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 CLASSICAL MUSIC
At the Parco della MusicaVia Coubertin (Flaminio) tel 892 982 www.listicket.itCellists of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with soprano Rosa Feola
Sala Sinopoli, Friday, March 5, 8:30 pm €33 -18
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas brasileiras n. 1
Guastavino: 7 canciones sobre poesias de Rafael Alberti
Bacharach: South American Songs Medley
Piazzolla: Maria de Buenos Aires: Suite
AA.VV: Tangos
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas brasileiras n. 5
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
conducted by Antonio Pappano with flutist Andrea Oliva and cellist Han-Na Chang.
Sala Santa Cecilia Saturday, March 6, 6 pm; Monday, March 8, 9 pm;
Tuesday, March 9, 7:30 pm €47-18
Sibelius: The swan of Tuonela
Nielsen: Concerto for flute
Smetana: The Bartered Bride Overture
Dvořák: Concerto for Cello
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
conducted by Antonio Pappano with trumpet soloist Omar Tomassini
Sala Santa Cecilia, Saturday, March 13, 6 pm; Monday, March 15, 9 pm;
Tuesday, March 16, 7:30 pm €47-18
Haydn: Concerto for trumpet
Bartók: Music for strings percussion and celeste
Haydn: Symphony n. 104 "London"
Martha Argerich & Friends - I
South American Getaway: Tangos
Soloists of the Orchestra, Chorus and Children's Chorus of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, José Maria Sciutto conducting
Martha
Argerich, Alberto Portugheis and Eduardo Hubert, pianos; mezzo-soprano
Susanna Moncayo; Nestor Marconi, bandoneon; Rolando Goldman, charango;
Roberto Amerisse, guitar; Rafael Gintoli, violin; Hugo Niro,
percussion/bombo. Tangos by Milhaud, Piazzola, Hubert, Marconi and others.
Sala Santa Cecilia, Sunday, March 14, 8:30 pm €33-16
Martha Argerich & Friends - II
South American Getaway: Paisajes Sonoros
Soloists of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
With
Martha Argerich, Luis Bacalov, Alberto Portugheis, Eduardo Hubert,
pianos; Susanna Moncayo mezzo-soprano; Nestor Marconi, bandoneon;
Rolando Goldman, charango; Rafael Gintoli, violin. Music by Ginastera,
Guastavino, Bacalov, PIazzolla, Gardel, Villoldo, Hubert
Sala Sinopoli, Wednesday, March 17, 8:30 pm €33-18
Grigory Sokolov, piano recital
One of the world's greatest piano virtuosi
Sala Santa Cecila, Thursday, March 18, 8:30 pm €33-18
Bach: Partita n. 2 BWV 826
Brahms: Fantasie op. 116
Schumann: Concerto without orchestra
Saint Petersburg Philharmonic
conducted by Yuri Temirkanov, with Roustem Saitkoulov, piano soloist
Sala Santa Cecilia, Friday, March 19, 9 pm €47-18
Rachmaninoff: Concerto for piano n. 2
Tchaikovsky: Symphony n. 6 "Pathetique"
Quartetto di Fiesole
Sala Sinopoli, Friday, March 26, 8:30 pm €33-18
Webern: Langsamer Satz
Petrassi: Quartet for strings
Schumann: Quartet op. 41 n. 3
Orchestra Mozart
conducted
by Claudio Abbado with Giuliano Carmignola, violin soloist
Sala Santa Cecilia, Friday, March 26, 7:30 pm; Sunday, March 28, 6 pm;
Monday,
March 29, 9 pm
Mendelssohn: Symphony n. 4 "Italian"
Mozart: Concerto for violin K. 216
Mozart: Symphony n. 41 K. 551 "Jupiter"
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Alexander Lonquich, conductor and piano soloist
Sala Santa Cecilia, Saturday, March 27, 9 pm €30-10
Mozart: Idomeneo overture
Mozart: Piano Concerto n. 17 K. 453
Mozart: Piano Concerto n. 24 K. 491
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Alexander Lonquich, conductor and piano soloist
Sala Santa Cecilia, Wednesday, March 30, 9 pm €30-10
Mozart: Marriage of Figaro overture
Mozart: Piano Concerto n. 23 K. 488
Mozart: Piano Concerto n. 22 K. 482
Concerto Italiano, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini
Music by Melani, Fabri, A. Scarlatti and D. Scarlatti
Sala Sinopoli, Wednesday, March 31, 8:30 pm €33-18
At the Aula Magna
Piazzale Aldo Moro (at La Sapienza university, San Lorenzo)
tel 06 361 0051 www.greenticket.it
Nikolaj Znaider violin and Robert Kulek piano
Saturday, March 6, 5:30 pm €25-12
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major op. 12 n. 3
Schubert: Sonata in D major op. 137 n. 1 D 384
Franck: Sonata in A major
Alexander Lonquich, piano recital
Tuesday, March 9, 8:30 pm €25-12
Scriabin: Two Poems, op 63 (N. 1 Masques - N. 2 Etrangeté)
Webern: Variations op 27
Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze op. 6
Berg: Sonata op 1
Schumann: Humoresque
Manuel Barrueco, guitar with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Music by Piazzolla, Guastavino, Barrios, De Aguila, Daugherty, Franck
Tuesday, March 16, 8:30 pm €25-12
Boris Berezovsky piano
Saturday, March 20, 5:30 pm €30-12
Rachmaninoff: Sonata n. 1 in D minor, op. 28
Rachmaninoff: Five Preludes op. 23
Chopin: Scherzo n. 1 in B minor, op. 20
Chopin: Scherzo n. 2 in B flat minor, op. 31
Chopin: Five Waltzes
Chopin: Five Mazurkas
Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin and Fazil Say piano
Tuesday, March 30, 8:30 pm €25-12
Beethoven: Sonata in A major op. 47 "Kreutzer"
Say: Sonata
Ravel: Sonata
Bartók: Romanian Dances
At the Auditorium della ConciliazioneVia della Conciliazione (near the Vatican)
tel 899 5000 55
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma
Lior Shambadal, conducting
The maestro continues his cycle of the Brandenburg Concerti and the Orchestral Suites of J.S. Bach
Sunday, March 7, 7:30 pm; Monday, March 8, 9 pm €15
Bach:Brandenburg Concerti n. 4, 5 and 6
Bach: Orchestral Suites n. 3 and 4
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma
Xu Zhong, conducting
Sunday, March 14, 7:30 pm; Monday, March 15, 9 pm €15
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite for orchestra
Tchaikovsky: Rome and Juliet Suite for orchestra
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma
Francesco La Vecchia, conducting
Sunday, March 21, 7:30 pm; Monday, March 22, 9 pm €15
Mozart: Symphony n. 40 in G minor, K 550
Bruckner: Symphony n. 4
At the Teatro Olimpico
Piazza Gentile da Fabriano (Flaminio)
tel 06 3201752
Misha Miasky, cello recital
Winner of numerous awards, and a protégé of Gregor Piatigorsky and Mstislav Rostropovich, Maisky concludes the cycle dedicated to the complete cello suites of J.S. Bach begun last month by Natalia Gutman. Maisky plays a Montagnana cello from the 18th century.
