Italian Trip Diary -- Day #19 -- Rome, Capitoline Museum

Sunday, July 1, 2001, Rome, Capitoline Museum:

I've broken down this day's diary into two parts -- Piazza Venezia, Piazza del Campidoglio, Roman Forum, and Colosseum was published last week; and Capitoline Museum will be published today.

The Capitoline Museum is spread among three buildings on the Piazza del Campidoglio.  It is best known for its collection of antiquities -- primarily sculptures.  But it also holds interesting Renaissance paintings, sculptures and tapestries and has some fabulous Renaissance interiors.  Since we visited in 2001, the museum has been upgraded and expanded -- but the collection remains pretty much as we saw it.

Among the antiquities, one obvious star is 'The Dying Gaul' which I posted about in March after seeing it again in a one-piece exhibition in the rotunda of the National Gallery in Washington last January.  Among the other sculptures that caught our eye in 2001 was a sarcophagus from the 3rd century AD where the coffin has incredibly detailed deep bas relief scenes from the life of Achilles, while the lid has rather primitive portrait renderings of the deceased patrons (looking almost like Grant Woods' 'American Gothic' minus the pitchfork).

'Sarcophagus', marble, Roman, 3rd century AD.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Displayed in a courtyard was a Satyr (half man-half goat) from the Theater of Pompey (dedicated in 55 BC) in the Campus Martius.   The statue is believed to be a copy of a Greek original.

'Satyr', marble, Roman (after Hellenistic original), circa 55 BC.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

In another courtyard we found the head, arms, hands and feet from the 'Colossus of Constantine' which was originally displayed in the apse of the Basilica of Maxentius.  While the head, hands and feet of the enormous statue are carved from white marble, the rest of the figure was composed of brick and wood, probably covered with gilded bronze.  In late antiquity the statue was looted for its bronze and destroyed.  Michelangelo moved the remaining pieces to the Capitoline while he was working on the Piazza del Campidoglio project. 

'Head and Hand' from the 'Colossus of Constantine', marble, Roman, 313-324 AD.
George (6'3") is included to provide some sense of scale.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Another giant statue is a bronze 'Hercules' that was discovered in Rome in the 15th century AD.  Scholars have dated it to the 2nd century BC in Greece and believe that it was brought to Rome as a cult figure for the Temple of Hercules Victor which was located in the Forum Boarium (livestock market) near the Tiber.  

'Hercules', bronze, Greek, 2nd century BC.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

This room, the Hall of the Horatii and Curiatii has frescoes by Giuseppe Cesari, Cavalier d'Arpino, from 1636-38 AD.

The 'Capitoline Venus' is a Roman copy of a 4th century BC original by Praxiteles.  The copy is executed in fine Parian marble.  It was discovered between 1666 and 1670 AD in Rome.  Compared to the male figures, this Venus seems a bit shy.

'Capitoline Venus', Parian marble, Roman (copy of a Greek original from 4th century BC).
Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Discobolus as a Wounded Warrior' is a reconstruction utilizing the torso of Discobolus from the 1st century AD -- which itself is based on a Greek original by Mirone from 460 BC.  The figure that Pierre-Etienne Monnot created around the start of the 18th century is extraordinarily dynamic with the arms and shoulders torqued away from the hips and legs. 

'Torso of Discobolus' (copy of an original Greek statue by Mirone, 460 BC), marble, Roman, 1st century AD.
Reconstruction as a 'Wounded Warrior' by Pierre-Etienne Monnot, marble, circa 1700 AD.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

One of the most beloved sculptures in the Capitoline Museum is a bronze from the 1st century BC of a young boy removing a splinter from his foot -- it's called 'Spinario' .  Less than 2.5 feet high it has a sweetness and simplicity which is direct and endearing.

'Spinario', bronze, Roman, 1st century BC.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

This grouping of three busts includes 'Commodus as Hercules' (center) flanked by two 'Tritons' -- all from 180-193 AD.  The Emperor Commodus is shown with the symbols of Hercules -- the lion skin over his head and shoulders and the club used to slay the Hydra slung on his shoulder.

'Commodus as Hercules' with two 'Tritons', marble, Roman, 180-193 AD.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Bust of Medusa' by Gian Lorenzo Bernini depicts the most powerful of the Gorgons as a kind of 60's hippie chick with a snake Afro.  It makes wonderful use of the Baroque sense of motion and drama -- you feel the mass of snakes writhing and slithering as you move around it.

