Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1597 creation) is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery, Rome. The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, like the Flight into Egypt, was a popular subject in art, but Caravaggio's composition, with an angel playing the viol to the Holy Family, is unusual.

The scene is based not on any incident in the Bible itself, but on a body of tales or legends that had grown up in the early Middle Ages around the Bible story of the Holy Family fleeing into Egypt for refuge on being warned that Herod the Great was seeking to kill the Christ Child. According to the legend, Joseph and Mary paused on the flight in a grove of trees; the Holy Child ordered the trees to bend down so that Joseph could take fruit from them, and then ordered a spring of water to gush forth from the roots so that his parents could quench their thirst. This basic story acquired many extra details during the centuries.

Caravaggio shows Mary asleep with the infant Jesus, while Joseph holds a manuscript for an angel who is playing a hymn to Mary on the viol.

The date of the painting is disputed. According to Caravaggio's contemporary Giulio Mancini, this painting and the Penitent Magdalene, together with an unidentified painting of Saint John the Evangelist, was done while Caravaggio was staying with Monsignor Fantino Petrignani, shortly after leaving the workshop of Giuseppe Cesari. This probably happened in January 1594.

However, there are problems with accepting Mancini's statement. To begin, none of these three works were listed in Petragnani's inventory of 1600, although it is possible that they could have been painted for another patron. More seriously, the painting has an obvious and direct compositional source in Annibale Carracci's Judgement of Hercules, which was completed early in 1596 and widely admired: the pose of Caravaggio's angel, for example, is closely based on that of Carracci's figure of Vice.

While John Gash (2003) accepts Mancini's testimony, others, including Peter Robb and Helen Langdon (both 1998), have raised the possibility that it was painted for Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, who made Caravaggio in effect his household artist from about 1595 or 1596. The sophisticated treatment is appropriate for the cardinal's intellectual tastes and interests (the music held by Joseph is a motet by the Flemish composer Noel Bauldeweyn, with a text from the Song of Songs dedicated to the Madonna, Quam pulchra es, "How beautiful you are"), and it is unlikely that the artist would embark on a work like this other than as a direct commission.

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts a small but excellent art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, who also provided funds for a new building to house it.

The building was designed by renowned architect Louis I. Kahn and is widely recognized as one of the most significant works of architecture of recent times. It is especially noted for the wash of silvery natural light across its vaulted gallery ceilings

In 1966, before the museum even had a building, founding director Brown included this directive in his Policy Statement: "The goal shall be definitive excellence, not size of collection." Accordingly, the museum's collection today consists of only about 350 works of art, but they are of notably high quality.[9]

The European collection is the most extensive in the museum and includes Michelangelo's first known painting, The Torment of Saint Anthony, the only painting by Michelangelo on exhibit in the Americas.[6] It also includes works by Duccio, Fra Angelico, Mantegna, El Greco, Carracci, Caravaggio, Rubens, Guercino, La Tour, Poussin, Velázquez, Rembrandt, Boucher, Gainsborough, Vigée-Lebrun, Friedrich (the first painting by the artist acquired by a public collection outside of Europe),[10] Cézanne, Monet, Caillebotte, Matisse, Mondrian and Picasso. Works from the classical period include antiquities from Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome. The Asian collection comprises sculptures, paintings, bronzes, ceramics, and works of decorative art from China, Korea, Japan, India, Nepal, Tibet, Cambodia, and Thailand. Precolumbian art is represented by Maya works in ceramic, stone, shell, and jade, Olmec, Zapotec, and Aztec sculpture, as well as pieces from the Conte and Huari cultures. The African collection consists primarily of bronze, wood, and terracotta sculpture from West and Central Africa, including examples from Nigeria, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Oceanic art is represented by a Maori figure.

The museum owns few pieces created after the mid-20th century (believing that era to be the province of its neighbor, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth) or any American art (believing that to be the province of its other neighbor, the Amon Carter Museum).[9]

The museum also houses a substantial library with over 59,000 books, periodicals and auction catalogs that are available as a resource to art historians and to faculty and graduate students from surrounding universities.[11]

 

Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619) - Annunciation (1603-1604) - Palazzo Rosso Genoa

 

Nella straordinaria cornice di via Garibaldi, la magnifica Strada Nuova rinascimentale e barocca dichiarata Patrimonio dell’Umanità UNESCO, ha sede un originale percorso museale che collega tre importanti palazzi genovesi: Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco e Palazzo Doria Tursi.

In Palazzo Rosso, nobile dimora ornata da affreschi dei maggiori pittori del Seicento ligure e da preziosi arredi, è esposta una ricca quadreria che comprende dipinti raccolti nell’arco di più di due secoli dalla nobile famiglia Brignole-Sale. Tra gli artisti esposti nella galleria dell’aristocratico palazzo genovese: Dürer, Veronese, Guercino, Strozzi, Grechetto, Van Dyck, e molti altri ancora.

 

In the extraordinary setting of Garibaldi Street, the magnificent New Road Renaissance and Baroque declared UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located an original museum that connects three important Genoese palaces: Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria Tursi.

In the Red Palace, a noble residence decorated with frescoes by the greatest painters of the Italian Seicento and precious furniture, a rich collection of paintings is on display, including paintings collected over more than two centuries by the noble Brignole-Sale family. Among the artists on display in the aristocratic Genoese palace gallery: Durer, Veronese, Guercino, Strozzi, Grechetto, Van Dyck, and many others.

Guido Reni (Bologna, November 4, 1575-Bologna, August 18, 1642) - Beggars' Altarpiece - Jesus Christ in pity mourned by Our Lady and adored by Saints Petronius, Francis, Dominic, Proculus and Charles Borromeo. (1613-1616),- Oil on canvas 704 x 341 cm- National Gallery, Bologna

 

Ordinata all'artista dal Senato di Bologna, fu collocata sull'altare maggiore della chiesa di Santa Maria della Pietà il 13 novembre 1616.

L'opera, che rappresenta Gesù Cristo in pietà pianto dalla Madonna e adorato dai Santi Petronio, Francesco, Domenico, Procolo e Carlo Borromeo, propone un ordine compositivo alquanto antico e tipico delle sacre conversazioni cinquecentesche (Raffaello, Estasi di Santa Cecilia), mentre l'intimo patetismo religioso rimanda al maestro Ludovico Carracci

 

Ordered to the artist by the Senate of Bologna, it was placed on the high altar of the church of Santa Maria della Pietà on November 13, 1616.

The work proposes a somewhat ancient compositional order typical of sixteenth-century sacred conversations (Raphael, Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia), while the intimate religious patheticism harks back to the master Ludovico Carracci

Annibale Carracci (Bologna, 3 November 1560 - Rome, 15 July 1609) - Portrait of a gentleman (1593) - Oil on canvas 60 x 48 cm - Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

 

Il pittore si ritrae allo specchio con tre uomini, variamente identificati. Il più anziano potrebbe essere Antonio, padre di Annibale, mentre il giovane sarebbe il nipote Antonio, figlio illegittimo del fratello Agostino. Una famiglia di artisti che, col cugino Ludovico, ha rappresentato uno dei cardini del rinnovamento della pittura alla fine del Cinquecento. Se è probabile il riferimento alle “tre età dell’uomo”, si tratta anche della riproposizione di uno scorcio di realtà riflessa in uno specchio.

 

The painter portrays himself in the mirror with three men who have been variously identified: the eldest may be Antonio, Annibale’s father, while the younger one is thought to be his brother Agostino’s illegitimate son Antonio. This family of artists, with their cousin Ludovico, played a key role in the renewal of painting at the turn of the 16th century. While there is likely to a reference here to the “three ages of man”, it is also the depiction of a glimpse of reality reflected in a mirror.

Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619)

Christ and the Canaanite Woman, 1594 – 5

Oil on canvas

cm 170 x 225

 

The three pictures in the series, two of which are on display here, shared the horizontal format appropriate for overdoors and all depicted Gospel stories in which Christ has dealings with a woman. Ludovico – who worked with his cousins Annibale and Agostino on a fresco cycle also commissioned by Abbot Sampieri in the palazzo in Bologna for which the set was intended – illustrates the story of a mother from Canaan who insists with Jesus that He exorcise her daughter.

 

Guido Reni, Bologna 1575 – 1642

Martyrium der hl. Katharina von Alexandria - Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria - Martirio di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria

Museo Diocesano, Albenga, Italien

 

This altarpiece was commissioned by the Genoese banker Ottavio Costa around 1605. Here Reni combined his earlier compositions of St Cecilia into a highly consistent image. This painting is a fine example of the way Guido Reni tried to absorb the whole range of artistic innovations created by among others the Carracci and Caravaggio.

Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619) Annunciation (1619) - Presbytery - Central Chapel - St. Peter's Cathedral - Bologna

En 1514 ó a principios de 1515, Rafael Sanzio recibió del papa León X el encargo de diseñar un grupo de tapices monumentales para las paredes de la Capilla Sixtina. Los tramos altos de las paredes estaban ya decorados con frescos, pintados a finales del siglo anterior por Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio y otros, pero los tramos bajos seguían disponibles para un nuevo despliegue decorativo. Miguel Ángel había terminado dos años antes el techo con sus famosos frescos, encargo de Julio II, y no pintaría la pared principal con el Juicio Final hasta treinta años después.

 

Rafael sabía que con sus tapices entraba en competencia con los frescos de Miguel Ángel, quien le subestimaba y a la vez le consideraba un rival. Se esmeró en perfeccionar sus diseños para que resistiesen tal comparación. Contaba con experiencia en grandes formatos por los murales que estaba pintando en las ahora llamadas Estancias de Rafael.

 

Inicialmente León X pensó en una serie de 16 tapices, que luego se redujo a diez. Pagó a Rafael en dos partes, en junio de 1515 y en diciembre de 1516. Se supone que el segundo pago coincidió con la conclusión de los diseños. El coste total de los tapices debió de alcanzar los 16.000 ducados, más de cinco veces lo que costó el techo de Miguel Ángel, si bien el grueso del dinero se lo llevaron los tejedores del taller Van Aelst de Bruselas y Rafael sólo cobró mil ducados. La mano de obra, el transporte desde Bruselas y los materiales necesarios (que incluían hilos de oro y plata) absorbieron buena parte del presupuesto.

 

Según lo habitual en el diseño de cartones, Rafael los pintó no sobre lienzo o tabla, sino sobre papel, un soporte más económico y fácil de transportar. Se suponía que estos modelos se desecharían una vez tejidos los tapices. Se unieron múltiples trozos de papel hasta formar pliegos de 3 metros de alto y de anchuras variables, de 3 a 5 metros. En el siglo siguiente se encolarían sobre lienzo para que ganasen consistencia. El tipo de pigmento empleado es similar a témpera mezclada con cola. Aunque algunos tonos se han apagado, la conservación en general es muy buena. Los colores son muy sutiles y variados, excesivamente complejos para ser plasmados en un tapiz, como ocurriría con los diseños de Goya.

 

El debate principal que rodea a los Cartones de Rafael es si él los pintó. El diseño es suyo, pero se cree que al menos en parte fueron ejecutados por ayudantes, ya que él estaba desbordado de trabajo y no hay que olvidar que eran plantillas para artesanos, cuya conservación a largo plazo no era prioritaria. Ahora son valorados como de altísimo valor artístico, en parte porque ejercieron una influencia determinante en Europa. Subsisten algunos bocetos parciales, en la Royal Collection y en el Museo J. Paul Getty, y se supone que existieron dibujos de las composiciones completas, que serían los empleados para los primeros grabados publicados.

 

Los cartones se terminaron posiblemente en 1516, y fueron enviados al taller de Pieter van Aelst III en Bruselas, una de las ciudades punteras en la fabricación de tapices. Después de tejerse la serie para el Vaticano se harían otras; Enrique VIII de Inglaterra compró una, que resultó destruida en Alemania durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial (si bien reseñas recientes dicen que se conserva en Berlín), y Francisco I de Francia poseyó otra producida en la misma época, igualmente perdida en el siglo XVIII. Una serie incompleta (ocho tapices) se conserva en la Iglesia de San Pablo (Zaragoza), y otra serie de nueve (tejida hacia 1560) pertenece a las colecciones de Patrimonio Nacional. Al contrario de lo que era habitual, los cartones no se devolvieron al Papa, lo que permitió tejer más ejemplares. La serie conservada en Roma se remata con amplias cenefas decorativas de las que carecen los cartones de Londres. Rafael debió de diseñarlas y enviarlas a Bruselas en pliegos aparte.

 

Los primeros tapices para el Papa se enviaron desde Bruselas en 1517, y en la Navidad de 1519 se colgaron nueve en la Capilla Sixtina. Entonces, como ahora, se reservaban para ocasiones especiales; sus huecos en la Sixtina están pintados con trampantojos que simulan telas colgadas. La presencia de hilos de oro y plata en los tapices explica que algunos fuesen quemados vandálicamente para extraerles dichos metales.

 

En 2010, coincidiendo con una visita del papa Benedicto XVI a Londres, los Museos Vaticanos prestaron cuatro de los tapices originales al Victoria & Albert Museum, de modo que pudieron verse junto a sus cartones por primera vez en la historia. Ni tan siquiera Rafael pudo verlos juntos, ya que cuando los tapices se tejieron en Bruselas, fueron enviados a Roma sin los cartones, que quedaron en Flandes y siguieron otros vericuetos hasta su compra por Carlos I.

Rafael sabía que los cartones debían ser aptos para su «traducción» a una superficie textil, por lo que prestó menos atención a la pincelada o a los pequeños detalles para volcarse en las composiciones, que son monumentales, de figuras grandes y espacios amplios para evitar una aglomeración de elementos que resultaría confusa en los tapices. Esto puede explicar que las copias grabadas, a pesar de su pequeño formato, fuesen nítidas y que ejerciesen gran influencia en Europa, donde las estampas y demás reproducciones sobre papel circulaban rápidamente.

 

Los Cartones de Rafael influyeron en la implantación de la estética renacentista en los Países Bajos, tanto por los artistas que los vieron en Bruselas como por los grabados que circularon desde fecha temprana.

 

A finales del siglo XVI, los Carracci tuvieron en cuenta estos diseños en su afán por absorber el estilo más clásico de Rafael, el de sus años romanos. Ya en el siglo XVII, Poussin acusó una influencia de ellos casi de dependencia, y en general fueron seguidos como referencia para la pintura de temas históricos hasta principios del XIX. Los prerrafaelitas ingleses, al preferir a Botticelli y rechazar a Rafael, intentaban erradicar la influencia del clasicismo plasmado en estos cartones.

Los Cartones de Rafael ilustran escenas de las vidas de san Pedro y san Pablo. Ponen el énfasis en varios puntos que eran relevantes en las polémicas religiosas de los años previos a la Reforma luterana, y recalcan especialmente el papel de san Pedro como fundador del papado de Roma. Las escenas que eligió Rafael eran relativamente inusuales en el Arte, menos trilladas que las relativas a Jesucristo y la Virgen María, por lo que tuvo menos limitaciones para idearlas.

   

Ludovico Carracci (Bologna, April 21, 1555 - Bologna, November 13, 1619)- Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Dominic, Francis, Clare and Mary Magdalene. (Pala Bargellini) (1588)- oil on canvas 282x188 cm - National Gallery of Bologna

 

La pala con la Madonna, il Bambino e i santi Francesco, Domenico, Maddalena è la prima opera firmata e datata di Ludovico Carracci, che la eseguì per conto della famiglia bolognese dei Bargellini.

La famiglia era legata al defunto papa, Gregorio XIII anch’egli bolognese, attraverso la parentela con la committente Cecilia Bargellini Boncompagni, qui rappresentata inginocchiata al centro, con le mani giunte, in veste di carmelitana.

L'opera originariamente si trovava sull’altare della cappella Boncompagni nella chiesa dei santi Filippo e Giacomo, in Via delle Lame, detta anche "delle convertite", dal nome dell'adiacente convento di suore carmelitane.

Maria, seduta su un alto trono, ornato dal dragone araldico della famiglia del papa, è rappresentata come un'umile regina dal volto florido e a piedi scalzi, mentre viene incoronata dagli angeli in volo; il punto di vista da sotto in su la rende tangibile e verosimile.

La Madonna accosta la guancia al Bambino e ci osserva con sguardo diretto, Gesù inquieto in grembo alla madre benedice, mentre, come in una festa, gli angeli cantano al suono dolce del liuto o spargono incenso e fiori.

I fedeli sono chiamati a partecipare all'evento, grazie alla continuità tra lo spazio dipinto e quello reale ottenuta tramite i gesti eloquenti dei santi.

San Francesco è concentrato nella profonda contemplazione della Madonna col Bambino, san Domenico, invece, si volge verso i fedeli e indica loro, con un gesto enfatico, la Madre e il Figlio

 

La Maddalena, figura della prostituta redenta per eccellenza, isolata sulla destra, sembra indicare alla sacra famiglia i penitenti in preghiera al di fuori dello spazio dipinto. La sua presenza è un chiaro richiamo alla funzione del convento come caritatevole asilo per prostitute pentite.

In questa stessa ottica si giustifica la presenza dell'acquasantiera e dell'aspersorio ai piedi della Vergine, chiari simboli di purificazione.

Nonostante la forte caratterizzazione umana dei santi come il volto scavato di san Francesco o lo sguardo risoluto di san Domenico, l'unico vero ritratto è quello dell'anziana committente Cecilia Bargellini Boncompagni, sul cui profilo il pittore non manca di registrare una piccola verruca sopra la bocca

I personaggi sacri si offrono all'osservatore nel modo più confidenziale e coinvolgente, sotto un portico che allude a quelli presenti in città, oltre il quale si levano familiari le torri di Bologna.

 

The altarpiece with the Madonna, Child and Saints Francis, Dominic and Magdalene is the first work signed and dated by Ludovico Carracci, who painted it on behalf of the Bolognese Bargellini family.

The family was linked to the late pope, Gregory XIII, also from Bologna, through the kinship with the client Cecilia Bargellini Boncompagni, represented here kneeling in the center, with folded hands, in the guise of a Carmelite.

The work was originally located on the altar of the Boncompagni chapel in the church of Saints Philip and James, in Via delle Lame, also known as "delle convertite", from the name of the adjacent convent of Carmelite nuns.

Mary, seated on a high throne, adorned with the heraldic dragon of the pope's family, is represented as a humble queen with a florid face and bare feet, while she is crowned by angels in flight; the point of view from below makes her tangible and realistic.

The Madonna brings her cheek close to the Child and observes us with a direct gaze, Jesus restless in his mother's lap blesses, while, as in a feast, the angels sing to the sweet sound of the lute or scatter incense and flowers.

The faithful are called to participate in the event, thanks to the continuity between the painted space and the real one obtained through the eloquent gestures of the saints.

St. Francis is concentrated in deep contemplation of the Madonna and Child, while St. Dominic turns toward the faithful and points to them, with an emphatic gesture, to the Mother and Son.

 

Magdalene, the figure of the redeemed prostitute par excellence, isolated on the right, seems to indicate to the sacred family the penitents praying outside the painted space. Her presence is a clear reference to the function of the convent as a charitable asylum for repentant prostitutes.

This same perspective justifies the presence of the stoup and aspergillum at the feet of the Virgin, clear symbols of purification.

Despite the strong human characterization of the saints, such as the hollow face of St. Francis or the resolute gaze of St. Dominic, the only real portrait is that of the elderly client Cecilia Bargellini Boncompagni, on whose profile the painter does not fail to record a small wart above the mouth.

The sacred characters offer themselves to the observer in the most confidential and involving way, under a portico that alludes to those present in the city, beyond which the towers of Bologna rise familiarly.

 

The altarpiece with the Madonna and Child with Saints Francis, Dominic and Magdalene is the first work signed and dated by Ludovico Carracci, who painted it on behalf of the Bargellini family of Bologna.

The family was linked to the late pope, Gregory XIII, also from Bologna, through the kinship with the client Cecilia Bargellini Boncompagni, represented here kneeling in the center, with folded hands, in the guise of a Carmelite.

The work was originally located on the altar of the Boncompagni chapel in the church of Saints Philip and James, in Via delle Lame, also known as "delle convertite", from the name of the adjacent convent of Carmelite nuns.

Mary, seated on a high throne, adorned with the heraldic dragon of the pope's family, is represented as a humble queen with a florid face and bare feet, while she is crowned by angels in flight; the point of view from below makes her tangible and realistic.

The Madonna brings her cheek close to the Child and observes us with a direct gaze, Jesus restless in his mother's lap blesses, while, as in a feast, the angels sing to the sweet sound of the lute or scatter incense and flowers.

The faithful are called to participate in the event, thanks to the continuity between the painted space and the real one obtained through the eloquent gestures of the saints.

St. Francis is concentrated in deep contemplation of the Madonna and Child, while St. Dominic turns toward the faithful and points to them, with an emphatic gesture, to the Mother and Son.

