ROME - A MUSEUM, A FILM, A PIZZA

Going to Rome is in itself a very exciting occasion for me. Being with friends, visiting a museum, watching a good film, having a good pizza, made my going pretty special.

Musei Capitolini at Centrale Montemartini 

Situated on Via Ostiense on the left bank of the Tiber, opposite to the former General Markets, the Centrale Montemartini is an extraordinary example of an industrial building transformed into an exhibition space. It was originally the first public electricity plant in Rome, named after Giovanni Montemartini; now it is the second exhibition centre of the Musei Capitolini, and contains an outstanding collection of classical sculpture from the excavations carried out in Rome at the turn of the 19th century.

ROME - HOGARTH, REYNOLDS, TURNER: BRITISH PAINTING AND THE RISE OF MODERNITY

Easter Holidays have been an occasion to catch up with things I love, like going to Rome, visiting friends and play the tourist. Besides walking around the city centre in sunny, stunning Rome and have a good time with my friends, I could visit an interesting exhibition promoted by Fondazione Roma: Hogarth, Reynolds, Turner - British painting and the Rise of Modernity. The Foundation presents a fascinating itinerary to discover the characteristics and originality of 18th century English art which has not been shown completely in Rome since 1966. The exhibition offers to the public a comprehensive overview of the social and artistic development that took place during the XVIII centruy in step with the hegemony gained by Great Britain at the historical, political and economic level.

ROME - EXHIBITIONS, FRIENDS AND ... A BIT OF HARRY (JASPER KENNEDY)

Journal of a long pleasant day

Palazzo delle Esposizioni - Rome

The weather forecast had announced a cool, cloudy, rainy spring day. Having planned to be out in Rome all day with students and colleagues first  and with friends once off service, I had chosen to wear my woolen grey picot, my jeans and my boots and made sure to remember my umbrella. So? It was an incredibly hot sunny day instead, almost summer! Quite the wrong start, wasn't it? Wrong clothes, at least. 

However, sweating a bit all the way around the three exhibitions we had in our schedule, I enjoyed what I saw and what I heard all the the same until my quick lunch with my three nice colleagues. Our students were free to choose where to have lunch by themselves, wherever they wished, but nearby. MacDonald's? Yes, of course.

We met them again at 3.30 in the afternoon when the temperatures was even hotter and when our time together was almost over. Once they were all in the coach,  I left for the rest of my Roman adventure ... well... not exactly an adventure, but more a longed-for break in  my usual routine. 

Before going on with my journal, some news from the official site about the exhibitions we visited in the morning at Palazzo delle Esposizioni. 

ROME - LUX IN ARCANA

My latest trip to Rome was a couple of days ago to meet friends, to have a delicious English-style tea, to plan our summer holidays together (top secret!) and to visit this intriguing exhibition. History and secret documents, not Art this time: Lux in Arcana.

The exhibition which is conceived for the 4th Centenary of the foundation of the Vatican Secret Archives aims at explaining and describing what the Pope’s archives are and how they work and, at the same time, at making the invisible visible, thus allowing access to some of the marvels enshrined in the Vatican Secret Archives’ 85 linear kilometers of shelving; records of an extraordinary historical value, covering a time-span that stretches from the 8th to the 20th century.

ROME - TWO DAYS, ONE EXHIBITION, A MUSEUM, A WALK AROUND THE CITY CENTRE, SOME SHOPPING, ... AND FRIENDS!

Have I ever told you how much I love being in Rome with my friends? Ehm... perhaps  once or twice. But may I say it again?  Yes? OK, thanks a lot for your patience! 

Being on holiday,  I had the opportunity to spend once again a couple of days with my friends in Rome: walking around the city centre nose up to the beauty all over, doing some shopping,  visiting a stunning photographic exhibition in a new centre and a museum in one of Rome ancient noble palaces, pleasantly chatting and having dinner all together, rewatching an episode from one of our favourite TV series. 

I'm not writing about everything we did,  but only about the exhibition and the museum we visited. I hope you don't mind and I'm sure you won't have any difficuty in figuring out the fun we had together.

AFTER LONDON, ROME!

I know, I  live at one-hour-drive distance from Rome. What's so special in being there, then? To me it is very special. Each time. And each time I discover more. Each time I realize I have still so much to learn .

I love being in Rome as a tourist (because more often it happens I'm there on errands which are job related)  and it has happened again in these latest days, thanks to my very special friend, K./V . who lives  there and hosts me each time I need a brief escape from ... my hermitage in the mountains.

I stayed there for a couple of days and we had a "bellyfull of art, sightseeing, wandering about the centre alleys and the picturesque landmarks, museums and exhibitions. Do you want to have a look at some of my  photos? Not work of arts,  but my own shots of breathtaking emotions.

