Roman Holiday
Before Christmas, I was so fortunate to jump on a plane amid the current covid crisis (I had not been on a plane for two years due to being locked down by the worldwide covid 19 pandemic). Although I love living in the countryside beside the sea, I had a strong desire to be immersed in culture again – architecture, graphic design, art and culinary delights!…and that ultimate buzz of being in a cool historic city…..What place other than Rome to experience the ultimate inspiration for my graphic design work and all the wondrous scenery that the city has to offer! And who would I get to join me on this Roman Holiday?!…none other than my fun brother…
Our hotel was situated beside the Pantheon located in the heart of the ancient historical centre of Rome. When we arrived in the Piazza della Rotonda, amidst all the hustling crowds, my brother and I were on such a high, soaking in this beautiful scene. I was struck by the magnificence of the beautiful Pantheon, which is a former Roman temple and since 609, a Catholic church on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD).
The Pantheon building is cylindrical with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight to the front and two groups of four behind). Being a fan of typography and letterforms for my graphic design work, I was mesmerised by the Latin inscription on the front of the temple reading M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT (which means Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made (this building) when consul for the third time). I was really impressed at how well preserved it is after so much time has passed. On entering the Pantheon, you are immediately struck by the beautiful dome and the oculus (the central opening to the sky) and the beautiful light that projects down through it – it still fascinates me that this is an opening in the dome where all sorts of weather, whether it be rain or snow can fall through! We were so excited to enter this beautiful building – the amazing painter and architect, Raphael’s tomb lies in towards the left and Victor Emmanuel II who was the first king of a united Italy, is buried on the far right of the rotunda. We were truly enchanted by the beautiful architecture of this magnificent building and all it’s history.
Next stop after the pantheon was over to see 3 of Caravaggio’s paintings in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, just a short walk from the Pantheon. My aunt who has lived in Rome for 60 years gave me this wonderful piece of local knowledge – you can see three of Caravaggio's masterpieces in this baroque church, for free. The three large paintings of St Mathew’s life (The Calling, The Inspiration and The Martyrdom) are located to the left from the altar in an unlit niche. I have always been inspired by Caravaggio, how he masterfully uses light in his work and his colourful life story – needless to say viewing these paintings in this beautiful church was superb.
One thing you will notice on a trip to Rome, is the amount of Obelisks present in the city – some were made for Egyptian Pharaohs and brought to Rome by Roman Emperors whilst others were made in Rome for Roman Emperors. Rome houses the most Obelisks in the world and there are 8 ancient Egyptian and 5 ancient Roman Obelisks in Rome. Obelisks were prominent in the architecture of the ancient Egyptians and played a vital role in their religion where they were placed in pairs at the entrance of their temples. We were so lucky to be within walking distance of some of these fine majestic monuments. Obelisks have always intrigued me from a graphic design perspective, as they are covered in beautiful hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs are a combination of logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements and were used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. The Egyptian’s were really ahead of their time inventing this pictorial script which is over 5,000 years old and in my opinion, truly were the forerunners in creating what we now know as graphic design. Right in the centre of Piazza della Rotonda, lies the Rotonda Obelisk, which was unearthed in 1575 and came from the Temple of Isis in Egypt, 1400BC. Beside our hotel in the Piazza della Minerva, is the Minerva Obelisk, which is a miniature Obelisk, placed on the back of Bernini’s elephant, which I really loved, it also is another find from the Temple of Isis, dating back to 500BC. Other beautiful Obelisks included below are the Piazza Navona Obelisk, which originated from Rome, 100AD and Trinita dei Monti Obelisk, which is situated on the top of the Spanish Steps, also originating from Rome, 300AD.
So many other beautiful and inspirational moments were captured on this wonderful trip, The Trevi Fountain, The Mouth of Truth, walks along the River Tiber, The Spanish Steps, The Colosseum, a trip to Trastevere and The Jewish Quarter, where in my opinion we ate the best food! Featured also below, is a graphic design poster with beautiful typography advertising an exhibition ‘Inferno’, at the Scuderie del Quirinale – I really love the typography in this poster. We ended our trip by spending a wonderful night with our Italian family eating delicious food which was a lovely finale to such a wonderful trip. Two words sum up the trip for me….Bella Italia! I came back from this trip feeling revived, replenished and inspired for my graphic design work. On the final day of 2021, here’s wishing you all a wonderful New Year and hopefully more inspirational trips for me and all of us in 2022!
