Angel hunting in Rome

If you ask someone in Rome about where can you find some angels, probably they will advise you to go the Ponte Degli Angeli (the Angel Bridge) near Castel Sant'Angelo, in front of the St. Peter's square in the Vatican.

It is true. Ponte Degli Angeli has a lot of Angels. However, I don't find those statues very exciting. They all look very similar to me. There is another place in Rome where you can find a diversity of angels - at the Verano cemetery. It is full of sculptures and some of them are amazing. It is a free open air museum in the centre of the city. So come and join me in a mini-tour of Verano cemetry, looking for its most beautiful angels.

This post presents my ten favourite sculptures of Angels from Verano. The first image (above) has a boy angel, which is a rarity because most sculptures and paintings show angels as young women or children.

The angel of this image is an adolescent boy, his face still innocent. He looks slightly sad, his gaze far away, mildly curious. In his right hand he is carrying the symbol of Roman republic (SPQR) while his left hand holds the knob of a sword. He is wearing the belt of a warrior. Usually angels are shown in gestures of peace, so this angel is unusual. This sculpture is part of a Marine monument. I love the touch of green moss on the boy's face and wings.

ANGELS & OTHER CELESTIAL BEINGS

The word "Angel" comes from Greek "Angelos", meaning the messenger of gods. The ancient Sumerian culture in Mesopotamia 4000 years ago had angels as the messengers between the divine world and human world, and also as the guardian-souls looking after and protecting individuals. Zoroastrian cosmology also included the concept of guardian angels.

The monotheistic religions born in the middle east, especially Christianity, inherited these Pagan concepts of Sumerian and Zoroastrian angels and wove them in their own sacred books and mythologies. Old Testament and New Testament both mention Gabriel as the divine messenger angel. The New Testament has a whole world of these divine creatures including Angels, Archangels, Cherubs, etc. who play divine music and help the dying persons to pass into the other world.

Artists, both painters and sculptors, made the angels more ubiquitous by including them in their works, especially in paintings on the Christian religious themes. Some people celebrate 2 October as the "Guardian Angel day".

Some recent American/European TV serials and films are about guardian angels helping people in need, in which both men and women are shown as angels. However sculptures and paintings of adult male angels are less common (except as "Angel of Death").

On the other hand, the child angels are often shown without any genitals and are more common in the paintings than in sculptures. Therefore the word angelic is often used in the sense of sexual innocence. I don't know if Freud ever gave any interpretation about the meaning and significance of these asexual angels.

Angels and Indian Mythology: In India, I had grown up with concepts of Apsara and Pari from the Indian mythology. I understood "Apsara" as beautiful celestial women who were sometimes brought to earth by the Gods, especially to create diversions for the sages (Rishi). The Apasara did not have wings. On the other hand, Pari were magical female figures with wings who could fulfill wishes. There was no concept similar to that of an angle in my childhood mythological stories.

Indian mythology has the concept of messengers of the celestial world. For example, there is Narad Muni, usually shown as an old man wearing orange clothes who has magic sandals so that he can travel where ever we wants. However, even these messengers of Indian mythology are different from the common images of angels. Another divine messaging device in Indian mythology is "Akashvani" or the voice from the sky. For example, before Krishna's birth, his uncle hears the Akashvani that the son of his sister will kill him one day.

VERANO CEMETERY OF ROME

Often friends ask advice about visiting some places that are not yet discovered by tourists. Rome has many such places, if you have a little patience to search for them. Verano cemetery is one such place where very few tourists ever arrive.

"Isn't that a kind of morbid, visiting a cemetery?" You can ask.

The old cemeteries are like open air museums. They have sculptures, historical buildings and sometimes even archaeological areas. Verano cemetery is not very old - it was instituted only in the 1800s.

Verano cemetery is located near the Tiburtina railway station, close to Sapienza university in Rome. The nearest metro station is Policlinico (on Metro B), from where you can walk or take a tram (3, 19) and get down at Verano (3 stops from Policlinico).

Verano cemetery is huge and includes different hills. So remember to wear comfortable shoes and carry some water with you. It will be a rewarding but also, a long and tiring walk.

