Rome Tag

13 Jun Italy’s Quiet Masterpieces: Some lesser known museums in Rome, Milan and Venice

Posted at 07:12h in Architecture, Art, Destinations by Italian Tours

If you’re a lover of history and art or simply curious about these cities’ rich heritage, we’ve assembled a selection of museums that provide a unique glimpse into Italy’s vibrant past. Away from the usual hustle, these spots offer a more tranquil and rewarding visit.

Be sure to add these spots to your trip plan!

Rome

Centrale Montemartini
Address: Via Ostiense, 106, 00154 Roma RM
Located in the Ostiense district, about a 15-minute metro ride from the Colosseum, Centrale Montemartini is a unique fusion of industrial architecture and classical art. Once a power plant, this museum now houses an impressive collection of ancient Roman sculptures, dramatically set against a backdrop of old machinery. It’s a fascinating contrast that brings history to life in a truly unexpected way.

Palazzo Altemps
Address: Piazza di Sant’Apollinare, 46, 00186 Roma RM
Tucked away near Piazza Navona, just a 5-minute stroll from the bustling square, Palazzo Altemps is a Renaissance palace that houses a collection of ancient Roman and Egyptian artifacts. The museum is a quiet oasis where you can admire beautifully preserved sculptures and frescoes in an opulent, historic setting. It’s a perfect stop for those seeking art with a touch of grandeur.

Milan

Poldi Pezzoli Museum
Address: Via Alessandro Manzoni, 12, 20121 Milano MI
Located in the stylish Brera district, just a 5-minute walk from the Teatro alla Scala, the Poldi Pezzoli Museum is an elegant former residence turned museum. It houses an eclectic collection of Renaissance paintings, decorative arts, and armour. This museum offers a quiet, refined atmosphere where you can appreciate art in a beautifully curated setting.

Museum of Science and Technology (Leonardo da Vinci)
Address: Via San Vittore, 21, 20123 Milano MI
Found in the Sant’Ambrogio neighbourhood, about a 10-minute walk from the Last Supper, this museum is a haven for science and history enthusiasts alike. Dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci’s genius, it features models of his inventions and exhibits on space, transport, and energy. It’s a fascinating, educational experience ideal for those wanting to delve deeper into the mind of one of history’s greatest thinkers.

Scuole Grande di San Rocco – Photos by Alexandru Ionescu on Unsplash

Venice

Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Address: San Polo, 3052, 30125 Venezia VE
Situated in the San Polo district, just a 10-minute walk from the Rialto Bridge, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a hidden masterpiece. This historic confraternity building is adorned with dramatic works by the Venetian painter Tintoretto. Every inch of this grand hall is covered in art, offering a breathtaking glimpse into Venice’s artistic golden age, away from the usual tourist trail.

Fortuny Gallery
Address: San Marco, 3958, 30124 Venezia VE
Nestled in the heart of the San Marco district, a short walk from La Fenice Opera House, the Fortuny Gallery is a lesser-known gem. Housed in a Gothic palace, the museum showcases the work of Mariano Fortuny, a multi-talented artist and designer. From textiles to lighting design, this museum offers an intriguing look at Fortuny’s innovative contributions to the arts.

Visiting these lesser-known museums allows you to immerse yourself in the rich history and culture of Rome, Venice, and Milan without the usual crowds. Each of these venues offers not only the opportunity to view extraordinary art and artifacts but also to journey back in time, uncovering narratives that are often missed by the typical tourist path.

We hope these recommendations inspire your next Italian adventure. We’d love to hear about your experience if you visit any of these museums!

MAIN IMAGE from the Centrale Montemartini by Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

12 Aug WHO WAS AUGUSTUS AND WHY IS AUGUST CALLED AUGUST?

Posted at 04:57h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Image of the Ara Pacis (above) by Rabax63, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Since 1582 our daily lives have been regulated by the Gregorian calendar, a solar dating system that counts our lives in days, months and years. The origin of this calendar goes back much further than this, to ancient Roman times, when society operated under a ten month system. Some months such as marzo were named after gods, while others were simply numbers.

August was originally known as sextilla, the sixth. But in 8BCE the emperor Augustus renamed the month after himself. As you do!!

So who was Augustus and what is his story?

Augustus was a noble Roman, born Gaius Octavian, and adoSpted by his great uncle, Julius Caesar. As a result he changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar.

