Roma- 07 February 2009

Today we took a day trip from our 10 day trip to go to Tivoli, the place where the Romans used to do most of their digging for tufa and travertine. In Tivoli we went to the Villa Adriana which is now in ruins, and despite the pouring rain which Giuditta brought with us, it was very interesting to walk around the ruins and see what this palace of a Roman emperor used to be like. Then we quickly rushed to the Villa d’Este to see the vertical gardens behind it, which were definitely worth it. This garden is very well organized and filled with amazing waterworks that we couldn’t even begin to see all of it in the 30 minutes we had. But we had to leave so that we could get back to Roma in time for some people to visit the Colosseum, but what we did instead was a little shopping and rest before our last night in Rome. For our last dinner, we went to a restaurant suggested by our favorite Terry Kirk, Da Francesca. This was definitely a local’s restaurant, and had great food and we enjoyed great company there as well, followed by our gelato visit to the gelateria by our hotel with millions of flavors

~Heather

Roma- 06 February 2009

Today we were back with our fearless, restless tour guide Giuditta so you know our day was filled to the brim. The first and most exciting building of the day in my opinion was Renzo Piano’s Auditorium Parco Della Musica, which consists of three auditorium spaces which look like bugs from the outside, but become very beautiful, acoustically and functionally perfect spaces on the inside. The largest hall was my favorite, and it is set up like a big musical instrument,, it has thick heavy wooden panels that provide great resonation as well as velvet curtains that can be placed for the proper amount of absorption. This building has made me seriously interested in theatre design, especially because it provides a happy median between my two greatest interests.

Next we visited my research building for this semester- the Palazzetto Dello Sport by Pier Luigi Nervi, where me and my partner sketched and photographed like crazy. It was interesting to experience the space that we have been researching about for so long, and some of what we found was very surprising. Then we saw the Maxxi Museum by Zaha Hadid which is under construction, and then the Ara Pacis museum by Richard Meier.

Then we went back in time to do some other buildings,, the Sant’ivo Alla Sapienza by Borromini which plays with convexity and concavity in the façade design, the Piazza Navona, the Chiesa di Santa Maria Della Pace, and the Palazzo Spada which has Borromini’s false perspective gallery. After all that was over, we looped around the city to go to a sushi restaurant named Fish. This was an interesting experience because I have never had sushi, but I was in good company and we definitely picked a great place to try it. So after they order rolls for me, I have decided that I am definitely a sushi fan! And that was our exciting night

~Heather

Roma- 05 February 2009

Today we woke up, you know just a normal day, and headed down to the Vatican City, no big deal. It was a gorgeous day, so we got to spend most of it inside of course going through the Vatican museum and St. Peters. The first thing we did was go through the museum, of which the most significant things were the School of Athens painting by Raphael and of course, the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. The Sistine Chapel was unreal, it seems so impossible to us for one man to paint that entire ceiling so elaborately and so perfectly scaled and proportioned. It was recently restored, so everything was as clear as the day he painted it, and we spent a lot of time just looking up with our jaws dropped. Technically you are not allowed to take pictures, and there are guards that walk around and yell “Silencio!” every 5 minutes, but it was the Sistine chapel so we all managed to capture a shot here and there, to prove that we were actually there. Next we were walking around the Vatican wall to go up in the dome, and on the way we experienced one of the most terrifying events of my life. We were just walking on the sidewalk when literally right beside us on the road a motorcyclist lost his balance and slid going at a high speed down the road. I heard the crash and then saw him sliding and immediately turned away,,, but luckily he wasn’t hurt in anyway, and he just picked up his motorcycle, got back on it, and kept going while the traffic drove around him (including an ambulance!) NO one even stopped to see if he was okay! Anyway- then we climbed up into the dome of St. Peters which was a very similar experience to that of Brunelleschi’s dome in Firenze, except for this time from the view you could see ROME. Next we headed back down and spent many hours inside St. Peters. Here is my account of St. Peters, you can probably skip over this part if you wish, but this is what I wrote down while inside the church.

