When in Rome - Go to the Musei Capitolini

Christmas in Rome

that was what was on the menu this year...

The flight was long but so worth it.  First leg was to JFK in New York City for a short layover before heading directly to Rome.

Once we arrived in Rome we had a little rest then met the others in the tour for a bit of a walk about before lunch of ....

Pasta and Fagioli

Savory Pastry filled with seasonal vegetables

Fruit salad

Water

We walked to 90% of the places we went to so the walk abouts are sort of chronological, but not necessarily step by step in order.  

Santa Maria di Loreto

16th century church 

Renaissance style

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger

(architect)

Trajan's Forum

Built in the 2nd Century and the last of the imperial fora (memorial squares built over a period of one and a half centuries - 43 BC to 113 AD) to be built in ancient Rome.  Architect:  Apollodorus of Damascus

Trajan's Column

Colonna Traiana (Italian)

COLVMNA·TRAIANI (Latin)

In whatever language, it stands to tell the story of the victory of Emperor Trajan over Darius. The years 101 through 106 AD were filled with Trajan and his tens of thousands of troops battling and ultimately winning the Dacian Wars, defeating a barbarian empire on their home turf not once, but twice.  Dacia was no more, today it is Romania.  Trajan brought back the spoils of victory to Rome - thousands of pounds of gold and silver and, of course, the land he conquered.   

As a symbol of the victory a 115' tall triumphal column was erected.  In a spiral bas relief around the column is a history of the war between the Romans and the Dacians.  The details are a capture of both men and women on both sides of the war, and Trajan appears 58 times.  The spiral frieze goes around the tower a total of 23 times.

I'm not sure where the hamster cage discussion was held but this is as good of a place as any for our purposes.  The capital block of Trajan's Column weighs 53.3 tons, which had to be lifted to a height of 112 feet.   To get it to that height took the blood, sweat and tears of men, most probably criminals and slaves.  They rigged up a hamster cage contraption using men to move the cage and through that power a crane was powered by pulleys lifting the heavy stone to the height it needed to be.

Next to Trajan's Forum and the Triumphal Column is what the native Romans call "The Wedding Cake".  It is actually a monument to Vitorrio Emanuelle, the Alatare della Patria.  Vitorrio Emanuelle was the first king of a unified Italy.  There was quite a stir about the building of the monument because it took away the northern slope of Capitoline Hill and destroyed ruins and medieval churches in the process.  It is built of sparkling white marble from Botticino and is one reason it is called "the Wedding Cake".  The other monuments in the area are made of different materials that are definitely not shiny white.  

Supposedly, at the completion and dedication in 1911, the powers that be dined in the equestrian statue of Vittorio Emmanuel.  I can't confirm this since I wasn't invited.

OK, go refresh your drink and go potty - you might want to get a snack and feed the dog while you are at it.  This will take a while.  The Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museum) is a wonderous place.  I need several more days there, not the quick tour we got.  I've tried to be accurate in my descriptions and titles but it was a hurry up and do a quick look see and hurry up to the next.

The first thing you see as you enter the area is the river gods in the Palazzo Nuovo.

The top statue is that of Tiberinus, river god of the Tiber River.  He was included under Greek mythology as one of the Oceanids, the 3000 children of Oceanus and Tethys - each child a patron of a particular spring, lake or river.  (And I thought 3 kids was a handful?????)  Below his right arm are Romulus and Remus with their she wolf.

The center figure is just a close up of a small fountain at the foot of Marforio (last photo), another one of the river gods and one of the five "talking statues" of Rome (I have no idea what that means, but Mr.Google says it has something to do with posting poems or witticisms on these statues back in the day - an early political bulletin board).

Throughout the Palazzo Nuovo were fragments of other statues such as the colossal head of Constantine and an early Packer fan giving the "we are number one" sign.

In no particular order other than mostly by the alphabetical file name I gave them this is a teeny tiny wee little bit of the beauty of the Capitoline Museum.

Apollo with his lyre. 

