Nearing the End

I’m aware that this entry is long overdue. The second half of the semester passed before my eyes in what felt like a few minutes. I’ve grown a lot since I last wrote. I’m certainly not the same person I was three months ago but I can’t seem to pinpoint how. It occurs to me in subtle instances when I go about my daily routine, but when I try to recall those instances later, I can’t. So much has happened since I last wrote. Part of the reason I’ve put off this entry is because I wasn’t sure where to start. As more and more things happened to me, the task of writing seemed more daunting.

My classes have really picked up. I’ve been busy making plans for this spring, summer, and next fall. I’m presenting my independent study at the Phi Alpha Theta conference in Indiana when I get back. Immediately after, I’ll be on a plane to Boston, where I’ll spend almost two weeks researching in the JFK Presidential Library archives, and three weeks on campus writing the paper. I also applied for a summer internship at the Port Huron Historical Museum and a scholarship to help pay for it. I’m thrilled about all of these opportunities, mostly because it will give me a small taste of what its like being a historian. At the same time, I can’t help feel a little stressed about them, not knowing exactly what to expect.

I’ve also been making arrangements to start my annotated bibliography for my senior thesis this summer and next year. To say the least, all of these things have been piling up and hanging over my head for weeks. It doesn’t help that exams are next week and deadlines for final papers keep coming up. It’s also hard adjusting to the idea that I will back in the United States in a little over a week. I feel like I just adjusted to most of the cultural differences I used to find unnerving. It will be so difficult to leave. Macerata is such a warm community and I just started to feel like a true Maceratesa (person from Macerata). In general, I’ve had so many thoughts buzzing around my head lately that are difficult for me to articulate.

My spring break with my parents was extremely fulfilling and a breath of fresh air. It was exciting for me because it was their first major international trip. At certain points, I felt that the roles had reversed because I taught them a lot about how to communicate and navigate in this country. I think they really enjoyed themselves. I was impressed with the amount of Italian they learned during their time here (and the amount I knew!). We spent 2 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence, and 2 nights in Sorrento (where we stayed so we could visit Pompeii), and a day in Macerata. I was relieved when my parents said how much they enjoyed being in Macerata because I was afraid it wouldn’t compare to spectacle of the major cities of Florence and Venice.

Since last writing, I have:

1. Successfully made the 6 hour journey to Venice alone, and even made conversation with a few Italian strangers in my coach.

2. Showed my parents, my sister, and my brother-in-law around Italy

3. Gone to Florence on an excursion for class

4. Visited Perugia with Rai, where we saw an ancient Etruscan well, one of the oldest churches in Italy, and paintings by Perugino and Raphael in the National Museum of Umbria

5. Traveled to Loreto, a medieval town and major pilgrimage site for Catholics that, according legend, is the location of the Mary’s house.

6. Had an 3-day excursion in Rome, where we examined the Trevi fountain, theVestal Virgin Temple, the Roman Forum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican and the Vatican museums, the Coliseum, the Pantheon (the largest Roman temple that still stands), talked to two Swiss guards about the pope.

7. Attended various music concerts, including a jazz concert, a Pergolesi concert celebrating the 400th birthday of Matteo Ricci (a famous Jesuit missionary from Macerata who went to China), La Serva Padrona (a comic opera by Pergolesi), and finally Handel’s Messiah.

8. Attended Palm Sunday mass in Macerata’s cathedral

9. Climbed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Cathedral of Florence

10. Successfully had my hair cut four inches shorter in a hair salon where no one spoke English

11. Danced the night away at Tartaruga, the only dance club in Macerata

12. Attended mass in Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

13. Spent hours in the Uffizi in Florence

14. Seen countless masterpieces by famous Italian artists Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, Bramante, Raphael, Perugino, Giotto, Duccio, Cimabue and many others.
This is all I have time to write at the moment, but I promise to write at least one more entry before I go home. In the meantime, I’m going to paste some of my journals about my excursions that I had to prepare for my Renaissance history and art history classes. They should give you a better idea about the historical sights I visited. Enjoy!

