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Siena: A Gem of the Tuscan Countryside

October 18, 2010 2 Comments

Less than three hours from Rome, the city boasts some of Italy’s best medieval and early-Renaissance art and architecture, winding stone streets, beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside, and a breathtaking duomo. And no, it’s not Florence. It’s Siena.
(Warning: I think Siena’s so darn lovely, there may be photo- and gush-overload ahead).

One of Italy’s strongest city-states by the Middle Ages, Siena today still appears much as it would have at its height in the 13th and 14th centuries. But while merely wandering around could keep you occupied for a full day, the city has a great deal of things to do jam-packed into its medieval walls, particularly for art and architecture lovers. And since the city reached its height so much earlier than Rome, Siena’s style is a nice antidote to Rome’s Baroque glory.

One of Siena’s can’t-miss sights is the Duomo. It took my breath away — and that’s saying something for someone who’s lucky enough to live in Rome and see St. Peter’s Basilica several times a week. Built from the 13th to 14th centuries, the list of those who contributed to the cathedral reads like a who’s-who of Italy’s most influential artists: Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Baldassare Peruzzi, Pinturicchio and, perhaps, even Raphael. Wow.

Unsurprisingly, the result is a triumph of every kind of art. Take the floor alone: The floor boasts 56 different panels of marble inlay, depicting sibyls, Old Testament scenes, allegories, and virtues. You could easily spend an hour simply admiring and puzzling out the scenes at your feet. And that’s just the floor. (If you want to see this, keep in mind that the cathedral’s floor is uncovered for only part of the year, usually a month or two starting in September, so check in advance.)

You can’t miss the Piccolomini Library, either, almost the Duomo’s version of the Sistine Chapel for its vibrancy and incredible story-telling through beautiful scenes (below).

But once you’ve done that, you’re not even done with the Duomo yet. That’s because there’s still the baptistery (boasting a baptismal font with reliefs by Donatello, Ghiberti, and Jacopo della Quercia, among others), and the Museo del’Opera del Duomo, with such gems as Duccio’s famous Maestà (1308–1311).

Even more incredibly, there’s the narthex underneath the current Duomo. Part of the even older cathedral that had been on this spot first, it was discovered and excavated only ten years ago. The 13th-century frescoes from the then-entrance of the church are still incredibly vibrant.

Seriously: Go to Siena for the Duomo alone.

But the city boasts lots of other gems, too. There’s the Palazzo Pubblico, the late 13th- and early 14th-century palace built as the seat of the city’s republican government, which boasts room after room of medieval and Renaissance frescoes, including the famous frescoes of good and bad government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, 1338-1340 (below, the allegory of good government).

There’s also the Pinacoteca Nazionale, with its collection of beautiful medieval and Renaissance paintings. And there’s the Piazza del Campo, the world-famous scallop-shaped central square where the equally-famous Palio of Siena is held.

All of those gems, though, mean that you won’t be the only traveler in Siena. It’s no Rome or Florence (yet), but still, if you’re heading there from spring to fall, expect massive tour groups. This also means it’s a little tough to find, say, classic, non-touristy Tuscan restaurants (although we managed). But the sheer beauty of the city’s offerings is worth it.

You can get to Siena by car or train. Driving from Rome will take about 2 hours, 45 minutes. There’s no direct train, but even with the change, the train takes only 3 hours; to check the Trenitalia schedule, click here. It’s doable for a day-trip, but to be able to see everything Siena has to offer, plan at least two days there.

*The photograph of the allegory of good government comes via the Web Gallery of Art. All other photos mine.

Archaeological sites, Art, Events, History, Rome

China’s Terracotta Warriors Invade Rome

October 13, 2010 No Comments

It's not every day that you see China's ancient, famous terracotta warriors from Xi'an in the also-ancient, also-famous Roman forum.

Now you can.

From now until January 9, 2011, Rome is hosting the exhibit "The Two Empires: the Eagle and the Dragon." Held in the Curia, or the ancient senate house in Rome's forum, the exhibit is the first to explicitly compare China's empire with Rome's.

But it's just a taste of what else Italy (and China) have planned.

