134. Roma 8 - Caravaggio & Quincy Jones

A surprise change of plan for this weekend... I had wanted to go to a concert by the Neapolitan jazz maestro 'Pino Daniele' in Florence, but unfortunately the tickets all sold out... shame!

However, I then see an advert on MTV for a mega charity concert being staged  in Rome hosted by the legendary Quincy Jones!!! Of course I just have to be there... Annette is studying all day, so unfortunately can't go, but reluctantly (for her!) has given me the ok!

I'm on the 9.42 am Eurostar train out of Santa Maria Novella heading for Roma termini... by 11.30am unbelievably I'm walking on the ancient cobblestones for the 8th time in my life...

The concert isn't due to start until 6.30 so I have seven and a half hours in the Eternal city to continue my art trail that began many years ago. One of my favourite artists is Caravaggio and seeing some of  his masterpieces is today's goal. I head to the Capitoline museum on Michelangelo's epic Campidoglio, where I see Caravaggio's 'Fortune teller' and 'John the Baptist' along with some other famous pieces here too. The huge Constantine head and feet, the dying Gaul, Praxiteles' Capitoline Venus and Phidias' Amazonia. For me it's a real treat to finally see some otrf these absolute masterpieces of the ancient world.

After an overwhelming morning I stop for lunch, a very tasty mozzarella-in-carozza and I'm ready for part two...

I head off to Piazza Navona, to oggle at the magnificent Bernini sculptured fountain, but of course I'm really here to see one of Caravaggio's best pieces, which is in a small church just round the corner. San Luigi dei Francesi to be precise. In a dark corner of the Contarelli chapel is this exsquisite three-cycle painting of Matthew by the master of low life painting. The calling, inspiration and martyrdom of Matthew. He changed the inspiration painting to suit the requirements of the priests, but they are breathtaking nonetheless. It is incredible to come in off the road and find yourself in the presence of such greatness... I am speechless!

And so on to the reason I am in Rome today... I walk on to the Circus Maximus, where the crowds are beginning to gather... I find a spot near enough the stage to see, but far enough back not to be squashed. It is truly an all-star cast of some of my favourite artists, all directed by the man himself, Quincy Jones and a 70 piece orchestra. The concert is entitled, 'We are the future' a reference to his 'We are the world' project from the 1980's.

Seven hours of music follow, with performances by Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Carlos Santana, Patti Austin, Herbie Hancock, Andrea Bocelli, Ennio Morricone, Take 6, Zucchero, Damian Marley etc. There are also some famous celebrities on hand to introduce the acts: Mohammed Ali, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Lionel Richie, Francesco Totti, Naomi Campbell etc.

It is truly a memorable evening, finishing sometime after 1 am with a half hour version of 'Oye como va' by Santana...

Grazie Roma!

15. Pitti Palace

I always think it kind of amusing when I here somebody say they can 'do' Florence in a day! Ok so one only has so much time for holidays and there are so many other places to visit, but Florence in one day?  When I was here on holiday for two weeks, apart from everything else, I only visited 3 of the 70 museums in Florence! (and that's without counting special and temporary exhibitions)

However now that I'm living here, I have the opportunity to see some of the things that only residents, students or those holiday makers who stay in Florence for longer than a day, ever get to see...

After 18 consecutive days of sun in Tuscany to start the year, a 5 day trip to drizzly England for my Nan's funeral, it's time to recover with some art of the heavyweight variety!

Here, at the one time residence of the Medici, Napoleon and King of Italy... The Pitti Palace.

The brainchild of merchant banker Luca Pitti who in true 'keeping up with the Jones's fashion', wanted a palace to rival that of his sworn enemies the Medici family and their Palazzo Medici. Pitti died before it was finished and ironically the Pitti Palace was bought by Eleonora Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de' Medici and eventually came to be in possession of the Medici familly! Today the Pitti palace is the largest museum complex in Florence with 7 museums (containing 140 rooms which are open to the public) plus the Boboli gardens, the largest garden in the city. 

We visited Boboli last June in sweltering heat and I've walked past this enormous palace on many ocassions, but today I have about 4 hours free between lessons and the temptation to look inside is too much! Once through the imposing exterior it's into the colossal 'Ammananti' courtyard with no less than 4 enormous statues of Hercules. Here a copy of the Lyssipus bronze, but with the transposed head of Emperor Commodus!

Today I'm only visiting the Palatine Gallery as it houses works by some of my favourite artists, Caravaggio, Canova, Titian and  Raphael. The Palatine gallery is separated into about 30 rooms, named after Greek Mythological characters and there are around 5oo Renaissance paintings and some sculptures.

There are no less than 13 paintings by Titian here, his  young Englishman, or 'the man with blue-green eyes' and 'La Bella'  (above) were both mesmerising in their beauty.  

Raphael is well represented here with 11 paintings. This portrait being probably the most interesting piece in the museum. Nowhere near as famous as Leonardo's Mona Lisa, but many think, showing a striking similarity. Nothing prepares you for seeing the luxurious colours and soft beauty Raphael embues in this ideal portrait of womanhood, the identity of whom, like the Mona Lisa, remains a mystery. One is drawn to the warmth and love of this painting and cetainly you are able to get a lot closer to it than the Mona Lisa! 

My favourite piece here was Canova's gorgeous sculpture of Venus, called 'the Venus Italica' looking rather shy as she seeks to cover her nudity. You can see the Greek influence of this neo-Classical sculpture and in fact it was originally comissioned to replace the Medici Venus stolen by Napoleon and taken to the Louvre, but since replaced in the Uffizi. "When I saw this divine work of Canova," wrote the poet Ugo Foscolo in 1811, "I sighed with a thousand desires, for really, if the Medici Venus is a most beautiful goddess, this is a most beautiful woman."  My thoughts exactly! I definitely want to check out more of his work in the future.

  

A final piece was this dark 'Sleeping Cupid' by Caravaggio, I saw a Caravaggio exhibition in London a few years ago and this is his first piece I've seen in Italy. Painted in Malta towards the end of his life, with its plump, life like flesh, laying aside his bow and arrow he displays an abandonment of worldly possessions. Worth staying more than a day in Florence? I think so!

(Original journal entry 30/1/02)