Let the touring continue!

Pictures:
(a lot!)

#1: Rain on the Campo!
#2: Sun shining on rain-drenched campo... and people.
#3: Quirinale Palace
#4: Quattro Fontane by Boromini - my favorite dome
#5: Courtyard of Quattro Fontane - he loves his white
#6: One of very few Gothic cathedrals in Rome (name?)
#7: St. Teresa in Esctasy - I totally read the part of Angels and Demons with this statue in it the night after our tour, what are the odds?
#8: St. Ivo Della Sapienza's amazing spiral spire
#9: Villa Barberini's garden view
#10: Barberini ceiling: one of the best examples of Baroque ceilings
#11: Jubilee Church














June 29th-July 3rd

We had a couple more Jeffrey tours this week, which were (as usual) long, and slightly interesting. We saw a few great things, but it was accompanied with a lot of walking and standing while he gave a dissertation. Monday's tour was focused on palazzos, so we learned a lot about the rich cardinals who became even richer when they became Pope (they had access to the Papal treasury, you see). For example, right down the street from us is the Farnese Palazzo, which is a well-known rich family (whose sign is the fleur-de-lis). The most unfortunate part about the tour, though, is that we never went inside any Palazzos! (well, we went into the courtyard of one) I wanted to see some interior rooms. It was also a city holiday today (the Feast Day of St. Peter and St. Paul) so a few places were closed. We did, however, go inside a few well-known churches, which were nice, but I can't remember their names. I'll have to look them up.

On Tuesday, we had our "Bernini and Boromini" tour, which began at the Quirinale Hill (Italy's version of the White House). At one point during the introductory lecture (45 minutes long, standing in the square) we got to see the changing of the guards. It wasn't Buckingham Palace, but it was interesting. We went up the street and visited a few amazing Bernini churches, and finished with Boromini. Bernini did some pretty nice designs, but they have a lot going on. Many colors of marble, frescos, bronze and gold guilding: it gets pretty intense. Boromini, however, stuck with more modest materials, but yet did innovative building plans. We also went into the crypt of Boromini's church (which wasn't scary at all) because everything was painted white, just like the church above it. It also had a great courtyard.

On Wednesday, we had our first real assignment due, as well as a collection of our sketch journals, so I spent the entire morning in studio, working on my drawings (not much different than studio in Eugene). During our afternoon class, it started thundering REALLY loud (which was funny, because our designs we were talking about are based off of Dante's Inferno) and the wind was blowing through the building. Then all of a sudden it downpoured. It was pretty intense. It has been trying to rain all week, and it finally let loose. Hopefully it got all the rain out of its system before our trip to Assisi this weekend, where we can lay by the pool at our hotel (in between hikes). Oh, I'm excited.

Thursday we just had class in the morning, and then we took the afternoon off. I mostly just we on errands, and watched more thunderstorms. This weather here is crazy! That night I took a night trip to St. Peter's Square to do some night-sketching. It was nice to see it when it wasn't packed with people. It was also nice to be able to just stroll over to the Vatican on a whim. (It's another country, you know)

We had a tour with Oregon professor Jamie Harper on Friday morning, and I think it was one of my favorite tours so far. He took us to Villa Barberini, with a few stops along the way (one of which I missed - St. Ivo della Sapienza - because we lost the group, I guess I'll have to visit it later). The Villa had beautiful gardens and a beautiful gallery inside, including some works of Caravaggio. After the tour, I went with classmate Jeff out to Richard Meier's Jubilee Church (outside the city of Rome). It was quite the journey, including two bus transfers, totaling about 2 hours in total travel time (longer for the way back, because we took the wrong bus). In all, I would say it was worth it, simply because it was nice to take a break from all the historical buildings and see some modern. It was in a strange location, though. I think I would like the building a lot more if it was in the middle of a garden, or on a hill or something. Just a thought, Richard. More adventures to come!