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
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?
I’m conflicted. I’ve been to the Palazzo Pitti about 9 million times– but probably like most people, I’ve mostly bypassed the museums to instead hang out in the wonderful, wonderful Boboli Gardens. In fact, I’ve only actually been inside the museums at the Palazzo Pitti a couple times. But I’m realizing the failure in that… Read More Nobody goes to the Palazzo Pitti for the Museums… but maybe you should?
Ruins + Relics 