Roma!

Rome is like an onion, made up of layer upon layer of Roman, medieval, and Renaissance history. Because of its significantly rich history, Rome is one of the most unique cities in Europe. According to legend, the city was founded when Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin, was raped by Mars and later gave birth to two sons, Romulus and Remus. After her punishment of death, the two baby boys were subsequently raised by a she-wolf. When they were grown, Remus became jealous of Romulus because Romulus was chosen to build the city Rome. As a result, Remus challenged Romulus in a battle, and Romulus killed his brother. During our excursion, we visited countless famous monuments from Roman, and Renaissance times. I will focus on the ones I found most interesting, which include the Colosseo, the Tempio di Vesta, la Torre Delle Milizie, and the Basilica di San Pietro.

The most widely recognized symbol of Rome is the Colosseo, the largest amphitheater that still stands today. Amphitheaters were civic buildings located in most Roman towns. The origin of the name Colosseo comes from the colossal statue that was erected by Emperor Nero next to the amphitheater. The Colosseo was completed in three years and has an elliptic shape. It could hold 50,000 to 70,000 spectators and was made up of three levels of eighty arches, under which statues of various Roman divinities stood. During the Barbarian Migrations, the Colosseo was gradually disassembled by people who harvested it for stone and marble.

The Colosseo is important to our understanding of early medieval history because during the time of Christian persecution, hundreds of early Christian martyrs were killed there.

These acts of martyrdom were used as a way to spread knowledge of Christianity. Constantine (r. 324-337) was the first Roman emperor to tolerate Christianity as a religion. Emperor Theodosius (r. 379-395) was the first to ban paganism and enforce the practice of Christianity during the Roman Empire. Christian martyrs who died in the amphitheaters like the Colosseo paved the way for the Christian church to gain power and play a central role in the lives of medieval people.

The Tempio di Vesta also existed during the Roman time period. The temple dates back to the seventh century BC. It was dedicated to the divinity Vesta. Inside the circular temple was an eternal flame that vestal virgins tended. Their important position in Roman society required them to maintain their virginity until they were forty years old, in addition to tending the flame If they lost their virginity in any way, voluntarily or involuntarily, they were to be buried alive as punishment. This was the fate of Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus. The temple was also used to store legal wills and documents for Roman senators. In 394 AD, Theodosius extinguished the flame that had been lit for hundreds or years in his campaign to wipe our paganism. The temple is said to have inspired Brunelleschi and Donatello, who studied its classical architecture.

One of the very few medieval buildings I found in Rome was the Torre delle Milizie, the tower of the guards. It was used as part of the medieval fortress and dates back to the thirteenth century. Cimabue, a Gothic artist known for teaching Giotto and using chiaroscuro, painted its interior.

The Basilica di San Pietro is visited by thousands of pilgrim Catholics every year. Under its main altar is the tomb of St. Peter, the apostle of Christ. It is the longest church in the world and can hold 60,000 people. It is also one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, which include Basilicas of St. John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore and St. Paul. The original church was built during the fourth century. After many years, however, the church was in disrepair, especially during the Avignon papacy (1309-1377). Pope Nicholas V (r.1447-1455), who began the Vatican library and worked to beautify Rome, was the first to consider repairing the church. Pope Julius II, who reigned from 1503 to 1513, rebuilt it in the fourteenth century. Among the famous architects who worked on it were Bramante, Michelangelo and Raphael. The Basilica di San Pietro also houses one of Michelangelo’s masterpieces, the Pietá. The monolithic statue is part of a funeral monument that depicts a youthful Mary, holding the body of Christ across her lap. The church also houses the tombs of numerous important popes, including Pope Urban VIII, who was buried nearby Peter.

Analyzing these important monuments in Rome helped solidify much of the knowledge I gained from this course. Ultimately it taught me that there is more to an Italian city than meets the eye because civilizations were constantly building on one another. For example, while many Roman temples and monuments were destroyed during medieval times, some were saved because they were reutilized as churches. Renaissance artists and architects, like Brunelleschi and Donatello, studied ancient Roman structures and integrated many classical elements into their masterpieces. Without the reutilization of this knowledge and the preservation of monuments from Roman, medieval, and Renaissance times, Western civilization would not be what it is today.

