When in Rome..Part 2

Rome, Italy

Like I had mentioned before Italy has a lot to offer and spending just one day there would definitely not have been enough.  There is just so much to do!  I wanted to make the best out of this trip for me and my family so our days were jammed packed with tons of sites to go and see!
The first day like I said (or noted in my previous blogs) consisted of us getting settled in to our new hotel as well as checking out the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain--and the added bonus of the Barberini Fountain.  It was really nice to have a bit of free time in the evening being that we have already been to several other prior to coming to Rome.  However, this free time was sure to not last for long!



Outside the Vatican Museum

 The next day arrived and started for us rather early.  We wanted to get to the Vatican City before it was too busy.  We had heard from our "bible" that the lines could get pretty crazy there.  So off we were to the Vatican City. Interestingly enough I learned quite a bit just by reading the "bible" on the Vatican.  For instance I had no idea that it was considered it's own country!  The Vatican is referred to as a type of absolute elective monarchy.  This means that the head of the Roman Catholic Church, or the Pope takes power.  The Pope then exercises principal legislative, executive and judicial power over the entire State of the Vatican City.  Pretty crazy and interesting if you ask me!

The Vatican City

Wall hangings by Raphael

Once we arrived to our destination we were overwhelmed by the masses of people waiting in line.  It was only 9:00am!  That's when we decided the best idea would be to give up some cash to join a tour group. I think this might have been one of the best decisions we made.  The tour group was able to go ahead of the lines AND we got to learn a lot of detailed information about the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel alike. 

Our tour guide that took us around was from Boston and was really sassy. 

The crazy loud Italian tour guide in the left corner

She was constantly yelling at some Italian tour guide who was being rather obnoxiously loud when he spoke.  It was quite hilarious actually.  For the next hour and half we were guided, toured and informed about all the things in the Vatican --she was wonderful, so brilliant and smart.  There was so much to see from his gardens to the Sistine chapel I was constantly looking around to make sure I caught as much of the artwork and history as possible!

The Sistine Chapel

So I hope it doesn't sound to cliche but I was mainly excited to view the Sistine Chapel.  The line to the room itself was rather long and I was a bit disappointed to learn that no pictures were allowed to be taken in the room.  Well at least that's what it said.  Upon walking into this glorious room I was overwhelmed.  There were so many people packed into this room.  It was full of talking and flashes from those cameras which were not to be used. 

Our guide gave us fifteen minutes to walk around the room and take it all in.  I was quite happy with this because I wanted to be able to experience it on my own and just reflect on the masterpiece that was in front of my very eyes.  I know I have said this millions of times, but seeing pictures and reading about it in art history books does not do it justice.  Actually seeing it in person makes the world of difference.  It is so overwhelming, the figures, the detail, the massive size are enough to make one speechless.  I never once thought I would personally be able to see the work of the greatest Renaissance artists and their frescoes.  Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini and Botticelli to name a few all have their place in this one location.  I was standing where these great artists have all left their mark. 



After we had our fifteen minutes away from the guide, she gave us a bit more background information on the chapel.  She explained to us how the walls were divided into three main parts/tiers.  The lower portion consisted of frescoed wall hangings which were done in silver or gold, the central portion contains the two cycles of paintings which depict the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ.  Finally the upper portion has a gallery of popes as well as the ancestors to Christ. 


Creation of Adam

So how did this amazing wall end up happening?  Well that was all done because of one man: Pope Julius II.  Pope Julius II wanted the ceiling to be painted showing God's Creation of the World, God's Relationship of Mankind and Mankinds Fall from Grace.  For this he comissioned the artist Michelangelo, who was shocked to receive such a commission because he was known mostly for his sculptural work.  He agreed and was only to paint twelve figures--the Apostles, but disagreed with this number in the end.  What he chose to paint then was nothing short of amazing.  He painted instead over 300 figures in his ceiling and wall frescoes.  A bit of an overachiever I would say!