 

Magdalene, the figure of the redeemed prostitute par excellence, isolated on the right, seems to indicate to the sacred family the penitents praying outside the painted space. Her presence is a clear reference to the function of the convent as a charitable asylum for repentant prostitutes.

This same perspective justifies the presence of the stoup and aspergillum at the feet of the Virgin, clear symbols of purification.

Despite the strong human characterization of the saints, such as the hollow face of St. Francis or the resolute gaze of St. Dominic, the only real portrait is that of the elderly client Cecilia Bargellini Boncompagni, on whose profile the painter does not fail to record a small wart above the mouth.

The sacred personages offer themselves to the observer in the most confidential and involving way, under a portico that alludes to those present in the city, beyond which the towers of Bologna rise familiarly.

Annibale Carracci (Bologna, November 3, 1560 - Rome, July 15, 1609) - Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints John, John the Evangelist and Catherine of Alexandria (1593) - oil on canvas 289.5 x 192.5 cm - Galleria Nazionale di Bologna

 

Firmato e datato 1593 fu dipinto per l'altare Landini in San Giorgio. Giudicato in termini positivi opera lodevole dai contemporanei.

 

Signed and dated 1593 was painted for the altar Landini in San Giorgio. Judged in positive terms praiseworthy work by his contemporaries.

Four boys. On loan from Frau Valssechi collection .Annibale Carracci was an Italian painter, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brothers, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of the Baroque style. This his a delightful informal independent study possibly by way of preparation for a larger work.

© Juan de la Cruz Moreno Balboa

Ludovico Carracci (Bologna, April 21, 1555 - Bologna, November 13, 1619) - Transfiguration of Christ (1595-96) oil on canvas 152x100 cm.- National Gallery Bologna

  

Si tratta con tutta probabilità del modello preparatorio della grande Trasfigurazione nella chiesa di San Pietro Martire e ora in Pinacoteca.

Come nella redazione finale del dipinto, anche in questo bozzetto il tono narrativo adottato dall'artista è audacemente declamatorio e la composizione, popolata da figure titaniche, è studiata per ottenere un forte impatto visivo sullo spettatore.

 

It is most likely the preparatory model of the great Transfiguration in the church of San Pietro Martire and now in the Pinacoteca.

As in the final version of the painting, also in this sketch the narrative tone adopted by the artist is boldly declamatory and the composition, populated by titanic figures, is designed to obtain a strong visual impact on the viewer.

painting by Antonio Marziale Carracci

Plaza del Popolo de Roma. El origen del nombre de la plaza es incierto: una etimología sostiene que popolo procede del latín populus (álamo), sobre la base de la tradición que afirma que había en la zona un bosque de álamos perteneciente a la cercana tumba de Nerón.​ Es una noticia histórica, sin embargo, que el papa Pascual II hizo construir cerca de las murallas una capilla a expensas del pueblo (popolo) romano (sobre la cual se construiría posteriormente la actual basílica de Santa María del Popolo): del pueblo era la Virgen, y del pueblo sería la plaza.

La plaza y la puerta homónima son un magnífico ejemplo de «estratificación» arquitectónica, un fenómeno que se ha producido gracias a las continuas alternancias de pontífices, que ordenaban modificaciones o renovaciones de las obras arquitectónicas y urbanísticas.

En la plaza hay tres iglesias. La más antigua es la basílica de Santa María del Popolo, situada al lado de la puerta homónima. Fue construida en el siglo xi por el papa Pascual II sobre el sepulcro de los Domizi, donde fue enterrado Nerón, pero posteriormente fue reconstruida entre 1472 y 1477, durante el pontificado de Sixto IV, por Baccio Pontelli y Andrea Bregno, que le dieron un aspecto esencialmente renacentista. Entre 1655 y 1660 el papa Alejandro VII decidió restaurar la iglesia con un aspecto más enérgico, y encargó las obras a Gian Lorenzo Bernini, que la confirió un claro estilo barroco que se puede apreciar todavía en la actualidad. La iglesia alberga cuadros de gran importancia: hay obras maestras de Caravaggio como la Conversión de san Pablo y la Crucifixión de san Pedro, además de varios frescos de Pinturicchio y la Asunción de Annibale Carracci, junto con las estructuras de Rafael Sanzio y de Bramante y dealgunas esculturas de Andrea Bregno y del propio Gian Lorenzo Bernini, como el magnífico órgano sostenido por dos ángeles de bronce.

Entre 1562 y 1565 Nanni di Baccio Bigio, por encargo del papa Pío IV (Médici), realizó la fachada exterior de la Porta del Popolo. Posteriormente, en 1655, el papa Alejandro VII (Chigi) encargó a Gian Lorenzo Bernini las obras para remodelar la fachada interior y la cornisa superior de la puerta.

En 1573, el papa Gregorio XIII (Boncompagni) colocó en el centro de la plaza una fuente de Giacomo della Porta, una de las dieciocho nuevas fuentes proyectadas tras la restauración del Aqua Virgo. En 1589, el papa Sixto V (Felice Peretti) erigió en el centro de la plaza el gran Obelisco Flaminio, de 24 metros de altura, construido en la época de los faraones Ramsés II y Merenptah (1232-1220 a.C.), llevado a Roma por Augusto y colocado previamente en el Circo Máximo. Domenico Fontana trasladó la fuente de Della Porta al inicio de la Via del Corso.

Las dos «iglesias gemelas», como son llamadas Santa Maria in Montesanto (1675) y Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1678), fueron construidas por voluntad de Alejandro VII, pero las obras terminaron después de la muerte del pontífice (1667). Su construcción renovó profundamente el aspecto de la plaza, y constituyeron los dos polos del Tridente, formado por la Via del Corso, la Via del Babuino y la Via di Ripetta. Los dos edificios, que confieren a la plaza un aspecto barroco, fueron iniciados por Carlo Rainaldi y completados por Gian Lorenzo Bernini con la colaboración de Carlo Fontana.

La forma de la plaza no asumió su conformación actual hasta finales del siglo xix. Previamente era una modesta plaza de forma trapezoidal, que se ensanchaba hacia el Tridente. En el momento de la ocupación napoleónica, el aspecto arquitectónico y urbanístico de la plaza fue revisado por el arquitecto neoclásico Giuseppe Valadier, que ya en 1793 había presentado un proyecto que proponía disponer dos cuarteles de caballería a ambos lados de la plaza. Sin embargo, tras la primera invasión de Napoleón (que entró en Roma en 1798 y posteriormente en 1809), los franceses impusieron a Valadier un proyecto de «villa y paseo público», que no pudo ser realizado porque no tenía en cuenta los desniveles del terreno entre el Pincio y la plaza. Tras un segundo proyecto que presentaba el mismo problema, las obras de remodelación se encargaron al arquitecto Berthault, pero tan pronto como los franceses salieron de Roma fue de nuevo Valadier quien realizó el proyecto definitivo. Gracias a su intervención, la plaza asumió su actual forma elíptica en la parte central, completada con una doble exedra, decorada con numerosas fuentes y estatuas, que se extienden hasta la terraza del Pincio y hacia el río Tíber. En 1818 Valadier también retiró la antigua fuente de Giacomo Della Porta,​ que durante el pontificado de León XII (1822-1829) fue sustituida por una nueva estructura. Valadier continuó su obra de renovación en la zona de las laderas del Pincio, conectando la Piazza del Popolo y la colina con amplias rampas, adornadas con árboles y paseos, que se completaron en 1834. La terraza del Pincio se convirtió así en uno de los paseos más célebres de Roma, frecuentado por el pueblo, la burguesía, la nobleza, el alto clero y por los mismos pontífices.

Roma 18/3/2016

Piazza del Popolo è una delle più celebri piazze di Roma, ai piedi del Pincio. L'origine del nome della piazza è incerta: c'è un'etimologia che deriva "popolo" dal latino populus (pioppo), sulla base della tradizione che vuole ci fosse, nella zona, un boschetto di pioppi pertinente alla tomba di Nerone, che era lì presso. È notizia storica, comunque, che papa Pasquale II fece costruire a ridosso delle mura una cappella, a spese del popolo romano (quella su cui poi sarebbe sorta la chiesa attuale di Santa Maria del Popolo). Del popolo era la Madonna, del Popolo diventò la piazza. La piazza e la sua porta sono un ottimo esempio di "stratificazione" architettonica, un fenomeno che si è verificato per i continui avvicendamenti di pontefici che comportavano modifiche e rielaborazioni dei lavori edilizi e viari. Sulla piazza si affacciano ben tre chiese. La più antica è la basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo, a lato della porta omonima. Venne eretta (sul sepolcro dei Domizi dove Nerone fu sepolto) nell'XI secolo da papa Pasquale II, ma venne poi ricostruita sotto papa Sisto IV da Baccio Pontelli e Andrea Bregno tra il 1472 ed il 1477, che le danno un aspetto maggiormente rinascimentale. Tra il 1655 ed il 1660 papa Alessandro VII decise di restaurare la chiesa dandole un aspetto più brioso; per questo incaricò Gian Lorenzo Bernini, che restaura nuovamente la chiesa, donandole questa volta una chiara impronta barocca che si può ammirare ancora oggi. La chiesa ospita dei dipinti di grandissima importanza: del Caravaggio sono presenti capolavori come Conversione di san Paolo e Crocifissione di san Pietro, nonché diversi affreschi del Pinturicchio, l'Assunzione di Annibale Carracci, oltre alle architetture di Raffaello Sanzio e del Bramante e ad alcune sculture di Andrea Bregno e dello stesso Gian Lorenzo Bernini, come il magnifico organo sorretto da due angioletti in bronzo.

 

Piazza del Popolo is one of the most famous squares in Rome, at the foot of the Pincio. The origin of the name of the square is uncertain: there is an etymology that derives "people" from the Latin populus (poplar), based on the tradition that there was, in the area, a grove of poplars pertaining to the tomb of Nero, which was there near. It is historical news, however, that Pope Pasquale II had a chapel built close to the walls, at the expense of the Roman people (the one on which the current church of Santa Maria del Popolo would later rise). The Madonna was of the people, it became the square of the People. The square and its door are an excellent example of architectural "stratification", a phenomenon that occurred due to the continuous succession of popes that involved modifications and reworking of the building and road works. Three churches overlook the square. The oldest is the basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, next to the door of the same name. It was erected (on the tomb of the Domizi where Nero was buried) in the 11th century by Pope Pasquale II, but was then rebuilt under Pope Sixtus IV by Baccio Pontelli and Andrea Bregno between 1472 and 1477, which give it a more Renaissance aspect. Between 1655 and 1660 Pope Alexander VII decided to restore the church giving it a more lively aspect; for this he commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who restores the church again, this time giving it a clear Baroque imprint that can still be admired today. The church houses paintings of great importance: by Caravaggio there are masterpieces such as Conversion of St. Paul and Crucifixion of St. Peter, as well as several frescoes by Pinturicchio, the Assumption by Annibale Carracci, in addition to the architectures of Raffaello Sanzio and Bramante and some sculptures by Andrea Bregno and by Gian Lorenzo Bernini himself, such as the magnificent organ supported by two little angels in bronze.

 

La Piazza del Popolo est l'une des places les plus célèbres de Rome, au pied du Pincio. L'origine du nom de la place est incertaine: il existe une étymologie qui dérive "peuple" du latin populus (peuplier), basée sur la tradition selon laquelle il y avait, dans la région, un bosquet de peupliers appartenant au tombeau de Néron , qui était là près. C'est une nouvelle historique, cependant, que le pape Pasquale II fit construire une chapelle près des murs, aux frais du peuple romain (celle sur laquelle s'élèverait plus tard l'église actuelle de Santa Maria del Popolo). La Madone était du peuple, elle est devenue la place du Peuple. La place et sa porte sont un excellent exemple de "stratification" architecturale, un phénomène qui s'est produit en raison de la succession continue des papes qui a entraîné des modifications et des remaniements du bâtiment et des travaux de voirie. Trois églises dominent la place. La plus ancienne est la basilique de Santa Maria del Popolo, à côté de la porte du même nom. Elle fut érigée (sur la tombe des Domizi où fut enterré Néron) au XIe siècle par le pape Pasquale II, mais fut ensuite reconstruite sous le pape Sixte IV par Baccio Pontelli et Andrea Bregno entre 1472 et 1477, ce qui lui donne un aspect plus Renaissance. . Entre 1655 et 1660, le pape Alexandre VII décida de restaurer l'église en lui donnant un aspect plus vivant ; pour cela, il a commandé Gian Lorenzo Bernini, qui restaure à nouveau l'église, en lui donnant cette fois une empreinte baroque claire qui peut encore être admirée aujourd'hui. L'église abrite des peintures d'une grande importance: par Caravaggio il y a des chefs-d'œuvre tels que la conversion de saint Paul et la crucifixion de saint Pierre, ainsi que plusieurs fresques de Pinturicchio, l'Assomption d'Annibale Carracci, en plus des architectures de Raffaello Sanzio et Bramante et quelques sculptures d'Andrea Bregno et de Gian Lorenzo Bernini lui-même, comme le magnifique orgue soutenu par deux petits anges en bronze.

oil on wood, ~1583-4

A cúpula (o Domo), no interior do Panteão, em Roma.

The Dome, at Pantheon's Interior, in Rome.

 

A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Pantheon, Rome.

The Pantheon (Latin: Pantheon, from Greek: Πάνθειον, meaning "Temple of all the gods") is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt circa 126 AD during Hadrian's reign. The intended degree of inclusiveness of this dedication is debated. The generic term pantheon is now applied to a monument in which illustrious dead are buried. It is the best preserved of all Roman buildings, and perhaps the best preserved building of its age in the world. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. The design of the extant building is sometimes credited to Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus, but it is equally likely that the building and the design should be credited to Emperor Hadrian's architects, though not to Hadrian himself as many art scholars once thought. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church. The Pantheon is the oldest standing domed structure in Rome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

n the aftermath of the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Agrippa built and dedicated the original Pantheon during his third consulship (27 BC). Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a huge fire in 80 AD. The current building dates from about 126 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, as date-stamps on the bricks reveal. It was totally reconstructed with the text of the original inscription ("M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT", standing for Latin: Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit translated to "'Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this") which was added to the new facade, a common practice in Hadrian's rebuilding projects all over Rome. Hadrian was a cosmopolitan emperor who travelled widely in the East and was a great admirer of Greek culture. He might have intended the Pantheon, a temple to all the gods, to be a kind of ecumenical or syncretist gesture to the subjects of the Roman Empire who did not worship the old gods of Rome, or who (as was increasingly the case) worshipped them under other names. How the building was actually used is not known.

Cassius Dio, a Graeco-Roman senator, consul and author of a comprehensive History of Rome, writing approximately 75 years after the Pantheon's reconstruction, mistakenly attributed the domed building to Agrippa rather than Hadrian. Dio's book appears to be the only near-contemporary writing on the Pantheon, and it is interesting that even by the year 200 there was uncertainty about the origin of the building and its purpose:

Agrippa finished the construction of the building called the Pantheon. It has this name, perhaps because it received among the images which decorated it the statues of many gods, including Mars and Venus; but my own opinion of the name is that, because of its vaulted roof, it resembles the heavens. (Cassius Dio History of Rome 53.27.2)

The building was repaired by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202 AD, for which there is another, smaller inscription. This inscription reads "pantheum vetustate corruptum cum omni cultu restituerunt" ('with every refinement they restored the Pantheon worn by age').

In 609 the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to Santa Maria ad Martyres, now known as Santa Maria dei Martiri.

The building's consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment, destruction, and the worst of the spoliation which befell the majority of ancient Rome's buildings during the early medieval period. Paul the Deacon records the spoliation of the building by the Emperor Constans II, who visited Rome in July 663:

Remaining at Rome twelve days he pulled down everything that in ancient times had been made of metal for the ornament of the city, to such an extent that he even stripped off the roof of the church [of the blessed Mary] which at one time was called the Pantheon, and had been founded in honor of all the gods and was now by the consent of the former rulers the place of all the martyrs; and he took away from there the bronze tiles and sent them with all the other ornaments to Constantinople.

Much fine external marble has been removed over the centuries, and there are capitals from some of the pilasters in the British Museum. Two columns were swallowed up in the medieval buildings that abbutted the Pantheon on the east and were lost. In the early seventeenth century, Urban VIII Barberini tore away the bronze ceiling of the portico, and replaced the medieval campanile with the famous twin towers built by Maderno, which were not removed until the late nineteenth century. The only other loss has been the external sculptures, which adorned the pediment above Agrippa's inscription. The marble interior and the great bronze doors have survived, although both have been extensively restored.

Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. In the 15th century, the Pantheon was adorned with paintings: the best-known is the Annunciation by Melozzo da Forlì. Architects, like Brunelleschi, who used the Pantheon as help when designing the Cathedral of Florence's dome, looked to the Pantheon as inspiration for their works.

Pope Urban VIII (1623 to 1644) ordered the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon's portico melted down. Most of the bronze was used to make bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant'Angelo, with the remaining amount used by the Apostolic Camera for various other works. It is also said that the bronze was used by Bernini in creating his famous baldachin above the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica, but according to at least one expert, the Pope's accounts state that about 90% of the bronze was used for the cannon, and that the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice. This led the Roman satirical figure Pasquino to issue the famous proverb: Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini ("What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis [Urban VIII's family name] did")

In 1747, the broad frieze below the dome with its false windows was “restored,” but bore little resemblance to the original. In the early decades of the twentieth century, a piece of the original, as could be reconstructed from Renaissance drawings and paintings, was recreated in one of the panels.

Also buried there are two kings of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto's Queen, Margherita. Although Italy has been a republic since 1946, volunteer members of Italian monarchist organizations maintain a vigil over the royal tombs in the Pantheon. This has aroused protests from time to time from republicans, but the Catholic authorities allow the practice to continue, although the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage is in charge of the security and maintenance.

The Pantheon is still used as a church. Masses are celebrated there, particularly on important Catholic days of obligation, and weddings.

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. Though often still drawn as a free-standing building, there was a building at its rear into which it abutted; of this building there are only archaeological remains.

In the walls at the back of the portico were niches, probably for statues of Caesar, Augustus and Agrippa, or for the Capitoline Triad, or another set of gods. The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, still remain but the gold has long since vanished. The pediment was decorated with a sculpture — holes may still be seen where the clamps which held the sculpture in place were fixed.

The 4,535 metric ton (5,000 tn) weight of the concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs 9.1 metres (30 ft) in diameter which form the oculus while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by eight barrel vaults in the 6.4 metre (21 ft) thick drum wall into eight piers. The thickness of the dome varies from 6.4 metres (21 ft) at the base of the dome to 1.2 metres (4 ft) around the oculus. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft), so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (alternatively, the interior could house a sphere 43.3 metres (142 ft) in diameter). The Pantheon holds the record for the largest unreinforced concrete dome. The interior of the roof was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. The Great Eye at the dome's apex is the source of all light in the interior. The oculus also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. During storms, a drainage system below the floor handles the rain that falls through the oculus.

The interior features sunken panels (coffers), which, in antiquity, may have contained bronze stars, rosettes, or other ornaments. This coffering was not only decorative, but also reduced the weight of the roof, as did the elimination of the apex by means of the Great Eye. The top of the rotunda wall features a series of brick-relieving arches, visible on the outside and built into the mass of the brickwork. The Pantheon is full of such devices — for example, there are relieving arches over the recesses inside — but all these arches were hidden by marble facing on the interior and possibly by stone revetment or stucco on the exterior. Some changes have been made in the interior decoration.

It is known from Roman sources that their concrete is made up of a pasty hydrate of lime, with pozzolanic ash (Latin pulvis puteolanum) and lightweight pumice from a nearby volcano, and fist-sized pieces of rock. In this, it is very similar to modern concrete. No tensile test results are available on the concrete used in the Pantheon; however Cowan discussed tests on ancient concrete from Roman ruins in Libya which gave a compressive strength of 2.8 ksi (20 MPa). An empirical relationship gives a tensile strength of 213 psi (1.5 MPa) for this specimen. Finite element analysis of the structure by Mark and Hutchison found a maximum tensile stress of only 18.5 psi (0.13 MPa) at the point where the dome joins the raised outer wall. The stresses in the dome were found to be substantially reduced by the use of successively less dense concrete in higher layers of the dome. Mark and Hutchison estimated that if normal weight concrete had been used throughout the stresses in the arch would have been some 80% higher.

The 16 gray granite columns Hadrian ordered for the Pantheon's pronaos were quarried at Mons Claudianus in Egypt's eastern mountains. Each was 39 feet (11.8 m) tall, five feet (1.5 m) in diameter, and 60 tons in weight. These were dragged on wooden sledges when transporting on land. They were floated by barge down the Nile and transferred to vessels to cross the Mediterranean to the Roman port of Ostia where they were transferred back onto barges and up the Tiber to Rome.