Loreto and the House of the Virgin Mary

The small hill town of Loreto has been the famous pilgrimage site of thousands of Christians since 15 AD. Pilgrims journeyed from Rome, to Macereto, and finally to Loreto to see the original Santa Casa. According to legend, the house of Mary was carried by angels from Nazareth, to Trsat in Croatia, and then to a laurel wood across the Adriatic Sea, where Loreto was located. On December 10, 1294, Mary’s house appeared in the Piazza della Modonna. The piazza is enclosed by the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa, a church that was built around the house during the Renaissance, and the Palazzo Apostolico, constructed by Bramante in 1510, but completed in 1750. The town is important to our study of the Renaissance because it demonstrates the role religion and the papacy played in the lives of people during that time. The art and architecture of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa and the Palazzo Apostolico also incorporate classical Roman elements.

Pope Julius II made Loreto an official Christian pilgrimage site during his rule between 1503 and 1513. The power of the Renaissance papacy is demonstrated by the statue of Pope Sixtus V outside the church, which has bas relief sculptures of allegorical representations of charity, justice, and faith. Pope Julius II and Pope Sixtus V were both popes during the Renaissance papacy. The papacy struggled to maintain its power in the midst of many obstacles, which included the schism after the Avignon papacy, the Turkish threat, the sack of Constantinople by Christians, the power struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and the pope, and the reformation. The reformation was sparked by several problems that existed in the Catholic Church, including simony, nepotism, pluralism, local corruption, ignorance, and the misuse of privilege.

Guilty of nepotism, Pope Julius II gained his position as pope with help from his family member Pope Sixtus IV. Pope Julius II’s is famous for gaining back territories for the papacy, such as Bologna, Perugia, and the Marche region. In 1506 he took part in the foundation of St. Peter’s Basilica and persuaded Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. In addition to being guilty of nepotism, he is also infamous for taking part in the selling of indulgences, particularly to cover the costs of St. Peter’s Basilica.

While the architecture of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa is gothic, Bramante, a Renaissance architect from Milan, was commissioned to build the chapel over the house. Bramante’s study of classical architecture, such as the Roman pantheon, is obvious when one observes his carved marble case over the Santa Casa. Classical elements such as Greco designs, pediments, dentals, railing, and columns with Corinthian capitals demonstrate the revival of the Greek and Roman times. Other carvings depict the transportation of the house by angels, as well as the birth of Mary, and the Adoration of the Magi. Carved into the marble structure at the base is a bench where pilgrims knelt to pray before entering Santa Casa.

Santa Casa itself is rectangular chamber made of brick walls. Pieces of Gothic frescoes still remain on the walls. On the bejeweled altar is a cedar wood image of the Madonna and Child.

Classical architecture is also integrated into the Palazzo Apostolico and the façade of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa. The Palazzo Apostolico, also designed by Bramante, is made up of two stories of porticos to house pilgrims. The façade of the Palazzo Apostolico has pilasters, or decorative columns, with Doric and ionic capitals. The bas relief carvings between the two levels depict more stories from the transportation of Santa Casa from Nazareth to Loreto. On the façade of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa are Latin inscriptions and Roman columns and pediments. All of these elements of the Palazzo Apostolico and Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa used to appear on Roman temples.

The pilgrimage site of Loreto demonstrates the power of the Renaissance papacy and the importance of the Vita Apostolica. By understanding the struggles of the Catholic Church at that time, we can better understand the incentives of the papacy to construct such important religious sites that exhibit Roman and Greek classical elements in Renaissance architecture.

Firenze!

Florence boasts a plethora of Renaissance architecture and art by some of the most famous artists in the world. The city has a deep history of Etruscan and Roman rule; it was the site of an Etruscan military camp hundreds of years ago and was later inhabited by Romans during the third century BC. Of the many sites we analyzed, I will focus on the famous paintings by Cimabue, Giotto, and Duccio in the Uffizi, the demise of Savonarola, the Sacrestia Vecchia di San Lorenzo, and the interior of Chiesa di Santa Croce.

