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The Great Dome of St Peters.

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:05 am

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Michelangelo was also instrumental in the construction of the the Great Dome of St Peters at the Vatican.

Here is a pic from a distance.


Another one closer.


Some history on Michelangelo.

In 1504 Michelangelo met, upon request, with the then Pope to sculpt his tomb. After discussion, Michelangelo set about with preliminary drawing. Upon seeing the drawings, the Pope cancelled his contract. Michelangelo stormed out, followed by 5 of the Popes men. He had, unbeknown to the Pope, already embezzled the money he would have received and bought a farm, so he fled to Florence out of reach of the Pope.

The Pope sent word to Florence asking that the people of Florence insist upon his return and offered him the job of painting the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo blamed Raphael for swaying the Pope. "I am a sculptor" he said "not a painter!" as he had already sculpted the Statue of David, the most famous statue in the world.

The Vatican architect, Romanti, was also involved, he said. No love was lost between Michelangelo and Romanti. However, he complied. He returned to Rome to begin this work. First he needed to address the issue of the scaffolding. How could it be sufficiently stable. He came up with the idea of bracing it between the walls.

Al Fresco painting - which was a lime based ceiling, which absorbs the pigments. Needs to be aged before use. Cannot be used fresh. So it must be left overnight, at least, preferably longer, before it will adequately absorb the pigment.

It has been often observed that Michelangelo largely painted male figures. Even the female figures have been said to be "Male figures with breasts". He said "The male body is a paragon of beauty. To me it is Gods clay in which He moulds his own image". This had led some to assert that Michelangelo was homosexual. We are unsure. There is not enough evidence either way. However, it was common in his day.

Furthermore, it was difficult for Michelangelo to gain clarity of detail and perspective working so close to the ceiling. Also, mildew appeared on his first attempt as the ceiling was too damp. He destroyed his first attempt and started again.

Painting the ceiling was hell. He composed a poem, arguably one of the finest odes to pain ever written. After 2 years of painting the Pope came to view what he had done. The Pope was mesmerised. However, Michelangelo was unhappy with the figures in the flood. They were too small. He had miscalculated their size, being as close to the ceiling as he was.

This caused Romanti to ask the Pope to allow Raphael to finish the work. The Pope disagreed.
By 1511 Michelangelo could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But he was completely exhausted.

Michelangelo painted himself in a scene in the last Judgement. He is the the flailed person, below, who is hanging in the bottom right hand corner.


In the end he painted over 500 sq metres. At first the Pope said he was pleased but then he wanted changes. He wanted more gold, more aquamarine. But Michelangelo said "No way!".
He was only 37 Y.o. Within months of finishing Pope Julius 2 died. Michelangelo would return and paint a final scene. In 1513 he returned to Florence and started on 4 sculptures simultaneously. The one he finished was "The Moses" which is the central figure in the Pope's tomb.

In 1518 he went upon request to the Medicci family. He was asked to build an imposing front for the church in Florence. Entirely built out of white marble, chosen by Michelangelo himself from the quarries. Out of the blue, in 1520, his commission was cancelled. They said they had run out of money.
In 1537 Michelangelo returned to the Sistine Chapel to paint The Last Judgement. The Master of Ceremonies criticised his work, particularly what the subjects were wearing (or not wearing). Michelangelo laughed. "Here we are at the last Judgement, and he is worrying about what we will wear. He should be concerned for much more weighty matters than this!" Michelangelo included himself in the picture. He also included the Master of Ceremonies as consigned to hell! By now he was in his 70's.

Michelangelo was asked to take over the design of the Great Dome of St Peters. He vowed to refuse all payment, preferring to do it to get closer to God. However, he was paid around 1000 ducats per year.
The Great Dome of St Peters is considered one of the architectural wonders of the world. The largest self-supporting dome in the world. Michelangelo died in 1564, nearly 89 y.o.


A final pic of the interior of the Great Dome of St Peters.




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More Vatican

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 4:04 am

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The views outside the Vatican are just as stunning as those inside.

Here is a view of Piazza San Pietro (St Peters Plaza) from ground level. (looking east)


The same plaza, taken from near the pillars in the last pic, looking west.


The same plaza, looking down from within the Vatican itself. (Again looking west)


And finally, the Pope's very own bedroom. We were told he sleeps in the room on the top level, 2nd window in from the right.




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More on the Vatican

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 3:54 am

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Here is a pic of the Last Supper from the opposite wall. Not much detail can be seen, however it does give a good idea of the size of the Chapel.


You are requested, while in the Chapel to be silent. (After all, it is a Chapel!) However, not too many take any notice and so the guards are always saying "QUIET" every 2 minutes.

The chimney that is used when a new Pope is elected (white smoke for a successful ballot, black for unsuccessful. Or is it the other way around?) is located at the lower left, just out of picture, of the above pic.