As the best-preserved example of an Ancient Roman monumental building, the Pantheon has been enormously influential in Western Architecture from at least the Renaissance on; starting with Brunelleschi's 42-meter dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, completed in 1436 – the first sizeable dome to be constructed in Western Europe since Late Antiquity. The style of the Pantheon can be detected in many buildings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; numerous city halls, universities and public libraries echo its portico-and-dome structure. Examples of notable buildings influenced by the Pantheon include: the Panthéon in Paris, the Temple in Dartrey, the British Museum Reading Room, Manchester Central Library, Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the Rotunda of Mosta, in Malta, Low Memorial Library at Columbia University, New York, the domed Marble Hall of Sanssouci palace in Potsdam, Germany, the State Library of Victoria, and the Supreme Court Library of Victoria, both in Melbourne, Australia, the 52-meter-tall Ottokár Prohászka Memorial Church in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, Holy Trinity Church in Karlskrona by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, Sweden, The National Gallery of Art West Building by John Russell Pope, located in Washington, D.C, as well as the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

The present high altar and the apse were commissioned by Pope Clement XI (1700-1721) and designed by Alessandro Specchi. In the apse, a copy of a Byzantine icon of the Madonna is enshrined. The original, now in the Chapel of the Canons in the Vatican, has been dated to the 13th century, although tradition claims that it is much older. The choir was added in 1840, and was designed by Luigi Poletti.

The first niche to the right of the entrance holds a Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari (1686) painted by an unknown artist. The first chapel on the right, the Chapel of the Annunciation, has a fresco of the Annunication attributed to Melozzo da Forli. On the left side is a canvas by Clement Maioli of St Lawrence and St Agnes (1645-1650). On the right wall is the Incredulity of St Thomas (1633) by Pietro Paolo Bonzi.

The second niche has a 15th century fresco of the Tuscan school, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. In the second chapel is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II (died 1878). It was originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. A competition was held to decide which architect should be given the honor of designing it. Giuseppe Sacconi participated, but lost — he would later design the tomb of Umberto I in the opposite chapel. Manfredio Manfredi won the competition, and started work in 1885. The tomb consists of a large bronze plaque surmounted by a Roman eagle and the arms of the house of Savoy. The golden lamp above the tomb burns in honor of Victor Emmanuel III, who died in exile in 1947.

The third niche has a sculpture by Il Lorenzone of St Anne and the Blessed Virgin. In the third chapel is a 15th-century painting of the Umbrian school, The Madonna of Mercy between St Francis and St John the Baptist. It is also known as the Madonna of the Railing, because it originally hung in the niche on the left-hand side of the portico, where it was protected by a railing. It was moved to the Chapel of the Annunciation, and then to its present position some time after 1837. The bronze epigram commemorated Pope Clement XI's restoration of the sanctuary. On the right wall is the canvas Emperor Phocas presenting the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV (1750) by an unknown. There are three memorial plaques in the floor, one conmmemorating a Gismonda written in the vernacular. The final niche on the right side has a statue of St. Anastasio (1725) by Bernardino Cametti.

On the first niche to the left of the entrance is an Assumption (1638) by Andrea Camassei. The first chapel on the left, is the Chapel of St Joseph in the Holy Land, and is the chapel of the Confraternity of the Virtuosi at the Pantheon. This refers to the confraternity of artists and musicians that was formed here by a 16th-century Canon of the church, Desiderio da Segni, to ensure that worship was maintained in the chapel. The first members were, among others, Antonio da Sangallo the younger, Jacopo Meneghino, Giovanni Mangone, Zuccari, Domenico Beccafumi and Flaminio Vacca. The confraternity continued to draw members from the elite of Rome's artists and architects, and among later members we find Bernini, Cortona, Algardi and many others. The institution still exists, and is now called the Academia Ponteficia di Belle Arti (The Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts), based in the palace of the Cancelleria. The altar in the chapel is covered with false marble. On the altar is a statue of St Joseph and the Holy Child by Vincenzo de Rossi. To the sides are paintings (1661) by Francesco Cozza, one of the Virtuosi: Adoration of the Shepherds on left side and Adoration of the Magi on right. The stucco relief on the left, Dream of St Joseph is by Paolo Benaglia, and the one on the right, Rest during the flight from Egypt is by Carlo Monaldi. On the vault are several 17th-century canvases, from left to right: Cumean Sibyl by Ludovico Gimignani; Moses by Francesco Rosa; Eternal Father by Giovanni Peruzzini; David by Luigi Garzi and finally Eritrean Sibyl by Giovanni Andrea Carlone.

The second niche has a statue of St Agnes, by Vincenco Felici. The bust on the left is a portrait of Baldassare Peruzzi, derived from a plaster portrait by Giovanni Duprè. The tomb of King Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia is in the next chapel. The chapel was originally dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, and then to St. Thomas the Apostle. The present design is by Giuseppe Sacconi, completed after his death by his pupil Guido Cirilli. The tomb consists of a slab of alabaster mounted in gilded bronze. The frieze has allegorical representations of Generosity, by Eugenio Maccagnani, and Munificence, by Arnaldo Zocchi. The royal tombs are maintained by the National Institute of Honour Guards to the Royal Tombs, founded in 1878. They also organize picket guards at the tombs. The altar with the royal arms is by Cirilli.

The third niche holds the mortal remains — his Ossa et cineres, "Bones and ashes", as the inscription on the sarcophagus says — of the great artist Raphael. His fiancée, Maria Bibbiena is buried to the right of his sarcophagus; she died before they could marry. The sarcophagus was given by Pope Gregory XVI, and its insription reads ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI / RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI, meaning "Here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die". The epigraph was written by Pietro Bembo. The present arrangement is from 1811, designed by Antonio Munoz. The bust of Raphael (1833) is by Giuseppe Fabris. The two plaques commemorate Maria Bibbiena and Annibale Carracci. Behind the tomb is the statue known as the Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the Rock) so named because she rests one foot on a boulder. It was commissioned by Raphael and made by Lorenzetto in 1524.

In the Chapel of the Crucifixion, the Roman brick wall is visible in the niches. The wooden crucifix on the altar is from the 15th century. On the left wall is a Descent of the Holy Ghost (1790) by Pietro Labruzi. On the right side is the low relief Cardinal Consalvi presents to Pope Pius VII the five provinces restored to the Holy See (1824) made by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bust is a portrait of Cardinal Agostino Rivarola. The final niche on this side has a statue of St. Rasius (S. Erasio) (1727) by Francesco Moderati.

Roma Palazzo Farnese Rione Regola

Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri 1581-1641) - Cumaean Sibyl (1622) - Capitoline Museums Rome

 

Allievo dei Carracci, Domenichino è uno dei protagonisti del classicismo emiliano

Le sibille del mondo antico erano leggendarie profetesse, collocate in diversi luoghi del bacino del Mediterraneo: Italia (Cuma), Africa, Grecia (Delfi), Asia Minore. Tra le più conosciute, la Sibilla Eritrea, la Sibilla Cumana e la Sibilla Delfica, rappresentanti altrettanti gruppi: ioniche, italiche ed orientali. Nella Roma repubblicana e imperiale un collegio di sacerdoti custodiva gli Oracoli sibillini, testi sacri di origine etrusca, consultati in caso di pericoli o di catastrofi.

 

follower of Carracci, Domenichino is one of the protagonists of the Emilian classicism

The sibyls of the ancient world were legendary prophets, located in different places of the Mediterranean basin: Italy (Cuma), Africa, Greece (Delphi), Asia Minor. Among the best known, the Sibyl Eritrea, the Cumana Sibyl and the Delphic Sibyl, representing as many groups: Ionian, Italic and Oriental. In the republican and imperial Rome, a college of priests guarded the Sibylin Oracles, sacred texts of Etruscan origin, consulted in the event of dangers or disasters.

Work of Tibaldi (XVI century).

En 1514 ó a principios de 1515, Rafael Sanzio recibió del papa León X el encargo de diseñar un grupo de tapices monumentales para las paredes de la Capilla Sixtina. Los tramos altos de las paredes estaban ya decorados con frescos, pintados a finales del siglo anterior por Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio y otros, pero los tramos bajos seguían disponibles para un nuevo despliegue decorativo. Miguel Ángel había terminado dos años antes el techo con sus famosos frescos, encargo de Julio II, y no pintaría la pared principal con el Juicio Final hasta treinta años después.

 

Rafael sabía que con sus tapices entraba en competencia con los frescos de Miguel Ángel, quien le subestimaba y a la vez le consideraba un rival. Se esmeró en perfeccionar sus diseños para que resistiesen tal comparación. Contaba con experiencia en grandes formatos por los murales que estaba pintando en las ahora llamadas Estancias de Rafael.

 

Inicialmente León X pensó en una serie de 16 tapices, que luego se redujo a diez. Pagó a Rafael en dos partes, en junio de 1515 y en diciembre de 1516. Se supone que el segundo pago coincidió con la conclusión de los diseños. El coste total de los tapices debió de alcanzar los 16.000 ducados, más de cinco veces lo que costó el techo de Miguel Ángel, si bien el grueso del dinero se lo llevaron los tejedores del taller Van Aelst de Bruselas y Rafael sólo cobró mil ducados. La mano de obra, el transporte desde Bruselas y los materiales necesarios (que incluían hilos de oro y plata) absorbieron buena parte del presupuesto.

 

Según lo habitual en el diseño de cartones, Rafael los pintó no sobre lienzo o tabla, sino sobre papel, un soporte más económico y fácil de transportar. Se suponía que estos modelos se desecharían una vez tejidos los tapices. Se unieron múltiples trozos de papel hasta formar pliegos de 3 metros de alto y de anchuras variables, de 3 a 5 metros. En el siglo siguiente se encolarían sobre lienzo para que ganasen consistencia. El tipo de pigmento empleado es similar a témpera mezclada con cola. Aunque algunos tonos se han apagado, la conservación en general es muy buena. Los colores son muy sutiles y variados, excesivamente complejos para ser plasmados en un tapiz, como ocurriría con los diseños de Goya.

 

El debate principal que rodea a los Cartones de Rafael es si él los pintó. El diseño es suyo, pero se cree que al menos en parte fueron ejecutados por ayudantes, ya que él estaba desbordado de trabajo y no hay que olvidar que eran plantillas para artesanos, cuya conservación a largo plazo no era prioritaria. Ahora son valorados como de altísimo valor artístico, en parte porque ejercieron una influencia determinante en Europa. Subsisten algunos bocetos parciales, en la Royal Collection y en el Museo J. Paul Getty, y se supone que existieron dibujos de las composiciones completas, que serían los empleados para los primeros grabados publicados.

 

Los cartones se terminaron posiblemente en 1516, y fueron enviados al taller de Pieter van Aelst III en Bruselas, una de las ciudades punteras en la fabricación de tapices. Después de tejerse la serie para el Vaticano se harían otras; Enrique VIII de Inglaterra compró una, que resultó destruida en Alemania durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial (si bien reseñas recientes dicen que se conserva en Berlín), y Francisco I de Francia poseyó otra producida en la misma época, igualmente perdida en el siglo XVIII. Una serie incompleta (ocho tapices) se conserva en la Iglesia de San Pablo (Zaragoza), y otra serie de nueve (tejida hacia 1560) pertenece a las colecciones de Patrimonio Nacional. Al contrario de lo que era habitual, los cartones no se devolvieron al Papa, lo que permitió tejer más ejemplares. La serie conservada en Roma se remata con amplias cenefas decorativas de las que carecen los cartones de Londres. Rafael debió de diseñarlas y enviarlas a Bruselas en pliegos aparte.

 

Los primeros tapices para el Papa se enviaron desde Bruselas en 1517, y en la Navidad de 1519 se colgaron nueve en la Capilla Sixtina. Entonces, como ahora, se reservaban para ocasiones especiales; sus huecos en la Sixtina están pintados con trampantojos que simulan telas colgadas. La presencia de hilos de oro y plata en los tapices explica que algunos fuesen quemados vandálicamente para extraerles dichos metales.

 

En 2010, coincidiendo con una visita del papa Benedicto XVI a Londres, los Museos Vaticanos prestaron cuatro de los tapices originales al Victoria & Albert Museum, de modo que pudieron verse junto a sus cartones por primera vez en la historia. Ni tan siquiera Rafael pudo verlos juntos, ya que cuando los tapices se tejieron en Bruselas, fueron enviados a Roma sin los cartones, que quedaron en Flandes y siguieron otros vericuetos hasta su compra por Carlos I.

Rafael sabía que los cartones debían ser aptos para su «traducción» a una superficie textil, por lo que prestó menos atención a la pincelada o a los pequeños detalles para volcarse en las composiciones, que son monumentales, de figuras grandes y espacios amplios para evitar una aglomeración de elementos que resultaría confusa en los tapices. Esto puede explicar que las copias grabadas, a pesar de su pequeño formato, fuesen nítidas y que ejerciesen gran influencia en Europa, donde las estampas y demás reproducciones sobre papel circulaban rápidamente.

 

Los Cartones de Rafael influyeron en la implantación de la estética renacentista en los Países Bajos, tanto por los artistas que los vieron en Bruselas como por los grabados que circularon desde fecha temprana.

 

A finales del siglo XVI, los Carracci tuvieron en cuenta estos diseños en su afán por absorber el estilo más clásico de Rafael, el de sus años romanos. Ya en el siglo XVII, Poussin acusó una influencia de ellos casi de dependencia, y en general fueron seguidos como referencia para la pintura de temas históricos hasta principios del XIX. Los prerrafaelitas ingleses, al preferir a Botticelli y rechazar a Rafael, intentaban erradicar la influencia del clasicismo plasmado en estos cartones.

Los Cartones de Rafael ilustran escenas de las vidas de san Pedro y san Pablo. Ponen el énfasis en varios puntos que eran relevantes en las polémicas religiosas de los años previos a la Reforma luterana, y recalcan especialmente el papel de san Pedro como fundador del papado de Roma. Las escenas que eligió Rafael eran relativamente inusuales en el Arte, menos trilladas que las relativas a Jesucristo y la Virgen María, por lo que tuvo menos limitaciones para idearlas.

   

Guido Reni (Bologna, November 4, 1575 - Bologna, August 18, 1642) - St. Andrew Corsini (1635-40) - Oil on canvas 235 x 139 - National Gallery, Bologna

 

Fu uno dei più grandi pittori del ‘600, figlio del musicista Daniele. Seguì inizialmente le orme paterne, ma lasciò gli studi musicali preferendo la pittura di cui imparò i primi rudimenti nella bottega del fiammingo Denijs Calvaert, con cui studiavano anche Albani e Domenichino. Fu tra i primi a entrare nell’Accademia dei Carracci, già nel 1582, quando era ancora la semplice Accademia del Naturale. Nel 1598 è già un pittore affermato: in quell’anno realizzò l’Incoronazione della Vergine e santi per la chiesa di San Bernardo (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale) e vinse la gara per gli affreschi allegorici in onore della venuta di Clemente VIII sulla facciata del Palazzo del Reggimento, l’odierno palazzo comunale, già perduti nell’800.

Nel 1601 giunse a Roma, dove imparò a coniugare il classicismo emiliano con le nuove idee caravaggesche, dipingendo diversi capolavori: il Martirio di santa Cecilia (Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere), la Crocifissione di san Pietro per l’Abbazia delle Tre Fontane (Pinacoteca Vaticana), il Martirio di sant’Andrea e Eterno in gloria (San Gregorio al Celio), la decorazione della Sala delle Nozze Aldobrandine e della Sala delle Dame del Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano, quella per la Cappella Paolina in Santa Maria Maggiore. Dal 1610 continuò ad alternare soggiorni a Bologna, Roma e Napoli, dipingendo opere di grande importanza per la storia dell’arte come la Strage degli innocenti e il Sansone (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale); l’affresco dell’Aurora per il Casino Rospigliosi Pallavicini, al tempo di proprietà di Scipione Borghese (Roma); l’Atalanta e Ippomene (Napoli, Museo di Capodimonte).

 

was one of the greatest painters of the '600, son of the musician Daniele. Initially followed in his father's footsteps, but left the musical studies preferring the painting of which he learned the first rudiments in the workshop of the Flemish Denijs Calvaert, with whom they studied Albani and Domenichino. He was among the first to enter the Academy of Carracci, already in 1582, when it was still the simple Academy of Natural. In 1598 he was already an established painter: in that year he painted the Coronation of the Virgin and Saints for the church of San Bernardo (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale) and won the competition for the allegorical frescoes in honor of the coming of Clement VIII on the facade of the Palazzo del Reggimento, today's City Hall, already lost in 800.

In 1601 he arrived in Rome, where he learned to combine the classicism of Emilia with the new ideas of Caravaggio, painting several masterpieces: the Martyrdom of St. Cecilia (Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere), the Crucifixion of St. Peter for the Abbey of the Three Fountains (Pinacoteca Vaticana), the Martyrdom of St. Andrew and Eternal in Glory (San Gregorio al Celio), the decoration of the Hall of the Wedding Aldobrandine and the Hall of the Ladies of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, that for the Pauline Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore. From 1610 he continued to alternate stays in Bologna, Rome and Naples, painting works of great importance for the history of art as the Massacre of the Innocents and Samson (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale); the fresco of Aurora for the Casino Rospigliosi Pallavicini, at the time owned by Scipione Borghese (Rome); the Atalanta and Ippomene (Naples, Museo di Capodimonte).

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Plaza GaribaldiLa céntrica Piazza Garibaldi es una de las plazas más bellas de la ciudad. Alberga el Palacio del Ayuntamiento y el Palacio del Gobernador, además de ser punto de encuentro habitual de los habitantes de Parma.La Plaza Garibaldi está ubicada sobre el antiguo foro romano, por lo que desde la antigüedad, esta plaza ha sido el centro vital de Parma. Aquí vienen los parmesanos a disfrutar de los bares y locales más interesantes de la ciudad y siempre se respira una gran movimiento tanto en la plaza como en sus calles adyacentes.El Palacio del Ayuntamiento, un edificio de ladrillo macizo con una logia en la planta baja, fue diseñado por Magnani en 1632 y su construcción se terminó en 1673. El Palazzo del Comune, en italiano, está situado en el lado sur-oriental de la plaza y en su interior cuenta con un magnifico Salón del Consejo decorado con frescos de Girolamo Magnai y Barilli Cécrope datados en 1885. Otros elementos destacables del Palacio son las imágenes de Bernardino Gatti y Girolamo, Annibale Carracci y Spoverini Ilario.Al lado del edificio se levanta un monumento a Correggio de Agostino Ferrarini, erigida en 1870, mientras que una fuente del siglo decimonono diseñada por Paolo Toschi está en el lado opuesto, coronada por un grupo de bronce del siglo XVII del escultor flamenco Teodoro Vandersturck. El original se encuentra ahora en el patio interior de La Casa de la Música.El Palacio del Gobernador, situado en el lado norte de la Plaza Garibaldi de Parma, era la sede del Capitán del Pueblo y combina dos edificios que datan del siglo XIII. En su historia, ha sufrido varias transformaciones, pues fue rediseñado en 1760 por Alexandre Ennemond Petitot, un arquitecto francés que trabajaba en la corte de Felipe de Borbón. La torre, de estilo barroco y construida en 1763, conserva la campana original de la torre cívica que se derrumbó en 1606. Además, una corona de Virgo, situada en el nicho del campanario, fue realizada por el escultor francés JB Boudard. En la fachada destacan dos relojes de sol que fueron instalados en 1829.El Palacio del Gobernador, después de muchos años de trabajos de restauración, se ha abierto de nuevo al público el 16 de enero de 2010 con la exposición Nove100, que tuvo que prolongarse hasta el 16 de mayo, tras haber recibido más de 35.000 visitas. La exposición estaba compuesta por unas 600 fotografías seleccionadas en un plaza de cien años procedentes de la colección del CSAC de la Universidad de Parma. El palacio se ha reconvertido así en un lugar importante dedicado al arte moderno y contemporáneo, donde además del calendario de exposiciones temporales, habrá eventos tales como talleres y reuniones.