Of the many famous paintings we examined in the Uffizi, we spent much time in the room dedicated to the Gothic artists Cimabue, Giotto and Duccio. These three artists are known for creating some of the very first paintings of the Renaissance. Although their anconas, or altar pieces, were originally created for various churches around Florence, they were later moved to the museum. Cimabue, Giotto’s teacher, tried to represent Mary and Jesus realistically for the first time. Like his successors Giotto and Duccio, Cimabue attempted the use of perspective and dimension in his works. Cimabue’s Maestá, or Madonna and child sitting on a throne, is surrounded by four static angels on either side, and the four prophets below. Duccio’s Maestá appears very similar to Cimabue’s Maestá because Mary is surrounded by angels again. This time, the angels look at her and have facial expression. In addition, the baby Jesus is more realistic with his arm outstretched, unlike the infant in Cimabue’s Maestá, who sits up straight on his mother’s lap. Giotto’s Maestá clearly surpasses the skill of Cimabue and Duccio because he paints the Madonna and child with detailed expressions. The angels surrounding them are located in the foreground, the middle ground and the background. Instead of facing us, their bodies are turned toward the Maestá. They look pensively at the Madonna and child and offer them gifts. Mary is shown for the first time with breasts and knees, demonstrating Giotto’s use of chiaroscuro and dimension.

As we passed through the Piazza della Signoria, we discovered the site of Savonarola’s execution marked by a plaque on the ground. Savonarola was a Dominican monk who lived during the fifteenth century and preached against materialism, trade, money, vanity, and homosexuality. When Savonarola came to power after the death of the Medici family in 1497, he ordered the “bonfires of vanities” in which hundreds of Renaissance paintings, books, and furniture were burned in the Piazza della Signoria. On May 13, 1497, he was excommunicated by Pope Alexander, tortured, and imprisoned. Almost a year later, he was burned at the stake in the same location he ordered the “bonfires of vanities.”

The Old Sacristy in San Lorenzo is important because Cosimo de’Medici placed the tombs of his parents there. Giovanni de’Medici, his father, was the first in the family to establish a banking house for trade and the exchange of foreign currency. By the time of his death, he already had operations in Rome, Venice, Geneva and Naples. His son, Cosimo “the Elder” inherited this wealth and sponsored many important operations in Florence, including the founding of the Platonic Academy, which provided a revival of the classical studies and the Greek language. He was a great patron of the arts. The Old Sacristy, designed by Donatello, demonstrates a good example of Renaissance architecture because it follows the module system. The floor of the Old Sacristy is divided into 9 modules. The room itself is a giant cube based on this model. The ceiling is a circular dome with ribs and a lantern on top. Painted on another dome above the chapel of the Old Sacristy is a view of the night sky with constellations. On the walls are medallions of the four evangelists and the saint protectors of the Medici family. Shells mark the corners of the chapel, symbolizing eternity, harmony, and the everlasting life.

The Chiesa di Santa Croce houses the tombs of some the most famous Italians in the world, including Galileo, Michelangelo, Niccoló Machiavelli, Leon Battista Alberti. Galileo is considered the father of modern science. As a professor at Pisa he studied mechanics and astronomy. He discovered gravity, five moons of Jupiter, and he invented the telescope. In addition, he was one of the first to support the theory that the sun was at the center of the universe. On his tomb is a sculpture of himself studying astronomy.

Michelangelo, a master in sculpture, painting, and architecture, died in Rome in 1564. Three mourning women sit on Michelangelo’s tomb representing the allegories of the three arts. Architecture sits in the center and appears to be the most distressed because of Michelangelo’s brilliance in architecture.

Niccoló Machiavelli is considered the father of political science. He is most famous for writing The Prince, a guidebook to ruling over people. We read his work The Circle of Governments, in which he discusses the three types of good government (monarchy, aristocracy and democracy) and the three types of bad government (tyranny, oligarchy, and anarchy). The statue of a woman, symbolizing diplomacy, sits atop his tomb holding a shield with the reflection of Machiavelli.