Apollo was born on the small island of Delos and the world became a more beautiful place.  Think of the movie Cinderella where she is dancing and singing with all the animals and birds - that was the scene when Apollo was born.  The flowers bloomed, the birds sang, and the wood-nymphs danced.  Handsome beyond measure, Apollo went into the world and everywhere he went the flowers bloomed brighter, the grains ripened quicker, the sun shone warmer.  Themis, a goddess, gave Apollo a bow and arrow as well as a lyre.  She fed him nectar and ambrosia and he grew to the handsome strong man he was to become.  All was well until he ticked off the mighty Zeus by killing his chief thunderbolt maker, Cyclops.  Apollo was exiled to the island of Thessaly and became a mere shepherd, playing his lyre and tended his sheep.  The king of Thessaly heard him play and had him come to the palace to play for his wife and they became great friends.

Athena Promachos

Athena was the Greek goddess of war and wisdom, which this statue represents with the shield and the remains of what could be a weapon in her right hand.  It is often thought that Minerva is the Roman equivalent of Athena (the Romans usually incorporated the myths, legends and gods/goddesses of lands they conquered or merged with into their own beliefs).  So this is supposedly Athena, but the Athena Promachos was colossal and this was not - and I don't think the "real" one was ever found.  Googling led to more confusion, so just enjoy the beauty of the statue. :)

Constantine, or Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus, if you want to get formal.  He was the emperor of Rome from 306 AD to 317 AD.  Through his own beliefs he was responsible for the wide-spread acceptance of Christianity.  The tour guide said (several paces in front of me and with her back to me) something about being known for steely looks or steely eyes - I don't know if she was talking about Constantine or the sculptor, judging from this picture it was Constantine.

This sweet little guy is Hercules as a baby.  There is quite a bit of discussion to be found about the disparity between his cherubic face and it being out of proportion other body parts.  You can be the judge of that.  It was found in the baths of Decius so is probably from around the 3rd century AD.

And the grown up Hercules done in bronze.  Sculpted to show a small head on a large body, the "all brawn and no brains" insult by the sculpture.  There are so many legends and myths about Hercules starting when he was a baby and him choking the life out of a couple of sn*kes sent to kill him to luring the Nemean lion into a cave and killing it with his bare hands.  He skinned it and wore the hide as a cloak for the rest of his life.

This baby tickled my fancy for some reason.  Possibly the inspiration for the movie Chucky.

Antinous was a Bythynian youth deified after his death, worshipped in Greek East and Latin West sometimes as the god, Theos or as just a hero, Heros.  He was the lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and has become associated with homosexuality in the western culture.  Found in 1723/24.

The Dying Gaul

This is a copy of a lost Hellenistic sculpture that was originally believed to have been done in bronze most likely between 230 and 220 BC to celebrate a victory.  It is made of white marble which may have originally been painted.  The whole piece speaks volumes from the fallen shield, the wound in his lower right side, the torc around his neck.  Due to the quality of the piece and its expressiveness it was a must-see during the 17th and 18th centuries on Grand Europen tours.  Lord Byron was a visitor and commemorated the statue in his poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage:

I see before me the gladiator lie

He leans upon his hand -- his manly brow

Consents to death, but conquers agony,

And his drooped head sinks gradually low--

And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow

From the red gash fall heavy, one by one..

The wound was hard to see in the full body shot so cropped this out for you.

Homer

Mars was the Roman equivalent to Ares of Greek fame, however Mars was less impulsive and more level headed than Ares.  He was considered to be the father of Romulus and Remus, having raped the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia while she slept.  She had a vision that she dropped a hairpin and it grew into twin trees, one becoming so large it overtook the world with its shade - probably relating to the growth of the Roman Empire.



Can't tell you anything about this one, I entitled it "Dude in Dormer" if that gives you a clue. 

Fertility Goddess Artemis of Ephesus 3

At first it was considered a statue with many breasts until people who have a whole lot more education and degrees than I do decided it was part of the costume and not breasts.  Well, duh, she is a black woman and her clothes are  white....guess my second grade education was enough.

Lion attacking horse dates back to the 4th century BC and is sculpted in marble.  It was discovered in Rome in a streambed near the Circus Maximus.  The legs of the horse and the hind legs of the lion were restored by a student of Michelangelo's, Rugerro Bascape.

Lion Attacking Horse was loaned to the Getty Museum in Malibu, California in 2012.  It was the first time to be out of Rome in 2000 years.  There is a short but interesting video on how it was moved into the Getty here:

Moving into the Getty

So anyone who knows me even for five minutes knows I have a very irrational and physical and emotional reaction to sn*kes.  Just these two pictures give me shortness of breath and increased heart rate...not kidding.  But for you, my dear friends, here is Medusa, bless her heart.