 

Ghosts in via Carracci, Bologna

La Basílica de San Domenico es una de las iglesias boloñesas más ricas de historia y de arte, construida por los Frailes Dominicos como lugar para guardar los restos de San Domenico de Guzman, fundador del orden tras llegar a Bolonia alrededor de 1200. En el interior se conservan obras de arte de valor incalculable de autores como Guercino, Filippino Lippi y Ludovico Carracci. En la Capilla de San Domenico está situado el magnífico arca, adornado con esculturas de Miguel Ángel, Nicola Pisano, Alfonso Lombardi y coronado por un cimasio marmóreo moldeado en 1469-73 por Niccolò da Puglia dicho “dell’Arca”, autor también de la Lamentación sobre Cristo Muerto, guardada en la iglesia de Santa Maria della Vita. Obra maestra de la incrustación renacentista es el coro de madera de Fra’ Damiano da Bergamo, definido por los contemporáneos como la octava maravilla del mundo, y también elogiado por el emperador Carlo V. La iglesia presenta también un campanario, construido en 1313 en estilo gótico con una altura de 51 metros. En cambio, el Convento de San Domenico alberga una Biblioteca con un patrimonio de 90.000 volúmenes sobre temas de filosofía, teología, historia y espiritualidad dominicana.

[www.bolognawelcome.com]

Um presépio no interior do Pantheon, em Roma.

The Pantheon's Interior, in Rome.

 

A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Pantheon, Rome.

The Pantheon (Latin: Pantheon, from Greek: Πάνθειον, meaning "Temple of all the gods") is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt circa 126 AD during Hadrian's reign. The intended degree of inclusiveness of this dedication is debated. The generic term pantheon is now applied to a monument in which illustrious dead are buried. It is the best preserved of all Roman buildings, and perhaps the best preserved building of its age in the world. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. The design of the extant building is sometimes credited to Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus, but it is equally likely that the building and the design should be credited to Emperor Hadrian's architects, though not to Hadrian himself as many art scholars once thought. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church. The Pantheon is the oldest standing domed structure in Rome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

n the aftermath of the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Agrippa built and dedicated the original Pantheon during his third consulship (27 BC). Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a huge fire in 80 AD. The current building dates from about 126 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, as date-stamps on the bricks reveal. It was totally reconstructed with the text of the original inscription ("M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT", standing for Latin: Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit translated to "'Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this") which was added to the new facade, a common practice in Hadrian's rebuilding projects all over Rome. Hadrian was a cosmopolitan emperor who travelled widely in the East and was a great admirer of Greek culture. He might have intended the Pantheon, a temple to all the gods, to be a kind of ecumenical or syncretist gesture to the subjects of the Roman Empire who did not worship the old gods of Rome, or who (as was increasingly the case) worshipped them under other names. How the building was actually used is not known.

Cassius Dio, a Graeco-Roman senator, consul and author of a comprehensive History of Rome, writing approximately 75 years after the Pantheon's reconstruction, mistakenly attributed the domed building to Agrippa rather than Hadrian. Dio's book appears to be the only near-contemporary writing on the Pantheon, and it is interesting that even by the year 200 there was uncertainty about the origin of the building and its purpose:

Agrippa finished the construction of the building called the Pantheon. It has this name, perhaps because it received among the images which decorated it the statues of many gods, including Mars and Venus; but my own opinion of the name is that, because of its vaulted roof, it resembles the heavens. (Cassius Dio History of Rome 53.27.2)

The building was repaired by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202 AD, for which there is another, smaller inscription. This inscription reads "pantheum vetustate corruptum cum omni cultu restituerunt" ('with every refinement they restored the Pantheon worn by age').

In 609 the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to Santa Maria ad Martyres, now known as Santa Maria dei Martiri.

The building's consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment, destruction, and the worst of the spoliation which befell the majority of ancient Rome's buildings during the early medieval period. Paul the Deacon records the spoliation of the building by the Emperor Constans II, who visited Rome in July 663:

Remaining at Rome twelve days he pulled down everything that in ancient times had been made of metal for the ornament of the city, to such an extent that he even stripped off the roof of the church [of the blessed Mary] which at one time was called the Pantheon, and had been founded in honor of all the gods and was now by the consent of the former rulers the place of all the martyrs; and he took away from there the bronze tiles and sent them with all the other ornaments to Constantinople.

Much fine external marble has been removed over the centuries, and there are capitals from some of the pilasters in the British Museum. Two columns were swallowed up in the medieval buildings that abbutted the Pantheon on the east and were lost. In the early seventeenth century, Urban VIII Barberini tore away the bronze ceiling of the portico, and replaced the medieval campanile with the famous twin towers built by Maderno, which were not removed until the late nineteenth century. The only other loss has been the external sculptures, which adorned the pediment above Agrippa's inscription. The marble interior and the great bronze doors have survived, although both have been extensively restored.

Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. In the 15th century, the Pantheon was adorned with paintings: the best-known is the Annunciation by Melozzo da Forlì. Architects, like Brunelleschi, who used the Pantheon as help when designing the Cathedral of Florence's dome, looked to the Pantheon as inspiration for their works.

Pope Urban VIII (1623 to 1644) ordered the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon's portico melted down. Most of the bronze was used to make bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant'Angelo, with the remaining amount used by the Apostolic Camera for various other works. It is also said that the bronze was used by Bernini in creating his famous baldachin above the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica, but according to at least one expert, the Pope's accounts state that about 90% of the bronze was used for the cannon, and that the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice. This led the Roman satirical figure Pasquino to issue the famous proverb: Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini ("What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis [Urban VIII's family name] did")

In 1747, the broad frieze below the dome with its false windows was “restored,” but bore little resemblance to the original. In the early decades of the twentieth century, a piece of the original, as could be reconstructed from Renaissance drawings and paintings, was recreated in one of the panels.

Also buried there are two kings of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto's Queen, Margherita. Although Italy has been a republic since 1946, volunteer members of Italian monarchist organizations maintain a vigil over the royal tombs in the Pantheon. This has aroused protests from time to time from republicans, but the Catholic authorities allow the practice to continue, although the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage is in charge of the security and maintenance.

The Pantheon is still used as a church. Masses are celebrated there, particularly on important Catholic days of obligation, and weddings.

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. Though often still drawn as a free-standing building, there was a building at its rear into which it abutted; of this building there are only archaeological remains.

In the walls at the back of the portico were niches, probably for statues of Caesar, Augustus and Agrippa, or for the Capitoline Triad, or another set of gods. The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, still remain but the gold has long since vanished. The pediment was decorated with a sculpture — holes may still be seen where the clamps which held the sculpture in place were fixed.

The 4,535 metric ton (5,000 tn) weight of the concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs 9.1 metres (30 ft) in diameter which form the oculus while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by eight barrel vaults in the 6.4 metre (21 ft) thick drum wall into eight piers. The thickness of the dome varies from 6.4 metres (21 ft) at the base of the dome to 1.2 metres (4 ft) around the oculus. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft), so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (alternatively, the interior could house a sphere 43.3 metres (142 ft) in diameter). The Pantheon holds the record for the largest unreinforced concrete dome. The interior of the roof was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. The Great Eye at the dome's apex is the source of all light in the interior. The oculus also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. During storms, a drainage system below the floor handles the rain that falls through the oculus.

The interior features sunken panels (coffers), which, in antiquity, may have contained bronze stars, rosettes, or other ornaments. This coffering was not only decorative, but also reduced the weight of the roof, as did the elimination of the apex by means of the Great Eye. The top of the rotunda wall features a series of brick-relieving arches, visible on the outside and built into the mass of the brickwork. The Pantheon is full of such devices — for example, there are relieving arches over the recesses inside — but all these arches were hidden by marble facing on the interior and possibly by stone revetment or stucco on the exterior. Some changes have been made in the interior decoration.

It is known from Roman sources that their concrete is made up of a pasty hydrate of lime, with pozzolanic ash (Latin pulvis puteolanum) and lightweight pumice from a nearby volcano, and fist-sized pieces of rock. In this, it is very similar to modern concrete. No tensile test results are available on the concrete used in the Pantheon; however Cowan discussed tests on ancient concrete from Roman ruins in Libya which gave a compressive strength of 2.8 ksi (20 MPa). An empirical relationship gives a tensile strength of 213 psi (1.5 MPa) for this specimen. Finite element analysis of the structure by Mark and Hutchison found a maximum tensile stress of only 18.5 psi (0.13 MPa) at the point where the dome joins the raised outer wall. The stresses in the dome were found to be substantially reduced by the use of successively less dense concrete in higher layers of the dome. Mark and Hutchison estimated that if normal weight concrete had been used throughout the stresses in the arch would have been some 80% higher.

The 16 gray granite columns Hadrian ordered for the Pantheon's pronaos were quarried at Mons Claudianus in Egypt's eastern mountains. Each was 39 feet (11.8 m) tall, five feet (1.5 m) in diameter, and 60 tons in weight. These were dragged on wooden sledges when transporting on land. They were floated by barge down the Nile and transferred to vessels to cross the Mediterranean to the Roman port of Ostia where they were transferred back onto barges and up the Tiber to Rome.

As the best-preserved example of an Ancient Roman monumental building, the Pantheon has been enormously influential in Western Architecture from at least the Renaissance on; starting with Brunelleschi's 42-meter dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, completed in 1436 – the first sizeable dome to be constructed in Western Europe since Late Antiquity. The style of the Pantheon can be detected in many buildings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; numerous city halls, universities and public libraries echo its portico-and-dome structure. Examples of notable buildings influenced by the Pantheon include: the Panthéon in Paris, the Temple in Dartrey, the British Museum Reading Room, Manchester Central Library, Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the Rotunda of Mosta, in Malta, Low Memorial Library at Columbia University, New York, the domed Marble Hall of Sanssouci palace in Potsdam, Germany, the State Library of Victoria, and the Supreme Court Library of Victoria, both in Melbourne, Australia, the 52-meter-tall Ottokár Prohászka Memorial Church in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, Holy Trinity Church in Karlskrona by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, Sweden, The National Gallery of Art West Building by John Russell Pope, located in Washington, D.C, as well as the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

The present high altar and the apse were commissioned by Pope Clement XI (1700-1721) and designed by Alessandro Specchi. In the apse, a copy of a Byzantine icon of the Madonna is enshrined. The original, now in the Chapel of the Canons in the Vatican, has been dated to the 13th century, although tradition claims that it is much older. The choir was added in 1840, and was designed by Luigi Poletti.

The first niche to the right of the entrance holds a Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari (1686) painted by an unknown artist. The first chapel on the right, the Chapel of the Annunciation, has a fresco of the Annunication attributed to Melozzo da Forli. On the left side is a canvas by Clement Maioli of St Lawrence and St Agnes (1645-1650). On the right wall is the Incredulity of St Thomas (1633) by Pietro Paolo Bonzi.

The second niche has a 15th century fresco of the Tuscan school, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. In the second chapel is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II (died 1878). It was originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. A competition was held to decide which architect should be given the honor of designing it. Giuseppe Sacconi participated, but lost — he would later design the tomb of Umberto I in the opposite chapel. Manfredio Manfredi won the competition, and started work in 1885. The tomb consists of a large bronze plaque surmounted by a Roman eagle and the arms of the house of Savoy. The golden lamp above the tomb burns in honor of Victor Emmanuel III, who died in exile in 1947.

The third niche has a sculpture by Il Lorenzone of St Anne and the Blessed Virgin. In the third chapel is a 15th-century painting of the Umbrian school, The Madonna of Mercy between St Francis and St John the Baptist. It is also known as the Madonna of the Railing, because it originally hung in the niche on the left-hand side of the portico, where it was protected by a railing. It was moved to the Chapel of the Annunciation, and then to its present position some time after 1837. The bronze epigram commemorated Pope Clement XI's restoration of the sanctuary. On the right wall is the canvas Emperor Phocas presenting the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV (1750) by an unknown. There are three memorial plaques in the floor, one conmmemorating a Gismonda written in the vernacular. The final niche on the right side has a statue of St. Anastasio (1725) by Bernardino Cametti.

On the first niche to the left of the entrance is an Assumption (1638) by Andrea Camassei. The first chapel on the left, is the Chapel of St Joseph in the Holy Land, and is the chapel of the Confraternity of the Virtuosi at the Pantheon. This refers to the confraternity of artists and musicians that was formed here by a 16th-century Canon of the church, Desiderio da Segni, to ensure that worship was maintained in the chapel. The first members were, among others, Antonio da Sangallo the younger, Jacopo Meneghino, Giovanni Mangone, Zuccari, Domenico Beccafumi and Flaminio Vacca. The confraternity continued to draw members from the elite of Rome's artists and architects, and among later members we find Bernini, Cortona, Algardi and many others. The institution still exists, and is now called the Academia Ponteficia di Belle Arti (The Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts), based in the palace of the Cancelleria. The altar in the chapel is covered with false marble. On the altar is a statue of St Joseph and the Holy Child by Vincenzo de Rossi. To the sides are paintings (1661) by Francesco Cozza, one of the Virtuosi: Adoration of the Shepherds on left side and Adoration of the Magi on right. The stucco relief on the left, Dream of St Joseph is by Paolo Benaglia, and the one on the right, Rest during the flight from Egypt is by Carlo Monaldi. On the vault are several 17th-century canvases, from left to right: Cumean Sibyl by Ludovico Gimignani; Moses by Francesco Rosa; Eternal Father by Giovanni Peruzzini; David by Luigi Garzi and finally Eritrean Sibyl by Giovanni Andrea Carlone.

The second niche has a statue of St Agnes, by Vincenco Felici. The bust on the left is a portrait of Baldassare Peruzzi, derived from a plaster portrait by Giovanni Duprè. The tomb of King Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia is in the next chapel. The chapel was originally dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, and then to St. Thomas the Apostle. The present design is by Giuseppe Sacconi, completed after his death by his pupil Guido Cirilli. The tomb consists of a slab of alabaster mounted in gilded bronze. The frieze has allegorical representations of Generosity, by Eugenio Maccagnani, and Munificence, by Arnaldo Zocchi. The royal tombs are maintained by the National Institute of Honour Guards to the Royal Tombs, founded in 1878. They also organize picket guards at the tombs. The altar with the royal arms is by Cirilli.

The third niche holds the mortal remains — his Ossa et cineres, "Bones and ashes", as the inscription on the sarcophagus says — of the great artist Raphael. His fiancée, Maria Bibbiena is buried to the right of his sarcophagus; she died before they could marry. The sarcophagus was given by Pope Gregory XVI, and its insription reads ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI / RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI, meaning "Here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die". The epigraph was written by Pietro Bembo. The present arrangement is from 1811, designed by Antonio Munoz. The bust of Raphael (1833) is by Giuseppe Fabris. The two plaques commemorate Maria Bibbiena and Annibale Carracci. Behind the tomb is the statue known as the Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the Rock) so named because she rests one foot on a boulder. It was commissioned by Raphael and made by Lorenzetto in 1524.

In the Chapel of the Crucifixion, the Roman brick wall is visible in the niches. The wooden crucifix on the altar is from the 15th century. On the left wall is a Descent of the Holy Ghost (1790) by Pietro Labruzi. On the right side is the low relief Cardinal Consalvi presents to Pope Pius VII the five provinces restored to the Holy See (1824) made by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bust is a portrait of Cardinal Agostino Rivarola. The final niche on this side has a statue of St. Rasius (S. Erasio) (1727) by Francesco Moderati.

X-ray view of the original painting that bring to light the regrets of the painter up to the final work, currently at Museo Del Prado, Madrid.

Photography and cinemagraph by Shane Taremi

For more of Shane’s cinemagraphs see www.shanetaremi.com or a direct link to my cinemagraph gallery below

www.shanetaremi.com/All-galleries/Movies/Cinemagraphs-liv...

c. 1594. Oli sobre tela. 180 x 130 cm. Galeria Borghese, Roma. 023. Obra exposada: Sala 2.

© All rights reserved. Please don't use my images for any purpose, including on websites or blogs, without my explicit permission

 

The Corridor was built in 1564 by Giorgio Vasari. It served to link up the Pitti Palace, where the Grand Duke resided, with the Uffizi (or offices) where he worked.

 

It is a covered walk, almost a kilometre in length, an overhead passageway that starts out from the West Corridor of the Gallery, heads towards the Arno and then, raised up by huge arches, follows the river as far as the Ponte Vecchio, which it crosses by passing on top of the shops. The meat market on the bridge was at this time trasferred elsewhere, so as not to offend the Grand Duke's sensitive nose with unpleasant smells on his walk, and replaced (from 1593) with the goldsmiths who continue to work there today.

On the other side of the Arno, the corridor passes through the interior of the church of Santa Felicita. Down the tops of the houses and the gardens of the Guicciardini family until it finally reaches the Boboli gardens (one of the exits stands beside Buontalenti's Grotto) and the apartments in the Pitti Palace.

 

The passageway contains over 1000 paintings, all dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the important collection of Self-portraits by some of the most famous masters of painting of the 16th to the 20th century like Bernini, Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, Salvator Rosa, Rubens, Rembrandt, Canova, Hayez, Corot, Ingres, Delacroix, Ensor and many others.

 

This photo is taken from the Uffizi

Agostino Carracci, dit aussi Caracci ou Augustin Carrache, né à Bologne le 16 août 1557 et mort à Parme le 22 mars 1602, est un peintre italien de la Renaissance.

 

Il s'est surtout illustré par le tableau de la Communion de S. Jérôme regardé comme un chef-d'œuvre. Augustin aida son frère Annibal dans une partie des travaux de la galerie Farnèse. Il est également célèbre comme graveur ; enfin, il composa pour l'Académie de Bologne un Traité de perspective et d'architecture.

 

Les gravures d'Augustin Carrache ont également été copiées par de nombreux autres artistes tel que Cornélis Galle par exemple.

 

www.musee-calvet.org/beaux-arts-archeologie/fr/oeuvre/etu...

  

La Iglesia, cuyos orígenes se remontan a muchos siglos atrás, inicialmente pertenecía a la Orden de San Benito. Después de albergar a un grupo de monjas en el siglo XIII, en 1516 la iglesia fue demolida para ser reemplazada por un edificio más grande diseñado por Andrea da Formigine, quien construyó el pórtico y lo enriqueció con finas decoraciones (ahora dañadas).

A finales del siglo XVI, se entregó a los teatinos, cuya iglesia fue reconstruida por G. Battista Natali y Agostino Barelli: se agregó al edificio original un nuevo campanario y una nueva cúpula. Después de eso, los monjes decidieron renombrarlo después del fundador de su orden, dando así a la iglesia un nuevo título: San Bartolomeo (el nombre original) y San Gaetano Thiene (su fundador). Dentro de la iglesia, se pueden encontrar muchas pinturas de Lodovico Carracci, Guido Reni y otros. Además, junto al altar mayor hay una pequeña capilla donde fue enterrada la mística boloñesa Prudenziana Zagnoni.

[www.zonzofox.com]

Annibale Carracci, Il Mangiafagioli (The Bean[s] eater), 1583-85, Olio su tela (Oil on canvas), 57 x 68 [57] cm - 22 x 27 [22] in, Galleria Colonna, Roma

 

Altro titolo - Another title: What does ECB President Christine Lagarde eat?, 2023

 

[Fototeca Fondazione Omeri]

 

sites.google.com/view/fabioomero/testi/le-foto-di-artists

 

www.galleriacolonna.it/galleria-colonna/

Orazio Gentileschi - Danae

 

Orazio Gentileschi’s majestic Danaë is one of the finest masterpieces of the Italian seventeenth century and the most important Baroque painting to come to the market in living memory. Commissioned in 1621 by the nobleman Giovanni Antonio Sauli for his palazzo in Genoa, the painting remained in the family until the twentieth century. The Sauli series was amongst the most important commissions Orazio received, and includes a Penitent Magdalene (fig. 1), in a New York private collection, and a Lot and his Daughters (fig. 2), in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.1 The sensuality and splendor of the Danaë draw together the Caravaggesque naturalism prevalent in early seventeenth-century Italy with the refinement and color which mark the mature style of Gentileschi, one of the most elegant and individual figures of the Italian Baroque.

 

As Cupid pulls back the luxuriant dark green curtain, allowing Jupiter to enter in the guise of a shower of gold, Danaë lies on her bed awaiting her fate in an expanse of white and gold which is punctuated by a red mattress, and we too are invited to peer into the narrative of eroticism and seduction. The artist’s restraint and grace, however, mean the scene does not spill into the vulgar and Orazio’s Danaë, the lower half of her body turned away from the approaching gold, remains a chaste figure accepting of her inescapable destiny. This is quite unlike Titian’s sexual and consenting Danaë in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, which Orazio would have known from his time in Rome when it hung in the Palazzo Farnese.

 

Gentileschi seamlessly blends the movement and dynamism of the falling gold coins and ribbons with the serenity of Danaë's sculptural physicality and classical appeal. The diagonal line formed by the curtain which Cupid holds aloft parallels both the coins and Danaë’s arm, accentuating the speed of the gold’s penetration into the scene. Gentileschi’s picture could also be considered one of the highpoints of early seventeenth-century still-life painting since it is a meticulously observed study of light, surface and color. The various different textures of gold, the sheen of the fabrics, ranging from the gold bedcover to the cool white linen, the deep crimson mattress, the gilt bed and the artichoke-shaped bed knobs are of the very highest order. So too is the enticing transparent veil that covers Danaë’s modesty – in stark contrast to Cupid’s genitals, which are very deliberately exposed. Perhaps even more remarkable is the extraordinary skill and success in the description of the dramatis personae themselves: Danaë’s alluring pearly flesh; the effortless weight of her elbow on the pillow; the careful portrayal of the delicate feathers of Cupid’s wings; the plunging gold coins and spiraling ribbons that bear images of Jupiter and of his symbol, the thunderbolt.