The parallels between the countries' histories are certainly there. Both were extraordinarily sophisticated, militaristic empires. Both unified dozens of warring territories under the same political and economic systems. And both influenced all of history; just as modern-day Europe and the United States owe a great debt to the ancient Romans, so, too, do the modern-day Chinese owe the Qin and Han dynasties. (Those dynasties ruled China from the 3rd century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., a timeline that, too, parallels the height of the Roman empire).

And the artifacts that Rome's gotten ahold of for the exhibit are pretty fantastic. Most striking are, of course, the terracotta warriors, here on one of their rare trips away from Xi'an, China. More than 8,000 of them, each one different and detailed, were sculpted around 210 B.C. for Emperor Qinshihuang's tomb. Eight (plus a horse) are now in the Curia (pictured above). Seeing them in the same space as first-century Roman marble statues is striking — no less because of how much the two cultures shared in terms of their sophistication and technical skill alone.

While neat, the exhibit is far from thorough. It's just a teaser. And that's the whole idea. It's a preview of a bigger exhibit coming to Palazzo Venezia in November, which will boast 450 different Italian and Chinese pieces.

It also launches a long-term collaboration and cultural exchange with China, kicked off by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's visit to Rome on October 7. That collaboration includes the participation of Italy's ministry of culture in China's new National Museum in Beijing, with a wing focused on Italian culture — and a reciprocal space for a state museum of Chinese culture in Palazzo Venezia.

So stay tuned. Update, Nov. 17: See my new blog post on the "Eagle and the Dragon" exhibit for information on the Palazzo Venezia show.

The exhibit at the Curia is open from 8:30am-6:30pm until October 24, from 8:30am-4:30pm afterward. Entrance is included in your forum/Colosseum/Palatine ticket. For more information (in Italian), click here.

Art, Museums, Rome

For a Quirky, Quick Art Visit, the Galleria Spada

October 9, 2010 2 Comments

Unless you're a Mannerist art fan, don't visit the Galleria Spada until you've seen the Vatican museums, Galleria Borghese, Capitoline museums, Villa Farnesina, Palazzo Massimo, and Palazzo Barberini.

But. Once you've done those — or if you're in the mood for just a half-hour art stop, instead of the longer slog the other galleries entail — check out the collection of Palazzo Spada.

Located just around the corner from Campo dei Fiori and Piazza Farnese, in one of Rome's lovely and quieter neighborhoods, the palazzo got its start as a cardinal's palace in the 16th century. Seventy years later, it was built by another cardinal (Cardinal Spada, of course!) who commissioned none other than Borromini to modify it.

Borromini's main contribution? The courtyard's colonnade, a trick of perspective that makes the gallery look 37 meters long, when really it's just 8 (shown above).

The "ah-ha!" you get when you catch just how small the gallery really is (aided by one of the workers, who will come out and stand at the back of it to show you that it's all just a trick) is one that must have been shared by guests to the palazzo for nearly four centuries. But that's not the only way in which you experience the gallery much as 17th-century visitors would have.

In all four (yes, only four) of its rooms, the museum seems frozen in time. The collection — which boasts paintings by Guido Reni, Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi (Artemisia's "Santa Cecilia" is shown below), and Domenichino, plus one piece thought to be a Titian — is still displayed much as it would have been. The walls are hung with
painting upon painting; the floors are bordered with ancient busts and statues; the ceilings are frescoed. It all feels a bit musty, and you're likely to be the only person there.

Sound good? Then go. After all, it's one of the few things you can do in Rome that almost no other tourist has.

For more information (in Italian), click here. For a map, click here. The Galleria Spada costs €5, with reduced options for E.U. members.

Art, Museums, Rome

The Newly Renovated Palazzo Barberini: The Verdict

October 5, 2010 4 Comments

Palazzo Barberini, home both to the powerful clan that produced Pope Urban VIII and to paintings by greats like Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian and El Greco, hasn’t been a proper museum in years. Plans to create a central space for its collection were stalled for decades; until 2006, the palazzo even served as an administrative office for the Italian military. Paintings were split between various galleries across Rome, and even more of them remained in storerooms, hidden to the public.

That all changed just a couple of weeks ago.

I paid a visit to the newly-restored Palazzo Barberini today, and all I can say is: what a difference a few more rooms make.

(Note: This post was last updated with current information in April 2017).

