantle of heaven" and the red robe signifying the Passion): she turns away from the ferocity of the final judgement, in resignation. Look for: St Peter with the two keys, St. Laurence with the gridiron, St. Bartholomew (flayed alive, holding the symbols of his martyrdom: his own skin) The figure of the St. Bartholomew's flayed skin is considered a self-portrait of Michelangelo. Look for St. Catherine of Alexandria with the wheel and St. Sebastian kneeling holding the arrows of his martyrdom. Then Mike really let'em have it! He gave them Hell! |
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The
lower section of the composition concerns the dead and their rise or
descent. Because the entrance to Hell is shown on virtually the same
plane as the tombs of the dead, Michelangelo has divided the composition
into halves, with the right half (Christ's left) representing the entrance
to damnation. In the centre of the lower section are the angels of the
Apocalypse. They blast their long trumpets to wake the dead to final
judgement. On the left (Christ's right) the wakened dead leave recover
their bodies as they ascend towards heaven (Resurrection of the flesh).
On the right (Christ's left) devils fight over making the damned fall
down to hell.
At the bottom Charon with his oars, together with his devils, ferries the damned across the River Styx, forces them out of his boat and his minions lead them before the infernal judge Minos. Look closely at the figure of Minos whose body is wrapped in the coils of the serpent. There is a reference in this part to the Inferno of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. In Michelangelo's time, the Last Judgement caused violent reactions among the contemporaries. The Vatican's Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena said that "it was most dishonest in such an honoured place to have painted so many nude figures who so dishonestly show their shame and that it was not a work for a Chapel of the Pope but for stoves and taverns" (G. Vasari, Lives of the Artists). It is not terribly surprising, then, that many have claimed that Michelangelo painted the face of Minos as a portrait of his chief critic, Biagio. In 1564 the Congregation of the Council of Trent decided to have some of the figures of the Judgement that were considered "obscene" covered. The task of painting the covering drapery, the so-called "braghe" (pants) was given to Daniele da Volterra, since then known as the "braghettone". Daniele's "braghe" were only the first and in fact others were added in the following centuries. (In defense of Volterra, it pained him deeply to do this work, but one does not refuse the papacy. In fact, it is Volterra's sensitive bronze portrait of Michelangelo which has affixed in the minds of all who love the great artist's work, his most characteristic representation.) In the recent (1990's) restoration, some of these draperies or "braghe" were removed, giving us a clearer image of Michelangelo's original intentions. |
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The Sistine Chapel is famous for it's paintings by Michelangelo, sure. But check out the works on the walls by other Renaissance greats. There are breathtaking masterpieces by some of Italy's finest. North wall works include: Baptism
of Christ |
Temptations
of Christ S. Botticelli |
The
calling of the first Apostles D. Ghirlandaio |
The
Sermon on the Mount C. Rosselli |
Handing
over of the keys of the Church to St. Peter P. Perugino Probably Perugino's masterpiece, and a work incredibly influential on his student, Raphael |
Last
Supper C. Rosselli |
| South Wall Images include: | Legacy
and death of Moses L. Signorelli |
Punishment
of Korah, Dathan and Abiram S. Botticelli |
Handing
over of the Tablets of the Law C. Rosselli |
Passage
of the Red Sea B. d'Antonio |
Events
in the life of Moses S. Botticelli |
Journey
of Moses in Egypt P. Perugino |
