Rome: Baroque, After Dark
After a pilgrimage to Michelangelo's Pieta, we climb to the top of St. Peter's Basilica. We seek out tucked-away Renaissance paintings and a cleverly-painted false dome. At the Borghese Gallery, it's exquisite sculptures by the master of marble, Bernini. Then we join the locals on an after-dark stroll, lacing together Rome's Baroque and bubbly nightspots.
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Travel Details
Giordano Bruno (1548–1600)
Lauded as a martyr to free thought and reviled as an intellectual con-man and heretic, the philosopher/priest Bruno has a legacy only a Roman could love. Details of his life are sketchy, and his writings range from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The young Dominican priest was nonconformist and outspoken from the start. He had to flee Italy to avoid a charge of heresy, and spent most of his adult life wandering Europe's capitals. In Geneva, he joined the Calvinists, until he was driven out for his unorthodox views. In London, he met with Queen Elizabeth, who found him subversive. In Germany, the Lutherans excommunicated him.
In his writings, Bruno claimed to have discovered the "Clavis Magna" (Great Key) to training the human memory. He published satirical plays tweaking Church morals. He advanced the still-heretical (Copernican) notion that the earth revolved around the sun, and speculated about other inhabited planets in the universe. All his works show a vast-ranging mind that was aware of the scientific trends of the day.
In 1593, Bruno was arrested by the Inquisition and sent to Rome, where he languished in prison for six years. (Tortured? Lost in bureaucracy? No one knows.) The exact charge against him remains debated by historians.
Bruno was sentenced to death by fire. He replied: "Perhaps you who pronounce this sentence are more fearful than I who receive it." On February 17, 1600, the civil authorities led him to the stake on Campo de' Fiori. As they lit the fire, he was offered a crucifix to hold. He pushed it away.
Hotel Oceania
Via Firenze 38, 3rd floor
Tel. 06-482-4696
Fax 06-488-5586
info@hoteloceania.it
Borghese Gallery
This plush museum, filling a cardinal's mansion in the park, was recently restored and offers one of Europe's most sumptuous art experiences. You'll enjoy a collection of world-class Baroque sculpture, including Bernini's David and his excited statue of Apollo chasing Daphne, as well as paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, Titian, and Rubens. The museum's slick mandatory reservation system keeps the crowds at a manageable size. Reservations are mandatory and easy to get in English by booking online (www.ticketeria.it) or calling 06-328-10 (if you get an Italian recording, wait for the English translation to get the most up-to-date information, or press 2 to hear standard information in English).
Filetti di Baccalà
Largo dei Librari 88
T
tel. 06-686-4018
Updated for 2010.