Anselm Kiefer

 When we visted the Doge’s Palace in Venice, we were fortunate to be able to view an exhibit by the German artist Anselm Kiefer. It was such an interesting exhibit, and enormous. They took up entire wall spaces within the palace. I thought they were really interesting. And then we saw where at the end of the exhibit, per Kiefer’s wishes, the exhibit will be burned. After researching, this is what I found about Kiefer:

One of the greatest living 20th century painters, the German artist Anselm Kiefer is most famous for his exploration of taboo themes from German history, notably the Holocaust, in order to come to terms with the country's Nazi past. His fine art painting is characterised by a heavily worked, depressive style and is executed on a very large, heavyweight scale. Natural materials - including clay, straw, ash, lead, even blood - are often incorporated in his work, along with signatures and names of historically important individuals and places, associating him with a type of contemporary art called "New Symbolism." The surfaces of his canvases are sometimes deliberately "distressed" by burning them with a blowtorch or defacing them with axes, hammers or acid. Originally an exponent of conceptual art, Kiefer switched to painting and joined the Neo-Expressionism movement. 

Roma en fotografías

 So many places to see, each one more beautiful than I ever would have imagined. Here are a few of my favorites in Rome, including the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Spanish Stairs.

And a few other places we enjoyed:

Piazza del Campidoglio-designed by Michelangelo 

One last Canoli before we go!

Couldn’t believe we found a sign for Montevideo!

Ponte Sisto Bridge

Villa Borghese

 The parks in Europe so far have been amazing! I love a good green space. The Villa Borghese was highly recommended and we knew we had to go. It was developed to honor the late pope Borgias…and the Borgias family was from the Xativa Castle near our home in Spain. We’ve visited there a few times. 

Everything is starting to bloom…that and the sun shine just made my day! 

Gelateria Fassi

 Another day…another gelato! So glad my sweet friend Lindsey told us about Gelateria Fassi, the oldest gelateria in Rome. When I mentioned needing to visit the oldest gelato shop Kiersten looked it up and said it’s the oldest in all of Italy!!! It did not disappoint. The Zabaione and Crema Romana were outstanding. The girls…and Mitch and I, too…give it two thumbs up! And lucky for us we got to walk through a park on the way there.

San Pietro Plaza

 When we booked our trip to Rome we were excited to book an Airbnb with a beautiful view of Vatican City and San Pietro Basilica. It was breathtaking…even more so because it was the Monday after Easter and we could hear music coming from the courtyard. It ended up being a national youth gathering for catholic teenagers. There were more bus loads than we could count! Monday was the last day of the conference so they were mostly gone by Tuesday. But still Rome was a BUSY place. 

On Tuesday we got on the Hop on-Hop off bus to get a quick look at the city before heading to the Vatican Museum for a guided tour. Normally we don’t opt for the tours, we take our time and explore on our own. But when we booked the tickets over a week out all they had left was the guided tour and it was so good! 

Our guide had a sense of humor and made a few jokes. But I really appreciated all his insights and knowledge about Michelangelo’s work on the Sistine Chapel and how he used his art to make a statement. He pointed out where he put the faces of his friends and foes. He did the same for some of Raphael’s works…including the addition of Plato, Aristotle and even Michelangelo. After Michelangelo’s death some in the church felt the art would be considered pornographic so the subjects were covered with fig leaves and robes in some places, but many years later it was restored to its original version. I could have stared at the Sistine Chapel for far longer than I did, but my neck started to hurt. The iconic creation of Adam was amazing, as well as the picture of Adam and Eve with the serpent. One side of the chapel contained paintings of Jesus and the other side has Moses, so the old and the New Testament were on display. It was a great way to incorporate some lessons with the girls. We saw Moses with the Ten Commandment tablets and the parting of the Red Sea.

The tile work on the floor of the Vatican was fantastic. Several times our guide pointed out the mosaic style done with marble. The map rooms were really interesting. The Romans created mathematics and it’s hard to imagine what all went into creating such detailed and correct maps. We also enjoyed some woven tapestry’s with pictures of Jesus leaving the tomb and the last supper and one with Julius Caesar, and the Ides of March…when in Rome! And we can add another Van Gogh to list of his works we saw at the Louvre. There are actually three different museums at the Vatican Museum, it wouldn’t be hard to make a complete day of it.