Last Judgment

The Wall he painted contains a bit of drama as well.  This fresco depicts the Last Judgement and is brilliantly and beautifully achieved.  However, our tour guide had mentions that a bitter dispute erupted from this painting.  Apparently Michelangelo and Cardinal Carafa didn't see eye to eye about the issues of nudity.  He thought he was vulgar and unnecessary, in which case the Pope disagreed with him in the end.  Only to fuel the fire even more, there is an image of a man which has a snake wrapped around him biting him in a certain area which outraged the Cardinal even more, however once again the Pope argued against him and the painting remains as is, except for the censorship campaign which later added fig leaves over the nude areas. 
Overall this was my favorite place we toured.  I got to see and learn so much.  I love our tour guide and how helpful and knowledgeable she was.  I learned that those tours can be hit or miss, and we luckily got a good one that day. Money well spent.  The only thing that left me on the fence about this room was the photography portion.  While I was extremely happy that I had gotten to take a few pictures I feel as though that was the downfall of this room.  I saw people taking picture with flash, and immediately got upset.  I understand that people may not know this damages the pigments, but it is still extremely unnerving.  Not only that, but the pictures and massive quantities taken I believe make this chapel have a different stigma.  I think part of the awe of this room besides just the magnificent painting is the fact that you are not supposed to take pictures and it is sacred. 

As we were leaving the Sistine Chapel I was relieved to see that the guards were buckling down on the volume of those in the room as well as the photography.  Some things need to be protected, and I myself contributed to part of the problem and feel rather guilty of snapping some photographs. 

When in Rome...

Rome, Italy

It has been decided that Rome has plenty to offer tourists such as myself.  It would be impossible to see everything that it has to offer, and I am starting to think that the 3 days I planned for us here in Rome was definitely not enough time to squeeze it all in.  This could start to get crazy!!

After seeing the Colosseum my sister was really excited to see if we could find the Trevi Fountain.  She and my mom had done a little research, OK maybe not so much research but reading of the tourist guide book or I would like to refer it to as the Bible.  They had been talking about it earlier and we figured why not, there is so much to see and we have plenty of day left.  So we hopped back on the Metro and were on our way to the Trevi Fountain...or so we thought.

The Trevi....wait a second...
We get off our metro stop and climb the stairs out of the underground station.  As we come up to the stairs I see a fountain!  No way! That was so easy and we didn't get lost.  Good idea mom and Mackenzie.  The only difficult part now is getting to the central area of the fountain, which with traffic could take some time.
Finally we get across and we start snapping away some pictures.  I didn't want to say anything, but this isn't that spectacular of a fountain.  In fact it seems rather pathetic that we came all this way for that, but I didn't want to be a debby downer.  i was expecting something a little more...exciting. 
So we decided we would try to find some other things in the neighborhood so I grab the map quick and I begin to realize that there is no way this could be the fountain based on the coordinates.  I grab the "bible" and look what it has to say about the fountain.  It desribed it as having several different fountains.  I look up to the fountain that we have in front of us.  Definitely not multiple fountains.  Then it hit me..This is NOT the Trevi Fountain. 
It was however the Triton Fountain/Baberini Fountain!


Not the Trevi Fountain as previously thought...

Either way it gave us a good laugh and we were on our way to find the REAL Trevi Fountain which was farther down the road. 

Trevi Fountain
Finally, we made it to the correct fountain, and yes what a difference this fountain made.  It was massive and the crowd it attracted was insane.  No wonder why so many people made a big deal about this fountain.  It made sense now!

The Trevi Fountian is one of the largest Baroque fountains which meets at a junction of three roads.  This junction is significant because it is the place of an ancient aqueduct known as Aqua Virgo which was constructed in 19BC. 

The Trevi Fountain came into existence in 1629 when  Pople Urban VIII found the previous existing fountain to be lacking of splendour.  He then asked Gianlorenzo Bernini to come up with a sketch of something that would be more eye catching.  In the end, Nicola Salvi was commissioned by the new pope, Clement XII, who came after the death of pope Urban. 

The layout of the fountain(s) can be described as a facade that consists of giant orders of Corinthian pilasters which help link the two stories together.  From there the center has a modelled triumphal arch which is superimposed on Palazooo facade which helps to frame the central figure known as Neptune.

Neptune is the god of the sea, so it would be no surprise to find him here.  The scene in which he is seated contains him riding a chariot which is being pulled by two seahorses.  The seahorses have a particular significance--one is crazy while the other horse is calm, which is in direct relation to the moods of the sea. 

Further making this fountain more intense is the inclusion of Abundance and Salubrity.  These figure are placed on the left and right of Neptune.  All these figures and layout of the figures have been carefully thought out to provide the fountain with balance an symmetry.

