Rinascimento

Today was a fun picture day.. Well, fun after the excitement that is getting to classes in Rome. Buses make me want to react violently. The bus you need is always late, and packed. We ended up getting off at the wrong stop because I couldn't remember the right one, and we couldn't really see where we were. They also don't announce the stops.. I have a fair amount of anger towards the Roman bus system. And on that note, their website is pretty awful. Anyway that's enough of that rant.

Palazzo Farnese

We met our professor here, behind Campo de Fiori, at the Farnese Palace which is currently the French Embassy in Rome. It's really cool, but we couldn't go inside because we aren't super scholars (researchers) or French citizens or whatever. Sooo we just talked about it from the outside. It was designed in early 16th century (1517). At the end of the 16th century, the important fresco cycle of The Loves of the Gods in the Farnese Gallery was carried out by the Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci, marking the beginning of two divergent trends in painting during the 17th century, the Roman High Baroque and Classicism.

Church inside the square.

Fountain from Baths of Caracalla

We then walked to the Spada Palace built in 1540, but re-done in 1632 (17th century - Baroque) by Borromini after being bought by Cardinal Spada. Borromini turned it into a wonderful work of art rather than simply a building. He liked to play with spaces and defined forced perspective. He inserted a hallway that appears to be very long, but actually is basically a Willy-Wonka room.

Palazzo Spado from the front.

Augustus!

Romulus

On the left is Trajan.

Private gardens that would have opened to the Tiber.

Lemon trees & a trellis.

Willy Wonka Room I couldn't take
this picture but everything's on the internet.

After discussing various points about that palazzo, we went to Villa Farnesina, which is gorgeous. And just barely north of the main area of Trastevere. (Trastevere has some of the best food in Rome.) It's across the bridge from Campo de Fiori. Villa Farnesina was completed around 1510, it was decorated by Raphael. His work with perspective and 3-D figures is unbelievable. He was also a master of anatomy. It's truly an amazing place.

You can just barely see St. Peter's in the background.

Bridge between Campo & Trastevere.

Statue to a Roman Poet.

Isn't this cool?

My fascination with
graffiti strikes again.

Pac-Man!!

Old style Italian garden.

An awesome staircase!

The conference of the Gods to decide Persephone's fate.

The feast after the decision was made to let her in.

Believe it or not, these are just paintings on a flat wall.

These too.

Cupid and Venus discussing their problems.

Beautiful marble floors.

Painted marble columns.

The garlands between pictures featured all sorts of "new" fruits and vegetables discovered in America, including, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins and other gourds.

Venus complaining to Zeus.

Weirdest cupid-type thing I've ever seen.

Cupid and the 3 graces. Raphael almost
certainly painted the one facing away.

Little cherub things playing with the gods' weapons.

Hercules

A beautiful painting of constellations that were in the sky the 
night Agostino Chigi (master of the house) was born. 

And another.

Representing Gemini and the Swan.

Aquarius and Capricorn

This is on the cover of our books!

Crest of the Family.

a better picture.

More Fake 3D.

And some more.

Marble floors again.

"Ruined Illusion" although still fairly good.

Graffiti from sack of Rome in 1500's

Gods working in a Forge as a chimney topper.

Alexander the Great showing mercy.

Alexander and his new wife.

This horse is TERRIBLE. Not done by
 Raphael or any of his students.

Look! Constantine's Basilica!

Before class we got our tests back and I was a little nervous because I knew I messed up one of the ID slides, (got the Column of Trajan and the Column of Marcus Aurelius confused). But I ended up with an A so apparently all my worrying was for naught. Of course, that won't stop me from worrying about my other test or the papers I have due. Which by the way, is why I won't be posting as much written stuff. I just don't have the time for it. I need to be doing schoolwork and not fun blog stuff.

Mosaic floor!

After this we had 45 minutes to grab lunch and get back to Campo de Fiori. So we stopped at a place and had some pasta. then headed back. We met our professor at the market, bought a couple of things for a dinner we have to prepare, and then went back to our apartment (after me making us take the bus in the wrong direction of course). We rested (cooled down) for a bit, then went to the grocery store and bought everything else we needed.

Internet picture. I forgot to take some.

Our Menu includes

Antipasto - Bruschetta - Bruschetta
Primo Piatto - Spaghetti con Noci - Spaghetti with Walnuts
Secondo Piatto - Pallotte Cacio e Uova - Bread Dumplings with Cheese
Dolce - Torta di Mandorle - Almond Cake