Tag Archives: architecture

Aeternitas

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Some say you would need a lifetime to discover Rome. For us, a week was enough. Not because the city itself, but just it was too crowded, too noisy. It was a long school holiday in Italy and Italian tourists had conquered the eternal city – alongside with Americans.

So we spend quite a long time in ticket lines and other queues. I dont know if it was worth it. I personally had a bit hard time in Rome. I just felt sad that the once mighty city had fallen in to hands of modern barbarians. While walking on the Forum Romanum, I had such a deep feeling of lost. In medieval times, it was a meadow of cows. The buildings were not destroyed by the attacking barbarian tribes but the Romans themselves; they used the stone material and pillars for new buildings.

But the worst of them was the church. While building their bunkers of God, the papal institution destroyed and robbed classical treasures ruthlessly. In Vatican museum, there is this one fresco in the ceiling which describes that well: in the front of a crucifix there is a classical statue smashed in to pieces. It seriously feels they had the Bible on the other hand and a sledgehammer on the other. And what they didnt destroy, they stole to their private papal collections.

I think we both had a bit of a “loosing my religion” -feelings in Italy. Sasi, the former Catholic school boy, was really angry time to time, especially to the hundreds of “Madonna e bambini” -paintings. And it is quite hard to understand why church should collect this kind of wealth to itself. Not to mention other stuff; like Savonarola’s stakes of vanity in Firenze, where he burned books and pieces of art if he decided them to be too earthly. Its nonsense to blame Muslims of this kind of actions, Christian church has done it for decades – and still does: Vatican has continously a list of forbidden books.

Aeternitas was and still is my favourite word in Latin – eternity. For me, it symbolizes the classical continuity. In hectic modern Rome, it was hard to find. But finally I managed, and the place was truly perfect: Ara Pacis Augustae, the peace altar of Augustus. This masterpiece of classical sculpture is now located inside of a completely modern building designed by Richard Meier. Italians outraged of the modern white-and-glass building next to Baroque ones. Their loss. Building is stunning, and I think combining Roman era art and modern art is just the right thing to do; Romans did that themselves in their times, with Greek, Etruscan, Phoinician etc. art and techniques.

So in Ara Pacis, no ticket queues, not even line to ladies toilet (!!) – and what a marvellous silence.

Rest in pieces, my beloved Rome. We are now in Nice, France.

Maiku

Medieval Manhattan

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“I am telling you, it will be sunny in there.” Siena this morning felt like Finland in January: rain, cold wind blowing and rain. But as soon as we stepped out the San Gimignano bus, it was sunny, like I had forecasted in the bus.

San Gimignano, a 8000 habitant town, is one of the most amazing places we have ever visited, the best gelato (ice cream) we ever tasted (my favorite flavor white chocolate was there), and on top of it the best Pizza in Italy I would say – so far of course.

The morning rush of tourists didn’t really exist. We were lucky to see the tower village; 14 standing medieval towers out of 72 and the best landscape ever. They looked like from some fantasy movie, these stone towers scraping sky which popped up from Tuscany hills covered with mist.

Backpacking seems to be cool, and cooler, we feel alive; enjoy it all to the extreme: no time tables, no running around the clock. We are still puzzling about our next destination, France through Corsica or Greece and then Lebanon directly. We do not know. The couchsurfing has paid of, so we are able to continue for now our trip. We head to Rome tomorrow and then southern Italy I guess.

Our website is popular it seems, we have received lovely comments about it, and I advice you to take a look at our map and our photos (to be updated soon).

Sasi, the knight of the tower.

P.S: We are drinking right now an excellent white wine from San Gimignano.

Tranquility

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There is always moments that are worth of sore feet and aching legs. To summarize a few on our trip so far:

1. The roof of Duomo in Milano. Milano’s cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and it is massive indeed. From inside, it is just another Gothic church – just with a bit bigger columns. But when you get to the roof of it, that is heaven. Am not talking about any religious experience of mine, but I just cant help myself of thinking about all the craftsmen who dedicated their lives – sometimes literally – to build these massive and beautiful monuments. On the roof, you can easily see all the lace of marble carvings and statues, all the delicate details and skill of the craftsmanship and sculpting. In 14th century, those were not meant to be shown to mortal eyes. That was their best gift to give on a hope of afterlife.

2. Castello Sforzesco in Milano. Paintings and other stuff is naturally interesting, but somehow the biggest experience was the museum of musical instruments. We were lucky to be present just when an expert was testing the claviercembalos. (Oh, it seems to be harpsichord in English – i learned a new word…) Baroque music somehow brought the castle alive and it felt like there would have been shadowy figures dancing in the corners of eyes. Maybe there were.

3. Verona. Shakespeare obviously never went to Verona but he managed to got at least something right: there is lots of larks singing. Juliet’s “tomb” is situated in the old Capuchin convent outside the town walls. The empty and open sarcophagus itself is quite unimpressive. The garden outside, on the other hand, has some sort of authentic feeling of lost love and sorrow with its mossed statues and cypresses. Larks singing, and the misty mountain tops in horizon.

Says Romeo:

“It was the lark, the herald of the morn,
No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east:
Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
I must be gone and live, or stay and die.”

-Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (act 3 scene 5)

4. Scrovegni Chapel in Padova. Giotto, my Giotto. Giotto’s paintings on the chapel inside walls was one of my absolute favourites in art history classes. Getting in the chapel was an hard task – seems to be protected as well as crown jewels. No wonder, the simple chapel is like a box of jewels from inside. It is unbelievable to imagine how people had felt in 1305 to see these paintings – they had used to see static Byzantine and Gothic paintings of humans, not this flesh and blood with gestures and feelings on their face. The tears rolling down of the mothers’ face, the gossiping people around Josef and Mary on their way, astonishment of the shepherds… And everything absolutely 3-dimensional, especially the clothes which you could almost touch. From where he got the idea of paint like this? No one did that before and not even after him for almost 200 years. Beats me. Amazing guy.

But enough art, am gonna go to drink some wine. Hippies have stolen my husband to the kitchen, God knows what bacchanals they are having there… with Will Smith movie.

Maiku