Adoption of heirs was common among upper class families in ancient Rome. Romans were very concerned about succession and family legacy and if there was no male heir, it was a common practice to adopt young male family members so that the family name, assets and status could survive.

Julius Caesar intended his adopted son to inherit the leadership but fate intervened. Acting in response to Caesar’s autocratic approach and penchant for radical change, and indeed fearful that he would appoint himself king of Rome, a dissident group of senators carried out the now notorious assassination of their leader, scuttling Gaius’ chances of inheriting the leadership role. In response Gaius joined forces with Mark Antony to fight and defeat Caesar’s assassins in a bloody civil war.

The senate accepted that Rome would thrive under the leadership of Augustus as a single ruler. He was given the title Augustus, meaning the venerable one. His appointment was consecrated by the auguri , a religious group of mystics whose role was to observe and interpret the signs (usually the behaviour of birds) to determine the approval of the gods for any proposed action. This meant that not only was he emperor, but he was also the head priest, and a god.

In English august means a respected, impressive, magnificent, honourable, exalted type of person. So what was so impressive about the emperor Augustus?

Statue of Augustus from the Villa of Livia near Rome
Image by Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0 and found on Wikimedia Commons

Augustus was first and foremost an astute politician. He had clearly observed and learned from the downfall of his adoptive father Julius Caesar and set out to promote improvement of the status quo without forcing radical change.

His program of improving existing systems of civic government and management resulted in marked improvements to the daily lives of Romans.

He introduced the concept of vigili with the Vigiles Urbani, literally the Watchmen of the City. They were the first urban police and fire fighting forces, and interestingly their name lives on in the vigili urbani, the town police, and the vigili del fuoco, the firefighters in Italy today.

He established the cursus publicus, Rome’s first postal and official transportation service, which conveyed messages, officials and tax revenue between the provinces and Rome. The system involved teams of animals, wagons and drivers moving along routes that connected the various parts of the empire, requisitioning facilities from local communities as they went.

As a clever politician Augustus was also aware of the power politics underlying the gladiatorial games. Under Julius Caesar’s rule, the spending on gladiatorial games had become exorbitant as the elite vied with each other to sponsor more and more extravagant events in order to win prestige and political power. Augustus stepped in to curb this excess, placing limits on both private and public spending and tying the games to the state sponsored imperial religious cult, which of course further strengthened public recognition of the his own position.

Augustus was also interested in the fine arts, and state sponsored artists, writers and philosophers joined the ranks of those surrounding him. He appointed an advisor called Clinio Mecenate whose role was to introduce the best of these people into this circle; and we can thank Mecenate for ‘discovering’ the likes of Horace and Virgil! On top of his interest in the arts, he also completed a massive programme of civic works including the Ara Pacis, the Temple fo Caesar, the Forum of Augustus and the Baths of Agrippa.

Although Augustus was a politician rather than an active fighter, the Roman Empire doubled during his reign. Whether you regard him as the first of the ‘strong men’ or as a model for subsequent politicians, there’s no doubting his achievements. ‘I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble,’ he said. Under Augustus, Rome saw the end of a republic and the beginning of an empire, the end of internal warring and the onset of a long period of social stability and peace, known as the pax romana.

10 Jun GORGEOUS GARDENS … AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

Posted at 13:04h in Destinations, Gardens by Italian Tours

Spring in Rome is just about perfect weather for exploring gardens, and this year our group of nine travellers saw Rome at its best.

We spent our time in Rome with our fantastic local guide Sara, an art historian who took us to the little town of Tivoli to explore its two landmark attractions: Villa d’Este and Villa Adriana. These are serious historical sites. Villa d’Este and its completely over the top gardens with their famous fountains, were the creation of a troublesome cardinal who was relegated to this Roman outpost to keep him from interfering in the politics of the Vatican at the time. It’s a real statement of his wealth and power. Villa Adriana was the summer palace of the well-travelled emperor Hadrian, an accomplished architect and art lover. Sara brought the whole landscape to life with her stories of these ancient sites.

May 1 is a national holiday in Italy and the streets of Rome were thronged with people and parades. Sara joined us again to explore some of the major sites of the Eternal City, including a brief but miraculous interlude when we were almost the only people in the normally overcrowded Pantheon. It was a special day mingling with the locals on Piazza Navona and exploring the back streets of Rome with a Roman insider.