The piece-de-resistance of the whole collection long has been Pietro da Cortona’s Triumph of Divine Providence (shown above), the fresco on the ceiling of the Grand Salon, mind-boggling for its size, its spot-on execution of trompe l’oeil, and its sheer over-the-top-ness. Under restoration for months, it’s now viewable in all its Baroque glory. A plus: Two comfy, long sofas let you stretch out on your back to take it in without hurting your neck.

But there are other jewels in the collection that are only now being shown off, too. Medieval pieces that had been undisplayed, including 14th-century scenes of crucifixions and sad-eyed Madonnas, now take up several rooms. A hall of landscape paintings includes several sweeping works by Paul Brill. And one room just opened to the public features a rushing fountain, a little piece of indoor theatricality in a time that loved everything unexpected and dramatic in art.

As well as the art itself, the museum experience has improved. A description in English and Italian greets you in each room, giving an overview of how the pieces link together (usually, by period and geography), and the flow of your visit is set up so that you progress from the 14th century all the way up until the 17th. And because there’s more room, the pieces aren’t as crammed in together.

With its new rooms, the Palazzo Barberini should take you about two hours to get through.

The Palazzo Barberini is located just steps from the Barberini metro at Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13. It’s open every day but Monday from 8:30am-7pm, making it an ideal early-evening stop. The entrance price is currently €10. For more on Palazzo Barberini, click here.

Click here for more information about Palazzo Barberini, including on the pieces that have always been the main draws of the collection, like Raphael’s La Fornarina and Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes.

Also: a good reason to head “outside the walls,” books about Italy to put on your must-read list and an answer to the question: is Rome really safe?

If you liked this post, you’ll love The Revealed Rome Handbook: Tips and Tricks for Exploring the Eternal City, available for purchase on Amazon or through my site here! I’m also free for one-on-one consulting sessions to help plan your Italy trip.

Art, Events, Museums

Rome’s Best Fall Events, from Art to Aperitivo

September 24, 2010 No Comments

Rome has so many exciting events coming up this autumn, I decided not to fit it all in one post. I will be updating this one, though (unlike my early-autumn events list), so bookmark this and check back. Last updated: November 11.

Lots of these events involve the extended, or free, openings of old favorites — so plan ahead to save a buck and miss the crowds.

September 21-25. Archeojazz, with a guided tour followed by a live jazz performance at the Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella.

September 25-26. European Heritage Days are here!

Until October 3. Oktoberfest in Rome, with music and lots of beers on tap from 6pm each night. Located on Via Appia here. (It’s not in the center).

Until October 29. The Vatican museums open at night. And each Friday in October, they’ll have live concerts, too.

Until October 28. The Villa Farnesina, usually open only weekdays from 9am-1pm, is open every Thursday evening, with free guided tours, from 7:30pm-10pm.

November 17. Budapest Bar-Urban Gipsy concert at the Museo dell’Ara Pacis at 9:30pm. Reservations are required (call 060608), and the concert is free.

November 20. Musei in Musica, with free live concerts (and a couple of dance performances) in 47 different museums and institutes in Rome.

November 27. Jazz Noir at the Museo di Roma in Trastevere, a free performance of music and noir lit reading at 5pm (with your €5 ticket to the museum).

Until December 2. RomaEuropa Festival. The annual festival, now in its 25th year, boasts a series of music, dance and theater performances. Highlights this year include a production of “Orpheus” with hip-hop music and music by Monteverdi and Philip Glass, the British rock group “The Irrepressibles,” and Laurie Anderson’s “Delusion,” a multimedia series of mystery plays that include violin, puppetry, and visuals.

Until December 28. On the last Tuesday of each month, some museums and sites in Rome, including the Borghese, Barberini and Baths of Diocletian, will be open from 7pm-11pm for free.

Until January 8. Each weekend except for the Christmas holidays, the Centrale Montemartini hosts its “Central Notes” concerts. The food and wine tasting, plus concert, costs €8. The showings are on Fridays at 8pm and Saturdays at 10pm.

Until January 9, 2011. “The Two Empires: The Eagle and the Dragon,” an exhibit comparing the ancient Roman and Chinese empires, is on at the Roman curia and, after November, Palazzo Venezia.

Until February 6. “Vincent Van Gogh: Campagna senza tempo e città moderna,” an exhibit of Van Gogh’s works, will be on at the Vittoriano.

Until February 13. Lucas Cranach: The Other Renaissance, an exhibit of Cranach’s work in the Borghese gallery.

