July 5th - 6th, 2009
View into the Roman Forum
On the morning of July 5th we will be transported from the villa
to The Center of Rome. Those who choose the Rome add on will be taken to our
wonderful Roman hotel situated in the heart of Old Rome on the Piazza
Della
Rotunda and the Pantheon for a two-night stay.
The location is ideal because we can walk from the hotel to many of Rome’s important artistic, historical and artistic sites. The Hotel is elegant and most rooms have a view to the piazza and the Pantheon. Participants always enjoy the roof top terrace bar. From here we can discuss the great art we have been seeing in Rome overlooking a wonderful vista of the city.
Piazza Navona, The Fountains in the foreground and at the center are by Bernini, Walk #1
After our check in, Bill will lead our participants on a walk of Old Rome. This is the Rome of the Pantheon, Piazza Navona with its beautiful fountains by Bernini. It is the Rome of the Renaissance and the Italian Baroque. Bill will search out the great paintings housed in intimate chapels and on the walls and ceilings in some of the most impressive Churches of Post Reformation Rome. We will see many of the greatest Caravaggio paintings in their original locations. Along with Domenichino, Lan Franco, Pozzo and others. We will visit the only Gothic church in Rome housing works by Filippino Lippi, Michelangelo and others. ---And More!
During our walk of Old Rome we will stop for dinner, then join an evening walk of Ancient Rome.
We will walk through the Roman Forum to the Colosseum illuminated during the evening. Bill will point
out several of Corot’s Painting sites. A stop at the famous Trevi Fountain and a drink on the roof top
terrace of the hotel where we can enjoy the wonderful vista of Rome and review all we have experienced
will end our event filled day.
We will begin our second day in Rome with a visit to the Vatican Museums. We will take cabs to the Vatican. Bill will lead us through the Pinocoteca, the gallery housing paintings from the Early Renaissance to the Baroque periods while discussing the historical evolution of painting methods in front of specific works, including fresco, egg tempera, egg oil emulsions and oil that took place during the Renaissance. We will walk through the rooms with fine examples of Classical sculpture and on to the Raphael Apartments. Next we will visit the Sistine Chapel and exit to Saint Peters Basilica. After our visit to Saint Peters we will finish our Vatican walk in the wonderful Piazza Bernini created as an entrance to the basilica where professor Patterson will put into historical perspective much of what we have just seen.
Early afternoon we visit the newly restored Borghese Museum and Picture Gallery with its wonderful sculpture and painting collections. Cardinal Scipione Borghese 1613-15 built the Villa Borghese and the gardens. One of the primary purposes of the villa was to house his extensive art collection. The museum itself is a masterpiece of interior design. Many of the ceilings are decorated with extraordinary Baroque Paintings. The architectural detail in each room is superb. Here we will see Some of Bernini’s finest sculpture, several Caravaggio paintings and works by Perugino, Raphael, Titian and much more.
Later in the afternoon, Bill will lead a walk through the Campo di Fiore, Piazza Farnese to Palazzo Spada
where we can see the famous Borommini Corridor. We will then cross the Tiber river and walk through Trastevere
to Piazza of Santa Maria in Trastevere. The sites and historical references are numerous on this walk. Santa
Maria in Trastevere is an Early Christian Church founded in the fourth century. It was rebuilt in the twelfth
century. The Apse is completely decorated with Mosaics. In 1291 Cavellini, one of Giotto’s teachers added
Scenes from the Life of the Virgin at the height of the windows. These images represent some of the first
narratives in Western art and a departure from Byzantine canons.
After visiting other sites in the area we will ascend to the Janiculum to see the famous Fontana dell’ Aqua Paola and the wonderful views over the city. We stop by to see the wonderful little Tempietto by Bramante 1502. Some think of the Tempietto as the first true Renaissance building in Rome. After walking by the American Academy in Rome, Where Bill studied as a Fellow of the American Academy for two years; we will reach the neighborhood where we will celebrate our finale dinner. Bill has been coming to this restaurant since his Academy days in 1966-67. It is still run by the same family and is one of the finest restaurants in Rome. You will hear English being spoken here by artists and scholars from the American Academy, but you will not see any tourists dining here. This is truly a Roman Restaurant and we will enjoy a wonderful Roman meal with choice wines from Italy. After dinner Taxicabs will return us to our hotel. Perhaps a drink on the roof top terrace would be an appropriate way to end another wonderful day in Rome and our 2009 art and culture workshop.
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