 

The subject

 

Greek mythology, adapted and recounted in Latin in the verses of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, relates that the beautiful Danaë was locked away in a bronze tower by her father, King Acrisius of Argos. Disappointed that he and his wife Eurydice had not produced a male heir, Acrisius consulted an oracle, who informed him, unexpectedly, that his daughter’s son would kill him. In order to keep her childless, therefore, the king banished Danaë to a tower, away from the reach of men. While no mortal could gain access to Danaë, her imprisonment was no obstacle to Jupiter and his insatiable desire for young maidens. Transforming himself into a shower of golden rain, Jupiter lay with Danaë and impregnated her, conceiving the boy who would become the hero Perseus, famed for killing the Medusa and for rescuing Andromeda. When Perseus was born Acrisius threw both mother and son out to sea in a wooden chest, but Poseidon, the sea god, calmed the choppy waters and saved them. Later in life Perseus would indeed kill Acrisius, thereby affirming the inescapability of fate.

 

While the subject matter was at times clearly employed as a morally acceptable vehicle for portraying and celebrating the female nude, in much the same way as the theme of Susanna and the Elders was employed, it also presented an opportunity to explore a complex and multi-layered theme. The figure of Danaë, somewhat counter-intuitively, had been taken as an emblem of moral chastity, and since Perseus’ conception only took place through divine intervention, the Church was not slow in appropriating the theme as a prefiguration of the Annunciation. The potential similarities with the Christian Annunciation must surely end there: even though Gentileschi places the tale of Danaë in a framework of sensuality rather than covetousness, his depiction of the nude does not shy away from celebrating the overtly erotic aspects of the story. The tale must also, on some level, be a cautionary though thinly veiled allegory; even locked away in a tower, Danaë, representative of all mankind, not just women, is helpless to resist the lure of money.

 

Orazio and Caravaggio

 

Orazio Gentileschi was born in Pisa in 1563, the son of Giovanni Battista di Bartolomeo Lomi, a Florentine goldsmith. As late as 1593, when the artist would have been 30, he is recorded as receiving payment for the design of medals for the feast of Saint Peter, so it is likely that he intended to follow in his father’s footsteps professionally to some degree. By his late 30s, however, Orazio seems to have been committed to painting, as his destroyed altarpiece from 1596 in the church of San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome, would suggest. Once he became an established artist, however, his success was impressive. During his lifetime Orazio was probably the most successful of all Caravaggio’s associates, and certainly the most internationally patronized. His travels, in fact, did much to spread knowledge of Caravaggio’s style overseas and made him one of the most peripatetic painters of the century. His career took him to Florence, the Marches, Rome, Genoa, Paris and London, where he became court painter to Charles I in 1626, and where he was to remain until his death some thirteen years later.

 

Although eight years older than Caravaggio, Orazio was still a relatively under-developed artist by the time he came into contact with his revolutionary tenebrist style. He very much belonged to a previous generation of artists whose point of reference would have been the work of the Carracci family, and whose artistic formation was rooted in the sixteenth century. Indeed, the inspiration for the present composition is the painting of the same subject, variously ascribed to Annibale Carracci, Francesco Albani and Domenichino, which was formerly in Bridgewater House but destroyed during the Second World War (fig. 3).3 A preparatory drawing for the Bridgewater painting, certainly by Annibale Carracci, is in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.4 As Carracci and his busy workshop were active in Rome, Orazio would likely have come across the composition there, be it via the painting or the drawing, and perhaps made a study of it for use at a later date.

 

The immediate maturing of Orazio’s style, not to mention career acceleration, owed much to his association with his younger acquaintance Caravaggio, and can be seen as a defining period of his life. The two artists probably met in Rome around 1600, shortly after Caravaggio’s ground-breaking canvases, depicting the story of the Evangelist Matthew, were first shown in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.5 It is at times difficult for a modern audience to appreciate quite how powerful and extraordinary Caravaggio’s canvases appeared when they were unveiled, and what an impact they made on his peers. Orazio was certainly awe-struck, but the little we know for certain of the two artists’ interaction is limited to the transcripts of the lawsuit for defamation which another artist, Giovanni Baglione, brought against Caravaggio and Gentileschi in 1603. Caravaggio actually denied being friends with Gentileschi but we know that this must have been an exaggeration for at the very least there was a strong working relationship of some sort. It is recorded that Caravaggio had borrowed from Orazio a capuchin’s cowl and a pair of swan’s wings, presumably for use as props for a painting. One might tentatively propose that Orazio made use of these props in his Stigmatization of Saint Francis from 1600, in a private collection, and may even have reused them later in the Saint Francis Supported by an Angel, from around 1607, today in the Prado, Madrid (fig. 4).

 

However, the lyricism and sense of color which Orazio was never to abandon, and which were in part a result of his Tuscan late-mannerist training, meant that the term Caravaggesque can apply to Gentileschi only in part. His work is certainly not Caravaggesque in the way one might thus label artists such as Bartolomeo Manfredi, whose work often displays a forceful use of light and is populated by low-life figures. Gentileschi was one of the few artists of his generation, in fact, who succeeded in blending Caravaggesque naturalism with formal sophistication, and in using light as an instrument to celebrate beauty rather than as a theatrical device, Orazio proved to be one of the most graceful, personal and innovative artists of the period, as the present Danaë testifies.

 

During these key years Gentileschi repeatedly made use of Caravaggio’s topos of presenting a single figure, lost in contemplation, and close to the picture plane, against a background that is bare but for a few details. While Caravaggio was intent on exploring the dramatic potential of a scene, however, Orazio focused on stylistic mannerisms, concentrating, for example, on the silvery fall of light on feathers in his aforementioned Saint Francis Supported by a an Angel in Madrid, as well as his treatment of the same subject in the Galleria Barberini, Rome.7 He brings a similar approach to the delightful description of colorful silks, such as in his wonderful Young Woman Playing a Lute (fig. 5) from 1612-15 in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.8 This interest in achieving visual harmony rather than creating dynamic impact can be found throughout Gentileschi’s career and is clearly manifest in the present work.

 

The Sauli Commission

 

By 1620 Orazio had established himself in Rome as an artist of great repute, working, amongst others, for the Borghese family. In 1621 a second defining moment in his career took place when the Genoese patrician Giovanni Antonio Sauli arrived in Rome with a delegation sent in honor of the new Pope Alessandro Ludovisi, who took the name Gregory XV. While Sauli is thought to have met Orazio for the first time in Rome, he probably already knew of his work since Orazio’s brother, Aurelio Lomi, had in fact lived in Genoa from 1597 to 1604 and had worked for the Sauli family, producing two canvases for the basilica of Santa Maria in Carignano, a Last Judgement and a Resurrection of Christ.9 Whatever the precise context, Sauli was impressed enough by Orazio’s work to invite him back to Genoa - where the artist was to remain until he left for France in 1624 - acting as an advisor for Sauli’s burgeoning picture gallery and producing paintings directly for him.

 

The Ligurian capital was enjoying a period of unprecedented wealth and transformation. Genoa, “La Superba,” had established itself as the leading banking and commercial center of the Spanish Hapsburg Empire in northern and central Europe, and in the Mediterranean. The atmosphere of the artistic milieu was no less febrile: Peter Paul Rubens had already left his indelible mark on the city with his portraits and altarpieces, particularly the Circumcision commissioned by Nicolò Pallavicino for the church of the Gesù; Guido Reni’s paintings, in particular his Assumption of the Virgin from 1617, already adorned the family chapel of Cardinal Stefano Durazzo, also in the Gesù; Anthony Van Dyck was to arrive in the same year as Gentileschi. All three of these artists were fascinated by color and the effects of light. It is perhaps little wonder then that it was amidst this stimulating Genoese setting that Orazio was to complete three masterpieces for Sauli’s palazzo which represent the apogee of his career: the present Danaë, the New York Penitent Magdalene, which is based on the same cartoon as the Danaë, and the Getty’s Lot and his Daughters. Carlo Giuseppe Ratti, editor of the 1768 edition of Raffaele Soprani’s account of various artists and their work in Genoa (see Literature), singled out the Danaë as the finest of the set.

 

In both form and content, the poetics of Gentileschi’s approach are remarkable. The subject matter of the Sauli paintings are taken from disparate sources: the present work is drawn from classical mythology; the Getty Lot and his Daughters is taken from the Old Testament scriptures; the story of the Penitent Magdalene is an apocryphal Christian tale. If a carefully defined iconographical program were intended, and there is no evidence that was the case, the uniting thread between the three would surely point to the rapport between women, God and different types of love, each picture representing a distinct facet of this relationship. Danaë, invitingly veiled in a richly embroidered bedroom, represents sensual love and physical union. The Magdalene, chastely covered in part by her brown robes and meditating alone in a cave, symbolizes cerebral and devotional love after her conversion. Lot’s daughters, on the other hand, depict a moral challenge for they are caught between the sin of incest and the divine order to ensure that their genealogical line is not extinguished after the destruction of Sodom.

 

The compositions may perhaps just as well have been conceived within a visual framework rather than an iconographical one (see fold-out on p. 15). The Magdalene and the Danaë, both single-figure paintings, are based on the same cartoon and may have flanked the more complex and multi-figured design of the Lot and his Daughters, which compositionally forms a neat downward-facing triangle at its center. The Danaë may have hung to the right of the Lot, for while her body draws the eye to the right, her raised arm and the momentum of the coins could usefully create the right wing of the "triptych." The Magdalene’s pose would indicate that she would have hung to the left. There is no suggestion that the pictures actually hung in a line, however, so at this stage any discussion on the potential layout of the pictures remains firmly rooted in the realm of conjecture.

 

The Sauli pictures were so successful that Gentileschi’s status in Genoa as a great artist was ensured. Marcantonio Doria, another local aristocrat, employed Orazio on the elaborate fresco decorations (now lost) of the ceilings of his casino at Sanpierdarena outside Genoa, where Simon Vouet also participated. Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy, also came to know of Gentileschi’s work and in 1623 ordered the Annunciation in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin.10 Further versions of the Sauli paintings themselves were also produced, and attest to their immediate success and popularity: the Clevelend Museum of Art houses a second version of the Danaë, which was possibly in the collection of the Duke of Sunderland by the mid-eighteenth century.11 Further versions of the Magdalene are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, in a New York private collection, and further inferior versions are known. The Getty’s Lot and his Daughters was replicated at least four times, the best versions probably the autograph variant in the National Gallery of Art, Ottawa, and the painting in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, though the latter should be considered a studio work at best.

 

Versions

 

It was quite common practice in the seventeenth century for artists to paint second versions, and Orazio is known to have done so on numerous occasions beside those related to the Sauli pictures. Earlier in his career, for example, he had produced a second version, today in a private collection, of the Saint Jerome in the Museo Civico in Turin.14 For the second version of the Danaë in Cleveland (fig. 6, 163.4 by 228.7 cm.), Gentileschi made use of the same cartoon as for the Sauli picture but introduced some minor changes, perhaps the most significant of which is the rather anxious expression on Danaë's face which contrasts with the more serene look of the prototype. Marginally larger than the present work, the Cleveland painting was understandably widely (though not unanimously) thought to be the lost Sauli original when it was rediscovered in 1971, five years before the present picture resurfaced. There can now be no doubt, however, that the Cleveland painting is the second version since it lacks the obvious pentimenti of the present work such as those in Danaë’s right shoulder and around Cupid’s right upper arm. It is also painted in a more rigid manner, as is often the case with second versions, since by the time of their execution the designs had already been resolved. When the two pictures were closely compared on the occasion of the 2001 exhibition, it became evident that the Cleveland picture was in fact produced from a tracing. Similarly, the use of glazes, which in the Feigen Danaë create a sense of transparency in the sheets and allow the light to shimmer on the various surfaces, is absent from the Cleveland version, which by contrast appears somewhat ponderous, in part, it should be added, due to its less than satisfactory condition.

 

Danaë in relation to other paintings in Orazio’s oeuvre

 

From both the compositional and stylistic points of view, the Sauli Danaë fits perfectly into Orazio’s work from the early 1620s and epitomizes his artistic early maturity, arguably his most accomplished period, though he never totally abandoned his earlier style. Danaë’s rhetorical gesture, for example, echoes the figure of Saint Cecilia in a work from 1606-07, the Saints Cecilia, Valerianus and Tiburtius visited by the Angel (fig. 7) in the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, while similar gestures, which border on the self-conscious, are also to be found in the aforementioned Annunciation in Turin (fig. 8) from 1623. A similar control in the rendering of shimmering fabrics can be seen in the handling of the bedsheets in the sumptuous red and blue folds of the Turin Annunciation, as well as the yellow and blue robes of the figure of Public Felicity in the Louvre, Paris.16 A useful comparison might be made with Orazio’s inviting Cleopatra (fig. 9) from the early 1610s, today in an Italian private collection, which has also at times been ascribed to Orazio’s daughter, Artemisia.17 The picture demonstrates quite how far Orazio’s style had evolved by the 1620s. During this earlier artistic phase Orazio’s description of the white linen sheet and the red folds of the curtains are still very much rooted in a strong Caravaggesque naturalism which cannot yet boast the elegance or refinement of the present picture. Moreover, the corpulent female figure type is deliberately bold and overtly sexual by comparison, and has not yet developed into the graceful, restrained and painterly figure of the present Danaë.

 

Provenance

 

The painting’s provenance can be traced from Palazzo Sauli to the present day. The three Sauli pictures are listed in inventories from 1661, 1663 and 1668 of works bequeathed by Sauli to his son Francesco Maria. The artists Domenico Piola and Bernardo Carbone valued the collection at 14,630 Genoese lire, with the Danaë and the Lot both listed at 3,760 lire and the Magdalene at 1,880 lire.18 The paintings hung in the picture gallery and were seen there by Carlo Giuseppe Ratti in 1780 as well as by the anonymous author of the Descrizione della Città di Genova (see Literature) in 1818.

The paintings were probably removed from the palazzo in 1852, when the property was sold by Costantino Sauli who had inherited the property via Domenico Maria Ignazio Sauli and Domenico Sauli. Costantino died intestate in 1853 so his goods were distributed among his three daughters: Maria, who was unmarried; Bianca, who married Domenico de Mari; and Luisa, who married Francesco Camillo Pallavicino. Luisa’s daughter Maria Teresa married Lazzaro Negrotto Cambiaso and their son was Pierfrancesco (also known as Pierotto) Negrotto Cambiaso, who, conveniently, was his aunt Maria’s heir, thereby reuniting many Sauli possessions. Wilhelm Suida’s guide of 1906 (see Literature) confirms that the Magdalene from the set was indeed in Pierfrancesco’s possession. In 1924 Pierfrancesco married Matilde Giustiniani Durazzo Pallavicini, who inherited his goods after his death. Matilde died childless and bequeathed her estate to her niece Carlotta Giustiniani Cattaneo-Adorno, in whose villa the painting was rediscovered, along with the Magdalene and, confusingly, the Thyssen (not the Getty) Lot and his Daughters.

 

The journey of the Sauli Lot and his Daughters to its present home in the Getty is more circuitous. Though the picture only resurfaced in 1997, it had been known through a photograph in the archives of the Museo del Palazzo Rosso in Genoa, where it was recorded as belonging to a certain Mr Teophilatus, who had died in 1910. The confusion over the provenance of the Getty picture was compounded by the fact that when the other two pictures in the Sauli set were discovered, the Thyssen version of the Lot and his Daughters was hanging with them, not the Getty prototype. It is entirely reasonable that copies of the originals were made to hang in other family palazzi, as is stated in the Sauli inventories, and as confirmed by Cataldi Gallo (see Literature). This would certainly explain why the inventory of 1735 lists a copy of the Lot as measuring 5 by 7 palmi, or roughly 124 by 175 cms, not too far off the 120 by 169 cm of the Thyssen Lot. The Getty/Sauli Lot did not travel far from Genoa, however: the next confirmed sighting was in the 1920s when it emerged that a Mrs Margaret Pole kept the picture in her Ligurian villa at Diano Marina, near Imperiale. She is believed to have taken the work to England between 1925 and 1927 and it was her heirs who sold the painting to the Getty in 1997.

 

The Thyssen painting can be categorically excluded from the original Sauli set not only for its inferior quality but also because of its smaller size. Moreover, in an enlightening article from 2001, Leonard, Khandekar and Carr (see Literature) describe how restoration of the pictures confirmed that each of them had been cut diagonally at the lower corners, as if to fit a particular set of frames with spandrels. The Feigen picture had in fact also been cut diagonally in the upper corners. None of the other versions of the Lot and his Daughters shows evidence of this, and nor do the Cleveland Danaë or any of the other versions of the Penitent Magdalene.

 

While one cannot prove the movement of the present painting between 1818, the last written record of it in the collection of Carlotta Giustiniani Cattaneo-Adorno (see Poleggi, under Literature), and 1975, the year the picture resurfaced, the family links between the Sauli and the Giustiniani Cattaneo-Adorno present a very strong case for the painting having remained within the family. That Suida (see Literature) should have seen the Sauli Magdalene in the palace of Pierfrancesco Negrotto Cambiaso in 1906 and that the Magdalene and the Danaë were still together in 1975 only lends weight to the theory. In 1975 the Danaë and the Magdalene were purchased by the Englishman Thomas P. Grange. The Danaë was sold by his widow to Richard Feigen, who subsequently sold it to a family trust.

 

www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/master-paint...

Bologna (/bəˈloʊnjə/, UK also /bəˈlɒnjə/, Italian: [boˈloɲɲa]; Emilian: Bulåggna [buˈlʌɲːa]; Latin: Bononia) is a city in and the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy, of which it is also its largest. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its metropolitan area is home to more than 1,000,000 people. It is known as the Fat City for its rich cuisine, and the Red City for its Spanish-style red tiled rooftops and, more recently, its leftist politics. It is also called the Learned City because it is home to the oldest university in the world.

 

Originally Etruscan, the city has been an important urban center for centuries, first under the Etruscans (who called it Felsina), then under the Celts as Bona, later under the Romans (Bonōnia), then again in the Middle Ages, as a free municipality and later signoria, when it was among the largest European cities by population. Famous for its towers, churches and lengthy porticoes, Bologna has a well-preserved historical centre, thanks to a careful restoration and conservation policy which began at the end of the 1970s. Home to the oldest university in continuous operation, the University of Bologna, established in AD 1088, the city has a large student population that gives it a cosmopolitan character. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, a UNESCO "City of Music" and became part of the Creative Cities Network. In 2021 UNESCO recognized the lengthy porticoes of the city as a World Heritage Site.

 

Bologna is an important agricultural, industrial, financial and transport hub, where many large mechanical, electronic and food companies have their headquarters as well as one of the largest permanent trade fairs in Europe. According to recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index (E-REGI) of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city and the 47th European city in terms of its economic growth rate; in 2022 Il Sole 24 Ore named Bologna the best city in Italy for overall quality of life.

 

History

 

Antiquity and Middle Ages

 

Traces of human habitation in the area of Bologna go back to the 3rd millennium BCE, with significant settlements from about the 9th century BCE (Villanovan culture). The influence of Etruscan civilization reached the area in the 7th to 6th centuries, and the Etruscan city of Felsina was established at the site of Bologna by the end of the 6th century. By the 4th century BCE, the site was occupied by the Gaulish Boii, and it became a Roman colony and municipium with the name of Bonōnia in 196 BCE. During the waning years of the Western Roman Empire Bologna was repeatedly sacked by the Goths. It is in this period that legendary Bishop Petronius, according to ancient chronicles, rebuilt the ruined town and founded the basilica of Saint Stephen. Petronius is still revered as the patron saint of Bologna.

 

In 727–28, the city was sacked and captured by the Lombards under King Liutprand, becoming part of that kingdom. These Germanic conquerors built an important new quarter, called "addizione longobarda" (Italian meaning "Longobard addition") near the complex of St. Stephen.[20] In the last quarter of the 8th century, Charlemagne, at the request of Pope Adrian I, invaded the Lombard Kingdom, causing its eventual demise. Occupied by Frankish troops in 774 on behalf of the papacy, Bologna remained under imperial authority and prospered as a frontier mark of the Carolingian empire.

 

Bologna was the center of a revived study of law, including the scholar Irnerius (c 1050 – after 1125) and his famous students, the Four Doctors of Bologna.