The cemetery has the tombs of some of the most famous Italians - actors, writers and politicians including Vittorio de Sica, Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, Alberto Moravia, Roberto Rossellini and Bud Spencer. If you are interested in looking for the tombs of the famous, there are guided tours for the visitors, especially on the weekends.

ANGELS OF VERANO

The angels of Verano can be broadly divided into three groups - the first and the biggest group of Angels has female figures expressing sadness; the second group has adult female figures with other expressions such as peace; and the rare third group, which has child angels.

Let me start with three images of sculptures showing angels shown as adolescent girl or women, expressing sadness and loss. These angels express the feelings of bereavement of the family members.

In all the three sculptures I love the way rain, snow, wind and sun can leave their own marks on the stones. I feel that the discolorations and the moss can bring alive the stones.

The next angel has some artificial greenish-blue leaves flowing down from the basket in her hands. She does not seem sad to me, rather she seems detached, looking at the future awaiting her in the other world.

The next angel is from a military monument. She seems more like an Olympian athlete who is declaring her power and rejoicing in her win. Her wings seem like swords or shields grouped together, softened by the moss. She evokes strong and contradictory feelings in me, not all of them pleasant. I have included this sculpture because of its ability to provoke and unsettle.

The next sculpture of angel seems to express love and desire. She makes me think of a Juliet who is finally going to meet her Romeo after a long wait. Her face is dreamy and her features are soft. She seems to symbolise hope and love rather than the pain of a separation.

The eight sculpture seems to be from Bible, an angel telling Mary that God was going to come to her womb. This angel is a young girl with short hair, she seems to be modelled on some real person. Her right arm is raised, her hands partially open and she seems to saying something. I love her earnest expression and, the white and dark mottling on this sculpture caused by the rains. She makes me think of a nice school teacher talking to small children.

The ninth sculpture of angel is sitting on the tomb and is looking intently at a long scroll, as if reading about the good and bad deeds of the person. Thus, this angel is more like a judgement angel who is going to decide the fate of the person. So she is a working angel, having a specific and difficult role.

The tenth and last image of this post has three child angels, also called cherubs. Cherubs are chubby, beautiful and innocent looking angels usually shown in religious paintings, especially around the figure of Madonna.

This particular sculpture is different since it seems to tell a story - a sad looking baby angel is standing behind a tomb while other two baby angels are talking to him, as if telling him to not to worry and that he will be fine in the new world of angels. Probably this tomb belonged to a baby boy. I love the expressions of the baby angels and their tiny little wings.

CONCLUSIONS

Angels are ubiquitous in Rome. There is even a bridge full of angels (Ponte degli Angeli). But the angels in the old part of the Verano cemetery are special. The background of the cemetery with its old decaying graves, stones covered with moss, sculptures eroded by time, they all make these angels come alive.

I love these sculptures because they touch on the most fundamental of human emotions - sadness, loneliness, bereavement and peace. If you think of art as a way of understanding and experiencing human emotions, you can understand why I see so much beauty in them.

Verano is not just about angels. It has lot of other sculptures too. I hope that if you ever come to visit Rome these images will stimulate you to think of visiting Verano cemetery. It is a magical place and afterwards you can tell your friends that you have visited a place seen by very few tourists.

When we say "angels" you somehow imagine them to be all similar. As these images show, the sculptures of angels are expressing the different human emotions felt by bereaved families and there can be so much to see, understand and appreciate in their diversity.

BTW, does the city of Los Angels has any beautiful sculptures of angels?

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My favourite squares - People's Square in Rome

If you ask me about the most beautiful square I have seen during my travels around the world, I will be hard put to answer you. From Sukhbataar square in Ulaan Bataar  (Mongolia) to the futuristic square of the Brazilian National Congress building in Brasilia (Brazil), the world is full of beautiful squares. Still, the People's square in Rome, called Piazza del Popolo by the Italians, would be near the top of the list. This post is for sharing some of my favourite photographs from the People's square in Rome.

An overview of Piazza del Popolo Square

"Piazza del Popolo" is an oval shaped square, elongated at the two ends. The picture above, showing a night view, gives an overview. It was taken from a small hill (Pincio hill) on the eastern side of the square  and shows the back of the Rome statue with two rivers sitting on his two sides.

