The Mysterious Vatican

Guest Blogger: Dan Rahim
copyright 2011 art of living, PrimaMedia,inc

What is the Vatican?
Many people don’t realize the there is still a monarchy in Rome. But it is not of an Italian King. In fact the monarch at this point is of German descent. But he doesn’t rule Italy, or Even all of Rome for that matter. He rules a small walled of section inside the city. This man is known by many as the Pope.
One of the smallest independent states in the world is Vatican City. There are very few permanent residents. Only the Pope and his officials are actual citizens and the Pope rules the city with an iron fist. This is only a slight exaggeration. The Pope is an elected official, but he still serves as a monarch of the city. The pope does have an assembly of Cardinals, however, to run the day to day operations of the city.
The city is protected mainly by Italy as Italy surrounds it entirely. There are, however, conspicuous guards within the city. They dress in rather old fashioned clothing and are known as the Swiss Guards. These guards are actually only the body guards of the Pope himself, but they function in protection of the city as a whole, but more on the level of police rather than actual military.
But when you think about the Vatican you don’t imagine this small bureaucratic government running a miniature country, you imagine the great cathedrals or the Vatican Museum, one of the world’s most visited Museums. This small government, though, is what makes all the sites accessible and is primarily responsible for the upkeep.
Everything from the Botecelli’s to the Da Vinci’s are kept within the city and maintained. A trip to the Vatican when in Rome is mandatory.

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Overdose on the Magnificence of Rome

Guest BLogger: Dan Rahim
copyright 2011 art of living, PrimaMedia,inc
The dark night sky is lit by small pin pricks in the heavens. Closer you can see the small lamps and large marble buildings. The buildings glow like giants under the lights of the moon reflected in the river below. The air is warm as the warm Mediterranean breeze tickles over you. The scents of the nearby restraints titillate your nostrils, teasing them like a warm lover through the night air. The air is humid but not so much so to be uncomfortable, more like a warm blanket covering the city. Pregnant with possibilities you walk along the streets of Rome.
The large marble buildings, the slow trickle of European time, a deep history, these are the things that make Rome a city of the giants. Once the seat of the world’s greatest empire, Rome is now one of the most visited cities in the world and for good reason. Nowhere else in the world can you experience all the great sites of Rome.
All the major sites should be seen. The Colloseum is perhaps one of the most famous. It is nothing but a spectacle in the night. It looms above the city like something from a movie. The white outside gleams a yellow from the city lights outside. The pictures you see in movies and on TV can not quite capture the majesty of the building.
The Pantheon is another of the greatest sights to see. The pillars of the ancient temple are astounding. A site where the Gods stood for the Romans, even today inspires awe. The white marble, looming steps are part of the grand design of the building. Not everything worth seeing in Rome is from the age of the empire however. There are a great many buildings worth seeing from the medieval age as well.
The Basilica of Saint Paul or Basilica di San Paulo as the Italians know it is one of these famous pieces. Though some see it as a religious site where the remains of St. Paul are said to have been covered by the Emperor Constantine, the site is of great beauty. The history of the site alone is overwhelming , though it has been rebuilt time and time again refinishing and fixing small cracks and replacing entire walls at times, the building was first completed more than 1600 years ago in about 370.
As far as the mystery of St. Peter’s body, there have been recent findings in the area. In fact, the sarcophagus was found underneath the basilica and recent carbon dating, which most historians find very reliable date the bone fragments remains to the first or second century, which places the bones at the time of St. Peter’s death.
There are many more fantastic pieces of history and mystery that lie beneath the city. Those can only be found by those who search. Rome as the vibrant heart of Italy is a must see for anyone wishing to truly experience the beauty that is Europe.

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The Year of Caravaggio

copyright 2010 art of living, PrimaMedia,Inc.

Guest Post by : Karly Berezowsky
This is the year of Caravaggio, the famed Italian artist.. Here are some interesting facts about one of the many geniuses of Italian art..Recently, a Caravaggio painting has been recovered in Berlin, Germany, after being pilfered in 2008 in Odessa, Ukraine. The stolen piece was actually a modern replica of Caravaggio’s Taking of Christ. It has been proclaimed by art historians that the Taking of Christ was not painted by Caravaggio due to distinct differences in the painted figures. It may have been painted by one of his students; despite being manifested as an original Caravaggio by the Soviets in 1950.




But to understand how it was contrived a fake one must understand how immensely avant-garde Caravaggio truly was during the Italian Baroque period. Caravaggio was wholeheartedly innovative and anarchistic because he is taking off the blindfold and showing real issues like murder and squalor. This painting portrays an extremely traumatic murder.