 

After the death of Matilda of Tuscany in 1115, Bologna obtained substantial concessions from Emperor Henry V. However, when Frederick Barbarossa subsequently attempted to strike down the deal, Bologna joined the Lombard League, which then defeated the imperial armies at the Battle of Legnano and established an effective autonomy at the Peace of Constance in 1183. Subsequently, the town began to expand rapidly and became one of the main commercial trade centres of northern Italy thanks to a system of canals that allowed barges and ships to come and go. Believed to have been established in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered the world's oldest university in continuous operation. The university originated as a centre for the study of medieval Roman law under major glossators, including Irnerius. It numbered Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch among its students. The medical school was especially renowned. By 1200, Bologna was a thriving commercial and artisanal centre of about 10,000 people.

 

During a campaign to support the imperial cities of Modena and Cremona against Bologna, Frederick II's son, King Enzo of Sardinia, was defeated and captured on 26 May 1249 at the Battle of Fossalta. Though the emperor demanded his release, Enzo was thenceforth kept a knightly prisoner in Bologna, in a palace that came to be named Palazzo Re Enzo after him. Every attempt to escape or to rescue him failed, and he died after more than 22 years in captivity. After the death of his half-brothers Conrad IV in 1254, Frederick of Antioch in 1256 and Manfred in 1266, as well as the execution of his nephew Conradin in 1268, he was the last of the Hohenstaufen heirs.

 

During the late 1200s, Bologna was affected by political instability when the most prominent families incessantly fought for the control of the town. The free commune was severely weakened by decades of infighting, allowing the Pope to impose the rule of his envoy Cardinal Bertrand du Pouget in 1327. Du Pouget was eventually ousted by a popular rebellion and Bologna became a signoria under Taddeo Pepoli in 1334. By the arrival of the Black Death in 1348, Bologna had 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, reduced to just 20,000 to 25,000 after the plague.

 

In 1350, Bologna was conquered by archbishop Giovanni Visconti, the new lord of Milan. But following a rebellion by the town's governor, a renegade member of the Visconti family, Bologna was recuperated to the papacy in 1363 by Cardinal Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz after a long negotiation involving a huge indemnity paid to Bernabò Visconti, Giovanni's heir, who died in 1354. In 1376, Bologna again revolted against Papal rule and joined Florence in the unsuccessful War of the Eight Saints. However, extreme infighting inside the Holy See after the Western Schism prevented the papacy from restoring its domination over Bologna, so it remained relatively independent for some decades as an oligarchic republic. In 1401, Giovanni I Bentivoglio took power in a coup with the support of Milan, but the Milanese, having turned his back on them and allied with Florence, marched on Bologna and had Giovanni killed the following year. In 1442, Hannibal I Bentivoglio, Giovanni's nephew, recovered Bologna from the Milanese, only to be assassinated in a conspiracy plotted by Pope Eugene IV three years later. But the signoria of the Bentivoglio family was then firmly established, and the power passed to his cousin Sante Bentivoglio, who ruled until 1462, followed by Giovanni II. Giovanni II managed to resist the expansionist designs of Cesare Borgia for some time, but on 7 October 1506, Pope Julius II issued a bull deposing and excommunicating Bentivoglio and placing the city under interdict. When the papal troops, along with a contingent sent by Louis XII of France, marched against Bologna, Bentivoglio and his family fled. Julius II entered the city triumphantly on 10 November.

 

Early modern

 

The period of Papal rule over Bologna (1506–1796) has been generally evaluated by historians as one of severe decline. However, this was not evident in the 1500s, which were marked by some major developments in Bologna. In 1530, Emperor Charles V was crowned in Bologna, the last of the Holy Roman Emperors to be crowned by the pope. In 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the main building of the university. The period of Papal rule saw also the construction of many churches and other religious establishments, and the restoration of older ones. At this time, Bologna had ninety-six convents, more than any other Italian city. Painters working in Bologna during this period established the Bolognese School which includes Annibale Carracci, Domenichino, Guercino, and others of European fame.

 

It was only towards the end of the 16th century that severe signs of decline began to manifest. A series of plagues in the late 16th to early 17th century reduced the population of the city from some 72,000 in the mid-16th century to about 47,000 by 1630. During the 1629–1631 Italian plague alone, Bologna lost up to a third of its population] In the mid-17th century, the population stabilized at roughly 60,000, slowly increasing to some 70,000 by the mid-18th century. The economy of Bologna started to show signs of severe decline as the global centres of trade shifted towards the Atlantic. The traditional silk industry was in a critical state. The university was losing students, who once came from all over Europe, because of the illiberal attitudes of the Church towards culture (especially after the trial of Galileo). Bologna continued to suffer a progressive deindustrialisation also in the 18th century.

 

In the mid-1700s, Pope Benedict XIV, a Bolognese, tried to reverse the decline of the city with a series of reforms intended to stimulate the economy and promote the arts. However, these reforms achieved only mixed results. The pope's efforts to stimulate the decaying textile industry had little success, while he was more successful in reforming the tax system, liberalising trade and relaxing the oppressive system of censorship.

 

The economic and demographic decline of Bologna became even more noticeable starting in the second half of the 18th century. In 1790, the city had 72,000 inhabitants, ranking as the second largest in the Papal States; however, this figure had remained unchanged for decades.

 

During this period, Papal economic policies included heavy customs duties and concessions of monopolies to single manufacturers.

 

Modern history

 

Napoleon entered Bologna on 19 June 1796. Napoleon briefly reinstated the ancient mode of government, giving power to the Senate, which however had to swear fealty to the short-lived Cispadane Republic, created as a client state of the French First Republic at the congress of Reggio (27 December 1796 – 9 January 1797) but succeeded by the Cisalpine Republic on 9 July 1797, later by the Italian Republic and finally the Kingdom of Italy. After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 restored Bologna to the Papal States. Papal rule was contested in the uprisings of 1831. The insurrected provinces planned to unite as the Province Italiane Unite with Bologna as the capital. Pope Gregory XVI asked for Austrian help against the rebels. Metternich warned French king Louis Philippe I against intervention in Italian affairs, and in the spring of 1831, Austrian forces marched across the Italian peninsula, defeating the rebellion by 26 April.

 

By the mid-1840s, unemployment levels were very high and traditional industries continued to languish or disappear; Bologna became a city of economic disparity with the top 10 percent of the population living off rent, another 20 percent exercising professions or commerce and 70 percent working in low-paid, often insecure manual jobs. The Papal census of 1841 reported 10,000 permanent beggars and another 30,000 (out of a total population of 70,000) who lived in poverty. In the revolutions of 1848 the Austrian garrisons which controlled the city on behalf of the Pope were temporarily expelled, but eventually came back and crushed the revolutionaries.

 

Papal rule finally ended in the aftermath of Second War of Italian Independence, when the French and Piedmontese troops expelled the Austrians from Italian lands, on 11 and 12 March 1860, Bologna voted to join the new Kingdom of Italy. In the last decades of the 19th century, Bologna once again thrived economically and socially. In 1863 Naples was linked to Rome by railway, and the following year Bologna to Florence. Bolognese moderate agrarian elites, that supported liberal insurgencies against the papacy and were admirers of the British political system and of free trade, envisioned a unified national state that would open a bigger market for the massive agricultural production of the Emilian plains. Indeed, Bologna gave Italy one of its first prime ministers, Marco Minghetti.

 

After World War I, Bologna was heavily involved in the Biennio Rosso socialist uprisings. As a consequence, the traditionally moderate elites of the city turned their back on the progressive faction and gave their support to the rising Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini. Dino Grandi, a high-ranking Fascist party official and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, remembered for being an Anglophile, was from Bologna. During the interwar years, Bologna developed into an important manufacturing centre for food processing, agricultural machinery and metalworking. The Fascist regime poured in massive investments, for example with the setting up of a giant tobacco manufacturing plant in 1937.

 

World War II

 

Bologna suffered extensive damage during World War II. The strategic importance of the city as an industrial and railway hub connecting northern and central Italy made it a target for the Allied forces. On 24 July 1943, a massive aerial bombardment destroyed a significant part of the historic city centre and killed about 200 people. The main railway station and adjoining areas were severely hit, and 44% of the buildings in the centre were listed as having been destroyed or severely damaged. The city was heavily bombed again on 25 September. The raids, which this time were not confined to the city centre, left 2,481 people dead and 2,000 injured. By the end of the war, 43% of all buildings in Bologna had been destroyed or damaged.

 

After the armistice of 1943, the city became a key centre of the Italian resistance movement. On 7 November 1944, a pitched battle around Porta Lame, waged by partisans of the 7th Brigade of the Gruppi d'Azione Patriottica against Fascist and Nazi occupation forces, did not succeed in triggering a general uprising, despite being one of the largest resistance-led urban conflicts in the European theatre. Resistance forces entered Bologna on the morning of 21 April 1945. By this time, the Germans had already largely left the city in the face of the Allied advance, spearheaded by Polish forces advancing from the east during the Battle of Bologna which had been fought since 9 April. First to arrive in the centre was the 87th Infantry Regiment of the Friuli Combat Group under general Arturo Scattini, who entered the centre from Porta Maggiore to the south. Since the soldiers were dressed in British outfits, they were initially thought to be part of the allied forces; when the local inhabitants heard the soldiers were speaking Italian, they poured out onto the streets to celebrate.

 

Cold War period

 

In the post-war years, Bologna became a thriving industrial centre as well as a political stronghold of the Italian Communist Party. Between 1945 and 1999, the city was helmed by an uninterrupted succession of mayors from the PCI and its successors, the Democratic Party of the Left and Democrats of the Left, the first of whom was Giuseppe Dozza. At the end of the 1960s the city authorities, worried by massive gentrification and suburbanisation, asked Japanese starchitect Kenzo Tange to sketch a master plan for a new town north of Bologna; however, the project that came out in 1970 was evaluated as too ambitious and expensive. Eventually the city council, in spite of vetoing Tange's master plan, decided to keep his project for a new exhibition centre and business district. At the end of 1978 the construction of a tower block and several diverse buildings and structures started. In 1985 the headquarters of the regional government of Emilia-Romagna moved in the new district.

 

In 1977, Bologna was the scene of rioting linked to the Movement of 1977, a spontaneous political movement of the time. The police shooting of a far-left activist, Francesco Lorusso, sparked two days of street clashes. On 2 August 1980, at the height of the "years of lead", a terrorist bomb was set off in the central railway station of Bologna killing 85 people and wounding 200, an event which is known in Italy as the Bologna massacre. In 1995, members of the neo-fascist group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari were convicted for carrying out the attack, while Licio Gelli—Grand Master of the underground Freemason lodge Propaganda Due (P2)—was convicted for hampering the investigation, together with three agents of the secret military intelligence service SISMI (including Francesco Pazienza and Pietro Musumeci). Commemorations take place in Bologna on 2 August each year, culminating in a concert in the main square.

 

21st century

 

In 1999, the long tradition of left-wing mayors was interrupted by the victory of independent centre-right candidate Giorgio Guazzaloca. However, Bologna reverted to form in 2004 when Sergio Cofferati, a former trade union leader, unseated Guazzaloca. The next centre-left mayor, Flavio Delbono, elected in June 2009, resigned in January 2010 after being involved in a corruption scandal. After a 15-month period in which the city was administered under Anna Maria Cancellieri (as a state-appointed prefect), Virginio Merola was elected as mayor, leading a left-wing coalition comprising the Democratic Party, Left Ecology Freedom and Italy of Values. In 2016, Merola was confirmed mayor, defeating the conservative candidate, Lucia Borgonzoni. In 2021, after ten years of Merola's mayorship, one of his closest allies, Matteo Lepore, was elected mayor with 61.9% of votes, becoming the most voted mayor of Bologna since the introduction of the direct elections in 1995.

 

Geography

 

Territory

 

Bologna is situated on the edge of the Po Plain at the foot of the Apennine Mountains, at the meeting of the Reno and Savena river valleys. As Bologna's two main watercourses flow directly to the sea, the town lies outside of the drainage basin of the River Po. The Province of Bologna stretches from the western edge of the Po Plain on the border with Ferrara to the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The centre of the town is 54 metres (177 ft) above sea level (while elevation within the municipality ranges from 29 metres (95 ft) in the suburb of Corticella to 300 metres (980 ft) in Sabbiuno and the Colle della Guardia). The Province of Bologna stretches from the Po Plain into the Apennines; the highest point in the province is the peak of Corno alle Scale (in Lizzano in Belvedere) at 1,945 metres (6,381 ft) above sea level.

 

Cityscape

 

Until the late 19th century, when a large-scale urban renewal project was undertaken, Bologna was one of the few remaining large walled cities in Europe; to this day and despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in 1944, Bologna's 142 hectares (350 acres) historic centre is Europe's second largest, containing an immense wealth of important medieval, renaissance, and baroque artistic monuments.

 

Bologna developed along the Via Emilia as an Etruscan and later Roman colony; the Via Emilia still runs straight through the city under the changing names of Strada Maggiore, Rizzoli, Ugo Bassi, and San Felice. Due to its Roman heritage, the central streets of Bologna, today largely pedestrianized, follow the grid pattern of the Roman settlement. The original Roman ramparts were supplanted by a high medieval system of fortifications, remains of which are still visible, and finally by a third and final set of ramparts built in the 13th century, of which numerous sections survive. No more than twenty medieval defensive towers remain out of up to 180 that were built in the 12th and 13th centuries before the arrival of unified civic government. The most famous of the towers of Bologna are the central "Due Torri" (Asinelli and Garisenda), whose iconic leaning forms provide a popular symbol of the town.

 

The cityscape is further enriched by its elegant and extensive porticoes, for which the city is famous. In total, there are some 38 kilometres (24 miles) of porticoes in the city's historical centre (over 45 km (28 mi) in the city proper), which make it possible to walk for long distances sheltered from the elements.

 

The Portico di San Luca is possibly the world's longest. It connects Porta Saragozza (one of the twelve gates of the ancient walls built in the Middle Ages, which circled a 7.5 km (4.7 mi) part of the city) with the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, a church begun in 1723 on the site of an 11th-century edifice which had already been enlarged in the 14th century, prominently located on a hill (289 metres (948 feet)) overlooking the town, which is one of Bologna's main landmarks. The windy 666 vault arcades, almost four kilometres (3,796 m or 12,454 ft) long, effectively links San Luca, as the church is commonly called, to the city centre. Its porticos provide shelter for the traditional procession which every year since 1433 has carried a Byzantine icon of the Madonna with Child attributed to Luke the Evangelist down to the Bologna Cathedral during the Feast of the Ascension.

 

In 2021, the porticoes were named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

San Petronio Basilica, built between 1388 and 1479 (but still unfinished), is the tenth-largest church in the world by volume, 132 metres long and 66 metres wide, while the vault reaches 45 metres inside and 51 metres in the facade. With its volume of 258,000 m3, it is the largest (Gothic or otherwise) church built of bricks of the world. The Basilica of Saint Stephen and its sanctuary are among the oldest structures in Bologna, having been built starting from the 8th century, according to the tradition on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to Egyptian goddess Isis. The Basilica of Saint Dominic is an example of Romanic architecture from the 13th century, enriched by the monumental tombs of great Bolognese glossators Rolandino de'Passeggeri and Egidio Foscherari. Basilicas of St Francis, Santa Maria dei Servi and San Giacomo Maggiore are other magnificent examples of 14th-century architecture, the latter also featuring Renaissance artworks such as the Bentivoglio Altarpiece by Lorenzo Costa. Finally, the Church of San Michele in Bosco is a 15th-century religious complex located on a hill not far from the city's historical center.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Bologna [boˈlɔnja, italienisch boˈloɲːa] ist eine italienische Universitätsstadt und die Hauptstadt der Metropolitanstadt Bologna sowie der Region Emilia-Romagna. Die Großstadt ist mit 390.625 Einwohnern (Stand: 31. Dezember 2019) die siebtgrößte italienische Stadt und ein bedeutender nationaler Verkehrsknotenpunkt.

 

Geografie

 

Allgemein

 

Bologna liegt am südlichen Rand der Po-Ebene am Fuße des Apennin, zwischen den Flüssen Reno und Savena in Norditalien. Die Flussläufe und Kanäle in der Stadt wurden im Verlaufe der Stadtentwicklung aus sanitären Gründen fast vollständig überbaut. Die durch Bologna fließenden Gewässer sind der Canale di Reno, der Canale di Savena und der Aposa; sie werden nördlich des Stadtzentrums zum Navile zusammengefasst. Damit wird dem Canale di Savena ein Teil des Wassers entzogen; der nachfolgende Flussarm heißt entsprechend Savena abbandonato („aufgegebener Savena“). In den westlichen Stadtteilen verläuft zudem der Ravone, der sich weiter östlich mit dem Reno vereint. Das Adriatische Meer befindet sich ca. 60 Kilometer östlich der Stadt.

 

Geschichte

 

Antike

 

Die Geschichte der Stadt beginnt als etruskische Gründung mit dem Namen Felsina vermutlich im 6. Jahrhundert v. Chr., Spuren älterer dörflicher Siedlungen der Villanovakultur in der Gegend reichen bis ins 11./10. Jahrhundert v. Chr. zurück. Die etruskische Stadt wuchs um ein Heiligtum auf einem Hügel und war von einer Nekropole umgeben.

 

Im 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr. eroberten die keltischen Boier Felsina. 191 v. Chr. wurde die Stadt von den Römern erobert, 189 v. Chr. wurde sie als Bononia römische Colonia. 3000 latinische Familien siedelten sich dort an, wobei den ehemaligen Konsuln Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Marcus Atilius Seranus und Lucius Valerius Tappo die Organisation der Stadt(neu)gründung übertragen wurde.[3] Der Bau der Via Aemilia 187 v. Chr. machte Bononia zum Verkehrsknotenpunkt: Hier kreuzte sich die Hauptverkehrsstraße der Poebene mit der Via Flaminia minor nach Arretium (Arezzo). 88 v. Chr. erhielt Bononia über die Lex municipalis wie alle Landstädte Italiens volles römisches Bürgerrecht. Nach einem Brand wurde sie im 1. Jahrhundert unter Kaiser Nero wieder aufgebaut.

 

Wie für eine römische Stadt typisch, war Bononia schachbrettartig um die zentrale Kreuzung zweier Hauptstraßen angelegt, des Cardo mit dem Decumanus. Sechs Nord-Süd- und acht Ost-West-Straßen teilten die Stadt in einzelne Quartiere und sind bis heute erhalten. Während der römischen Kaiserzeit hatte Bononia mindestens 12.000, möglicherweise jedoch bis 30.000 Einwohner. Bei Ausgrabungen rund um das Forum der antiken Stadt in den Jahren 1989–1994 wurden zwei Tempel, Verwaltungsgebäude, Markthallen und das Tagungsgebäude des Stadtrates gefunden; im südlichen Teil des ursprünglichen Stadtgebietes ist ein Theater freigelegt worden. Die Stadt scheint jedoch deutlich über ihre ursprüngliche Befestigung hinausgewachsen zu sein, beispielsweise sind außerhalb der Stadtmauer ein Amphitheater, ein Aquädukt und ein Thermenareal entdeckt worden. Der Geograph Pomponius Mela zählte die Stadt im 1. Jahrhundert n. Chr. zu den fünf üppigsten (opulentissimae) Städten Italiens.

 

Mittelalter

 

Nach einem langen Niedergang wurde Bologna im 5. Jahrhundert unter dem Bischof Petronius wiedergeboren, der nach dem Vorbild der Jerusalemer Grabeskirche den Kirchenkomplex von Santo Stefano errichtet haben soll. Nach dem Ende des Römischen Reiches war Bologna ein vorgeschobenes Bollwerk des Exarchats von Ravenna, geschützt von mehreren Wallringen, die jedoch den größten Teil der verfallenen römischen Stadt nicht einschlossen. 728 wurde die Stadt von dem Langobardenkönig Liutprand erobert und damit Teil des Langobardenreichs. Die Langobarden schufen in Bologna einen neuen Stadtteil nahe Santo Stefano, bis heute Addizione Longobarda genannt, in dem Karl der Große bei seinem Besuch 786 unterkam.

 

Im 11. Jahrhundert wuchs der Ort als freie Kommune erneut. 1088 wurde der Studio gegründet – heute die älteste Universität Europas –, an der zahlreiche bedeutende Gelehrte des Mittelalters lehrten, unter anderem Irnerius, woraus dann im 12. Jahrhundert die Universität Bologna[4] entstand. Da sich die Stadt weiter ausdehnte, erhielt sie im 12. Jahrhundert einen neuen Wallring, ein weiterer wurde im 14. Jahrhundert fertiggestellt.

