Italy | Borghese Gallery

/in /by

by Andrea Zachrich

We went to the Borghese Gallery during our third week in Rome, and it was easily my favorite museum of the trip. It has a very unique layout, an interesting collection of art, and is in a beautiful location.

Here’s a picture of the gallery. They don’t really have a ton of signs telling you what the building is, so here’s what it looks like when you walk up to the front so that you know.

History

This museum is in the former Borghese villa in the Villa Borghese park (usually just called Villa Borghese now). The villa was built in the 1600’s by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V, as a place to showcase his art collection. So from the beginning, this building was designed to display art. Cardinal Borghese was an avid art collector and sponsored many artists. The gallery houses artwork from antiquity and the Renaissance, and includes works from famous artists such as Bernini, Caravaggio, and Raphael. The building and park surrounding it were sold to the Italian government in 1902, and it was turned into a public museum shortly after.

The Layout

Besides the amazing art, a big part of the why this museum was my favorite is due to its unique layout. First off, the whole museum has the vibes of a mansion rather than a museum. It almost feels like you walked into someone’s home and instead of furniture, they have art pieces. Additionally, almost all of the rooms have a “theme” of some sort. For example, one room has frescoes that depict scenes involving Paris and almost all of the artwork in the room is related to the story of the Iliad or the the Trojan war. Another room, known as the Egyptian room, has frescoes and artwork that all relate to Egypt, such as a bust of Cleopatra and a depiction of the Nile River (personified) with her children. It was really fun to walk into the rooms and try and guess what the theme was that linked all the art together. There wasn’t always one, but even when there wasn’t, I admired the way in which the collector wasn’t afraid to display modern and ancient art side by side. As a student of antiquity, it was interesting to compare the art and see if I could identify whether it was old or new art. Also, there is a room full of busts of emperors, and our class had a fun time trying to identify the emperor without looking at who it was (you will get pretty good at identifying emperors by the end of this program, my friends all think its a really strange skill to have but I think its cool to be able to do).

The Art Collection

There are soooo many amazing pieces in this museum. My personal favorites are three Bernini sculptures: Apollo and Daphne, Pluto and Persephone, and David.The detail on these marble statues is absolutely mind blowing.

This is the statue of Apollo and Daphne. For those of you that don’t know, the myth of these two goes like this: basically, Apollo insults Cupid, so in spite, Cupid shot an arrow at Apollo that made him fall in love with Daphne and an arrow at Daphne that made her abhor the idea of falling in love. Apollo cannot control his lust, and ends up chasing Daphne through the forest even though she does not want to be with him. She begs her father, the god Peneus, for a way out of the situation, and he turns her into a laurel tree, which Apollo vows will be eternally green as a tribute to her. This statue shows the moment she is turning into a tree. The detail is incredible. My favorite part is the toenails – you can see them turning into the roots of the tree she will become. You can also see the fear on her face of being caught by Apollo.

This is the statue of Pluto and Persephone. I really like this statue for one main reason: that thigh grab! Bernini somehow managed to make marble bend under Pluto’s grab like its flesh, and it’s awesome to look at. I also love how her hair is swinging to the side as she attempts to escape the god. It’s so full of movement, and almost looks like it could come to life. Plus, there’s a dog included (even if its Pluto’s scary, three-headed dog).

This is the statue of David. Look at his face! This is not the idealized David of Michelangelo, standing stoic before the battle, but rather a David shown deep in concentration in the middle of the fight. He looks young and small, but determined. I love this sculpture purely for that facial expression.

Tips for Visiting

One of the most important things I can tell you about this museum is that you NEED a reservation and it must be booked in advance online on their website for a specific time (they’re in 2 hour time slots). The museum will sometimes have day of reservations when someone cancels, but I wouldn’t risk it if you really want to go to this museum. I know this policy seems like a pain, but it actually makes visiting the gallery really nice because there aren’t many people in there with you, so you can really take your time and enjoy the art without waiting behind people to see it or feeling like you’re blocking someone else’s view. Professor Gurval said that he has noticed over the years that the least busy time is right before the museum closes in the 5-7 time slot and during week days.

Additionally, the museum and park are kind of out of the way of the main attractions in Rome, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get there. I even got there early and went around the gift shop and sat in the cafe and got myself a cappuccino. You can see below how the gallery (on the East side of the park) is pretty far from a lot of places in Rome.

