Sunday, January 8, 2012

Busted - Capitoline Museum, Rome

In one day in the Capitoline Museum, I saw more busts and more statues than in the 46 years prior combined.  They ranged from the big and broken (Constantine, if memory serves)...


...to the truly amazing...


...to ones that can be used for sex education (yes, that would be Venus)...




...there's even a Pope doing an impression of the Sith Lord.


OK, so that's a sacreligous remark about a Roman diety, and a Pope, and I'm still typing, so I must be doing something right.

The entry to the Capitoline Museum is itself historic.  The 124 steps to the left lead to the 7th-century church Santa Maria in Aracoeli.  The much easier staircase to the right, flanked by lighted trumpeting angels and with Castor and Pollux writ large at the top, is the Cordonata.  It was designed by Michelangelo.



Here's the basilica in the daylight.



Many rooms in the Capitoline Museum served a religous or regulatory purpose, so they reflect the immense wealth that flowed to the church and state here at the center of Rome.  Every aspect from floor to ceiling is astonishing in these rooms, much like Versailles.

Incredible walls...



...and incredible ceilings.


We bought the audio tour, and listened to all 53 entries.  It took three hours, and with the 1 mile walk to reach the museum from our apartment in Testaccio, by the middle of the day, we felt like this.


We did take a break on the patio outside the cafeteria (see previous post for a description of our experience there).


Among the many amazing things we saw, one that surprised us was this picture.  It's not a painting, it's a mosaic - created from stones ranging in size from really tiny to just small.


A couple hours into it, we started getting loopy and interacting with the statues (thankfully, we saw Venus early in the day).


Nearing the end of the tour, we felt pretty much like a Dying Gaul.



...but at every turn, there was Constantine, commanding us onward.


So, at his command, we walked by the Roman Forum, and on to the Coliseum.



Fortunately, the fights were on today at the Coliseum, so the food vendors were open.


By the time we reached the apartment at the end of the day, our feet felt pretty much like this.


Of course, it didn't stop me from going out for the best takeout in Italy (see previous post).

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