In the middle of the square, there is an Egyptian obelisk surrounded by fountains. On the opposite end, there is the Neptune statue and the road behind it goes towards St. Peter's.

On the right side, to the north, where we see the branches of a tree, is Santa maria del Popolo church and the Flaminia gate. On the left side, we can see one of the twin churches, and the three streets between them (the Trident) going towards the centre of Rome.

Story of Nero's shrine

Historians say that this square was the site of a shrine to the Roman emperor Nero and that shrine was destroyed in 11th century, replaced by a church.

Some people believe that Nero was greatly loved by the Romans. The church did not like Nero's cult so his shrine was destroyed and his reputation was deliberately smeared by saying that he had made Rome burn and then played fiddle, while people were running around, trying to salvage their belongings. Others' say that Nero's shrine was destroyed because his ghost used to trouble the Romans.

Another story about this square is that once there was a forest of Poplar trees that gave this square its name, though now the word "popolo" is understood as "people".

The gate & the church from "Angels and Demons"

Any way, let us start a virtual tour of this square. We shall start from the northern end, which has the Aurlian walls and the Flaminia gate. Flaminia was one of the ancient roads of Roman empire that went towards Rimini on the north-eastern coast. Along the Aurlian walls was Muro Torto (crooked wall) with the un-sanctified cemetery where criminals, prostitutes and other marginalised persons were buried.

The picture above shows square side of the Flaminia gate and on the right, Santa Maria del Popolo church. This gate was designed by Michelangelo and built by Vignola in the 16th century. In 17th century, to welcome the queen Christina of Sweden, who had converted to Catholicism, welcome words were written above the gate.

The picture below shows the same gate, also called Porta del Popolo (People's gate) from the outside, from the side of the Flaminia metro and railway station.

The picture below shows Santa Maria del Popolo (St. Mary of the people) church, next to the gate. This church is full of mosaics, paintings, sculptures and is made in rich baroque style. I love the two paintings of renaissance artist Caravaggio in this church. It became even more famous because of the popular writer Dan Brown, whose book "Angels and demons", on which a film was also made, had scenes based in this church. Thus, this church is often on the tourists' visit list.

The almost twin churches

On the other side, opposite the Flaminia gate, are two churches, also known as twin churches. I love the picture of the twin churches below because it was taken on an early morning, around 6 AM and thus, the square was almost empty.

If you just take a casual look, the two churches look similar, however they are not exactly the same. The church on the right, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, has an octagonal (8 sided) dome while on the left, Santa Maria di Montesanto church, has a ten-sided dome. If you look again at two domes above and count the number of sides you can see, clearly the dome on the left has narrower sides.

As the whole square is so imposing and monumental, it is not easy to stop and look at the details. However, if you have time, stop and look carefully and each building is full of interesting details. As an example, the next 3 images show some details from the Santa Maria dei Miracoli church.

3000 years old Egyptian obelisk

Now let us look at the Egyptian obelisk at the centre of the square. The picture below is from my early morning visit in 2005 when this obelisk was undergoing restoration. Except for that one occasion, I have always found this place teeming with persons.

In the image below, you can see the dome of St. Peter's in Vatican city, against the Rome skyline. This view of the square is from the Pincio hill. Coming back to the obelisk, it is more than 3000 years old. It was brought to Rome in 10 AD by Roman emperor Augustus when Egypt had become part of the empire. For centuries, this obelisk was placed in Circo Massimo, the site of Roman sporting events, near Colosseum.

This obelisk, from the times of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, was shifted to this square in 16th century. In 19th century, 4 fountains with Egyptian looking lions were built at its base.

The images below can give you an idea of this place in summer, when the whole square seems full of people and there is hardly a place to sit here.

Piazza del Popolo in films

Gus Van Sant's "My own private Idaho" was shot here, and there was a scene where Mike (River Phoenix) wakes up at the base of the obelisk.

Many other films have been shot here. In 1945, Rossellini had shot here "Rome, open city". Via Margutta, a side street of Via del Babuino, near Santa Maria di Montesanto has the house which was shown as Gregory Peck's home in Roman Holidays (1953). In 1974, Italian director Ettore Scola had shot  here "We all loved each other so much" (C'eravamo tanto amati). In 1978, Weber had shot "Hotel Locarno" at the eponymous hotel on the side of this square.