One last thing: the park around it is also a really cool place to visit. I know some other students in our class rented those covered bikes (the ones that kind of look like golf carts) and had a ton of fun biking around. I walked around before our time slot, and its really beautiful. If you like to run, it looked like a gorgeous place to run and get away from all the traffic in Rome (although I never made it over there to run because it was pretty far from where we lived – even by bus).

If you have time while you’re in Rome, you should definitely try and stop here (I know I say that about every place in Rome, but it is a really cool city!) It’s full of beautiful art in a beautiful building in a beautiful park – what more could you want?

Italy | Best Otaleg in Trastevere

/in /by

By Andrea Zachrich

Otaleg is what word backwards? I’ll just give you a minute…

GELATO!! Otaleg is easily one of my favorite gelato places in Rome, and certainly my favorite in Trastevere. What I look for in a gelato place are:

The Flavors

Are they unique flavors? Do they have the classics and some new, more creative flavors?

This place has it all! They have more interesting flavors such as mango with chocolate (which was delicious by the way) and classics such as stratiacella (chocolate chip) and fondente (dark chocolate). They would also occasionally change out their more creative flavors, so there was usually something new to try when I went in.

The Price

Is it cheap? Does the gelato place scoop a decent amount for what you pay? (Giolitti, for example, is a little on the high side at 2.80 euros for a small with two flavors, but the scoops they give you are huge and they don’t charge extra for the panna (whip cream)).

Side note: try panna if you get the chance! It’s essentially whip cream without the pressurized air (so like it’s literally whipped cream). It’s delicious and almost like you get another scoop of ice cream on top of your gelato

This place is simple: they charge a euro for a scoop. So two flavors is 2 euro, and 3 flavors is 3 euro, etc. All the scoops are the same size, because they use a little ice cream scooper (which is a little unconventional for a gelato place, but at least it’s standardized). It’s also really tasty, so I think that it’s worth the price!

The Presentation

Is the inside cute? Do they have all the flavors displayed nicely?

I know this is nit-picky, but when you get gelato nearly every day for a month, you have to have some way to distinguish between the places! This place has a modern look, which is different from many of the places in Rome. The flavors are displayed in front of you, and the flavor names are written in Italian and English. While the English is unnecessary (you will learn food names in Italian quickly, trust me), it does make ordering easier because you don’t have to ask (or guess) what all the flavors are.

Cool, modern interior of the gelato shop!

How to get there

This place is very centrally located in Trastevere, and is right by the main church of Santa Maria de Trastevere on Via d. San Cosimato. Here’s a map to help you find it!

Notice how close it is to the main square and the river!

Giolitti will always have my heart, but this place was much closer to our apartments, so it was a good subsitute when my love of Giolitti’s wasn’t strong enough to walk all the way across the city in the summer heat. If you happen to find yourself in Trastevere, and want some gelato, I would definitely recommend this place!

Rome | Ara Pacis

/in /by

by Andrea Zachrich

The Ara Pacis, also sometimes called the Altar of Augustan Peace, is one of my favorite monuments from ancient Rome. It’s a cunning piece of propaganda by Emperor Augustus, and its excavation story is pretty awesome. Being particularly well-preserved, it can tell modern scholars a lot about the imperial imagery and symbols. It’s also very pleasant to visit because the altar is kept inside of an air-conditioned building next to the Tiber River.

Ancient History

The Ara Pacis was dedicated in 13 BC by Augustus and the senate after his return from three years abroad and completed in 9 BC. Originally, it was in the Campus Martius just outside the official city walls of ancient Rome and on an axis with Augustus’ Mausoleum. The altar was dedicated to the goddess Pax, the Roman goddess of peace. It is made entirely of Italian marble, and it would have been painted in antiquity (the museum had a rendering of what it might have looked like painted). I would suggest googling mock-ups of the paint because it’s gorgeous and there are a bunch of different ones online.

Side note: Almost of the marble reliefs or sculptures from antiquity would have been painted. They look so pristine and white because all the paint has faded off because they’re 2000 years old. Not painting a sculpture is a modern Renaissance concept that attempted to copy artists from antiquity, but these more modern artists failed to realize that these statues were painted, they just don’t have their paint any more. Occasionally, scholars can tell what color something would have been based on microscopic residue of different kinds of materials that would have made different paint colors.

Symbolism/Architecture

The altar is a pretty basic, open air altar surrounded on 4 sides by walls to protect it. The outside of the walls is where Augustus put his most aggressive propaganda because these would have been the areas that the normal citizens would have been able to see (only the elite and those who ran the cult could go inside). The four sides all have different representations of fictional and real people and items that were intended to make the people view Augustus as the savior and peace bringer of Rome.