Archaeological sites, Art, Beyond Rome, Events, Museums, Rome

On Tuesday Nights, Free Art Across Italy

September 21, 2010 3 Comments

Just in case all of the fun events and free entrances on European Heritage Day (September 25-26) weren't enough for you, mark the last Tuesday of the month in your calendar, too.

That's because, on the last Tuesday each month through December 28, a series of state-run museums and sites will have late openings and free entrances. It's called "Martedi in Arte" and takes place across Italy. In Rome and Lazio, the following sites will be open from 7pm-11pm and will be free:

Palazzo Barberini, with its reopened archaeological exhibit, Via Quattro Fontane 13
Pantheon
Borghese Museum
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Viale delle Belle Arti 131
Baths of Diocletian, Via Romita 8
Crypta Balbi, Via delle Botteghe Oscure 31
Museo Nazionale Romano and Palazzo Massimo, Largo di Villa Peretti 1
Palazzo Altemps, Via di S. Apollinare 44
Museum of Castel Sant’Angelo, Lungotevere Castello 50
Villa d’Este, Tivoli (shown above)
Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli
Necropoli, Strada Provinciale Monterozzi Marina, Tarquinia

To see which sites will be open elsewhere in Italy, check out this list on MiBAC's site (in Italian, but pretty self-explanatory).

Archaeological sites, Art, Events, Rome

Tonight, the Colosseum Will Go Up in Flames

September 17, 2010 No Comments

If you see the Colosseum burning this weekend, don't call the fire brigade: The flames are virtual.

Artists Thyra Hilden and Pio Diaz, from Denmark and Argentina, respectively, are putting on the show by using a pre-recorded video of real fire and projecting it onto the structure. Their digital manipulations of the film mean that they even can recreate the effect of wind fanning the flames — and the result is so realistic that, in the past, people have called emergency services.

The Colosseum show is part of their project "City on Fire: Burning the Roots of Western Culture." The two artists have been "burning" monuments since 2005, including the Trevi Fountain, Copenhagen Cathedral, and Seoul Museum.

The show will take place on the nights of September 17, 18, and 19, from 8:30pm to 2am. Given the recent announcement that Rome is looking for sponsors to restore the Colosseum and keep it from, well, crumbling to the ground, seems like kind of an odd choice.

Or, perhaps, an appropriate reminder that these monuments won't simply stand on their own forever.

Archaeological sites, Art, Beyond Rome

A Half Hour from Rome, Hadrian’s Villa and Renaissance Gardens

August 31, 2010 No Comments

When asked about day trips from Rome, most people recommend Tivoli. Just a half-hour's drive from Rome, the town boasts the Renaissance-era Villa d'Este and the 1,850-year-old ruins of Hadrian's villa

I finally made it there this weekend, my hopes high. After all, I love the Renaissance and ruins. What could possibly go wrong?

Nothing went wrong. But given all the hype, I was a little underwhelmed.

First, Villa d'Este. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the villa, built by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este in the mid-sixteenth century, is like a fairyland-gone-slightly-to-seed. The gardens are filled with grottoes, fountains, and odd touches of whimsy: a fountain of Artemis of Ephesus, the goddess of fertility, her breast-like decorative gourds spouting; an organ hid within an elaborate sculptured fountain; grottoes once filled with movable wooden cut-outs of creatures. Odd stuff, but with some of the sculptures missing and mechanization not working, a little less enrapturing than it would have been, say, for Ippolito.

The palace itself, too, feels a bit Alice-in-Wonderland. A wander through yields room after room of colorful Mannerist frescoes and examples of tromp l'oeil, that tricksy French attempt to make you think that the flat surface you're looking at is three-dimensional. But despite the sheer amount of paintings, if you're more of a Renaissance or Baroque lover — or you've simply been spoiled by, say, the quality of frescoes at the Vatican — the palace seems better-suited for a fairly quick walk-through than an in-depth artistic experience.

Then there's Hadrian's villa. Built as the emperor's retreat from Rome in the flat valley below Tivoli, it's a sprawling, 250-acre complex of ruins, olive tree groves, and, well, dust. Hadrian designed much of it himself, and its buildings and fountains drew on styles he saw across the empire, from Egypt to Greece.