A third great highlight was our visit to the Vatican Gardens, only accessible by tour and a welcome escape from the crowds of people queuing outside the Vatican Museums. We found ourselves wandering through peaceful gardens, so quiet that we could hear birdsong, and enjoying the rose gardens that contain flowers of particular significance to the Catholic faith, including one variety chosen by Pope Francis himself.

That afternoon we travelled to Giardino di Ninfa, south of Rome, an abandoned medieval village that is tucked underneath a mountain range and has developed its own microclimate.

On our way to Florence we stopped in at a castle in a medieval town called Vignanello, known for its historic box hedge garden. We visited the castle and rubbed shoulders with Italian aristocracy: the utterly charming princess who owns the castle showed us around!

We had a lovely lunch at a little restaurant that’s been in business since the 1500s, and were introduced to cucina povera, the traditional food of the common people. The verdict? The common people ate well: we had an outstanding meal including a delicious bean stew that formed the staple diet of the local people.

We always love going to Florence because it gives us a chance to spend time with an old friend, Lior, who is one of the city’s best guides. Lior is always keen to tailor our walking tour to the interests of the group, and this group was interested in the history of Italian art. Lior was delighted: his special interest is in Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque art. He explained the differences between these fascinating art periods and took us to Santa Trinita in the centre of Florence where we learned to look at paintings by artists such as Monaco and Ghirlandaio in a completely new light.

Despite the influx of tourists, Florence retains plenty of unique gems, such as the pietre dure workshops that Lior took us to visit and, some of the group would say, the absolutely world class shopping that many of us indulged in during the free hours we had!

There are several wonderful villas and their associated gardens in and around Florence, and during our time there we visited several of them: the Torrigiani, the largest private garden within a European city, where the marquis himself took us on tour and regaled us with family stories; the Bardini garden high above the city where you feel as if you can reach out and touch the rooftops; Castello, where Cosimo de Medici grew up and where our group was charmed by the high school students who were practising their English by guiding visitors around the gardens; and Villa Gamberaia, beautiful even in the rain!

On the way to Verona we stopped in at a traditional acetaia outside of Modena, where we learned how Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is made, sampled some of the goods and contributed to Italy’s gross domestic product with our purchases.

We arrived in Verona to rain and more rain but this did nothing to dampen the group’s spirits. Brandishing umbrellas, our intrepid travellers set off to explore the cityscape with its fabulous urban architecture, glorious red marble pavements peppered with fossils, its central Roman arena and its piazze buzzing with street life.

Of all the cities we visited this had to be the group’s big favourite. And the city rewarded us: on our second day the sun came out. What better way to see Giardino Giusti, a little marvel hidden away in the centre of Verona, with is maze, low box hedges, lines of cypresses that were planted by the original owner to remind him of his Tuscan origins. We climbed the hill for the gorgeous view back to the city. From Verona we took a day trip to Villa Pisani, the fabulous Palladian inspired Veneto villa, which truly took our collective breath away. Our keen gardeners found unusual specimens in the gardens, including an English wood complete with wild flowers; we were also fascinated to learn about the lifestyle of the Venetians during the period in which these villas were built and how the architecture functioned.

The final stage of our tour took us north to the lakes, to Bellagio on Lake Como, where we enjoyed its spectacular scenery, visited the gardens at Villa Carlotta and took a day trip to Lake Maggiore to visit what might have been the favourite garden of the trip, Isola Bella. This fantastic and arguably over the top Baroque garden, complete with white peacocks strutting the paths, was built by the Borromean family on an island in the middle of the lake.

Lake Como turned on the most beautiful weather for the last day of our tour, and we departed Bellagio and Lake Como on a glorious sunny day. The group had discovered not only the beauty of Italian gardens, but the joys of Italian wine and food as well – as one member of the group said in parting, ‘It was much, much more than the gardens!’

We’re running our Great Gardens of Italy tour again in the Italian Spring of 2018 when we’ll be including Castel Gandolfo, the location of the Pope’s summer palace, for the first time.

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07 Jan SPRING IS THE TIME TO VISIT ITALY

Posted at 04:23h in Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Springtime is a great time to visit la bella Italia – and here are five good reasons why.

Fewer tourists and temperate weather
With around 46 million people visiting Italy each year (it’s the fifth most visited country in the world), the timing of your visit can be vitally important. The vast majority of visitors to Italy come from other European countries and the peak season for their travel is July and August. You’ll find an April/May/June visit quieter, with smaller crowds and shorter queues. And the weather is warmer but without those searing summer extremes.