Here is another of the stunning painted ceilings.


There are also heaps of paintings on every wall. Here are a couple.



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Vatican 2

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:14 pm

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Most people though, when thinking of the Vatican, are most familiar with The Sistine Chapel. (I took about 200 pics in the museums, so i'm sure you don't want to see all of them!)

The intricacy of the artwork in the Vatican is amazing. Not all the artwork done in the Sistine Chapel is by Michaelangelo. Much of it was done by Raphael (he & Michelangelo had a big argument at one stage, which I'll detail later)

A lot of the artwork was done by 'apprentices' of Michelangelo, and you can tell. Not that they are poor artwork, but they don't compare to the richness and feeling of Michelangelo's work.

And now, for the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's masterpiece. The Last Judgement.





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Vatican

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:04 pm

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The Vatican Museum is actually a number of museums joined together.
Here are some pics from the museum housing the statues.


And one of Diana. Roman Goddess of Light, Moon Goddess, Queen of Heaven, Lunar Virgin (note that to the Romans, "virgin" meant a woman who had never been married or pregnant, not a woman who had never had sex), Goddess of Wildwood, Divine Huntress, Protector of Animals, Lady of Beasts.




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On to Rome

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:56 pm

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From Venice we travelled on to Rome. Rome is a beautiful place with much history. We needed to have an early night because, in the morning (very early), we were going to the Vatican.

So, around 6.30am we boarded the bus for the Vatican. Some would say "Why so early?" Well, if you are not there by 7am the line to get in is HUGE!

Here is a pic of the line at 7am when we arrived. The entrance door is that little black square way up the front.


The Vatican has an average of 17,000 visitors per day.
So, as you can imagine, there are people everywhere.

Here is a pic of the sign over the original entrance, which became unsafe through the constant traffic of people over the years.

We were waiting in line for around an hour (which is good for the Vatican!) and all the while there were street sellers & peddlers. Selling anything from umbrellas, to Vatican postards, to accomodation, to cars!


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Burano Island

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:22 pm

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The approach to Burano Island.

Looking back toward the main square of Venice. The steeple tower can be seen. It is in the town square.


On Burano Island the colours on each house have specific meaning. The colour represents your surname. So, for example, The Jones' may live in the yellow home, while the Smiths live in the red one, etc. Each home is colour-coded to represent their kin. Combinations of colours are where there has been a marriage between families.
(Some are quite multi-coloured, meaning that over the generations many families have intermarried)


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Venice islands

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:05 pm

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Firstly, here is a pic as promised for Capt Kirk.


One of the islands near Venice, and which comprise Venice, is Burano island.
Burano is famous for its exquisite lace making. All things lace can be bought there, from lace bookmarks to table cloths to wedding dresses. Burano is about 30 minutes boat ride from the centre of Venice.


There are hundreds of stalls. Also, throughout Venice you can buy ceremonial masks, which are a custom in Venice.

Here is a pic of the main canal of Venice.


And another.




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Venice 3...........

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:48 pm

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This next bridge has an interesting story. It is called "The Bridge of Sighs" and is the only enclosed bridge.

It leads from the prison to the Venice courts. Prisoners were held in the cells until their trial. Prior to their trial they were escoted, under gaurd, over the Bridge of Sighs and to the courtrooms. On the way they would peer through the small windows on the bridge, often being the first time they had seen daylight and the canals for days or even months.

Those who were unfortunate and were convicted, often with the death penalty, would be led back across the Bridge of Sighs and the gaurds would stop at the windows to allow them one last look at the world 'outside' as they knew they would never see it again. Many of them would sigh and cry at the realisation of this.

So it earned the name "Bridge of Sighs"


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Veince 2.....

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:40 pm

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An interesting point about Venice is that the effluent from the homes empties directly into the canals! They suggest that you do not drink the water! Each evening the tide cleanses the canals and washes everything out to sea. (Well, that's the theory anyway!)

There is one main canal, quite wide, and all the smaller canals are taken off from that. There are also MANY bridges to enable foot traffic between sections.


Unfortunately, Venice is a 'dying city'. This is because there is little employment opportunity in Venice itself, so all the young people tend to move away. Therefore Venice is comprised mainly of elderly folk.

Also, all of the buildings in Venice are heritage listed. Which means that they cannot be modified in any way, not even painted! Which makes it very difficult as far as maintenance is concerned. House prices in Venice are very cheap (compared to other parts of the country). You can buy a house there for around 1/2 the price of elsewhere, but you can't do anything to it!

Venetians are petitioning the government at this time to repeal much of the heritage listed sites, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears.


Many of the streets are very narrow, usually only 2 people wide. They were never intended for heavy foot traffic.

To enable furniture delivery, etc, each house has a strong hook above its highest point.


Cont next message................

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