Caravaggio was an Italian Baroque painter. He lived a rough life, he was arrested multiple times. He used ordinary common folk such as people in the streets as his models. He painted down-to-earth, real earthly people with real problems. The subject matter for the majority of his works was religious scenes. He committed a murder and there was a price on his head to bring him in alive or dead. His temper caused him to get into many fights and upset a lot of townspeople which forced him to flee to various areas of Europe. But a life on the run could only last so long.



Caravaggio was an innovator that used techniques called tenebrism and chiaroscuro throughout his work. Many of his pieces are considered to be Shock Theater because they are so dramatic and have theatrical elements to them. For instance, some of his paintings have spotlight lighting and drawn red curtains.



Caravaggio painted what he saw, using people on the streets as models. The Calling of St. Matthew depicted Jesus Christ pointing at Matthew in a dim dive of a tavern. The action starts to the left and then flies off to the right; this makes the composition dynamic because it forces your eyes to move with the unfolding scene.



Caravaggio had an interesting take on classical art which can be seen in his painting, Boy with a Basket of Fruit. In which he makes the God Baccus look sickly due to his greenish skin color, when he is supposed to be the god of wine and merriment. Caravaggio made the God Baccus look more earthly and unkempt. Caravaggio is in a way rejecting the classical form of art by making it more seedy and run-down.

Caravaggio was rejected after he painted The Death of the Virgin. One of Caravaggio’s most famous pieces was Death of the Virgin. It was commissioned for the Church of Santa Maria. His patrons hated it so much they actually returned it to him, totally rejecting his art and skill. It depicts the death of the Virgin Mary. Mary actually looks dead, her flesh is green and the body appears bloated; much like the dead deer do on the side of the road in the summer heat, limbs outstretched and fat. Caravaggio was totally radical painting the Virgin Mary like inflated road kill. It is rumored that he used a drowned whore from the morgue as the model for the Virgin Mary. Just imagine the riot that would ensue if someone painted her like a prostitute today and then plastered it onto the wall of the Vatican. And it is because of all of these clandestine features of the painting that the patron nuns returned it to him. They reasonably objected to the painting because they thought it was too unorthodox because she looks like a corpse which is an indecent image when she is supposed to be an icon of light, heaven and hope.



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Il Perdonanza, Cafe torronata, L'Aquila...

(copyright 2006-2007, Maria Liberati)

One of the things I look forward to doing each year (if selected) is being part of a 700 yr old medieval event that is held in the capital city (L'Aquila) of the region I live in (Abruzzo).
Each year, a certain number of dignitaries and notable people - from not only Abruzzo but all over the world are selected to take part in this event. This year was the second year I was selected to be part of the 'sfilate' or parade along with many notable people from ambassadors and/or their wives from Bosnia, other parts of Europe, the Vice President of Italy, 5 bishops from the Vatican and all of the mayors from every town in Abruzzo.

I will do a sequence of blogs on this event since it is an important event and it has a lot of significance in the world today. The event was started by Pope Celestino- the Pope back in that time. The event is known as "La Perdonanza Celestiniana". It refers to an idea this Pope came up with to try to make peace in the world, because at that time many countries were also fighting against each other.
His philosophy was in order to try to make peace in the world- to forgive everyone and wash their slate clean from that day forward- no matter what they had done in the past. However, they must promise to mend their old ways and start anew and all would be forgiven. And amazingly enough, at that time this created peace in the world. A beautiful thought and a beautiful way to celebrate the idea of peace in the world
One of my favorite reasons to go to the beautiful city of L'Aquila- besides their beautiful churches, works of art, scenery and food is a special coffee drink called 'cafe torronata'. It is an espresso served up elegantly with a chocolate candy (a specialty made in L'Aquila) placed in the bottom of the drink and allowed to melt into the coffee. A dollop of whip cream on top and prepare to be mesmerized!!.
Here is my recipe for cafe torronato. However, to get the real thing, you should have a chocolate covered torrone from Fratelli Nurzia or Sorelle Nurzia. They invented these candies and are still making them in L'Aquila the same way they did over 50 yrs ago.

Cafe Torronato
Brew 1 cup of espresso. Place chocolate covered torrone at bottom of glass. Let stand for about 1 minute, stir gently, top with some fresh 'panna' or whipped cream. Dust with powdered sugar.

Mmmm!! Delizioso

Ciao for now!!
Maria
http://www.marialiberati.com