There are a host of masterpieces housed within the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, a part of the National Roman Museum organization. None is finer nor more arresting than this work, The Boxer, created in Greece sometime between 330-50 BCE using the lost-wax bronze casting technique. The sculpture was brought to Rome to enhance a public building and impress viewers.
It is very rare for a life-size ancient Greek bronze statue to survive into the modern era. As the labels from the museum tell us, most bronze statues were melted down and used for weaponry or coins. This statue was discovered in the 1880s buried near on the slopes of the Quirinale in Rome. It appeared to have been carefully buried in antiquity; presumably, to protect it from pillagers.
The Boxer is astonishing in its very survival, as well as in its arresting pose and the quality and quantity of finely worked details, such as the drops of blood visible on one arm and leg and the scars that tell the story of a boxer’s difficult life. All these factors are well-described in the museum’s labels, which I have included here.
The Boxer was created during a period when Greek artists were moving away from idealized heroic depictions of the body and youth and an emphasis on the exploration of emotional and psychological themes and greater realism. These Hellenistic traits are obvious in this masterpiece.
And, there’s more! Another sculpture from the same period and also in bronze was discovered nearby at the same time. Post coming soon!
The false dome of the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in Rome is one of the world’s most celebrated masterpieces of trompe-l’œil (fool the eye) and quadratura (illusionistic perspective painting). Painted by Jesuit lay brother, mathematician, and artist Andrea Pozzo between 1685 and 1694, it mimics a soaring, ribbed architectural cupola on a completely flat surface.
The original architectural blueprints by Orazio Grassi called for a grand, physical stone dome over the church transept crossing. However, two major complications halted its construction:
1. By 1642, the Jesuit Order had completely run out of funds allocated for the structure.
2. The massive height of the planned dome sparked protests from the neighboring Dominican monastery, as it threatened to completely block light from reaching their extensive library.
Rather than leaving the interior roof flat and bare, Pozzo was commissioned to paint a 13-meter-wide canvas that would simulate the missing architecture.
The horrendous and long lasting heat wave has finally broken and the city looks beautiful to my eyes again! Just walking through the center, enjoying the day, I see the city with new eyes and it is lovely!
And also kitchsy!
And, as always, and as it is perhaps best known for throughout the ages, Florence is home to a very sophisticated upscale marketplace of luxury goods. Oh, some of them are so beautiful!
Florence, we made it through another hot summer together! Good to see you again!
Let’s start with a gorgeous scene in the Oltrarno. The Tower of San Nicolò looks spectacular at night! I often wonder what it’s original designer/builders would say if they could see it 730 years later, and with lights at night! They would be in awe!
But I am in awe today looking at their handiwork from so long ago!
One sees the fresco in the lowest arch more clearly when it’s lit up at night. Wow.
And then there is the historic center of Florence, illuminated at night! Wow!
To really see the city you have to be outside if it, as in you can’t see the forest for the trees type of thing.
And below, sometimes the banks of the river are best enjoyed at night!
Oh! The absolute delight of rounding a corner by the Pantheon and seeing this confection!
Elephant and Obelisk was designed by the fabulously talented Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was unveiled in 1667 in the Piazza della Minerva in Rome, adjacent to the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where it stands today.
The red granite obelisk which is displayed as a part of this ensemble was originally erected by Pharaoh Apries of the 26th Dynasty of Egypt, about 580 BC, in his capital Sais. The obelisk was rediscovered in 1665 during excavations near the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and only 2 years later it was on display the way we see it today. The obelisk had probably been brought to Rome in the first century AD for the temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis. The obelisk is 5.47 meters tall and is the smallest of the 13 ancient obelisks present in Rome. Together with pedestal and elephant, the statue stands 12.69 meters tall.
The obelisk is considered to be one of a pair; the other is in Urbino.
When my son was 10, I brought him on his first trip to Italy and we were lucky enough to stay at the hotel Minerva, also seen in these pictures. It was an incredible trip that I will always remember!
Various preparatory drawings done by Bernini exist, and he was already thinking about how best to support an obelisk before this particular one was discovered. One Bernini drawing is in Windsor Castle, UK and was probably done in the 1630s when Cardinal Francesco Barberini wished to place an Egyptian obelisk in front of his family palace, the Palazzo Barberini. Nothing came of this specific project, but Bernini revived the idea in the 1660s, when Pope Alexander VII, Fabio Chigi, wished to build a similar monument after this particular Egyptian obelisk was discovered in Rome.