But walking through the villa almost felt like walking across the empire itself. Even getting from the parking lot to the first section of the ruins takes about 15 minutes; getting a full overview of the villa would mean a half-day of wandering, or more.

The pay-off didn't seem quite worth it. Much of the area remains unexcavated, while a lot of the ruins themselves are surprisingly unassuming. Nor is the signage that helpful — a common complaint at archaeological sites, but all the more frustrating in a site this sprawling. Some of the descriptions of structures didn't even say what they were used for.

Even so, some parts of the ruins are striking. The Serapeum, designed after the Egyptian city of Canopus, features a long, green pool, ending in a domed grotto, lined with classical statues. And if you're a sucker for the personal, the (barely-there) ruins of the temple and tomb of Antinous, Hadrian's young lover whom he deified after his death, are poignant.

Still, it was hard to get a feel for what the entire villa would have felt and looked like. And as with so many ruins around Italy, all the "good stuff" was gone: The best statues, mosaics, and frescoes have all been moved elsewhere… particularly to Rome.

In short: Villa d'Este's appealing, particularly on a nice day, but not one of the top-five daytrips I'd recommend from Rome. (Unless for convenience only). And unless you're a big Hadrian fan, or are going to Tivoli anyway and want to fill out your day, I'm not sure that Hadrian's villa would be one of my top recommendations. For huge ruins that pack more of a punch in a smaller space, check out the Baths of Caracalla, in the heart of Rome; for a better-preserved sense of Hadrian's architecture, visit the Pantheon; to see the artistic treasures themselves, head to the Capitoline and Vatican museums.

For more information about Villa d'Este, click here. For more information about Hadrian's villa, click here. Entry to each site costs €10. To get there, you can take a train from Rome's Tiburtina station to Tivoli (about 30 minutes), then a shuttle bus to the town center and Villa d'Este. Another shuttle would be needed to take you to Hadrian's Villa.

Art, Events, Museums, Rome

Late Summer and Fall’s Best Events in Rome

August 27, 2010 No Comments

Don’t be sad that the summer is ending and, with it, Rome’s best summer’s events! The autumn brings a new slew, too. I’ll be updating this as we go along, so check back for more exciting events.*

September 5. Opening of the Jewish catacombs at Villa Torlonia. Remember to book… now!

Until September 8. Colori dell’Ara Pacis, a light show showing the Ara Pacis as it would have been. Wednesday nights only.

September 1-11. The annual International Festival of Urban Theatre puts on performances all over Rome, outdoors and indoors, including events for children.

September 3-October 29. The Vatican museums open at night.

September 17-20. The Colosseum will be set on fire (virtually) in an art show by Thyra Hilden and Pio Diaz. 8:30pm-2am Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

September 19-20. La Notte di Raffaello. The newly-restored Palazzo Barberini opens Sunday night and Monday, offering free guided tours to the public.

September 21-December 2. RomaEuropa Festival. The annual festival, now in its 25th year, boasts a series of music, dance and theater performances. Highlights this year include a production of “Orpheus” with hip-hop music and music by Monteverdi and Philip Glass, the British rock group “The Irrepressibles,” and Laurie Anderson’s “Delusion,” a multimedia series of mystery plays that include violin, puppetry, and visuals.

Art, Events, Museums, Rome

The “Night of Raphael” at the New Palazzo Barberini

August 26, 2010 No Comments

After two years, the €5 million restorations at the Palazzo Barberini have finished. To celebrate, the museum is opening its doors to visitors for free on Sunday, September 19.

Called "La Notte di Raffaello" in honor of one of the collection's most famous paintings, Raphael's portrait of La Fornarina or "baker's daughter" (above), the inaugural event should include free guided tours to the public. The event begins at 6pm Sunday, September 19; the exhibit will also be open on Monday, September 20. (It's usually closed Mondays). If you go, particularly make sure to check out the newly-restored fresco by Pietro da Cortona on the ceiling of the Grand Salon.

As of late August, the Palazzo Barberini folks still weren't sure exactly what the opening hours or when the guided tours would be, since they said (apologetically) that work is still continuing on the building. So stay tuned. I'll keep updating this post here as I get more information.

Update, 9/13: The Palazzo Barberini will definitely be open from 6pm till midnight on Sunday, and the Grand Salon will be open. However, they're still unsure about tour times.

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