The objective for this course was “to provide an intensive on-site investigation of the role that the arts have played in the development of Roman civilization, and by extension the influence of this civilization on the historical development of the visual arts in the western world.” We began our expedition in Pompeii, where we immediately saw the different focus of the Romans from the Greeks, in that the Greeks were more concerned with exterior spaces while the Romans focused more on the interiors. We progressed from there to the House of the Faun and House of Mystery, where we admired sculptures, mosaics and frescos, illustrating this point.
Then we traveled to Rome and the Capitoline Hill, where we reviewed the origins of Rome, the founding myth (which was corroborated when Iron Age huts were found on the Palatine Hill), and the fact that the Etruscans occupied the area both before and around the time of the founding of Rome. The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, which once stood on the Capitoline Hill, was in fact an Etruscan temple. This was home to the Sibylline Books as well as a place to give thanks to Jupiter for military victories. We visited the nearby Forum, ground zero for Rome, and the home for politics, commerce, social exchanges, and religion next. It was where the Senate met, housed the Treasury and prison, and was a place where speeches were made. The Basilica Julia served as a home for legal functions.
The nearby huge and very impressive Colosseum was erected as a monument to celebrate the victory of the Romans over the Jews by Vespasian (who wanted to give the land that was occupied by Nero’s controversial domus aurea, back to the people), but also as a place to entertain and impress the Roman people. It housed elaborate spectacles, usually full of violence, including gladiatorial combats, public executions, bestial displays, naval battle reenactments, and various other performances. Not only the size, but the complexity of its underground workings, display significant feats of engineering by the Romans and labor by their slaves.
We admired various arches and monuments in Rome, which were heavily decorated, including the arches of Titus and Constantine. Next we visited the Forum of Augustus, constructed of marble, decorated with statues, and which housed the first fixed courtrooms. The Forum of Trajan was next, where libraries were housed.
At the Pantheon we admired another level of artistic development. Not only did the structure require feats of architecture to insure that the enormous dome would be adequately supported by its base (as the levels get higher they are thinner and lighter), but here we see the whole building serving as a clock as well as a religious site.
Next we visited Ostia, where we really saw commerce developing. There were shops, warehouses, and various businesses. We saw signs of early labor unions, and the first apartment style living arrangements we experienced, as well as public baths.
The following day we visited Hadrian’s Villa. This was a place for self-indulgence and displayed how the very wealthy showed off and entertained both guests and themselves. It was elaborate, containing his theatre, various pools, canals and other water features, and a sanctuary to the God “Serapus.”
Day 7 was dedicated to the Catacombs of St. Agnes (a communal burial site), and to various churches. The churches were intensely decorated with mosaics, columns, and symbolic paintings/sculptures. At Santa Sabina the doors contained bible scenes and there were inlaid designs in the columns of the colonnade. At the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, we saw and talked about how God was then being depicted in art. The apses of these churches were covered not only in paintings but also in gold.
We returned to the Capitoline Hill on day 8 to view Michelangelo’s work on the Piazza del Campidoglio. And we visited the Capitoline Museum that day, where I admired various works including one from my favorite sculptor-Bernini’s Head of Medusa.
Day 9 was about examining the opulence of 3 villas: Villa Giulia; Villa D’Este; and Villa Borghese. While I admired Bernini’s amazing lifelike statues at Borghese, my favorite was D’Este because I appreciated how you could get lost and relax in the amazing gardens with their water features. All these villas showed off sophisticated, intricate artistic features, both in the design of the buildings/grounds and in their contents. We had come a long way from the simplicity of Pompeii.
The crown jewels of our trip were on day 10 when we visited the Vatican, St. Peter’s and Bernini’s Piazza de San Pietro. I’m not sure there is a more impressive piazza anywhere than the Piazza de San Pietro, which is fitting because it was designed to suggest that the Church was opening its arms to welcome the people into its fold. I found it welcoming but also intimidating in its grandeur. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel was also intimidating in a different way—it makes all other paintings look insignificant, although the chapel itself is much smaller than other venues we saw.
In revisiting my notes I realize that our trip covered a phenomenal period of development in not only architecture, but also the arts. We saw simple, relatively undecorated spaces, and the most ornate. In our tour of Rome and surroundings we were able to witness an evolution and explosion in the building and decorative arts. These developments in Rome certainly spread throughout Europe. It’s striking to me that there is nothing to compare in the Americas.