It really is a site to see.  At first, even before we went to the wrong fountain, I thought this was going to be rather boring.  I was pleasantly surprised, it was extremely worth it.  I just wish it wasn't so busy in this area, I was constantly being bumped into and kept seeing people with gelato everywhere.  Where are they finding these and why can't I have one began to take over my mind.  But not too much where I wasn't able to throw in some change and make a wish.  I was so glad that we took the time to look up where I was going.  I even got me some pistachio gelato...mmm soo good!

Roma, Italy

Rome, Italy

 The time had come for us to go off on our own and experience what Europe has to offer!  I knew right away where I wanted to go.  Rome, Italy!  Not only did I want to go, but my mom and sister also would be joining me and had their hearts set on seeing Rome as well!

Italy is known for its wonderful history, arts, architecture, etc.  It was definitely going to be someplace that I  had to go and spend a lot of time in.  I decided that 3 nights in Rome would be a great idea, being that it was so large and has so much to offer.  Boy was I glad I didn't make it any shorter than that!

When we arrived in Rome, Italy I was extremely excited for what was awaiting me.  Although getting around and trying to figure out where our hotel was, wasn't as easy as planned we finally had managed to get situated and in no time were on our way to take Rome by storm.

After mastering their metro lines, we made our way to the Colosseum.

The Colosseum

Wow!  That's about all I could say as I walked up to this massive amphitheatre.  I have seen many images of it in textbooks but it does not give it justice.  I just sat and stared at it for a while and had to learn to take it all in.  It was so impressive.  Luckily, there was a tour group that came around and we were fortunate enough to join in and learn a little bit more about how and why this was built. 

The Colosseum was built in 72AD as one of the largest amphitheatres in the Roman Empire.  The building of this massive structure came under the rule of Vespasian, Titus and Domitian as a gift to Roman citizens.  This freestanding structure was chosen to be built in the low valley east of the Roman Forum.  Even though everyone knows that this theatre was built for gladiator events which could hold up to 50,000 people, it was important to also realize that these events helped bring in substantial industry.  These games caused several people to come out and be social with each other as well by booming the industry in the area surrounding the theatre.

The Colosseum itself contains three stories of arcades, which are framed by half columns in Ionic, Tuscan and Corinthian nature.  An attic which is composed of several Corinthian pilasters also helps to create this massive amphitheatre.  The seating for the Colosseum was also tiered among class stature.  They had two main entrances which would lead directly to the central boxes, while other pathways would lead the common spectators to their viewing areas.  Under the arena was the area where the animals would be stored and several different cages were held. 

The tour of the inside of the Colosseum to be honest seemed kind of like a rip off.  It was short and often times I could barely hear the tour guide talk or his english was terrible.  Although he was super knowledgeable about the Colosseum, I feel that I could have received the same information from books they were selling for cheaper outside of the amphitheatre.

Oh well, either way I was impressed with the structure and how much detail and love they put into the amphitheatre back then.  It is absolutely impressive that in 72AD they were able to create such a magnificent and important building that is still standing today.

Durham Cathedral

Durham
The Durham field trip came the day after St. Patrick's day.  Let me tell you, the group has looked a bit better than today.  But we toughened up, and survived through the day.  Which was a good thing, because the cathedral was absolutely beautiful, as was the weather and entire day.  I think this was partly because we got a lot of free time to go out and explore the wonderful city of Durham.
Durham was a nice field trip because we were actually in a town where stuff happened and shops where, opposed to Alnwick. Although that is part of Alnwick's charm, it is definitely nice to get out and see a bustling city with people and college kids around my age. 

We did a quick city tour like usual with Christine, which ended at the cathedral.  Walking up to this cathedral was breathtaking.  Even though I am not a religious person I have to admit this church was something else.  The grandeur it exudes was marvelous.  I couldn't stop searching the building for something else to look at. There was so much going on!

Durham has been exclaimed as one of the great Norman architectural gems in England, and I can understand why.  This massive church boasts a long history.  In 1093 construction for this cathedral began and was almost entirely completed in only 40 years!  40 years!  That is crazy, especially when you look at the size of the building.  Impressive task!