However, the most significant film shot here was probably, "In the Year of the Lord" (Nel anno del signore) by Italian director Gigi Magni in 1969. This film was about rebellion against the rule of the Pope Leo XII in Rome in 18th century when two Carbonari resistance fighters, Angelo Targhini and Leonida Montanari were executed here. A plaque on one of the walls of the square commemorates their fight.

Rome and Neptune fountains

Let us take a look at the two fountains and sculptures on the eastern and western corners of the square. On the east, the group of three sculptures has Rome standing with the two rivers, Tiber and Anniene, sitting by his sides. In the centre, in front of Rome, is the symbol of Rome - a female wolf feeding the twins, Romulus and Remus. According to this story, Romulus had founded the city of Rome.

I was a little surprised by these statues because I would have imagined Rome and the two rivers in female forms and not as men. Around the central sculptures, there are many other sculptures on the sides and at the back, as you can see in the 2 images below.

Below, in the night image of the Rome sculpture on the eastern end of the square, you can see also see the Egyptian sphinx as well the fountain underneath.

Above the Rome group of sculptures, you can also see the terrace at the top of Pincio hill.

On the opposite side of the square, the group of sculptures is dominated by Neptune, holding the trident in his hand.

Arts, Events and People in the square

Piazza del Popolo is a hugely popular place, often the venue of music concerts and art exhibitions. The images below present some of those special events.

The image below has a Michael Jackson look-alike showing the dance steps of his idol in the square.

The two images below are from a sports function in the square, where Rome statue seems to be playing the role of the referee.

The image below has a street artist called Fabio Cicirelli showing acrobatics.

The next two images are of a wonderful art installation called "Trash People" made by Hu Schult in 2007.

Finally, to close this post, the group picture from the marriage of a naval officer in front of the Santa Maria del Popolo church.

Conclusions

I hope that you have liked this virtual tour of the Piazza del Popolo square.

For almost 20 years, I have crossed this square so many times, on my way to the meetings, as usually I needed to change the bus at Flaminia. I have enjoyed visiting this square so many times, sometimes only rushing through, at other times, sitting under the obelisk and thinking of the history this place must have seen.

This post is my way of saying thank you to this square for all the pleasure I have received from it!

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Advertisements in Rome

I love to take pictures of ads. While looking at my folder of pictures from Rome, I suddenly realised I have a nice collection of some ad-pics. So here is a selection for you.

It seems that the old monuments in the centre of Rome, are wonderful places for advertising. Since tickets don't seem to generate enough income, rennovation gives the opportunity to cover up the monument, and use it for placing ads and earning money. Rome municipality is discussing what to do about these never-ending rennovations around old monuments.

The image below shows the advertisement placed around the Egyptian obelisk in Piazza del Popolo in Rome. This is one of the most beautiful squares of Rome.

The next image is also from the same Piazza del Popolo square, showing ads on one of the churches, closed for rennovation.

The Spanish Steps near Piazza del Popolo is another favourite tourist stop with thousands of persons passing hours sitting here and admiring this beautiful square with the sunken boat fountain. Thus, big brand names put their ads in the areas surroudning it.

Rome also hosts one of the U.N. organisations - the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Usually the FAO building presents socially useful ads, as shown in the image below.

Termini railway station, the main railway station of Rome, is a popular site for ads because so many persons pass from here every day. Often the advertisements placed here are huge, since the railway station has very high roofs. Here is a sample of ads from the Termini Railway station.

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Foot-loose in Rome

(A post from 2012, edited & corrected in 2013)

 

I was in Rome for a meeting that was supposed to finish around 4 PM. Since these days the sun sets around 5.15 PM, it meant that I was going to have about one hour of daylight for visiting some places after finishing my work and before taking the train back home.

Rome is one of my favourite cities. Almost every stone that you bump against in Rome, has usually a history of at least thousand years. So every time that I can, usually I try to visit some new place in the city.

There are certain parts of the city centre in Rome that go from Piazza del Popolo through Spanish steps and fountain of Trevi to Piazza Navona and Fatherland's Alter, that I can visit every day without getting tired.