Medusa is a good reminder to never ever ever tick off Athena...you won't win.  Medusa was happy being a priestess to Athena and swore to be celibate the rest of her life.  That lasted until Poseidon came into the picture.  Medusa fell into love or lust and married him and boy did Athena get bat cwap crazy over that.  The once beautiful Medusa was now cursed with green skin, blood shot eyes and sn*kes for hair.  If you looked at her you were instantly turned to stone.  She roamed the world from then on, supposedly dropping baby sn*kes in Africa (and that's why there are so many there now).  There are so many legends and myths associated with her she would take years to figure out.  And she is still around today on several flags and even on Versace's high end fashion label. 

Not sure who this guy is but he appears to need orthodontic work pretty badly.  Actually the "teeth" is the wall behind showing through his open mouth.  He is also proof that Humpty Dumpty was part of the Roman Empire as evidenced by the one he has in his hair.  Warped sense of humor stepped forward again, sorry  :)  

Just some from around the museum.  The last one is a mask - hoping it is a marble replica and not something the actor had to actual carry around.

The horse head is from a bronze piece.

14' tall statue of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the Five Good Emperors.  He ruled Rome from 161- 180AD first with Lucius Verus and then with his son, Commodus.  There is some talk among historians that he is granting clemency to a fallen enemy that would have been crouched beneath the horse's raised hoof.

There were lots of paintings and murals throughout the Capitoline.  Beautiful for sure but I love to pick out small parts of the whole and make up titles...I won't bore you with mine, but what do you think the dialog or the title should be with each?  To get you started, the first one is a young boy offering the warrior an apple..."wanna buy an apple, mister?  Only five denarius".  OK, your turn on the rest....

One of the most famous of statues in the Capitoline is the Capitoline Wolf depicting the wolf suckling Romulus and Remus whom she saved from the Tiber River.  For many years it was believed to be one piece but radio carbon dating and thermoluminescence dating proved the twins were added at a later date.  For theAddams Family fans, in the first episode of the series there is a mirror-image of the statue standing on top of a table to the right of the main staircase.

Bacchus!  You know I zeroed in on this one.  Bacchus, also known as Dionysus, "was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology".  He was the party boy of the group with lots of followers, especially the ladies and the satyrs.  

I'm old, I'm confused, I'm near sighted and slightly wacko - when I saw this in a niche from afar I thought "wow, even their toilets were pieces of art...."   It is a ball on top of a pedestal.  (red faced)

There were several busts that incorporated the different colors of marble.  Quite beautiful.

For those that watch Top Chef, I thought he looked like Tom Colicchio.

The ceilings throughout every building we were in were absolutely gorgeous.  

One of the few works that survived from antiquity is Spinario - a young man pulling a thorn from his foot.  Probably from the 1st century BC.

The Romans did everything in a big way, especially their temples.  The bottom photo show a mock up of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus - Jupiter, Best and Greatest - whose temple was built on Capitoline Hill.  Today there are only a few ruins left of one small corner of the temple (circled in purple).  You can get a feel for the enormity by butterfly head boy (stolen from the internet) standing next to the wall.  

Although it is dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, there were locations within the temple for the worship of Juno and Minerva.  The three gods made up the Capitoline Triad a divine group significant to the Roman state religion.  Jupiter was the most significant.

Young Cenataur

Half human and half horse the wild creature is shown fully nude.  Sculpted in Marmo Grigio (grey marble) that is rare and valuable from the Capo Tenaro promontory in Laconia.  The style indicates it is from the Hadrianic period (117-138AD.  It is from the Villa Adriana.

Wounded Amazon

This is a replica dating back to 10 BC - 10 AD of Wounded Amazon by the Greek sculptor Phidias.

There is a world out there even if it is seen through the old wavy glass.  There is so so so much to see and show at the Capitoline.  I really really tried to keep it short, really, but there is so so much to see   -  this is a recording.  :)

On to the Jewish Ghetto, Sistine Chapel, the Vatican and the Borghesee....hopefully I won't be as long winded.  Apologies for any typos.  I don't speak Latin or Italian and my brain is boggled.