The front side, which includes the entrance to the altar, includes depictions of Aeneas or Numa and what scholars believe depicts a scene where the shepherd who raised Romulus and Remus finds them. I say that “scholars believe” that this is what was depicted there because most of the panel has been lost. The depiction of Aeneas/Numa shows the main male figure sacrificing a pig. We are unsure which of the figures it is, but I think it’s more convincing that the figure is King Numa – the second king of Rome who is legendary in ancient Rome for bring peace to the city while he was ruler. Aeneas, although an ancestor to the founder of Rome, has no obvious associations with peace. Already on the front of the structure, Augustus has managed to associate himself with powerful men from Rome’s past.

The sides of the Ara Pacis depict real people, although scholars have yet to agree on exactly who is who. Both sides show what is believed to be the dedication procession for the altar. We even have a depiction of Augustus (well, just of his head because the body has been lost). All the figures are wearing Roman togas. There are priests leading the procession, then Augustus, them Marcus Agrippa (Augustus’ best friend and right hand man), and then his family (including women and children). It’s hard to tell exactly who is who beyond Agrippa, but it’s likely that Augustus’s beloved wife, his grandsons, and his sister are included in the line up.

Similar to the front, the back of the monument features two reliefs. The one on the left is of a seated female deity surrounded by symbols of fertility and wealth such as babies and fruit on her lap, sacrificial animals, and other female figures riding a dragon and a bird. The deity could be many goddesses: Pax, Aphrodite, Demeter, or Roma, and the babies could be many babies: Romulus and Remus or maybe Augustus’ two grandsons (whom he was counting on to succeed him before they both died as teenagers). Similar to the front, the other relief is poorly preserved. Many scholars think that it is a seated Roma, sitting on weapons taken from the enemy. This interpretation is based on coins that show a similar image.

Close up of the sides

All around the bottom of the monument is a frieze that depicts acanthus leaves and bunches of grapes. Acanthus leaves in ancient Rome were symbolic of long life or immortality. Grapes were symbolic of fertility and prosperity. Perhaps, by using these plants, Augustus was trying to say that he had brought long-lasting peace to Rome and has made the empire prosperous and wealthy. Also, hidden among the acanthus leaves and grapes, are small depictions of animals. The most famous is a chick escaping from a nest being attacked by a snake, which many scholars believe represent Aeneas escaping from the Trojan war.

The Inside

You can actually walk around inside of the monument, which is very cool. The inside features carved garlands connected by cow skulls. Garlands were used as decorations during celebrations and also symbolize wealth and prosperity. The cow skulls were most likely symbolic of the animal sacrifices the ancient Romans performed as a way to appease their gods. The altar inside is fairly simple, and shows scenes of sacrifice.

Modern History

The first fragments of sculpture from the monument were discovered in the 1600’s and shipped all over Italy, but archeologists did not realize what it was until the late 1800’s when a scholar identified the pieces using information from Augustus’ memoirs. In the early 1900’s, they attempted to excavate it, but it was underneath a Renaissance Piazza and a famous theater, and the excavations were compromising these buildings, so they stopped. Then, for the 2000 year anniversary of the birth of Augustus in 1938, Mussolini decided he wanted to excavate it. The excavation was an extraordinary feat of engineering that involved freezing the ground water to support the buildings above while the Ara Pacis was dug out piece by piece. It was then reassembled where it is now. Originally, Mussolini commissioned a building to be put up around the altar, but by the early 2000’s, it was in poor shape. The American architect Richard Meier (the same guy who designed the Getty Museum in Los Angeles) won the project to rebuild the building. This created some controversy both because he was American and because the building is very modern and does not match with most of the buildings in Rome. The building by Richard Meier is the Ara Pacis’s current home.

You can get a bit of a sense of the building design and altar size in this picture!

Tips for Visiting

Our class went on a Friday evening, and we were the only ones in the museum. When I walked past it a few other times to show friends and my brother the structure, I also saw very few people inside, so I think it’s a safe bet to go whenever you like. It might even be nice to go right in the middle of the day before or after lunch as a way to get out of the sun for a little while. If you don’t want to pay for the ticket, you can see most of the structure through the windows from the outside, and this is how I showed the monument to my brother and my friends who came to visit Rome while I was there. Personally, I would go inside, but I’m also a bit biased because I study the ancient Romans. The Ara Pacis is a fascinating monument with an interesting ancient AND modern history.

Class picture in front of the monument! We got yelled at for standing on the stairs.