Below are a few pictures from the trip. There is one from each day (in order going down the columns) showing my favorite thing from that day. If you click on them, it will take you to the place we saw them.
Then we traveled to Rome and the Capitoline Hill, where we reviewed the origins of Rome, the founding myth (which was corroborated when Iron Age huts were found on the Palatine Hill), and the fact that the Etruscans occupied the area both before and around the time of the founding of Rome. The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, which once stood on the Capitoline Hill, was in fact an Etruscan temple. This was home to the Sibylline Books as well as a place to give thanks to Jupiter for military victories. We visited the nearby Forum, ground zero for Rome, and the home for politics, commerce, social exchanges, and religion next. It was where the Senate met, housed the Treasury and prison, and was a place where speeches were made. The Basilica Julia served as a home for legal functions.
The nearby huge and very impressive Colosseum was erected as a monument to celebrate the victory of the Romans over the Jews by Vespasian (who wanted to give the land that was occupied by Nero’s controversial domus aurea, back to the people), but also as a place to entertain and impress the Roman people. It housed elaborate spectacles, usually full of violence, including gladiatorial combats, public executions, bestial displays, naval battle reenactments, and various other performances. Not only the size, but the complexity of its underground workings, display significant feats of engineering by the Romans and labor by their slaves.
We admired various arches and monuments in Rome, which were heavily decorated, including the arches of Titus and Constantine. Next we visited the Forum of Augustus, constructed of marble, decorated with statues, and which housed the first fixed courtrooms. The Forum of Trajan was next, where libraries were housed.
At the Pantheon we admired another level of artistic development. Not only did the structure require feats of architecture to insure that the enormous dome would be adequately supported by its base (as the levels get higher they are thinner and lighter), but here we see the whole building serving as a clock as well as a religious site.
Next we visited Ostia, where we really saw commerce developing. There were shops, warehouses, and various businesses. We saw signs of early labor unions, and the first apartment style living arrangements we experienced, as well as public baths.
The following day we visited Hadrian’s Villa. This was a place for self-indulgence and displayed how the very wealthy showed off and entertained both guests and themselves. It was elaborate, containing his theatre, various pools, canals and other water features, and a sanctuary to the God “Serapus.”
Day 7 was dedicated to the Catacombs of St. Agnes (a communal burial site), and to various churches. The churches were intensely decorated with mosaics, columns, and symbolic paintings/sculptures. At Santa Sabina the doors contained bible scenes and there were inlaid designs in the columns of the colonnade. At the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, we saw and talked about how God was then being depicted in art. The apses of these churches were covered not only in paintings but also in gold.
We returned to the Capitoline Hill on day 8 to view Michelangelo’s work on the Piazza del Campidoglio. And we visited the Capitoline Museum that day, where I admired various works including one from my favorite sculptor-Bernini’s Head of Medusa.
Day 9 was about examining the opulence of 3 villas: Villa Giulia; Villa D’Este; and Villa Borghese. While I admired Bernini’s amazing lifelike statues at Borghese, my favorite was D’Este because I appreciated how you could get lost and relax in the amazing gardens with their water features. All these villas showed off sophisticated, intricate artistic features, both in the design of the buildings/grounds and in their contents. We had come a long way from the simplicity of Pompeii.
The crown jewels of our trip were on day 10 when we visited the Vatican, St. Peter’s and Bernini’s Piazza de San Pietro. I’m not sure there is a more impressive piazza anywhere than the Piazza de San Pietro, which is fitting because it was designed to suggest that the Church was opening its arms to welcome the people into its fold. I found it welcoming but also intimidating in its grandeur. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel was also intimidating in a different way—it makes all other paintings look insignificant, although the chapel itself is much smaller than other venues we saw.
In revisiting my notes I realize that our trip covered a phenomenal period of development in not only architecture, but also the arts. We saw simple, relatively undecorated spaces, and the most ornate. In our tour of Rome and surroundings we were able to witness an evolution and explosion in the building and decorative arts. These developments in Rome certainly spread throughout Europe. It’s striking to me that there is nothing to compare in the Americas.
Below are a few pictures from the trip. There is one from each day (in order going down the columns) showing my favorite thing from that day. If you click on them, it will take you to the place we saw them.