ST PETER'S FROM CASTEL SANT' ANGELO 

The Mole Adriana, now called Castel Sant'Angelo, was originally built between 123 and 139 AD as the monumental grave of the Roman Emperor Adrianoand was used as a tomb by the imperial families up until the death of the Emperor Caracalla (217 AD). From what remains it is possilbe to imagine the original aspect of the "Mole", which became, later on, a  true fortress. The name Castel Sant'Angelo dates back to the late 6th century when under Pope Gregory the Great it was renamed because of the legendary miracolous apparition of the Archangel atop the Mausoleum, putting an end to the terrible epidemy of plague.

In 1527 Rome was invaded and occupied by troops led by Charles V (Sack of Rome) and, on that occasion, Pope Clement VII fled in safetyf, from the Vatican to the fortress, through the famous "Passetto", a passageway which starts from Saint Mark's bastion and runs on top of the wall that encircles the Vatican). Castel Sant'Angelo has been used as one of the impressive locations in  Dan Brown 's novel "Angels and Demons" as well as in  the movie based on it, but it was also one of the settings of Tosca by Giacomo Puccini. By the way, I saw all the settings of Tosca in my Roman errands these days: The Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle (act 1), Palazzo Farnese (act 2) and, of course, Castel Sant'Angelo (act 3) where Cavaradossi, imprisoned by Scarpia and overwhelmed by memories of Tosca,  sings "E lucevan le stelle".  

Can you see? Once in Rome you can't avoid a bellyfull of art! But thinking of more profane bellyfulls, I ate delicious food, too. We had lunch in a  famous trattoria near Via del Corso and,  at night, K./V. prepared  a very  exotic meal just for me, one of  Jamie Olivier's recipes, cous-cous and salmon. Have you ever heard about it? Maybe. Ehm... anyhow, it was tasty! It was my first try but ... I want to make it myself. soon It is rapid and delicious.

Among my firsts, I went walking along Via Margutta for the first time: iti s a small street looking southward toward The Spanish Steps  which in the 1950s, after the film Roman Holiday ,  became an exclusive road, and a residence of many famous people, like film director Federico Fellini and which is now a place with many art galleries and fashionable restaurants.  I visited Galleria Borghese for the first time, which I had longed to see for so long and never had been able to before, and which hosts one of the most stunning collections of the world (have a look at the link!) and, only until 13th February, an exhibition of Lucas Cranach's works, Cranach, The Other Renaissance. 

Finally I saw the Trevi Fountain from the inside for the first time, have you ever tried? It's curious to see the always crowded square and the fountain from the windows at its back. As evocative as observing someone you know very well from a hidden corner and a completely new perspective. Curious, indeed.

That's all from my latest Roman Holiday!

Till next one, hope it'll be soon. Thanks, V. xxx MG

ROME. THE PAINTING OF AN EMPIRE.

It was an exciting school day yesterday for students and teachers. We were in Rome to visit an Art Exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale (Quirinale = The President of the Italian Republic’s official residence). One of my classes study Latin, Greek and Art as their main subjects so this exhibition was a “must” to them and I was glad to join them in this trip.

I have recently read Michelle Moran’s Cleopatra’s Daughter, so when unexpectedly we were told that the beautiful wall with frescoes we were admiring was taken from Julia’s and Marcellus’s ( two of the protagonists of that novel and historical figures, of course) bedroom, I felt so involved and nearly moved! It was as if Ancient Rome’s everyday life was there under our eyes and those portraits … They were so impressive, so realistic.

ROMA . LA PITTURA DI UN IMPERO.

“Rome. The painting of an Empire” presents the figurative representation of a crucial period in Roman History, from 1st century b.C. to the 5th A.D. Six centuries which saw the Roman Empire rise and develop, from the advent of Julius Caesar in 49 b.C. to the extraordinary consolidation of advanced power structures that could hold such a vast territory together. In this period of time imperialistic expansion gave rise to a cultural ferment of rare intensity, to such a degree that the art of imperial Rome may be considered a source of inspiration for cultural and aesthetic canons that left their mark on the whole of subsequent western painting and art. Those images reveal aspects of the collective imagination and they are correlated with the more general system of representation of a concrete, practical-minded society that was at the basis of all subsequent civilizations. The works in the exhibition show that Roman painting was not simply a derivation and passive heir of classical Greek heritage. The about 100 works organized in 5 sections are all loan works from the world’s most important archaelogical sites and museums, including the Louvre in Paris, the British museum in London, the archaeological museums of Munich, Frankfurt and Zurich, the Pompei excavations, the National museum of Rome, the Vatican museum, the Naples and the Capitoline Museums. The spectacular context has been devised and designed by the great theatre director Luca Ronconi.

This one on the left is a detail from the fresco you can see at the top of this post. It is the one I was mostly impressed by.

The lady in white sitting with such a sad, worried face is a young just married bride (at that time girls were given in marriage at 12-13 by their fathers) and the lady next to her is trying to convince her that "what " was expecting her was not so terrible... Poor girl. I hoped her just married groom was not a fat ,  bald , old Senator!

The exhibition will be opened until 17 January 2010 at the Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome.