A Day Of Culture

I was up fairly early this morning to head out to the Borghese gallery. I had a timed entrance so needed to get there by 9 am. Supposedly they can be quite strict with entry. It was a 15 minute ride by the metro but when I showed up the metro line wasn't running. Heavy rain yesterday afternoon had somehow disrupted the metro.I ended up walking which took me 45 minutes but fortunately I had budgeted enough time. It was running later on the day.

The Borghese gallery is located in a beautiful mansion once owned by Cardinal Borghese. It is known for its sculptures by Bernini, a mid 17th century sculpture. My favorite was one of Apollo chasing Daphne but just as he catches her she starts to turn into a tree. The sculptures look so lifelike. The first circle of the museum I only noticed the sculptures, the second loop I noticed the Roman floor mosaics. The third time through I noticed these wonderful paintings by Caravaggio also a mid 19 century artist. In my last loop with the museum I noticed the elaborate ceilings. It was a lot to take in.

After the museum I walked over to the Rome National museum as it was on my way home. The national museum houses Roman sculptures from 100-200 AD and floor mosaics. The Roman sculptures were very gifted. The Romans copied the Greeks who have subsequently been copied by more modern artists. Bernini's hermaphrodite was a copy of a Roman and Greek sculpture. The Roman gallery wasn't as well air conditioned as the Borghese. I was pretty spent by 1:30 so walked the rest of the way back to my Air BnB where I have chilled out and done some washing. One has to pace oneself in such warm weather.Read more