“St. Peters is so big it is overwhelming to the point of being oppressive. There is absolutely no reason why I should feel heavy and bogged down, it is huge, light, and the marble is perfectly chilled… but the mere scale with consistent intricacies is overwhelming all of my senses to the point of shortness of breath. I wish I could have stood under Brunelleschi’s dome, so I could compare the size to this cupola, but I can already tell this church is bigger. My peripheral vision can’t even see the top of the church but makes you physically look up to see the most intricate, mesmerizing designs of the entire church. No wonder I missed the Pieta the first time! Trying to imagine myself n this building is nearly impossible. There are too many people around whose scale I can relate to for me to feel miniscule, but if you look up, you can almost get there. Also the fact that you can’t take it all in one view skews a true scale. But if all the people were gone I would be like an ant against giants, a speck against titans- which brings up another interesting point… even though this is an incredibly heavy grounded building it seems so animate and dynamic as if it could pick up and move at any point. That feeling, I believe, has a variety of different sources—one is the dynamic, intricate architecture, the second is the presence of the Holy Spirit well symbolized by the dove glory over the altar, and the third is the oppression that is making my knees wobble and me quiver just looking at it. I shall also briefly mention Michelangelo’s Pieta which I never thought could be paled by anything, but the church has done just that. The thing that really stands out to me about this masterpiece is Mary’s face… with what seems to be very little facial expressions Michelangelo perfectly captured the absolute grief of Mary—it is not an angered torturing grief, but instead the purest saddest grief of which only Mary could achieve. There is no accusation, no denial, no vengeance. The only kind of music that can fill this space is the slow, tension-building, sweet melodies that resonate throughout the entire church, low and high, far and wide.

Towards the end of our walking around this church, the mass started, of which the most beautiful part was the sound of the organ which I previously mentioned in my notes. After this we walked on back to the hotel, and ate in and had a movie night after our long filled day.

~Heather

Roma- 04 February 2009

For our first real day in Roma, we started off with the morning free. Since the Colosseum (potentially one of the most architecturally significant buildings in Rome) was not on our list of things to see while here, we decided to go and visit it on our own. We progressed towards the Colosseum how people would have in ancient Rome, through the forum. Now the Forum, however, is in such a state of disarray that it seems more like a junk yard for compiling old columns and various other remnants. However, it was very interesting to try to imagine what the Forum would have looked like in that day and age, especially because the signs were in Italian so we had no clue what each ruin was supposed to be. Once we got through this we headed into the Colosseum, surpassing a huge line to buy tickets. Inside the Colosseum wasn’t anything I didn’t expect, I guess because I have studied it soo much, but what was very interesting is being able to see the hallways and caverns that normally would have been covered up on the main floor and housed all the animals and such that the gladiators would fight off. We stayed inside photographing and sketching for about 2 hours, but I still didn’t even come close to finishing a sketch because there was just too much information to capture.

Next we met up with a professor from the area named Terry Kirk for our afternoon tour of Roma. I am going to preface this by saying that Terry Kirk is potentially the coolest guy ever and I thoroughly enjoyed his highly dynamic speeches and acts. Put that guy in a musical- that is all I have to say. So we started in the Piazza Del Campidoglio which is a hill upon which the Senate building (mostly designed by Michelangelo) sat. This hill became a big deal for papal processions as well as the welcoming of any persons of significance into the city,,, and it can be accessed using the long, thin, angled stairs which “float” you up to the top of the hill in Terry Kirk terminology.

On our way to our next visit, we went by Il Vittoriano, a large national monument of Roma which is often referred to as the wedding cake, and it turns out Mr. Terry is writing a book about this building, so even though it didn’t fit into our baroque topic, we took a detour into it. This building is interesting, because by the time you climb the fourty million monumental stairs flanked by personifications of action, thought, strength, concord, sacrifice, and justice, you are already higher than all the roofs in Rome, so most of the building is just an exterior progression to get you up and above the city.

