One might think this was an actual building, right? Well, not really. Actually the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II was designed in 1895 by Giuseppe Sacconi to honor the first king of Italy. The program for the building was for a quote "equestrial statue with suitable backdrop". Sacconi took this to the extreme and created one of the largest equestrian statues in the world (his mustache is 3 meters long or about 10 feet) and a mammoth "building as backdrop" that required demolishing an entire medieval neighborhood to be built. Wow.
This is a picture of the Piazza del Campidoglio on the Capitoline Hill, the seat of Rome's local government. This piazza and surrounding buildings were redesigned by Michaelangelo in the mid-1500's. It is seen as one of the most beautiful piazzas in all of Rome with its world famous paving pattern and surrounding well-stocked museums. You can find other great pictures on wikipedia here...but the one above was taken by me. That makes it just a little more special ;-).
This is Santa Sabina all'Aventino, the first Dominican Basilica in Rome, dating from about the 5th century. Its a beautiful church, who's simplicity is uncharacteristic of most basilicas I've seen so far in Rome. The entrance to the main space still has the original 5th century hand carved wood doors...wood doors that have lasted more than 1500 years! It has a wonderfully simply painting in the main apse. I just really love how this church has not been over adorned or painted...it has a quiet power to it.
In conclusion, from the top of one of the 7 hills of Rome where this church is located, I took this panoramic view of the city (stitched together in Photoshop with the Photomerge command). The picture doesn't do the view justice...it was breathtaking.
No comments:
Post a Comment