 

1164 trat Bologna in den Lombardenbund gegen Friedrich I. Barbarossa ein, 1256 verkündete die Stadt die Legge del Paradiso (Paradiesgesetz), das Leibeigenschaft und Sklaverei abschaffte und die verbleibenden Sklaven mit öffentlichem Geld freikaufte. 50.000 bis 70.000 Menschen lebten zu dieser Zeit in Bologna und machten die Stadt zur sechst- oder siebtgrößten Europas nach Konstantinopel, Córdoba, Paris, Venedig, Florenz und möglicherweise Mailand. Das Stadtzentrum war ein Wald von Türmen: Schätzungsweise um die 100 Geschlechtertürme der führenden Familien, Kirchtürme und Türme öffentlicher Gebäude bestimmten das Stadtbild.

 

Bologna entschied sich 1248, die Weizenausfuhr zu verbieten, um die Lebensmittelversorgung seiner schnell wachsenden Bevölkerung zu sichern. Das kam einer Enteignung der venezianischen Grundbesitzer, vor allem der Klöster gleich. 1234 ging die Stadt noch einen Schritt weiter und besetzte Cervia, womit es in direkte Konkurrenz zu Venedig trat, das das Salzmonopol in der Adria beanspruchte. 1248 dehnte Bologna seine Herrschaft auf die Grafschaft Imola, 1252–1254 sogar auf Ravenna aus. Dazu kamen 1256 Bagnacavallo, Faenza und Forlì.

 

Doch der schwelende Konflikt zwischen Venedig und Bologna wurde 1240 durch die Besetzung der Stadt durch Kaiser Friedrich II. unterbrochen. Nachdem sich Cervia 1252 jedoch wieder Venedig unterstellt hatte, wurde es von einer gemeinsamen ravennatisch-bolognesischen Armee im Oktober 1254 zurückerobert. Venedig errichtete im Gegenzug 1258 am Po di Primaro eine Sperrfestung. Etsch, Po und der für die Versorgung Bolognas lebenswichtige Reno wurden damit blockiert – wobei letzterer von der See aus wiederum nur über den Po erreichbar war, und die Etsch bereits seit langer Zeit durch Cavarzere von Venedig kontrolliert wurde. Mit Hilfe dieser Blockade, vor allem an der Sperrfestung Marcamò – Bologna riegelte Marcamò vergebens durch ein eigenes Kastell ab – zwang Venedig das ausgehungerte Bologna zu einem Abkommen, das die Venezianer diktierten. Das bolognesische Kastell wurde geschleift. Ravenna stand Venedigs Händlern wieder offen, Venedigs Monopol war durchgesetzt.

 

Im Jahre 1272 starb in Bologna nach mehr als 22-jähriger Haft im Palazzo Nuovo (dem heutigen Palazzo di re Enzo) der König Enzio von Sardinien, ein unehelicher Sohn des Staufer-Kaisers Friedrich II.

 

Wie die meisten Kommunen Italiens war Bologna damals zusätzlich zu den äußeren Konflikten von inneren Streitigkeiten zwischen Ghibellinen und Guelfen (Staufer- bzw. Welfen-Partei, Kaiser gegen Papst) zerrissen. So wurde 1274 die einflussreiche ghibellinische Familie Lambertazzi aus der Stadt vertrieben.

 

Als Bologna 1297 verstärkt gegen die Ghibellinen der mittleren Romagna vorging, fürchtete Venedig das erneute Aufkommen einer konkurrierenden Festlandsmacht. Das betraf vor allem Ravenna. Venedig drohte der Stadt wegen Nichteinhaltung seiner Verträge und Bevorzugung Bolognas. Doch der Streit konnte beigelegt werden. Zu einer erneuten Handelssperre seitens Venedigs (wohl wegen der Ernennung Baiamonte Tiepolos zum Capitano von Bologna) kam es Ende 1326. Bologna hatte sich dem Schutz des Papstes unterstellt, nachdem es 1325 von Modena in der Schlacht von Zappolino vernichtend geschlagen worden war. Im Mai 1327 wurden alle Bologneser aufgefordert, Venedig innerhalb eines Monats zu verlassen. 1328–1332 kam es zu Handelssperren und Repressalien. Ravenna blieb dabei der wichtigste Importhafen der Region, den z. B. Bologna für größere Importe aus Apulien weiterhin nutzte. Zwischen 1325 und 1337 kam es zum Eimerkrieg von Bologna. Während der Pest-Epidemie von 1348 starben etwa 30.000 der Einwohner.

 

Nach der Regierungszeit Taddeo Pepolis (1337–1347) fiel Bologna an die Visconti Mailands, kehrte aber 1360 auf Betreiben von Kardinal Gil Álvarez Carillo de Albornoz durch Kauf wieder in den Machtbereich des Papstes zurück. Die folgenden Jahre waren bestimmt von einer Reihe republikanischer Regierungen (so z. B. die von 1377, die die Basilica di San Petronio und die Loggia dei Mercanti errichten ließ), wechselnder Zugehörigkeit zum päpstlichen oder Viscontischen Machtbereich und andauernder, verlustreicher Familienfehden.

 

1402 fiel die Stadt an Gian Galeazzo Visconti, der zum Signore von Bologna avancierte. Nachdem 1433 Bologna und Imola gefallen waren (bis 1435), verhalf Venedig dem Papst 1440/41 endgültig zur Stadtherrschaft. Bei der Gelegenheit nahm Venedig 1441–1509 Ravenna in Besitz.

 

Um diese Zeit erlangte die Familie der Bentivoglio mit Sante (1445–1462) und Giovanni II. (1462–1506) die Herrschaft in Bologna. Während ihrer Regierungszeit blühte die Stadt auf, angesehene Architekten und Maler gaben Bologna das Gesicht einer klassischen italienischen Renaissance-Stadt, die allerdings ihre Ambitionen auf Eroberung endgültig aufgeben musste.

 

Neuzeit

 

Giovannis Herrschaft endete 1506, als die Truppen Papst Julius' II. Bologna belagerten und die Kunstschätze seines Palastes plünderten. Im Anschluss gehörte Bologna bis zum 18. Jahrhundert zum Kirchenstaat und wurde von einem päpstlichen Legaten und einem Senat regiert, der alle zwei Monate einen gonfaloniere (Richter) wählte, der von acht Konsuln unterstützt wurde. Am 24. Februar 1530 wurde Karl V. von Papst Clemens VII. in Bologna zum Kaiser gekrönt. Es war die letzte vom Papst durchgeführte Kaiserkrönung. Der Wohlstand der Stadt dauerte an, doch eine Seuche am Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts verringerte die Zahl der Einwohner von 72.000 auf 59.000, eine weitere 1630 ließ sie auf 47.000 schrumpfen, bevor sie sich wieder auf 60.000 bis 65.000 einpendelte.

 

1564 wurden die Piazza del Nettuno, der Palazzo dei Banchi und der Archiginnasio erbaut, der Sitz der Universität. Zahlreiche Kirchen und andere religiöse Einrichtungen wurden während der päpstlichen Herrschaft neu errichtet, ältere renoviert – Bolognas 96 Klöster waren italienischer Rekord. Bedeutende Maler wie Annibale Carracci, Domenichino und Guercino, die in dieser Periode in Bologna tätig waren, formten die Bologneser Schule der Malerei.

 

Im napoleonischen Europa wurde Bologna 1796 – seit dem Ersten Koalitionskrieg vom Kirchenstaat unabhängig – zunächst Hauptstadt der kurzlebigen Cispadanischen Republik und später die nach Mailand bedeutendste Stadt in der Cisalpinischen Republik und des napoleonischen Königreichs Italien. Am 28. Januar 1814 eroberten die Österreicher die Stadt kurzzeitig zurück, mussten am 2. April 1815 dem Einmarsch französischer Truppen weichen, um am 16. April 1815 Bologna endgültig einzunehmen. Nach dem Fall Napoleons schlug der Wiener Kongress 1815 Bologna wieder dem Kirchenstaat zu, worauf dies am 18. Juli 1816 zur Ausführung kam.

 

Die Bevölkerung rebellierte im Frühjahr 1831 gegen die päpstliche Restauration. Durch eine neuerliche österreichische Besatzung ab dem 21. März 1831 wurde dem ein Ende gemacht. Die Besatzung dauerte mit einer kurzen Unterbrechung (Juli 1831 bis Januar 1832) bis zum 30. November 1838. Die Macht war damit erneut in der Hand des Papstes. Dagegen erhob sich im August 1843 der Aufstand der Moti di Savigno. Erneut kam es 1848/1849 zu Volksaufständen, als es vom 8. August 1848 bis 16. Mai 1849 gelang, die Truppen der österreichischen Garnison zu vertreiben, die danach erneut bis 1860 die Befehlsgewalt über die Stadt innehatten. Nach einem Besuch von Papst Pius IX. 1857 stimmte Bologna am 12. Juni 1859 für seine Annexion durch das Königreich Sardinien, wodurch die Stadt Teil des vereinten Italien wurde.

 

Zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden die Mauern der Stadt bis auf wenige Reste abgerissen, um der schnell wachsenden Bevölkerung Platz zu schaffen. In den Wahlen am 28. Juni 1914 errang der Sozialist Francesco Zanardi zum ersten Mal das Stadtpräsidium (sindaco) für die Linke. Mit der Unterbrechung des Faschismus wird Bologna seitdem überwiegend von linken Stadtregierungen verwaltet.

 

1940 zählte Bologna 320.000 Einwohner. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg wurde Bologna in den Kämpfen der untergehenden NS-Diktatur mit amerikanischen, britischen und polnischen Invasionstruppen der Alliierten bombardiert und beschädigt, wobei in der Stadt 2.481 Zivilisten ums Leben kamen. Am 21. April 1945 wurde die Stadt von Einheiten des II. polnischen Korps befreit. Nach dem Krieg erholte sich Bologna schnell und ist heute eine der wohlhabendsten und stadtplanerisch gelungensten Städte Italiens.

 

Anschlag von Bologna 1980

 

Am 2. August 1980 verübte eine Gruppe von Rechtsextremisten einen Bombenanschlag auf den Hauptbahnhof der Stadt. 85 Menschen starben, mindestens 200 wurden verletzt. 1995 wurden für diesen Anschlag zwei Mitglieder der faschistischen Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari und Mitarbeiter des italienischen Geheimdienstes zu langjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt.

 

Kulinarisches

 

Bologna ist die Heimat der Tortellini – mit Hackfleisch gefüllte, kleine ringförmige Teigwaren, die in einer Hühnerbrühe (brodo) oder mit Sahnesoße serviert werden. Einer Legende nach sollen die Tortellini den Nabel der römischen Liebesgöttin Venus nachbilden.

Eine weitere klassische Pasta aus Bologna sind Tagliatelle, mit Ei hergestellte Bandnudeln, die traditionell mit Ragù alla bolognese, einer Soße mit Hackfleisch und Tomaten, serviert werden. Von den bolognesischen Tagliatelle al ragù wurden die Spaghetti bolognese inspiriert, die aber nicht zur Küche Bolognas gehören, sondern vermutlich aus Nordamerika stammen.

 

Eine weitere aus Bologna stammende Spezialität ist die Mortadella, eine Aufschnittwurst vom Schwein, die in hauchdünne Scheiben geschnitten verzehrt wird.

Bologna ist außerdem für seine grüne Lasagne bekannt.

 

Bildung

 

Die 1088 gegründete Universität Bologna ist die älteste Institution dieser Art in Europa. Die etwa 80.000 Studenten stellen bei einer Gesamtbevölkerung von um die 400.000 einen bedeutenden Teil der Stadtbevölkerung und prägen die Stadt, vor allem innerhalb der historischen Stadtmauern. Die Stadt ist nicht nur bei Studenten aus allen Teilen Italiens beliebt, sondern auch bei ausländischen Studenten. Neben Erasmus-Studenten sind das vor allem Studenten aus den USA.

 

Außerdem gibt es in der Stadt die Akademie der Bildenden Künste, an der unter anderem Giorgio Morandi lehrte und Enrico Marconi eine Ausbildung absolvierte. Das SAIS Bologna Center ist eine Außenstelle der School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) der Johns Hopkins University. Bologna war Ort der Bolognaerklärung im Jahr 1999 und Namensgeber des Bologna-Prozesses zur Reformierung und Vereinheitlichung des Europäischen Hochschulraums.

 

(Wikipedia)

Annibale Carracci, Landscape with the Flight into Egypt, c. 1604, oil on canvas, 122 x 230 cm (Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome)

Learn More on Smarthistory

Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619) - Allegory of Charity, Peace and Abundance (oil on copper 1603) - Capitoline Museums Rome

 

National Trust. Kedleston Hall. Derbyshire. Drawing Room

 

The Drawing Room, showing the painting 'Orlando delivering Olympia from the Sea-monster' attributed to Lodovico Carracci, over the fireplace. This room was planned by the architect James Paine before he was superseded by Robert Adam. It was one of the first rooms to be completed in the recent restoration project. You can see the Waterford crystal chandelier and the Exeter carpet.

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O Pantheon, em Roma.

The Pantheon, in Rome.

 

A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Pantheon, Rome.

The Pantheon (Latin: Pantheon, from Greek: Πάνθειον, meaning "Temple of all the gods") is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt circa 126 AD during Hadrian's reign. The intended degree of inclusiveness of this dedication is debated. The generic term pantheon is now applied to a monument in which illustrious dead are buried. It is the best preserved of all Roman buildings, and perhaps the best preserved building of its age in the world. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. The design of the extant building is sometimes credited to Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus, but it is equally likely that the building and the design should be credited to Emperor Hadrian's architects, though not to Hadrian himself as many art scholars once thought. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church. The Pantheon is the oldest standing domed structure in Rome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

n the aftermath of the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Agrippa built and dedicated the original Pantheon during his third consulship (27 BC). Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a huge fire in 80 AD. The current building dates from about 126 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, as date-stamps on the bricks reveal. It was totally reconstructed with the text of the original inscription ("M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT", standing for Latin: Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit translated to "'Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this") which was added to the new facade, a common practice in Hadrian's rebuilding projects all over Rome. Hadrian was a cosmopolitan emperor who travelled widely in the East and was a great admirer of Greek culture. He might have intended the Pantheon, a temple to all the gods, to be a kind of ecumenical or syncretist gesture to the subjects of the Roman Empire who did not worship the old gods of Rome, or who (as was increasingly the case) worshipped them under other names. How the building was actually used is not known.

Cassius Dio, a Graeco-Roman senator, consul and author of a comprehensive History of Rome, writing approximately 75 years after the Pantheon's reconstruction, mistakenly attributed the domed building to Agrippa rather than Hadrian. Dio's book appears to be the only near-contemporary writing on the Pantheon, and it is interesting that even by the year 200 there was uncertainty about the origin of the building and its purpose:

Agrippa finished the construction of the building called the Pantheon. It has this name, perhaps because it received among the images which decorated it the statues of many gods, including Mars and Venus; but my own opinion of the name is that, because of its vaulted roof, it resembles the heavens. (Cassius Dio History of Rome 53.27.2)

The building was repaired by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202 AD, for which there is another, smaller inscription. This inscription reads "pantheum vetustate corruptum cum omni cultu restituerunt" ('with every refinement they restored the Pantheon worn by age').

In 609 the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to Santa Maria ad Martyres, now known as Santa Maria dei Martiri.

The building's consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment, destruction, and the worst of the spoliation which befell the majority of ancient Rome's buildings during the early medieval period. Paul the Deacon records the spoliation of the building by the Emperor Constans II, who visited Rome in July 663:

Remaining at Rome twelve days he pulled down everything that in ancient times had been made of metal for the ornament of the city, to such an extent that he even stripped off the roof of the church [of the blessed Mary] which at one time was called the Pantheon, and had been founded in honor of all the gods and was now by the consent of the former rulers the place of all the martyrs; and he took away from there the bronze tiles and sent them with all the other ornaments to Constantinople.

Much fine external marble has been removed over the centuries, and there are capitals from some of the pilasters in the British Museum. Two columns were swallowed up in the medieval buildings that abbutted the Pantheon on the east and were lost. In the early seventeenth century, Urban VIII Barberini tore away the bronze ceiling of the portico, and replaced the medieval campanile with the famous twin towers built by Maderno, which were not removed until the late nineteenth century. The only other loss has been the external sculptures, which adorned the pediment above Agrippa's inscription. The marble interior and the great bronze doors have survived, although both have been extensively restored.

Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. In the 15th century, the Pantheon was adorned with paintings: the best-known is the Annunciation by Melozzo da Forlì. Architects, like Brunelleschi, who used the Pantheon as help when designing the Cathedral of Florence's dome, looked to the Pantheon as inspiration for their works.

Pope Urban VIII (1623 to 1644) ordered the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon's portico melted down. Most of the bronze was used to make bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant'Angelo, with the remaining amount used by the Apostolic Camera for various other works. It is also said that the bronze was used by Bernini in creating his famous baldachin above the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica, but according to at least one expert, the Pope's accounts state that about 90% of the bronze was used for the cannon, and that the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice. This led the Roman satirical figure Pasquino to issue the famous proverb: Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini ("What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis [Urban VIII's family name] did")

In 1747, the broad frieze below the dome with its false windows was “restored,” but bore little resemblance to the original. In the early decades of the twentieth century, a piece of the original, as could be reconstructed from Renaissance drawings and paintings, was recreated in one of the panels.

Also buried there are two kings of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto's Queen, Margherita. Although Italy has been a republic since 1946, volunteer members of Italian monarchist organizations maintain a vigil over the royal tombs in the Pantheon. This has aroused protests from time to time from republicans, but the Catholic authorities allow the practice to continue, although the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage is in charge of the security and maintenance.

The Pantheon is still used as a church. Masses are celebrated there, particularly on important Catholic days of obligation, and weddings.

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. Though often still drawn as a free-standing building, there was a building at its rear into which it abutted; of this building there are only archaeological remains.

In the walls at the back of the portico were niches, probably for statues of Caesar, Augustus and Agrippa, or for the Capitoline Triad, or another set of gods. The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, still remain but the gold has long since vanished. The pediment was decorated with a sculpture — holes may still be seen where the clamps which held the sculpture in place were fixed.

The 4,535 metric ton (5,000 tn) weight of the concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs 9.1 metres (30 ft) in diameter which form the oculus while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by eight barrel vaults in the 6.4 metre (21 ft) thick drum wall into eight piers. The thickness of the dome varies from 6.4 metres (21 ft) at the base of the dome to 1.2 metres (4 ft) around the oculus. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft), so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (alternatively, the interior could house a sphere 43.3 metres (142 ft) in diameter). The Pantheon holds the record for the largest unreinforced concrete dome. The interior of the roof was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. The Great Eye at the dome's apex is the source of all light in the interior. The oculus also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. During storms, a drainage system below the floor handles the rain that falls through the oculus.

The interior features sunken panels (coffers), which, in antiquity, may have contained bronze stars, rosettes, or other ornaments. This coffering was not only decorative, but also reduced the weight of the roof, as did the elimination of the apex by means of the Great Eye. The top of the rotunda wall features a series of brick-relieving arches, visible on the outside and built into the mass of the brickwork. The Pantheon is full of such devices — for example, there are relieving arches over the recesses inside — but all these arches were hidden by marble facing on the interior and possibly by stone revetment or stucco on the exterior. Some changes have been made in the interior decoration.

It is known from Roman sources that their concrete is made up of a pasty hydrate of lime, with pozzolanic ash (Latin pulvis puteolanum) and lightweight pumice from a nearby volcano, and fist-sized pieces of rock. In this, it is very similar to modern concrete. No tensile test results are available on the concrete used in the Pantheon; however Cowan discussed tests on ancient concrete from Roman ruins in Libya which gave a compressive strength of 2.8 ksi (20 MPa). An empirical relationship gives a tensile strength of 213 psi (1.5 MPa) for this specimen. Finite element analysis of the structure by Mark and Hutchison found a maximum tensile stress of only 18.5 psi (0.13 MPa) at the point where the dome joins the raised outer wall. The stresses in the dome were found to be substantially reduced by the use of successively less dense concrete in higher layers of the dome. Mark and Hutchison estimated that if normal weight concrete had been used throughout the stresses in the arch would have been some 80% higher.

The 16 gray granite columns Hadrian ordered for the Pantheon's pronaos were quarried at Mons Claudianus in Egypt's eastern mountains. Each was 39 feet (11.8 m) tall, five feet (1.5 m) in diameter, and 60 tons in weight. These were dragged on wooden sledges when transporting on land. They were floated by barge down the Nile and transferred to vessels to cross the Mediterranean to the Roman port of Ostia where they were transferred back onto barges and up the Tiber to Rome.