I am also a bit quirky, in the sense that I usually set myself some rules when I visit a city. Sometimes, these rules are linked to photography - like when I decide to focus on a particular colour, and wherever I see that colour, I click its pictures. On this visit, my rule was - No transport, only walking.

So, come and join me on this tour to some parts of Rome, the eternal city.

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The map below shows my tour-route in Rome. The part in blue is my walk in the morning for going to the meeting. The part in red is my visit to the city after the meeting. I think that altogether, in this tour I walked for about 10 km.

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The high speed train from Bologna to Rome took a little more 2 hours. When I arrived in Rome, it was 9.15 AM. My meeting was going to start at 9.30, so I walked briskly, turning right from the station and then taking Via Goito.

Though it is a relatively new residential area, without many historical buildings, still I like to keep my eyes open to look for any interesting places that may be hidden on the way. Like the statues and old church in via Cernaia. I could not resist the temptation to look at those statues. It made my walk a little longer.

On Via XX settembre, a busy street, I was surprised to find orange trees full of fruits. In Europe, often people don't pluck fruit from trees along the roads, preferring to leave them to rot. However, with all the beggars and immigrants in Rome, it was surprising that those trees had so much fruit!

In Fiume square, I saw an interesting looking old building. It seemed to be from 15th or 16th century. However, there was no time to stand and look at it properly as I was running a little late for my meeting.

After the meeting, I quickly walked to Villa Borghese museum, determined to take advantage of every remaining minute of daylight. Villa Borghese is a 16th century building from noble Roman family. It is surrounded by acres of beautiful parks, full of things to see including some lakes and many statues.

The splendour of Borghese family led to the use of the word "borghese" (bourgeois) as a synonym decadent life-styles of the rich, used frequently by communist ideologues all over the world.

There was no time to visit the art museum or the zoo that are located in the gardens of Villa Borghese. It was nice to walk in the middle of grassy meadows where children were playing and dog owners were out for their evening walks. I looked around for any statues, fountains and interesting buildings.

The evening darkness was not very helpful, but still I clicked a lot of pictures, that will be useful for my photoblog in the coming days!

By the time I arrived at the Pincio terrace (pronounced Pinchio), overlooking the Popolo square, sun was almost down and lights had come on. There was a beautiful sculpture exhibition by Mexican artist Javier Marìn on the terrace. It included giant sculptures of terracotta heads and wonderful statues of horsemen on top of columns. The view of the dome of St. Peter's church, seen through the sculptures of Marìn was incredibly beautiful.

I was mesmerized by those sculptures and the views from the terrace. So I spent a lot of time gazing around and clicking pictures. Finally I climbed down the hill to the Popolo square. The Egyptian obelisk with fountains and the statues on the sides of the Popolo square, glowing in the evening lights, looked like a set from Benhur or Ten Commandments.

After spending some time admiring the Popolo square, I finally took Via del Corso to S. Silvestro square. Via del Corso was full of people, which surprised me. It is true that it was a Saturday evening and Via del Corso is a traffic-free street, so crowds were bound to be there. Still I was not expecting it to be so packed with people.

Outside a church on Via del Corso I saw a young woman asking money to people. Though she was begging, she had her dignity. She had her own folding chair on which she sat primly with a bottle of mineral water, to ask for money. It made me smile.

I had already been walking for almost three hours and my feet were starting to hurt. So I sat down in S. Silvestro square and rested for a few minutes.

A short walk from S. Silvestro square brought me to Trevi fountain, my favourite place in Rome. The only time, I manage to find this place without too many tourists is very early in the morning. This time it was evening and it was full of people.

By now my feet were hurting seriously and I was tempted to take the metro to finish the last part of my Rome walk. Somehow I resisted the temptation and took Via Barberini. When I reached Repubblica square, I was glad that I had not taken the metro, because with lights, the central fountain was absolutely wonderful.

I reached the Termini railway station just in time for my train. My feet were almost numb with pain, so it was a relief to sit down in the train and put up my feet on the foot rest. It had been a long day, but I was very satisfied with my Rome walk.

I have another meeting later this month in Rome, and I am already making plans for other places to see during my next visit.

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