Day 30 (4/20/11)

Day three of our Rome walks started at Piazza Popolo (there is one in every single town here), where we relaxed for about a half hour before starting. The Piazza is pretty great, there was the most unbelievable perspective view down the three main streets that make up The Tridente, which all terminate in the Piazza. It was pretty cool to look down them like slices through the dense fabric, as well as understanding the implications of them. Each terminates in an Obelisk, which was done as a part of Sixtus V’s series of interventions on the city in order to facilitate the pilgrimage to the four main Basilicas in the city; the obelisks direct the visitors through the city on the path.
After learning about this spot and the plan, we walked over to Santa Maria del Popolo. Although it was a pretty small church, the lighting inside was pretty fantastic and there were Caravaggio (the most important Baroque painter EVER) paintings inside as well. From here we just walked around for a little while, exploring the mains streets and some side ones, until we came to a small little private courtyard that either was or is extremely similar to the setting to Roman Holiday. From there we returned to the Spanish Steps, which were finally a little calm.
We learned about their design and the way they connect the multiple levels by creating their own interstitial zone, before heading up to the top. We also discussed the way they were designed as a series of transformations rather than a single decision. This style is very common here in Rome, and I find it interesting that site plays such an important role, which leads to the use of many influences when creating something. After spending some time on top of the Steps, we walked a ways to the Palazzo Barbarini.
The Barbarini family was very important to Rome and a good deal of Italy itself, and so this regal Palazzo was designed to show it. There are two fantastic sets of stairs designed by Borromini and Bernini, an impressive entry courtyard complete with a great fountain, as well as some amazing bathrooms (not original, but great nonetheless). However one of the most interesting parts of the building was how it differs from its typology: instead of a large courtyard to match the Palazzo’s grand scale, there is a very large exterior space out back. There is a small “donut hole,” within, but it is only the center of a stairwell. The building has been turned into a pretty great art museum, and the best piece was the ceiling of the main gathering space. The colors were unbelievably fantastic, and the figures looked three-dimensional! My other favorite part was the Vestal Tuccia by Corradini, which was far and away the most amazing marble sculpture that I have ever seen. The figure was wearing a veil, and the marble was cut in such a way that it appeared like a thin layer that was actually transparent! Unfortunately there were no pictures allowed so I urge you all to look it up!
After finding the great bathrooms we walked through some more streets until we found my most favorite church ever: San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane. Designed by Borromini (who else?), it was one of his later works and is actually different from nearly all of the churches we have seen so far. The façade is wavy, the interior is clean and beautiful, and the dome has the best coffering of any church I know (even better than the Pantheon!). We explored the pretty great courtyard, the crypt that featured a great view of the spiral staircase where you could see multiple levels because the wall had been removed, and then sat in the church for a while. After marveling in the beauty of this space we walked to Santa Maria degli Angeli.
The church was built in the remains of the Diocletian Baths, which was a gigantic complex of various public baths that incorporated this massive space as well as at least three more in the area. The best part about this church was how the interior was the typical highly detailed and gorgeous sight we are used to, while the interior was the untouched remains of the brick façade of the Baths. Inside the original columns that support(ed) the entire structure are still intact, and there are beautiful paintings above the altars that have columns painted so well that they appear real. There was a pretty big exhibit about Galileo and there was also an original astrological calendar on the floor! We got pretty lucky with this one because we were allowed to stay inside far past one o’clock, which is the typical closing time of churches in the city.
After we finished exploring, we broke for the day. A group of us walked around with Lisa for an hour or so, just exploring the city and seeing some great bakeries and markets that she recommended. We did stop at one pretty amazing church called Sant’Ignazio di Loyola that had a fantastic interior as well as some more great art. I followed signs to the Sacristy, since usually it is a very intimate and beautiful place, and ended up walking into the office of security…whoops! The best part of this church was the dome, which was actually painted on in perspective, so that only one vantage point inside gave the true feeling. There was also a pretty great model that appeared to be a massive church-like structure surrounded by every major church from around the world scaled down. Unfortunately we had to leave here pretty quick since they were closing to the public, so we didn’t get as much time to enjoy it as I would have liked. From there we walked through a market before heading back home. After some pasta for lunch Joe, Brian and I wandered around trying to find an art store. Sadly, we failed in that regard, but succeeded in finding a pretty great looking restaurant that had a menu featuring two courses, dessert, unlimited water and bread, and complementary wine for only 10 euro!!!! We are already planning our dinners here.
After walking back we relaxed and did some updates before going for a run. We ended up running back to the Campidoglio, along the Fora, around the Coliseum, around the Circus Maximus, and through a series of back streets until we made it back home. All in all it was a blast, and running in Rome is quite an adventure!! After a quick (but warm!) shower I made a salad with cheese fresh grated Parmesan cheese and oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. And for dessert I had a double-decker nutella and jelly sandwich. Before bed we worked on our Italian homework and I got a little reading done!