As the best-preserved example of an Ancient Roman monumental building, the Pantheon has been enormously influential in Western Architecture from at least the Renaissance on; starting with Brunelleschi's 42-meter dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, completed in 1436 – the first sizeable dome to be constructed in Western Europe since Late Antiquity. The style of the Pantheon can be detected in many buildings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; numerous city halls, universities and public libraries echo its portico-and-dome structure. Examples of notable buildings influenced by the Pantheon include: the Panthéon in Paris, the Temple in Dartrey, the British Museum Reading Room, Manchester Central Library, Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the Rotunda of Mosta, in Malta, Low Memorial Library at Columbia University, New York, the domed Marble Hall of Sanssouci palace in Potsdam, Germany, the State Library of Victoria, and the Supreme Court Library of Victoria, both in Melbourne, Australia, the 52-meter-tall Ottokár Prohászka Memorial Church in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, Holy Trinity Church in Karlskrona by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, Sweden, The National Gallery of Art West Building by John Russell Pope, located in Washington, D.C, as well as the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

The present high altar and the apse were commissioned by Pope Clement XI (1700-1721) and designed by Alessandro Specchi. In the apse, a copy of a Byzantine icon of the Madonna is enshrined. The original, now in the Chapel of the Canons in the Vatican, has been dated to the 13th century, although tradition claims that it is much older. The choir was added in 1840, and was designed by Luigi Poletti.

The first niche to the right of the entrance holds a Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari (1686) painted by an unknown artist. The first chapel on the right, the Chapel of the Annunciation, has a fresco of the Annunication attributed to Melozzo da Forli. On the left side is a canvas by Clement Maioli of St Lawrence and St Agnes (1645-1650). On the right wall is the Incredulity of St Thomas (1633) by Pietro Paolo Bonzi.

The second niche has a 15th century fresco of the Tuscan school, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. In the second chapel is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II (died 1878). It was originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. A competition was held to decide which architect should be given the honor of designing it. Giuseppe Sacconi participated, but lost — he would later design the tomb of Umberto I in the opposite chapel. Manfredio Manfredi won the competition, and started work in 1885. The tomb consists of a large bronze plaque surmounted by a Roman eagle and the arms of the house of Savoy. The golden lamp above the tomb burns in honor of Victor Emmanuel III, who died in exile in 1947.

The third niche has a sculpture by Il Lorenzone of St Anne and the Blessed Virgin. In the third chapel is a 15th-century painting of the Umbrian school, The Madonna of Mercy between St Francis and St John the Baptist. It is also known as the Madonna of the Railing, because it originally hung in the niche on the left-hand side of the portico, where it was protected by a railing. It was moved to the Chapel of the Annunciation, and then to its present position some time after 1837. The bronze epigram commemorated Pope Clement XI's restoration of the sanctuary. On the right wall is the canvas Emperor Phocas presenting the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV (1750) by an unknown. There are three memorial plaques in the floor, one conmmemorating a Gismonda written in the vernacular. The final niche on the right side has a statue of St. Anastasio (1725) by Bernardino Cametti.

On the first niche to the left of the entrance is an Assumption (1638) by Andrea Camassei. The first chapel on the left, is the Chapel of St Joseph in the Holy Land, and is the chapel of the Confraternity of the Virtuosi at the Pantheon. This refers to the confraternity of artists and musicians that was formed here by a 16th-century Canon of the church, Desiderio da Segni, to ensure that worship was maintained in the chapel. The first members were, among others, Antonio da Sangallo the younger, Jacopo Meneghino, Giovanni Mangone, Zuccari, Domenico Beccafumi and Flaminio Vacca. The confraternity continued to draw members from the elite of Rome's artists and architects, and among later members we find Bernini, Cortona, Algardi and many others. The institution still exists, and is now called the Academia Ponteficia di Belle Arti (The Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts), based in the palace of the Cancelleria. The altar in the chapel is covered with false marble. On the altar is a statue of St Joseph and the Holy Child by Vincenzo de Rossi. To the sides are paintings (1661) by Francesco Cozza, one of the Virtuosi: Adoration of the Shepherds on left side and Adoration of the Magi on right. The stucco relief on the left, Dream of St Joseph is by Paolo Benaglia, and the one on the right, Rest during the flight from Egypt is by Carlo Monaldi. On the vault are several 17th-century canvases, from left to right: Cumean Sibyl by Ludovico Gimignani; Moses by Francesco Rosa; Eternal Father by Giovanni Peruzzini; David by Luigi Garzi and finally Eritrean Sibyl by Giovanni Andrea Carlone.

The second niche has a statue of St Agnes, by Vincenco Felici. The bust on the left is a portrait of Baldassare Peruzzi, derived from a plaster portrait by Giovanni Duprè. The tomb of King Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia is in the next chapel. The chapel was originally dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, and then to St. Thomas the Apostle. The present design is by Giuseppe Sacconi, completed after his death by his pupil Guido Cirilli. The tomb consists of a slab of alabaster mounted in gilded bronze. The frieze has allegorical representations of Generosity, by Eugenio Maccagnani, and Munificence, by Arnaldo Zocchi. The royal tombs are maintained by the National Institute of Honour Guards to the Royal Tombs, founded in 1878. They also organize picket guards at the tombs. The altar with the royal arms is by Cirilli.

The third niche holds the mortal remains — his Ossa et cineres, "Bones and ashes", as the inscription on the sarcophagus says — of the great artist Raphael. His fiancée, Maria Bibbiena is buried to the right of his sarcophagus; she died before they could marry. The sarcophagus was given by Pope Gregory XVI, and its insription reads ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI / RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI, meaning "Here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die". The epigraph was written by Pietro Bembo. The present arrangement is from 1811, designed by Antonio Munoz. The bust of Raphael (1833) is by Giuseppe Fabris. The two plaques commemorate Maria Bibbiena and Annibale Carracci. Behind the tomb is the statue known as the Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the Rock) so named because she rests one foot on a boulder. It was commissioned by Raphael and made by Lorenzetto in 1524.

In the Chapel of the Crucifixion, the Roman brick wall is visible in the niches. The wooden crucifix on the altar is from the 15th century. On the left wall is a Descent of the Holy Ghost (1790) by Pietro Labruzi. On the right side is the low relief Cardinal Consalvi presents to Pope Pius VII the five provinces restored to the Holy See (1824) made by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bust is a portrait of Cardinal Agostino Rivarola. The final niche on this side has a statue of St. Rasius (S. Erasio) (1727) by Francesco Moderati.

Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619)

Adoration of the Magi, 1616

Oil on canvas

cm 260 x 175

 

Signed and dated in the bottom right-hand corner: «Lod. Car. Bon. A.D. MDCXVI», the picture came to the Brera with the Napoleonic suppressions. Its date is confirmed in a letter dated 29 June 1616 in which Ludovico says that he is working on the painting. One of the loftiest expressions of the artist’s maturity, it is still faithful to his style designed to communicate popular religious sentiment in a way that was easy to understand, while also allowing for the fact that it was intended for a penitential confraternity.

 

The Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but also mythological and allegorical subjects. Active in Rome, Naples, and his native Bologna, he became the dominant figure in the Bolognese School that emerged under the influence of the Carracci.

c. 1582. Oli sobre paper entelat. 42,8 x 29,5 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. 2019.4. Obra no exposada.

1594/1595. Oli sobre tela. 196 x 225 cm. Pinacoteca Stuard, Parma. Obra exposada: Sala 8.

How did a burly, middle-aged soldier become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? Was he playing Ignatius Loyola? Francis of Assisi? Paul of Tarsus? Not quite. The only saint who really cuts it as a cover-boy is St Sebastian, that curly-haired Roman youth shot with arrows on the orders of the emperor Diocletian. Sebastian's appeal to gay men seems obvious. He was young, male, apparently unmarried and martyred by the establishment. Unlike, say, St Augustine of Hippo, he also looks good in a loincloth and tied to a tree. And never was Sebastian more winsome than in the seven versions of him sculpted inside the choir of Saint-Maurice Church in Orschwiller..

What's going on? Well, Sebastian is living proof of the fact that if saints didn't exist, we would have to invent them. Thanks to the arrows, he's the one martyr in art everyone can spot. (Iconography is so unfair. Who now recognises St Stephen's stones or St Lawrence's griddle?) A twinky torso also helps. Yet, according to his hagiographer, Ambrose of Milan, Sebastian was a red-blooded captain in the Praetorian Guard, a centurion of middling years: he is the patron saint of soldiers and athletes, not hairdressers. Far from riling Diocletian by proselytising for same-sex love, he was killed for converting Romans to Christianity. And we all know where that led.

But there is worse. Not only was St Sebastian middle-aged and butch, he wasn't killed with arrows. Punctured, yes, but not killed. The perforated martyr was rescued from the stake and nursed back to health by St Irene of Rome – a woman, boys – before unwisely haranguing Diocletian for his paganism as he passed by on a litter. Unmoved by his tenacity, the emperor had Sebastian clubbed to death; his body was then dumped in Rome's sewers. Had history been less kind, he might have ended up as patron saint of poo.

How this would have affected his career as a gay coverboy we will never know. I can only recall one representation in art of St Sebastian thrown into the Cloaca Maxima, and that – by Reni's contemporary and fellow Bolognese, Lodovico Carracci – is safely tucked away in The Getty Center in Los Angeles. By contrast, there are more pictures of the arrow-filled Sebastian than there are of any other martyr I can think of, painted by everyone from Aleotti to Zick by way of Rubens, Botticelli, Titian and John Singer Sargent. The National Gallery alone has a dozen, including ones by Crivelli, Gerrit Honthorst and Luca Signorelli. And they're all of the same Sebastian, the one who ends up, eventually, on the cover of reFRESH: a paragon of male beauty, his toned body, prettily stuck with arrows, exposed to our gaze; the martyr described by Oscar Wilde – who, in French exile, took the alias "Sebastian Melmoth" – as "a lovely brown boy with crisp, clustering hair and red lips".

 

www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arr...

Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? It’s a way? But other wise you could have a nice understanding about arrows:

 

The five arrows are the five pillars to design the light inside your body and the pathways to immortal soul. Passed times, actually, future are realistic two other are united in the astral and are properties of auspicious answering from ancestors and reborn of consciousness.

The Promise Revealed .The arrow association with timeline is long and varied and much must wait for a more in depth recounting, but for now let us say he opened many doors for me and was a light on the inner and outer path towards knowledge and truth, love and the secrets of the universe.

My entire life has been filled with a calling and a longing. These longings and search for love and truth have been a blessing and a curse.I have always wanted to know who am I? Where did we come from?What is our purpose here? Why is there so much suffering and discord and anxiety on our planet? Why is the world so distorted and fractured,and so caught up in wars pollution ignorance superstition and fear?

   

Even as a small child I could see the answers to many of the worlds problems that were simple and easy fixes – if mankind would but realize the folly of his ways! It seems every question that was answered opened up 10 more. It seems I was never satisfied.

 

In my youth, I could really not understand why this planet was such a bloody mess. Once when I was pondering such questions as an 8-year-old, I asked my mother, Mom what is out there in outer space? Where does it go? When does it end? She replied: It never ends.

I nervously laughed, as if to deny the responsibility of accepting an infinite ever-expanding consciousness, and replied: It has to end somewhere. She laughed and saidWhere then? At a wall?

What is on other side?”

 

This really got me thinking, and I shook my head as I walked down the stairs to my own room, which was in the basement.

I got into bed and laid back. I fell into a melancholy reverie of infinite space. Into this otherwise dark room,I watched with interest as a small star maneuvered into the center of myone window. This Light, which I obviously now know to be my space family, had noticed my interest in deeper truths and proceeded to talk to me!

 

I had a short or long, I cannot remember to be honest, informational exchange on some deep and not so deep subjects. When I finally got to the question?

Well what is going to happen to planet earth? It surely cannot go on like this or we will most definitely destroy ourselves with they way things are going now, I was given an unexpected answer.

 

I was shown how eventually everything would come to a head and then at some point every one, or maybe not everyone, would be lifted off the planet and find themselves in giant space ships. Then they would be taken to other beautiful new and pristine planets to try and make a fresh start. For some reason, I felt I might be left behind.

 

Now how accurate my remembrances are, or exactly what this means, is open for debate. I only know that later in life while coming to grips with the fact that we are not alone in the universe and that I was being contacted by intelligent life from beyond our solar system, I remembered this telepathic exchange, and as far as I can recollect, this was my first contact.

 

My life was pretty normal for the most part and my deep hunger for truth and search for expanded awareness led me to Carlos Castanedas teachings and writings from Don Juan. These series of books were for me the key to growth and realizing myself as an infinite being of light.

 

I was enthralled and could not get enough of these books. I was more interested in the actual knowledge and the seemingly magical understandings of how we perceive and what really makes our reality as opposed to the Power plants that Don Juan gave to Carlos to help him to stop the world and to perceive a separate reality. The concepts Don Juan was expounding on were the basis of quantum Physics.

 

I was instinctively drawn to these understandings and somehow knew we make our own reality by our beliefs and where we place our attention. I was practicing the various secrets of gaining personal power and had some profound beyond belief type of happenings. Growing up in Laguna Beach where Timothy Leary lived, it wasnt long before I was having my own experiences with Power Plants, mushrooms and eventually LSD.

 

LAGUNA BEACH 100 Yards FROM MY CHILDHOOD OCEAN FRONT HOME

 

WHAT MY OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES FELT LIKE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WITH SEMJASES SHIP

 

The details of these awakenings will be shared later, but for now suffice to say that I Saw my death, my will and realized myself as a Luminous being.

I realized that we are in essence, a luminous, nameless cluster of feelings that is held together by the binding force of life. I flew on the wings of my perception and learned how to shrink my tonal and even was visited by The Moth of Knowledge.

 

For some, these descriptions are metaphors, but for me these are real and accurate descriptions of the steps to becoming a man of knowledge and the path with heart. Seeing my auric egg was part and parcel of my spiritual awakening and my expanded perceptions of reality helped me to understand who we are and how we interact with the immensity of the infinite reality.

 

It was around this time at age 16 or so I was very interested in Psychic phenomenon and the developing of Siddhis or the powers of the mind. I developed a sort of obsession with pyramids in high school and was talking to a girl at school who upon hearing of my interest, proclaimed, I know the PYRAMID MAN.

 

 Pyramid Power in action!

 

13 - fred healing machine

 

Fred’s Front page of The National Examiner Article

 

He is holding his scale model of the X-1 healing machine and the design of a time machine / spaceship utilizing the interstellar conversion process

 

The pyramid man, really? I had to meet him and my first meeting was days later when I knocked on the door of Fred Bell. He was literally carrying in his very first run of 50 gold pyramids, which we would later share with the entire world.

 

I spent many hours and days and years of my life in close association with Fred Bell, who was my friend, teacher and benefactor and spiritual guide. We developed many healing technologies utilizing pyramids, crystals and lasers. The history of our association is long and varied and much must wait for a more in depth recounting, but for now let me say he opened many doors for me and was a light on the inner and outer path towards knowledge and truth, love and the secrets of the universe.

 

Our esoteric experiences and metaphysical alchemical journeys culminated in not only out-of-body experiences, which reached not only into the heart of the galaxy, but even unto the heart of creation itself.

 

These ineffable experiences transcend all logic and defy the intellect and spill out onto the floor of belief where only visionary mystics, impeccable warriors, saints and angels dare to tread. I must most likely be a visionary or a mystic because god knows I am no angel or saint. My flirtations with impeccability, if I dare to describe them as such, have been limited to very brief short bursts of accumulated personal power, which have enabled brief flights on the wings of my perception. I have touched infinity and knelt before the infinite light and worshiped the glory of God.

 

I am but a small speck of nothingness in the vastness of forever and God has made me whole and showed me the glory and the beauty of creation. I know from whence I came and I long to return to this divine source. I am ever on the path home gathering light and life immersed in the folly of men, ever seeking the truth far above and within my own self. This love and experience is so all powerful and consuming that my entire life is devoted to serving this ever living presence of love, life and light.

 

This eternal presence of perfection and ever expanding love, this primal relationship, this way of the eternal is right here before us and within us every step of the way. It is our souls right to follow the path of love home. On and on we must go with our inner and outer, our most innate self and awareness and consciousness as it is striving incessantly to realize this truth – this I AM .

 

Though many are blind to this reality for many reasons, the infinite light, the infinite love of creation waits within and without you hiding in plain sight throughout all of creation. There is no force, no power, no amount of hate, no tidal wave of fear, and no mountain of ignorance that can ever hold back this infinite being within you from realizing your self.

 

This is one aspect of the The Promise that I can Reveal as I try to share with you, to encourage you to make your way home. I can make a promise to you now. I know, I swear to you that one day, if you have not already realized it, that you too will share in this communion of love and the return of the spirit of truth in the very heart of your soul and you will one day share this through your life well lived, to every being throughout creation itself. We will stop all of the hate and all of the killing will stop. We will end the suffering and ignorance on this beautiful blue jewel floating in the immensity of God’s infinite light. We do have the power within us to bring Peace to this world.

  

The second part of The Promise is coming true before my eyes and is my lifelong calling. Today my hours of study, my intense searching for truth, my deep reflections and endless meditations are now allowing me to be of service to our beautiful planet. I have prepared and after many hard fought battles with my lower personality vehicle and accumulated scars, I now try to fly on scarred wings. Under Fred Bell’s watchful eye, after many years of leaving my body and going through various initiations of light body awareness, I was rewarded with several live contacts with my space family.

 

The first live contact was the culmination of a magical time with a member of the earths Resistance Movement. This was a military Special Forces brother who refused to work for the dark side and was rewarded with help from our space family. His name was Jim and I owe him a great debt of gratitude. He was sent to act as my teacher at Gabriel Greens house. The Ascended Master Hilarion, who is the Cohan of the 5th Ray of Concrete Science and Knowledge, sent Jim, who I consider my brother and teacher of light, to me.

 

He was instructed to teach me many things. In the course of my association, I was gifted with my first real open visit from Semjase. I was with Jim, Gabriel Green and Michael El Legion. I had a very emotional telepathic contact, which ended in me never having to see another space ship to know that they are real and there are very physical beings who ride in space ships made of matter and living light.

 

My second encounter with Semjase that I am allowed to remember is when I was with Fred in the living room of his house atop the Vortex in Laguna Beach. I was lying on the floor and the next moment I was standing inside a space ship. Many wonderful things and many amazing revelations were shared with me. And in the morning, I was returned to adifferent location in his living room with Fred by my side. You are the master now, he exclaimed. I could only watch in frustration as right before my eyes most of my experiences were erased from my mind. I had all the memories before me and I watched helpless to stop the eraser that slowly step-by-step removed almost all of my experience. I managed to keep one major memory and this is what I have held onto for all of my life. All that remains of the most amazing day of my entire life is my remembrance of The Promise.

THE MINI ALL SPARK IN ACTION

I made a promise to Semjase before I left the ship on the teleportation beam and I am fulfilling part of that promise by sharing with you here on this site my most intimate and personal struggles and victories of the light in my life and as I have witnessed them on the surface of the planet and in my personal life.

I promised to her that one day I would create a show, a party of love to honor the Galactic Federation of Light. This event would share the wonderful healing technologies of light color and sound that were part of my own individual awakening process. I promised to her that I would do my best to help people overcome the darkness on this planet by unifying them into a purpose and a mission to heal themselves and the planet herself. I would teach others that by invoking love and light into their beings they could realize that by entering into the silence they too can realize the living presence of God within themselves.

This picture below is of one of our Major Portal Vortexes we created in Fred’s living room! We utilized the laser light crystal sound color technology in conjunction with Pyramids. We amplified and accelerated these fields with the violet flame-tesla coils to achieve our own artificial time warp zones! These vortexes were actually accelerated Scalar field ;Event horizons that we used in the alchemical transfiguration of ourselves in activations designed to heal the timelines ourselves and the planet herself through interaction with the grid lines or vortex portals, which were accessed through the mineral kingdom and the vortexes of our own Christ Consciousness or I AM Presence.

 

Some of The Main Components of A Promise Pyramid System

I also promised that I would gather people in a large group or groups in a concerted effort to send this light into the heart of the mother herself. I was shown how this could change the world. I do not know if this is in an instant or if this is even a possibility. I do know that I have faith that this is true. I have prayed with all my heart and being and have thought of nothing else and never wanted anything more than to serve the light by fulfilling this promise and for me this is what I must do. I bare my soul to you, the world, and reveal this Promise.

 

The Promise being fulfilled at the funerary Temple in Egypt

From the source of all that is good, beautiful and true, I pray that I am successful and that my effort will bear fruit and hasten the day of the return of love and light to the world of men and upon our world. I know whether I am successful or not, that love is already here inside my heart and yours, and one day very soon this love will spread like a fire and envelope the entire world and be evident in the very nature of our reality, and we will once again be home. Living in harmony with nature and each other is not so hard to do.It is for this dream, this promise I am here to serve.

May the kingdom come quickly

Rob Potter

Annibale Carracci, Landscape with the Flight into Egypt, c. 1604, oil on canvas, 122 x 230 cm (Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome)

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