Rome: Appreciating Art

Like Florence, Rome is a city filled with art. Actually, some of it is in the Vatican, which isn’t technically part of Rome. But in both cases, much of it is Michelangelo’s work.

The first picture is Michelangelo’s “Pietà” located in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good photo that didn’t include that line. The crowds kept me from finding a better angle, but the biggest problem was that the statue is protected by a glass box. That’s because it was vandalized in 1972, when someone attacked it with a hammer and broke off Mary’s left arm and hand. “Pietà” has since been restored, but it is still a reminder that not everyone values good art. And that’s a shame.

Vatican City also contains some of Michelangelo’s paintings, with the most famous ones being in the Sistine Chapel. I’m not going to talk about the “Creation of Adam” or any of the other frescoes on the ceiling because I think “Last Judgment,” which is on the wall behind the altar, is more interesting.

Photos were not allowed in the Sistine Chapel. Talking wasn’t, either, so the tour guide couldn’t explain anything while we were inside. The Vatican must understand the importance of tour groups, however, because the plaza had a number of identical stations with photos from the Chapel that helped guides explain the art to their groups.

Study the next photo carefully, and look especially at the naked man in the lower right-hand corner with the snake around his body. Then I’ll tell you what our guide told us.

Actually, most of the bodies are naked, and that caused a problem. Michelangelo felt that we should celebrate the bodies God gave us, but not everyone agreed. Biagio da Cesena, who was Pope Paul III’s Papal Master of Ceremonies, made scathing remarks about the painting. Michelangelo got his revenge by painting da Cesena in hell with a snake around his body. When da Cesena saw it, he complained to Pope Paul III, who said that Hell was out of his jurisdiction and the painting would remain as it was.

Michelangelo also sculpted elaborate pieces for grave markers. His “Moses” (shown below) was commissioned by Pope Julius II for his tomb. The tomb was never built, and Moses and some surrounding sculptures (not by Michelangelo) now reside in the San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter-in-Chains) church in Rome proper.

Most Romans couldn’t afford such elaborate art to mark their graves, however. The catacombs, which were Christian underground cemeteries, not hiding places, are filled with grave markers like the one below that used simple religious symbols. But whether elaborate or simple, art should be appreciated, not vandalized.

This is the last post about my trip to Italy. We went many other places and saw many other sites while we were there, but I just can’t cover it all.

Next week I’ll return to a subject more directly related to writing.

Rome: The Value of Preserving History

When the popes got control of Rome, they tried to eliminate all reminders of it’s pagan past. This happened after Constantine, whose arch stands near the crumbling colosseum. (That’s his arch in the photo below.) It was the Roman Catholic Church that encouraged the destruction of pagan sites. 

If you look at the first picture and the one below, you will see that the top and outside walls of the colosseum have crumbled and fallen. According to our local guide, the popes allowed or even encouraged people to recycle the building materials—primarily the marble blocks and the iron rods that held the walls together and strengthened the entire structure. (If you look closely at the photo below, you will notice the many holes in the façade where the iron rods were removed.) Without these supports, the walls couldn’t withstand earthquakes and the many natural eroding effects of time.

The popes eventually realized the value of remembering the past and began protecting and even restoring sites like this. But much of the damage had already been done.

Fortunately, much of the colosseum’s history was preserved by writers for whom it was their present.* And we can do the same for subsequent generations by recording what is happening right now. It’s our turn to preserve history.

I can’t resist leaving you with a photo of Roland and me standing in front of the colosseum. But I’m not leaving Rome yet. I’ll have more about it in next week’s post.

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* These writers include Dio Cassius and Tertullian. I haven’t read them, but you can try if you want.