Leon Battista Alberti was an Italian humanist, art theorist, and architect. He discussed Italian painting, sculpture and architecture in his writing. We read his Self Portrait of a Universal Man which outlines all of the qualities of the perfect Renaissance man, using himself as an example. A statue of Alberti in a toga stands on his tomb looking upwards with allegories on either side of him, epitomizing all of the characteristics of a Renaissance man.

Florence is home to thousands of Renaissance paintings, sculptures, churches, and palaces. By examining the early Renaissance works of Cimabue, Giotto, and Duccio, the architectural masterpiece of Donatello’s Sacrestia Vecchia di San Lorenzo, and the multiple tombs of Renaissance greats in the Chiesa di Santa Croce, we can better understand the rebirth that took place in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Through studying these Florentine works, we can easily identify the rise of humanism, and the glorification of the ancient Romans and Greeks, which signify the Renaissance.

Macereto

The Renaissance distinguishes itself from the medieval times because it represents a rebirth after the disasters of the Plague and the Hundred Years’ War. A new thought process developed in the fifteenth century, when people began to see themselves as important, intelligent, and able to achieve lofty goals. In addition, paintings were no longer used solely for religious didactic purposes and began to celebrate the human form. During this new rise of humanism, Renaissance architects and artists strived to imitate the architecture and art from the prosperous Greek and Roman times. Our excursion to the Basilica Santuario di Macereto demonstrated this return to Greek and Roman roots, which characterize the Renaissance period. In addition, our visit to the Castello Pallotta portrayed the life of a noble family during medieval and Renaissance times.

The Basilica Santuario di Macereto was used during the Renaissance by pilgrims on their way to Loreto as a place to rest and restock their supplies. The portico surrounding the courtyard of the church was an ospedale, where farmers and shepherds sold merchandise, and where pilgrims took shelter. The Basilica Santuario di Macereto was built over the course of many years and designed by various architects, including Bramante, Michelangelo, and Cardinal Pallotta.

The main gate of the Basilica Santuario di Macereto resembles many architectural techniques and decorations used by the Greeks and the Romans. The gate is made up of a Romanesque semi-circular arch with a keystone, and double columns topped with Ionic and Corinthian style capitals and a pediment. These features demonstrate the desire for Renaissance architects like Bramante, Michelangelo, and Cardinal Pallotta to return to their classical Greek and Roman roots. Many famous architects of the Renaissance, including Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, studied Greek and Roman ruins in order to incorporate that style into the construction of new buildings, like Brunelleschi’s Ospedale in Florence.

The fresco of the crucifixion behind the altar was painted by Simone De Magistris. It was painted during the Renaissance because it exhibits the one point perspective. Examining the fresco, we can observe the X and Y axis from the shape of the cross. Jesus’ arm as he being pulled down from the cross cuts through the image diagonally, which demonstrates the third dimension.

The Castello Pallotta was influenced by the Franks because its church was named after St. Martin. It was first built around 871 but was redesigned as a military stronghold after the invention of firearms, and later made into a summer residence for the Pallotta family. The family hosted Pope Clement VIII and a Swiss queen, who stopped there during her pilgrimage (to Rome or Loreto?). The Pallotta family was originally from Normandy and dominated Sicily at one point. They were well-educated and completed their dissertations at the University of Macerata. Among the many books they owned, they had an early copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Vitruvius’ De architectura, two works made famous during the Renaissance.

The Basilica Santuario di Macereto is a prime example of Renaissance art and architecture during the rise of humanism, when people revered the Greeks and Romans for their achievements. This is demonstrated in the semi-circular arches, the pediment, and the ionic and Corinthian style columns on the outside of the Basilica Santuario di Macereto, as well as the fresco painted by Simone di Magistris which utilizes the one point perspective. The evolution of the Castello Pallotta from a military stronghold to a summer residence teaches us about the dramatic changes that occurred between medieval times and Renaissance times.