Showing posts with label ITALY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ITALY. Show all posts

Monday, November 09, 2009

Piazza Navona

During the Christmas season Piazza Navona is packed with stalls selling toys, sweets and decorations for the Nativity scene or Christmas tree, making it a favorite spot for children. Its unusual shape recalls the time of Domitian, who built a stadium for equestrian displays here. The Fountain of the Rivers, with the obelisk, and the Fountain of the Moor, with the God of the Sea, at the center of the square, are both sculpted by Bernini.

Information by Wcities



Musei Vaticani's

Musei Vaticani's unique art collection is exhibited in surroundings of unparalleled beauty. The magnificent Raphael Rooms are among the masterpieces of the collection, where each room is decorated with frescoes by great artists. The best known is The School of Athens, in which contemporary artists appear as classical characters like Leonardo da Vinci, for example, appears as Plato. The Sistine Chapel is the museum's finest treasure, and features Michelangelo's famous Last Judgement. He was one of many artists including Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Pinturicchio who contributed to the chapel.


Hours

M-F 8:45a-3:45p, Sa 1p-4:45p

Pantheon

Information about pantheon :
Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, restored by Domitian, and subsequently rebuilt by Hadrian (who added the dome), the Pantheon was turned into a church in the early 7th Century by Pope Boniface IV. The building's sole source of light is the opening at the dome's apex , according to popular legend, this formed the base for the bronze pine cone that is now in the Vatican's Pigna courtyard, where it is used as a fountain. Many famous Italians are buried in the Pantheon, including Renaissance painter Raphael and King Vittorio Emanuele I.


Hours

M-Sa 8:30a-7:30p, Su 9a-6p