Good deals on airfares
Take advantage of the great value airfares that major airlines are releasing right now. For instance, Emirates is offering a spring sale this week that finishes 23 January, and other airlines including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Qatar all have great offers for European fares.

La bella vita!
After the short days and cold weather of winter, Italians respond to the arrival of spring with what can only be described as euphoria! Almost overnight the piazze come alive as Italians emerge from their winter hibernation. It’s time for the passegiata in gorgeous new clothes, for aperitivi, for gelato and for mingling and laughter and gossip on the streets.

Fabulous festivals
All over Italy, spring is the time for a range of fascinating festivals and celebrations. If you’re joining our Milan and the Lakes tour this year for instance, why not add in some time in Milan to experience the Sagra di San Cristofero, the feast of the patron saint of travelers, that take place on the third Sunday in June? Or bookend your tour with a performance of Don Giovanni or La Boheme at La Scala?

Gorgeous spring gardens
Italy comes alive in a blaze of spring flowers – gorgeous clematis, stunning irises, luscious peony roses and vibrant azaleas, just to name a few. And you’ll see them not only in the gardens but also in planters lining the streets, tumbling out of window boxes and cascading out of the flower stalls and markets as you wander through the city streets. Just breathe in that perfume!

We have three fantastic tours that take advantage of the joys of an Italian spring, so why don’t you think about booking with us now?

The Great Gardens of Italy – 29 April – 13 May 2017
The Road Less Travelled – Puglia – 16 – 30 May 2017
Milan and the Italian Lakes – 2-16 June 2017

06 May THE STORY BEHIND APOLLO AND DAPHNE

Posted at 02:55h in Art by Italian Tours

First time visitors to the Galleria Borghese are often surprised and a little annoyed that they must leave all their belongings outside the gallery. Not even small handbags are allowed inside. But as soon as you enter the gallery the reason is obvious: it’s more like visiting a private home, with artworks not only on the walls but intimately located in the middle of rooms as well. No place for a carelessly swinging handbag here!

In a treasure house boasting works by Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael and Rubens, it’s asking for trouble to single out one masterpiece. But the collection boasts about half a dozen sculptures by the darling of the Baroque popes, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and it is justifiable to nominate Apollo and Daphne as the most spectacular of these.

This dynamic marble sculpture stands in the middle of the room and tells the story of the warrior god Apollo and his relentless love for the nymph Daphne. According to the myth Apollo, full of warrior-like chutzpah, came across the love god Eros who was using his bows and arrows to shoot darts of love into his targets. Apollo sneered at Eros, telling him that he should not be playing with warriors’ weapons. Incensed Eros prepared two arrows, one of lead to incite hatred and one of gold to incite unquenchable love. He shot the lead arrow into Daphne’s heart and the gold into Apollo’s heart.

Daphne had already spurned many potential lovers and had begged her father, the river god Peneus, to let her remain unmarried so Apollo’s prospects were never rosy. Nevertheless he pursued her and she, filled with loathing, fled. Intent on further mischief, Eros intervened again, helping Apollo to catch up to the desperate girl. Seeing that Apollo was about to catch her, Daphne called to her father, asking him to change her shape to save her. And with the cruelty that characterised so many of the gods, Peneus did just that, transforming her into a laurel bay tree. Realising he could never have her as his wife, Apollo vowed to tend the laurel tree, promising that her leaves would crown victors and that she would remain evergreen.

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Bernini’s statue captures the very moment of Daphne’s transformation. At the instant Apollo lays hands on her, her outstretched fingers grow leaves, her skin turns to bark and her feet are rooted to the ground. She looks wildly into space, doubtless appalled by what is happening to her, while Apollo realises he will never possess her.

It was originally placed so that the observer’s first view was from behind Apollo and so that the rest of the story could unfold as the observer walked around the statue. So take a few moments to walk slowly round this statue and let the story emerge.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul IV amassed the significant collection in the Gallery Borghese in the 17th Century and housed it in his newly built villa on the family estate. Today, the museum strictly controls numbers, with visitors being admitted at two-hourly intervals, so be sure to pre-book your tickets for a designated entry time on the gallery’s website. Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne is located on the ground floor of the museum, with his other masterpiece The Rape of Propserpina.