Various other concepts were explored for this later commission as attested by preparatory drawings. It is likely that the drawings were used so that the patron could make a decision about which design he wanted. This included a drawing (in Leipzig) of the figure of Time holding a scythe and simultaneously the obelisk. In the Vatican Library there are two pen and ink drawings with other figures holding up the obelisk, including one of Hercules, and another with various allegorical figures supporting the spire. A third version in the Vatican Library shows Bernini adapting on the concept he created in the 1630s, although he added in a larger base, changed the direction of the elephant’s orientation, and made its face appear more friendly than ferocious.
The marble elephant was probably carved by Bernini’s assistant Ercole Ferrata.
The Latin inscription at one side of the pedestal reads: “Let any beholder of the carved images of the wisdom of Egypt on the obelisk carried by the elephant, the strongest of beasts, realize that it takes a robust mind to carry solid wisdom.”
The statue turned out to be the last commission Pope Alexander VII would ask of Bernini, as the pope died in May 1667. He was succeeded by Pope Clement IX.
It almost looks as if the elephant is polychromed, but I think these must be rust stains.
I went to Rome on a mission recently. I planned to return to the incredible church of St. Ignazio of Loyola, which is one of my favorite places in the city.
I was happily traveling solo. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, for however long I wanted. No one to bother me. No compromises on what I wanted to see, think about, or study. It was as heavenly as the frescoed ceiling in the church!
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Not all of the most beautiful artworks in Rome are hidden away in art galleries and museums.
One of the most startling and beautiful things you can do in the Eternal City costs absolutely nothing and takes about twenty minutes, is something a large proportion of the city’s visitors never encounter. Simply walk into the church of Sant’Ignazio in central Rome, stand at a small circular marble disc set into the floor of the nave, and look up.
What you will see is one of the greatest illusions ever painted: a ceiling that opens, apparently, directly into the heavens.
The dazzling frescoes celebrating the holiness and missionary vision of the Jesuit order’s founder Ignatius Loyola were the brainchild of Andrea Pozzo, a Jesuit lay-brother and painter who dedicated 15 years of his career to the church in the late 17th century.
But this time, I did! I completed my enjoyable mission and these pictures are the results that are long visit.
May I just give a quick shout-out to the iPhone camera, which has revolutionized the way I travel and record. Thanks Steve Jobs.
I took a few overall videos and you know I love the personification of America especially. I’ve talked about that before!
The video above pays close attention to the altar end of the church which, while amazingly decorated, pales in comparison for me to the main fresco.
Now, sit back, and enjoy with me an orgy of photographic details of this amazing fresco!
First up we have the personification of Europe, shown as an older queen type.
Below, we have Africa.
Then, Asia!
Is it just my imagination of is a blue/white type of porcelain shown in these attributes of Asia? I try to talk myself out of it. It also looks like Italian polychromed ceramics, not porcelain. What do you think this bowl is?
Maybe you are lucky enough to have been to Rome. Maybe you have seen the Pantheon, either from its impressive facade or you have been in its marvelous interior. In the olden days, when I first started coming to Italy in 1979, entry was free. Any time the doors were open, you could enter. It was fantastic to have that ability
Now, post-Covid, in the days of mass tourism that continues to set records every year, entry will cost you and usually you must get in a very long line and wait your turn. To say that serendipity with visiting the Pantheon has been lost would be the understatement of the 21st century, so far anyway.
At any rate, on a day in Rome when I had all the time and energy I needed to do whatever I wanted, I did something I’ve NEVER done before. I encircled the Pantheon, taking it in in all its breadth and width and stopping to look at the foundations, so deep in the soil it is amazing to think how these ancient cities keep rising up physically.
I captured the views in videos and hope you enjoy having a look around this incredible monument with me.
This is a new one to me. I’ve walked along the Tiber many times but I have never seen a tour boat before. I saw this in late August, 2026
I’m usually up for any kind of adventure, but I’m not sure about this one. I suppose it would offer some interesting views of the city that you can only see from the river. Maybe I’ll do it; I’m not in a rush, though. The water is brackish and doesn’t seem to flow.
get back, lauretta! 
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