Art Quest alle Roma

This morning (Saturday) I got up super early--at 7 am--to embark on a quest to see art! I was supposed to do it with one of my roommates but when she didn't make it to our proposed meeting place by 10 after I went out exploring on my own. (I love the morning pictures because they are so remarkable absent of tourists!)



I passed by the Pantheon and first tried to locate a church with two large (and very famous) works by Caravaggio. Unfortunately the maps provided to us featured intersections that didn't exist, so I found myself walking around in circles! After a short time I gave up, but it was still a long enough time spent looking for it that I wasn't able to go further down and see the street where Caravaggio killed a man. It would have just been a fun art historical thing to do and say I've done... : /

When I came up empty handed in my Caravaggio quest I moved onto Michelangelo! One of his lesser known sculptures "Risen Christ" was located in a church right beside the Pantheon. I didn't take any pictures because some of the priests in the church were doing prayers at an altar that was nearby, and I thought it would've been inappropriate, ce la vie! I still got to see it!

The last work I had wanted to see was the St. Theresa that I and Marybeth had tried to see the previous day, so I held tight to my water bottle and made the long trek across the city once again!


I stopped at an "Area Sacra"--a location of ancient Roman ruins. This one was particularly notable because it had become known as the "cat sanctuary." Hundreds of strays call these ruins home and there are some ladies that take care of them here. Another interesting story about this area is that it is in close proximity to the area where Julius Caesar was killed, in fact it is located in the piazza between the two peach colored buildings!




I also stopped to pet a kitty! He looks meaner than he was. He was trying to ignore me at first but when I ignored him was when he decided it was time for some attention!
Here are some interesting sights from the walk up to the Bernini church!











And then I finally made it! My prize? "St. Theresa in Ecstasy" by Bernini and a remarkably dramatic church interior. I did get to take pictures of these! Sorry if some are blurry, but the trompe l'oile is amazing!






After I finished in the church, I had to make the long trip back down to meet with the rest of the group at the hotel--all of whom were just beginning their day, whereas I had just made a good day's journey!