This cathedral today still houses almost all of its original Norman craftsmanship.  The cathedral was originally built as a place of worship, more specifically to house the shrine of St. Cuthbert.  Cuthbert is a monk, bishop and hermit who is well known for his help with the monasteries in Lindisfarne and has become one of the most important medieval saints in England.

The pictures from this day are not my own, as they would not allow for pictures to be taken inside.  I agree with them wholeheartedly because even though it may be an architectural gem, it is still a place or worship.  As you walk into the cathedral your breath is instantly taken away.  There is so much too look and the massive size of the cathedral is shocking.  I felt like I was so small in comparison to the height of the ceilings and columns.

The nave, transepts, as well as the Galilee chapel are all of the Norman style.  Characteristics of the Norman style include rounded arches, particularly in doorways and  windows as well as massive proportions, which is clearly exhibited throughout the cathedral.

Inside the Galilee Chapel houses a shrine to St. Cuthbert.  The arches in this room are splendid and are of true Norman fashion. Upon entering the chapel it is impossible for one to not notice the large width of the room. This is due in part to the location in which the cathedral was located.

 Another important characteristic in this medieval chapel would be the wall paintings/frescoes that are still there.  Even though much the paintings were whitewashed during the dissolution of the monasteries during the rule of King Henry VIII, some of the original paintings can still be seen. 

As the tour continued in Durham Cathedral I was overwhelmed by how much was going on around me.  It seemed impossible for me to pay attention. I was constantly searching the building to see what else I could find.  The intricate detailing and the enthusiasm from our tour guide made this field worthwhile.  I couldn't help but get excited about what I was seeing which I've learned makes these days go a lot smoother and faster. 

After touring the cathedral with an amazing tour guide it was time for us to tour the castle portion of Durham, or what is now the university.  This however was a huge let down.  We weren't allowed to take photos again in this building, and to be completely honest, thought the tour guide was not good at all.  Perhaps this is because our last one was so amazing.  More than likely that was the case! 

Like I was saying, the tour of the university went rather quickly and I don't really think I remember learning anything from him except that the stairs were leaning due to some building issues.  As soon as this tour was done, I was thinking to myself how exhausted I was.   We still were supposed to go to Evening Song, and I for one was not too thrilled about it.  Luckily though, there was a scheduling error on our part.  Evening song did not exist on this night, so we had nothing else to do but go home.  Although I am sure it would have been a great experience I am glad I got the chance to go home and relax instead.

Dunstanburgh--The Coast!

Dunstanburgh

The Dunstanburgh castle field trip was absolutely beautiful minus one thing.  The wind was so powerful that day.  I felt like I was going to blow away.  Other than that, we had beautiful sunny weather for this adventure packed day! 

We started off on a walk along the coast in Craster.  Craster is a small fishing community on the coast of the North Sea which hosts the site of the spectacular ruins of Dunstanburgh castle.

It is important to understand why this castle was built here in the first place.  The main reasoning behind this location was because it was almost totally surrounded by water which helped with its protection.  This location houses the sea, marsh and hills which were great for a military defense mechanism.  The jagged cliffs on the coastline also give those inhabitants of the castle a higher viewpoint and vantage point making it easier for them to attack those who are trying to siege the castle.

Dunstanburgh castle was built in 1313 by the Duke of Lancaster.  It was built for two main reasons, the first being that it was near Scotland.  Due to the Scottish raids, the Duke needed a place that was close enough to the border to defend there extensively units of land.  Another reason was because they were in opposition to the King and needed a safe place to hide.  The Duke was in opposition to the King because of the War of the Roses which was a battle between the Yorks and Lancastrians.  It was here at this castle during this time period when Dunstanburgh saw its most action.  Lots of damage was caused leaving the castle with many issues and problems to its exterior. 

Even though it is hard to imagine what the castle would look like due to state of these ruins, this was an extremely beautiful and extensive medieval castle.  It contained a twin towered gate house, which doubled as a keep.  A beautiful vast courtyard was enclosed by thick walls which can still be seen a bit today. 

The gatehouse keep was 4 stories, and even though we weren't able to climb all the way to the top because of the strong winds, the view from the floors available for us to explore gave me an idea of how these floors were used as lookout areas. 

I continued to walk around the castle and was taken away just by the beautiful views that it had to offer.  The beautiful blue water, the green grass and hilly landscape and rocky cliffs all paired and complimented the ruins of the castle magnificently. 