Next we saw the Forum of Trajan with of course the famous tower which depicts Trajan’s two major military exploits in no sort of chronological order. Then we hit the Chiesa di Sant’Andrea del Quirinale which is a chapel attached to a college dormitory which is used for morning prayer before the kids head off to school. Bernini is famous for his theatricality, which he definitely taps into in this church which through the use of paintings, sculpture, and architecture, helps depict the crucifixion of St. Andreas, the release of his spirit, and then his ecstasy as he ascends to heaven (the dome at the top of the church). This was probably my favorite church because it did present you with an upfront theatrical story on a stage. Next we went to the Palazzo Barberini (their coat of arms is three bumble bees,, I think we all should have coats of arms) which has two sets of stairs, one by Bernini which is straight and filled with sculptures, and the other by Borromini, his counterpart that created an ovular stair case which varying tread widths and heights to make you flow up the stairs but little other decoration (these two stairs are the perfect example of how these two architects differ, after you see a church by each of them). After this we went to the Chiesa di San Carlino Alle Quattro Fontane by Borromini who contrasted Bernini by emphasizing dramatics of architecture alone. This church has his famous billowing façade which has its own theatricality, and the interior has deep overemphasized niches which provide a simple building with a heavy rich sense. The Chiesa Di Santa Maria Della Vittoria was next, which is significant for the “Ecstasy of Saint Teresa d’Avila” which depicts the moment after St. Teresa is stabbed in the heart by the fiery arrow of an angel, which she said actually happened to her in her diary and wishes that everyone could experience the same horror and ecstacy that she experienced at that moment, thus Bernini creates that exact moment on a theatrical stage for everyone to experience.

After this we stopped for a gelato break at the supposed “best” place in all of Rome which is known for its unique flavor combinations. I got the meringa e stracciatella (Meringue and chocolate chips) which was absolutely phenomenal. Next we hit the Fontana di Trevi, designed by Nicola Salvi which explores the natural sciences of water, rock, plants and seasonal statues in a thrust theatre formation that spills into the audience and forces them to interact with it. This design is very interesting because he juxtaposes natural rocks with a refined building so that they interact and either reminds the audience that the building comes from nature or that Nature trumps all and will eventually wear down every building in turn. For the sake of superstition, I threw one coin over my left so that I will some day return to the Eternal City of Rome. (Just so you know, supposedly if you throw two over your shoulder you will soon be married, and if you throw three your marriage will quickly end in divorce).

Our final destination with Terry Kirk was the Scalinata di Trinita’ dei Monti, aka the Spanish Steps. Now this is an interesting story, because the steps are actually French, but due to some drama dealing with a statue of Louis the 14th that was supposed to be placed on the steps and which the Pope couldn’t handle because that was like a smack in the face,,, the Romans refused to call the steps or the square below them “French” and have ever since them been calling them Spanish due to the Spanish embassy right down the street. Poor French. Anyway, these stairs are very interesting because they had to conquer the design challenge of a lack of symmetry and awkward angles,,, so this was accomplished by using many many curves. And as Terry said,, you caress these stairs on your way up, and they are graceful that it makes you just want to dance up them (then he proceeds to trip while mid-dance). So here we said our fairwells to Terry and watched him fade out into the distance and then we headed back to our hotel for another night of dinner and gelato.

~Heather

Siena- 03 February 2009

This morning in Siena we went to the Duomo there, which was supposed to be one of the biggest churches in Italy, but it was never completed. We went through the church, a museum which housed the old sculptures and paintings found in the church, and then climbed on top of it to get a good view of the city of Siena, which made us appreciate this dreary city a little more. That afternoon we caught a train to Roma through Chiusi, and arrived at our luxurious 3 star hotel right behind the Pantheon in time to wander through the city for dinner and yes, gelato. We were right down the street from this hotel called Minerva, and while we were walking past it about 6 cars came through with flashing lights and then stopped in front of the hotel and all the body guards got out and delivered someone to the door,,,, we have no idea who it was, but they had to be famous! SO I am going with Johnny Depp. I stayed in a hotel in Rome beside of JOHNNY DEPP.

