A Pre-Birthday Celebration in Rome
Tandem Spirits had originally planned to spend a weekend in Rome for James’ birthday, however, the weather was not-at-all promising. The forecast called for rain. So we decided to go on Saturday instead of spending the whole weekend. We had a great time, and the weather held for most of the day.
As usual, we took the train to Termini station and walked to our destination. Our first stop was the Scuderie del Quirinale, where they currently have an exhibit called Superbarocco: Art in Genoa from Rubens to Magnasco which focuses on the opulence of the Genoese Baroque. It has over 120 works from various collections from around the world and includes portraits, landscapes, religious art, sculpture, and sketches and paintings used in designing a number of baroque churches. There are some truly stunning works in this exhibit.
A shot from above the 1st room in the exhibit. You can see that some of these works are quite large. On the left is The Miracles of Blessed Ignatius of Loyola, 1619 (Pieter Rubens) and on the right Giovani Carlo Doria (P. Rubens), 1606.
Apollo and Daphne – Paolo Gerolamo Piola – 1700 circa
The Cook – Bernardo Strozzi – 1625 circa
This is a shot of the the 4th room which displayed paintings representing a visionary style. Paintings from left to right are Rosamund’s Feast, The Death of Carlo Uticensis, The Imperturbability of Anaxarchus, The Temptations of Saint Anthony the Abbot
These are four related paintings by Cornelis De Wael, a Flemish painter: The Departure, Wasting His Substance, Expelled from the Tavern and Amid the Swine. These all relate to the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Sacrifice to Pan – Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione – 1640 cirica
Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene – Simon Vouet – 1622 circa
Noah’s Sacrifice after the Deluge – Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione – 1645 circa
We noticed that among the chaos following the Deluge, there were these two, well-traveled cats. Kind of like the Tandem Spirits!
Zephyr and Flora – Bartolomeo Guidobono – 1705 circa
There were simply too many pictures to share in this post, so we added a few more in the gallery below. Enjoy!
Lunch was a pleasant surprise. We hadn’t made reservations, so we walked toward our next destination until we found something that looked interesting. We enjoyed a delicious cacia e peppe and lasagna at Hedera with a nice glass of merlot.
We finished by splitting a panna cotta with pistachio cream. After our espressos, we were ready for our next exhibit.
A Simple Lunch
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
The outer courtyard of Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
A few steps from the restaurant, we stepped into the courtyard of the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. We have walked past this building many times and have even stepped into the lovely courtyard at the entrance, but we were unaware that it is an incredible gallery belonging to a family with a long history in Rome and Genoa. The name comes from the powerful Doria and Pamhilj families, one of whom, Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, became Pope Innocent X. He was one of the principal collectors of the artworks on display.
The Jupiter Room – The first of many rooms!
The Palace and Its Art Collection are, simply put, overwhelming!
The Tandem Spirits were overwhelmed by the huge collection of art, paintings and sculpture in this palace.
When you start, they give you a very nice audio guide. We started out going through several rooms in the palace, which was built in the 1500s. Including the velvet room, with red velvet damask wallpaper, the ballroom, the chapel, and the Hall of Mirrors with gold framed mirrors and marble statues lining each side of the room. Some of the rooms had large pictures by one or two artists such as J.B. Weenix, G.B. Giovannini G. Contarini, and Gaspard Dugout (Poussin), were either biblical, landscape, or a combination of the two.
The Ballroom
The Hall of Mirrors
Room of the Primitives
Main Art Gallery
Most of the paintings and sculptures are located in the Pamphilj Gallery, the Aldobrandini Room, the Room of the Primitives, and the Doria Gallery. There is so much to see. There are works by well known artists and sculptors like Caravaggio and Bernini, and many that we didn’t know at all. They have an impressive collection of paintings by both Jan and Pieter Brueghel.
Below are two works showing Pope Innocent X. The painting is by Diego Velázquez and the bust is by Bernini. This Pope is responsible for a lot of the art in this palace.
A Small Gallery - Click on the 1st picture to view the gallery
This is an amazing Caravaggio – Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Domenico Fetti – St. Mary Magdalene, The Penitent
The Tandem Spirits are truly lucky to live in Foligno. We are only 1.5 hours by train from Rome, which allows us to have wonderful days like this.
