A Nice Day

The day had to have an early start due to some issues happening in Italy. Apparently there were some riots planned for today as well as a metro strike which would be lifted at 12:30. Because we had a church we needed to get to before it closed at 12:30, we were ready to go at 8:15. Steve set us up in cabs and several cars later, we were on our way.

A bit about being in a car in Italy and the rules. First, is that there are no rules. Second, if you got a ticket at all, you were just a very unlucky person. Literally there could be two lanes on a road and there would be four cars across. You can park any where. Motorcycles can do whatever they want. If you're easily car sick, Italy is not the place for you. Since the rides are typically short distance, I do okay, but STILL. 

The first church we went to is legendary in the world of art history. It is all about Saint Theresa. Saint Theresa was a Spanish nun who claimed to have received a spiritual, mystical experience where an angel of the Lord pierced her heart and filled her with the love of God. She wrote her experience down in a journal and published it. People were all about it. 

This particular altarpiece is the moment of Theresa about to be pierced with the arrow and it's by our guy Bernini. The cost of the private family chapel (Cornaro family) was more than the construction of an entire building which I'll discuss next called San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane by Borromini. The art just surrounds the viewer. Bernini uses a hidden window which lights up the piece. On the sides of the chapel are sculptures in relief of members of the Cornaro family watching the scene. It is said that Bernini felt this was his best work. He uses multiple colors of marble, gold rods, stucco, the works. The marble which makes up the cloud the figures are on is mounted to the wall in such a way that you can't even tell that it's mounted at all. 

This is the altarpiece to the main chapel. I don't know anything about it but I know it is cool. I also like the organ. 

This is San Carlo Alle Quatro Fontane by artist Borromini. This building is absolutely weird. It was commissioned by Spanish monks and he basically built it for free; Borromini just wanted the freedom to make whatever he wanted. There is hardly any straight lines and no right angles at all. The inside doesn't match the outside. The triangles and ovals he used are symbolic of the Spanish monks. 

Italy is honestly so beautiful. This was something we saw on our way to the next church.

The final church of the day was the Church of Saint Peter in Chains. This church houses Michelangelo's Moses and the chains which held Peter when he was in prison in Rome. Those are held in the altar behind glass for people to see them.

Moses was part of a massive tomb intended for Pope Julius II (Remember PJ?) Michelangelo was really excited to work on this project which was intended to have 40 life-sized sculptures. When Mich went to the quarry to gather marble for this project and sent it back to Rome, PJ said, "Hey kid, what if you didn't do the tomb yet and did the ceiling of my personal chapel. I know you're a sculpture and not a painter, but what if?" 

Mich said, "LOL no." 

PJ said, "Do it." 

Mich said, "Heck you." Then he went home to Florence and work was halted on the chapel.

Mich works on the ceiling when when he's done with that, he keeps working on the tomb. But when PJ dies, the new pope said, "Hey man, do art for me."

Mich tried to accommodate the new guy but the descendants of PJ were like, "HEY. Do the tomb."

This happened a lot because Mich outlived about 16 popes.

About 45 years later, the tomb was finished, but it didn't feature all 40 figures. We know that Mich personally did Moses and two female figures while his pupils did the rest. 

After lunch, we finally went to the Baths of Caracalla. It is one of the largest bath complexes in Italy. We were able to do an audio tour which was way fun; the day was perfect for this.