'Bust of Medusa'  by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, marble, 1644-48 AD.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Among the great paintings is Guercino's painting 'The Burial of Saint Petronilla'.  It was initially commissioned for an altar in Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, then moved to the Quirinale, where it hung until Napoleon requisitioned it for the Louvre.  Antonio Canova brought it back to Italy in 1818 and installed it in the Capitoline Museum.

'The Burial of Saint Petronilla' by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), oil on canvas, 1621-23 AD.
George offers scale for this enormous painting.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

The painting is divided into two spheres: earth and heaven.  The lower, darker half depicts the saint's body being lowered into her grave surrounded by mourners; the upper, brighter half depicts her soul arriving before Christ in heaven.  According to Christian mythology, Petronilla was the daughter of Saint Peter.  The body was buried in the Roman Catacombs until 1606 AD when the remains were moved to the Vatican.

Part of the Capitoline Museum collection displayed in the grounds outside, 'Lion Attacking a Horse' is a Greek sculpture that dates from 325 to 300 BC.

'Lion Attacking a Horse', white marble, Greek, circa 325-300 BC.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Since our visit in 2001, this work has been moved to a new enclosed courtyard along with the original of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius that once stood at the center of the Piazza del Campidoglio and several other works -- including this statue of 'Oceanus' from the 1st or 2nd century AD.

'Oceanus', marble, Roman, circa 1st of 2nd century AD.  It was probably originally part of the fountain.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

This sculptural fragment of one woman carrying another was discovered in the area of Horti Lamiani -- Lamiani Gardens -- created by the consul Aelius Lamia, friend of Tiberius, on the Esquiline Hill during the excavations for the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

'Fragment of One Woman Carrying Another', marble, unknown attribution.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

There is a sense of urgency to the movement of the figures and the drapery which makes it very arresting.

Here are a few other works that we liked that I can't identify (I hadn't yet adopted the practice I use now of photographing the wall plaques as well as the art):

This is obviously a marble sculpture of Hercules (note the lion skin and the club), but it's less muscular and cocky than many pieces on the subject.  Also, I liked the cool tone of the background.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

The subjects of these three paintings are familiar: 'The Baptism of Christ', 'The Resurrection of Christ', and 'The Mocking of Christ (with the Crown of Thorns)' -- but I cannot locate an attribution or date.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The lighting on this bust is extraordinary -- but I have no idea who its subject or creator were.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Finally, here's a coffered ceiling from one of the galleries centered on the papal seal of Innocent X -- three fleur de lys and a dove bearing an olive branch.  It testifies to the opulence of the galleries in the Capitoline Museum and the papal patronage that was bestowed on the project over many years.

Coffered ceiling in Capitoline Museum gallery.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Italian Trip Diary -- Day #2, Rome

Thursday, June 14, 2001, Rome:

The following morning we left the hotel around noon (just as our friend, Carl K., was arriving at the hotel from NYC) and took the metro to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the second largest basilica in Rome after St. Peter's.  We remembered St. Paul's fondly from our previous trip, when we had walked all of the way from the Jolly stopping at several more churches and the Basilica of St. John Lateran.  The exterior of St. Paul’s is distinctive chiefly for the striking mosaic in the triangular pediment and upper story of the facade and for the huge colonnade in front which screens a lovely courtyard with a huge statue of St. Paul.  

Mosaic on the facade of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, photo by Blomme-McClure

Entrance colonade and courtyard of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls with statue of Saint Paul,
photo by Blomme-McClure

Inside, there is a grand nave (the second longest in Rome – after St. Peter’s) ending in a massive arch in front of the altar with four side aisles separated by long colonnades.  They provide a rhythm which somehow mutes the overall sense of grandeur and creates a more human scale lacking from many Italian churches -- which often seem more intent on humbling worshippers rather than welcoming them. 

Nave of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls
with the Tabernacle above the Tomb of Saint Paul designed by Arnolfo di Cambio,
photo by Blomme-McClure

South Cloister of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls built by Vassallatto  in the 13th century,
photo by Blomme-McClure 

It was on our way to St. Paul's at the metro interchange at Termini (the main train station) that we had a pick-pocketing attempt.  Three men crowded onto an escalator – one in front of Doug, one between us and one behind George.  Their plan was for the first one to drop a package at the top of the escalator creating a diversion that would allow the two to each take one of our wallets.  Doug caught the one behind him with his fingers inside Doug’s pocket and gave him a stern look.  The guy behind George succeeded in getting George’s wallet out of his pocket, but George yelled “wallet, pick-pocket, thief” at the top of his lungs and the guy dropped the wallet just at the top of the escalator.  We grabbed the thief between us (the one who had had his hand in Doug’s pocket) just as a policeman arrived.  His two accomplices got away, but George’s wallet was there on the floor with everything in it.  The policeman, the thief we caught, and the two of us went upstairs to a police station.  We refused to press formal charges (too time consuming and complicated) so the policeman took us back to the metro while the thief was kept in the police station.

That evening, with Carl K., we walked down the Via Veneto to Piazza Barberini, thence to the Trevi Fountain, on to the Pantheon, and then via an unexpected route into the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle and on to the Piazza Navonna -- which was crowded with tourists and locals enjoying the early summer evening in one of Rome's greatest public squares. 

Interior of the Pantheon built by the Emperor Hadrian in 126 A.D.,
photo by Blomme-McClure

Fontana del Pantheon from the portico of the Pantheon,
photo by Blomme-McClure

Facade of Sant'Andrea della Valle by Carlo Maderno, photo by Blomme-McClure

Interior of dome of Sant'Andrea della Valle by Lanfranco and Domenichino, photo by Blomme-McClure

Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini in front of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Borromini
Piazza Navona, photo by Blomme-McClure

Much of central Rome has been reserved for pedestrians, which means that all of these sights are less harrowing to get to, although they are all crowded with tourists.  After Piazza Navonna we crossed the Tiber on the Ponte Umberto with the Dome of St. Peter’s and Castel Sant’Angelo rising above the river on our left.  

Dome of St. Peter's from Ponte Umberto, photo by Blomme-McClure

Castel Sant'Angelo (Hadrian's Tomb) from end of Ponte Umberto, photo by Blomme-McClure

After a lovely dinner in the sidewalk café of Ristorant Antico Cavour (Piazza Cavour, Rome, 06 687 5065) on the lovely Piazza Cavour across from the monumental and ornate Ministry of Justice, we took a taxi back to the hotel.

Italian Trip Diary - Day #1, Brussels to Rome

Wednesday, June 13, 2001, Brussels to Rome:

We flew from Brussels to Rome after a lovely stay in Oostend with George's cousin, Freddy, and his partners, Jan and Ken, and their (and our) good friend, Arthur.  That time in Belgium was very relaxing and low pressure and allowed us to adjust to the new time zone, enjoy visits with family and friends, and drinks and meals on the promenade along the North Sea.

Our hotel in Rome was the Jolly Via Veneto -- now the NH Vittorio Veneto (a).  It is just past the arched gates in the old city walls at the top of the Via Veneto.  Our room (#705) – actually a small suite – was on the top floor and had a terrace that looked out over the Borghese Gardens.  

View of the Borghese Gardens from our room at the Jolly Via Veneto, photo by Blomme/McClure

 Our first evening in Rome we decided to eat at a cafe recommended by two Belgian friends -- it turned out to be just on the other side of the old city wall from our hotel.  For dinner at Il Pomodorino (b) we had pizza and dessert (profiteroles for me).  We were served by Emanuela, an energetic and personable young waitress who tried to teach us to pronounce the menu in Italian.  She was also bantering with a cute waiter who was working in the next area (probably about our inability to keep our eyes off of him). 

After dinner, we decided that we had enough energy to walk down the Via Veneto to the Piazza Barbarini, then to the top of the Spanish Steps and back along the city walls and the Borghese Gardens to our hotel.  The Steps were packed with young people just hanging out in groups enjoying the balmy evening.

Triton Fountain by Bernini in Piazza Barbarini at the bottom of the Via Veneto,
photo by Blomme/McClure

Rome is just as we remembered it from previous trips, though even more crowded and with many more areas reserved just for pedestrians.  The wonderful layering of buildings from succeeding civilizations combines with the energy and joviality of the people in a dynamic mixture of cultures – different languages, styles, ages, eras -- all seemingly coexisting happily in a great urban stew of a place.


(a) NH Vittorio Veneto, Corso d'Italia, 1, 00198 Rome, Italy;  http://nhvittorioveneto.hotelinroma.com/
(b) Il Pomodorino, Via Campania 45/e, 00187 Rome, Italy; 
             http://www.ilpomodorino.org/en/home.php