From this castle we moved further on and walked along the coast for several miles to learn about marine biology. I was really excited about learning about the different kinds of sea creatures as well as just being at the beach in the first place.  I was determined however on catching myself a crab.  Luckily for me with the help of another student, I successfully got my wish of catching a crab.  I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Bring me to foggy London Town..

London

London was a field trip I was particularly happy to go on.  I couldn't wait to get out of the small community of Alnwick and move onto a larger more happening English town.  Immediately when we arrived in London I noticed a huge difference.  There was people everywhere and they were rushing to get around the city.  I felt like I was in New York City (except I don't even know how this is cause I've never been).

While in London we got to see several important things.  Such place we traveled to was the London Eye, Parliament, Tate Modern, Kensington Gardens, Tower of London and Hampton Court to name a few.  Of all these places my favorites out of this trip had to be the Tate Modern as well as Hampton Court.

The Tate Modern

The Tate Modern was an extra trip that a few students and I decided to go on while we had a break.  I was really excited to see what London had to offer in the art community.  We jumped on the tube and set out to find the museum.  As we started walking rain started to come down on us, which definitely was not a highlight of this trip.  We had a few problems finding where the museum actually was, but finally, we made it!
We walked into this very modern looking building and found ourselves overwhelmed with art.  I couldn't wait to get started, I just didn't know where to begin!  I started off looking at the Poetry and Dream--this section ended up being my favorite.  Mainly because one of my favorite artists had stuff in here--Francis Bacon.  I love how moody and mysterious his work appears.  The fragmentation and distortion of the figures creates such an eerie mood in his paintings.  Just by viewing his work i was able to get an idea of what his artistic process was.  I feel like his work is very personal and allows the viewer an inside view into what he was going through at the time the images were created. 

Salvador Dali



Munch



Juliao Sarmento "Mehr Licht"



Francis Bacon

I also got to see some artists that I had learned about in several of my art history classes.  These other artists that I saw and enjoyed were Pablo Picasso, Francis Picabia, Dorothea Tanning, and Joseph Beuys to name a few.  I was also introduced to a new favorite, Juliao Sarmento.  Juliao Sarmento is an artist that creates a new language and dialogue by incorporating many different mediums in his artwork.  I also liked him for his ability to speak about the fragility of the body and because his work was mixed media.  It helped give me ideas of what to do in my own studies in mixed media this semester.
Hampton Court Palace

My next favorite place while in London was Hampton Court.  I was kind of worried at first because I thought it was going to be very boring.  However, I was pleasantly surprised. The grounds were beautiful and I am very happy that Christine suggested it.  Another bonus was that we had a good day, it was so beautiful and sunny out!

Hampton Court Palace is on the River Thames and was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey.  Cardinal Wolsey was a favorite for quite some time of King Henry VIII.  However as he fell in power, the palace as passed to the King and became a rival to Versailles.

Ceiling Painting in Hampton Court Palace

When Henry VIII got a hold of the palace he wanted it to be a Renaissance Palace, so he switched it from the domestic Tudor building, which was perpendicular Gothic, into a Italian Renaissance Classical style which is known for its rectilinear symmetry.  The facade of the palace is extremely long and has many repetitive forms, which can be seen in the windows. 

The grounds of the palace are definitely something that had to mentioned as well.  Although there are no authentic remains of the gardens from Henry VIII many were redone to help capture their original essence.  It contains over 60 acres, several beautiful fountains, over 200,000 blooming flowers, and 750 acres of royal parkland.  

 Sir Christopher Wren helped inspire these gardens and the influence of Versailles is clearly evident.  The Privy Gardens on the South side consist of semi-circular gates. The symmetrical pattern in this garden also contains a geometrical system of paths.  This area was so beautiful.  It absolutely took my breath away.  I took so many pictures here and still could have taken more than I did!

Another highlight of these gardens was the Hampton Court Maze.  This maze was done in 1690 for the entertainment purposes of the King.  It is a third an acre and contains a half a mile of pathway.  I am sad to say I never got the chance to go into the maze due to lack of funds and time. 

I think the most interesting thing I learned about the Hampton Court Gardens was that the Great Vines that were planted in 1768 were done by Capability Brown.  Why is this important you may ask?  Well Capability Brown was the same person who designed the grounds around Alnwick Castle!