~Heather

Firenze- 02 February 2009

Today was our last day in Firenze (which was definitely my favorite city that we saw in this whole trip). The first thing we did was climb Brunelleschi’s cupola of the Cathedral Santa Maria Del Fiore (the Duomo of Firenze) but in order to recount this experience I must first explain a little bit about how this dome was constructed. So for a brief period in time, Firenze was the capital of Italy, and they decided that they need the biggest church in Italy to celebrate this. Makes sense. So they go about building this gigantic church which was the largest church in the world until Milan and St. Peters, and then realize that it needs the largest dome in the world of which they have no idea how to construct. Obviously they can’t do it like the usually do, and build wooden supports to hold up the masonry until it is finished,,, one because that would take more wood than the entire region could supply,, and two because the masonry would be too heavy to stand up on its own in the end anyway. So they had a competition to see who should build it. Brunelleschi and Ghiberti ended up being the final contestants, and eventually Brunelleschi was given the job for a variety of reasons which we are not sure of their validity. Anyway, many people think he is crazy and he won’t really tell anyone how he is going to build the dome, he just convinces them that he can do it if they trust him. What he ends up doing is creating a double shell so that he uses less masonry and the outer shell is supported by the inner shell which is in turn supported by a drum wall the size of the pantheon below it. This drum was placed to resolve the loads before they hit the 4 major piers which finally distribute the force to the ground. SOOOOOOOOO… When you are climbing up the dome you climb up the space between the two shells,,, which gets progressively narrower and more slanted as you begin to reach the top. Overall it was a very exciting experience that would make a great action scene for a National Treasure film. Anyway, we made it to the top, had some decent views of Firenze despite the cloudy rainy weather. After this we headed to the train station and travelled to our next destination, Siena.

I feel bad for Siena because we were only there for one day, and it was pouring basically the entire time we were there, so we didn’t have the greatest experience with it. That plus the hotel roof was leaking onto peoples beds…. Anyway, once we got to Siena we went to what is said to be the most beautiful square in all of Italy, and I really liked its drainage system. Then we did some shopping in the rain and had a large group dinner at this quaint little restaurant right off the piazza which was absolutely delicious. One of our plates that he served us was pasta in a sauce which was like half tomato sauce half olive oil, and it was absolutely fantastic. And now I am craving it again.

~Heather

Firenze- 01 February 2009

Today Giuditta joined us for a full day of Firenze intake. First we went to the Museo Dell’Accademia where, of course, the David is the main attraction. However, I also enjoyed Michelangelo’s Prisoners, which lead up to the David. Even though there were paintings in this room, the prisoners dominated them all. I know that these were meant to be finished (Michelangelo only finished about 1/3 of his full volume of work in his lifetime) but for some reason these statues seem more alive and complete than most of the sculptures I saw during this entire trip. Anyway--- moving on down the hall or nave if I may say so, to the David.

David is placed in an apse like setting of a church, and I feel like this is the most suitable setting for him. I think that under a dome is the perfect setting for him because his stance evokes you to move around him… His views are also terraced- you start with the contrapposto feet and then move up to his highly intricate back, and then eventually make it to his curly head and furrowed brow at the top and opposite side from which you started, thus he spirals you around him and up into the dome. Anyway, enough art and architecture speak,,, moving on.

Today we saw Ponte Vecchio (which also reminded me of Erfurt, Germany because of all the shops along the edges of the bridge), Palazzo Pitti (which was only memorable because of the gardens behind), Chiesa di Santo Spirito, Palazzo Rucellai (another significant family in Firenze whose coat of arms is a sail as opposed to the dots of the Medici), Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella, the train station of Santa Maria Novella which we came in on, and the Stadio Comunale Berta by Pier Luigi Nervi (who is famous for his use of concrete in a completely structural manner that results in highly sculptural buildings). On the way to the Nervi building we were all crowded in this bus, and unfortunately Giuditta (basically the only Italian on the whole bus) was pick-pocketed so she lost her wallet and passport, slightly putting a damper on the day. After this we went back to the hotel and went out for guess what? Dinner and Gelato!

~Heather