When in Rome...

I suppose it is time for me to tell you all about my trip to Rome. This was one of the most amazing weekends I’ve ever experienced and I am still trying to process it all! Each of the four days began before 8 a.m. with a cappuccino and Italian pastry to ready us for the amazing history we were about to take in! We walked all over Rome, some days over 10 miles!Throughout the four days we dealt with the Renaissance and Baroque time periods, moving from museums to churches to plazas to see the architecture and paintings of some of Rome’s finest! The experience was made even more meaningful by my Professor, who has spent lots of time studying Rome, art and design and gave introductions, read poetry and pointed out little marvels within the city that I would have otherwise missed! We spent time sitting in some of the markets and piazzas throughout Rome, getting a feel for how the ancient architecture has a place in the modern culture. In between the 12 hours of sight seeing a day we consumed many espresso drinks, scoops of gelato, slices of pizza, delicious sandwiches, sips of wine and did I mention gelato?

Here are some of the highlights of what we saw:

The Boxer in Museo Nazionale

Il Tempietto Di Bramante, the place of St. Peter’s martyr

St. Peter’s Basilica, including Michaelangelo’s Pieta

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Church of Saint Ignacio

Carvagio’s paintings: Calling of St. Matthew, St. Matthew writing the gospel, Madonna di Loret, Conversion of Saul, Crucifixion of St. Peter, Assumption

Churches and Sculptures by Bernini (The Ecstasy of St. Teresea) & Boromini

The Colosseum and Arch of Constantine

The Vatican Museum [Raphael’s paintings & Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel]

What good is a work of art if there is no connection? This is a question we have asked in our class is this semester, and in Rome I was confronted with connection overload! It is hard to describe just how much the list of these sites has impacted me. I was challenged by how well and how much all of these artists incorporated stories from scripture into their work, I was confronted with Catholic traditions and iconography, my appreciation for the talents and creativity God has bestowed on the hands of man has deepened greatly. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend and I hope to find my way back to this magical city again.

the hallway to the Sistine chapel...
The scene i chose to draw:
Bernin fountain...
Trevi fountain..
St. Peter's...
La Pieta
Rome!
Il Tempieto de Bramante
The Boxer

Here is a snippet of my immediate reflections in St. Petere’s Basilica, if you care to read:

I have never felt so small as just now, standing enveloped by the masterpiece that is St. Peter’s Basilica. I am humbled and amazed. I feel insignificant, but at the same time part of a story so big it took 160 years to tell only part of its story. Inside the building, the paintings jump off the walls, the ceiling extends into the heavens, statues reach out and try to enter your mind, music plays and mass proceeds—a haven for all who’ve pilgrimed here.

And then there is the Pieta. So simple and beautiful. I’ve just realized I will never be closer to this revolutionary piece than I am now. I stand and let it deplete my breath. I zoom the camera lens to really capture Mary’s face—anguish, love masked by pain, sympathy. The only mother in the world who had to let a child go before he began growing inside of her, a sacrifice for mankind. Mary did you know you’d face this moment? Amidst the color and boldness—the overwhelming statues and gold—in the corner, humbly, honestly, Mary’s face shines most bright as she grieves her son, our Savior.