I don’t think I need to tell you that the Galleria Borghese is great. Tucked away into a pretty corner of the Villa Borghese, which is one of Rome’s most accessible great villa parks, the Galleria has an unreal collection, GREAT crowd control because tickets are only sold under reserved entry times. AND it isn’t… Read More The Galleria Borghese: no secret that it’s so, so, so great.
The Castel Sant’Angelo is the backdrop for many, many, many picturesque Roman views over the Tiber, or towards St. Peter’s or whatever fancy scene. So fancy. But though it’s great for its photographic potentialities, I luuuuurve the Castel Sant’Angelo for being a MOST excellent museum/historical experience. I have written about how great it is a… Read More All the Love for the Castel Sant’Angelo. Lurve too. and Looooooooooooooove
So, let’s say the Capitoline Museum isn’t really your bag, but you want to see some MOST excellent old stuff. May I suggest one of the branches of the National Roman Museum (Museo Nazionale Romano)? There are four branches of these archaeology museums: the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, the Palazzo Altemps, the Crypta Balbi, and the… Read More The National Museums in Rome: Confusing, but not really. Mostly GREAT.
Lots of people, when they visit Rome go up the huge Capitoline steps to see the Marcus Aurelius equestrian monument, the fancy pavement, and enjoy the view. But not so many people realize that of the three buildings up there two are part of a museum that has a TON of crazy good antique sculpture… Read More The Capitoline Museums: So sculpture, much good, wow.
Since I spent last post throwing all of the shade at the Vatican Museum, before I get into the rest of the glories of Rome’s many, many museums, I thought I would offer a few alternatives. Sure, the Sistine Ceiling is pretty singular, and Raphael’s Stanze are awfully special. BUT there are a few places throughout the city… Read More Skipping the Vatican Museums? Here are a few places to go instead…
I know, I know. I’m an art historian. I should loooove the Vatican Museum. Because, let’s be honest, there are some insane, insane masterpieces there. But I hate it. HATE. I hate it more that the Met, and more than MoMA, and even more than the Louvre. Why? Why do I hate it so much when there’s the Sistine… Read More Why the Vatican Museum is so, so, sooo Astonishingly Terrible.
It probably surprises no one at this point that I would assert that the Vatican Museums are TERRIBLE. But before I get into the dozens and dozens of reasons why you should never ever go to there, let’s take a moment to appreciate the reasons why people do: And oh yes, there’s that little room called… Read More Oh the Vatican Museums. So Astonishing(ly terrible)
I’ve saved museums in Rome for last in my museum review months of terror. Rome is my second home and I’ve been to a lot of the heaps there and I have lots of opinions so instead diving right in, I’m prefacing it all so that we can be orderly about all this. As it… Read More Museums in Rome: the warm-up, because there are a lot and I have a LOT of thoughts
Prior to going to Naples’ Archaeological Museum, I had heard all the things you hear about anything in Naples: that it was chaotic, confusing, and half-closed, (apparently I’m into alliteration today). But what I found when I visited was none of those things and mostly surprise wonderfulness and unsurprising smut. First, did you know that… Read More Naples’ National Archaeological Museum is Smutty, Wonderful, Chaotic, and Smutty Some More
Happy New Year and welcome back!! The holiday break treated me well, if coldly, and I’m ready to tackle the world and all its museums again! I am shocked that Museum Month part two with A Vengeance Strikes Back was not enough to cover all the museums I’ve been to, so I’ll begin shortly on… Read More Ruins and Relics in 2015: New Adventures and always more Michelangelo
Ruins + Relics 