I love the lesser known Michelangelos, because I get them all to myself. In the case of the Baths of Diocletian, a huge complex of ruins across the street from Termini, you get pleasant ancient stuff, weirdo early modern stuff and an entire Michelangelo courtyard all to yourself. I commend all the Roman visitors who don’t go… Read More A Michelangelo right next to Termini, but totally empty. Win for me!
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.
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)
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
Museum Month(s) has revealed Museum Truth(s) to me. As I’ve reviewed museums in NYC, Paris, Berlin, and Florence (Rome will be next, I swear! I’m not procrastinating on that one or anything) I’ve realized there are a few hard and fast truths for me when it comes to museum visiting. So here, when it’s nearly Christmas,… Read More Museum Month(s) in Review: My Top 5 Museum Truths
…the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo! But only in the afternoons when the Bargello is closed. Gaaah I can’t choose! So Death Match Thunderdome Battle 5000 it is! But first, a few words about the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo: The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo seems to have the most confusing of all possible museum names, leading… Read More Death Match Thuderdome Battle 5000: and the Best Museum in Florence IS….
If I had one morning in Florence, and I wanted to choose only one museum to visit, I would almost certainly choose the Bargello. It would have to be a morning though because the Bargello keeps confusing hours and isn’t typically open in the afternoon. The structure is a medieval barracks/fortress/prison/castle of awesome and has the… Read More Best Museum in Florence: the BARGELLO! Or… is it second best?
Probably nobody would go to the Accademia if it weren’t for the David– which is a shame because they actually do have a nice little collection of other late Medieval/Renaissance artworks, along with a musical instruments collection, which is my own personal cup of tea. But because it has the David, the Accademia is (with… Read More Florence’s Accademia: Terrible? Wonderful? Both?
Shall we commune some more with Michelangelo’s last sculpture? The one that makes the Castello Sforzesco and Milan worthy destinations? The one that shows his process and him changing his mind and his religious fervor and if you really want to get crazy maybe even his fear and knowledge of his impending death? Let’s do… Read More Let’s really appreciate that Rondanini Pietà for another moment…
Ruins + Relics 