Thursday, March 11, 9 pm €37,76 - €25,13
J.S. Bach: Suite n. 1 in G major BWV 1007
J.S. Bach: Suite . 4 in E flat major BWV 1010
J.S. Bach: Suite n. 5 in C minor BMV 1011
Banda dell'Esercito Italiano
Fulvio Creux, conductor
The excellent band of the Italian army plays music of the 20th century by Milhaud, Holst, Copland, Einaudi and Respighi.
Thursday, March 18, 9 pm €25,17-€12,59
Mozartiamo III
The third in a series of concerts devoted to the music of Mozart. The title is a play on words, the Italian for "Mozart, I Love You" (Mozart ti amo). Orchestra J. Futura, conducted by Rui Massena, with the young violinst Martha Cohen, winner of the special prize at the 2009 Mozart Competition in Leipzig.
Thursdsay, March 25, 9 pm €25,17-€12,59
Mozart: Serenata Notturna in D major K. 239
Mozart: Concerto for violin and orchestra K. 216
Mozart: Symphony n. 34 in C major K. 338 Discounts:
If you have a student ID card, be sure to ask at the box office for a
"ridotto". Savings can be substantial.
 POPULAR MUSIC
Johnny Winter & Eric Sardinas "Guitar Slingers Night"
The legendary blues guitarist and his protégé.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli
Sunday, March 3, 9 pm
€30-25 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Mango-Gli amori sono finestre tour
GranTeatro, Viale di Tor diw Quinto 69 (north Rome)
Friday, March 5, 9 pm
€40,25-€23,75 www.greenticket.it
Marc Ducret, guitar
Ducret plays acoustic and electric guitar, fretless and baritone guitar and oud. He has played with a wide range of musicians including Joey Baron, Django Bates and Enrico Rava, and, most importantly, with the sax player Time Berne.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio
Tuesday, March 9, 9 pm
€12 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Dhafer Youssef
Tunisian singer and oud player Youssesf mixes traditional Tunisian sounds with Viennese jazz, and modern Norwegian music, having lived in all these places, as well as New York. His latest album, "Abu Nawas Rhapsody", was released in February 2010. For this concert he is joined by Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan,
Canadian bass player Chris Jennings and New York drummer Mark Giuliana.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi
Wednesday, March 10, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Danilo Rea; "Omaggio a Fabrizio De André"
One of Italy's top jazz pianists in a solo program, a tribute to the late singer-songwriter, father of Italy's cantautore tradition.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi
Thursday, March 11, 9 pm
€20, €15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Kaki King, guitar
The guitarist from Atlanta released her first album, "Everybody Loves You," in 2003. She has just finished work on her fourth and latest disc, "Mexican Teenagers."
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi, Saturday, March 13, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
L'Africa suona a Roma - Tribute to Miriam Makeba
Auditorium della Conciliazione, via della Conciliazione (near the Vatican)
Saturday, March 13, 9 pm €21,50 - €16,50 www.greenticket.it
MTV New Generation Tour 2010
Palalottomatica, Palazzo dello Sport (Eur), Saturday, March 13, 9 pm
€25,30-€11,50 www.ticketone.it
GeGé Telesforo "So cool"
Singer, producer and poly-instrumentalist, television personality Teslforo presents his latest jazz album with his quintet.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi, Sunday, March 14, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Maria Pia De Vita, Hew Warren: Dialektos"
The respected jazz singer, with Warren at the piano.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, Monday, March 15, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Requiem for a Dying Planet
Music by Ernst Rijeseger for the films of Werner Herzog - "The White Diamond"
and "The Wild Blue Yonder".
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi, Tuesday, March 16, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Solar Orchestra 1970-2010: We Remember Syd
Dedicated to Syd Barett, founding member of Pink Floyd.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, Tuesday, March 16, 9 pm
€12 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Pat Metheny, guitar: The Orchestrion Tour
The celebrated guitarist.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia, Wednesday, March 17, 9 pm
€50, €35, €25 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Allen Toussaint
Producer, composer and arranger, session pianist and soloist, Toussaint is a legend in the world of New Orleans R&B, having collaborated with such stars as Dr. John and Patti LaBelle. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli, Friday, March 19, 9 pm
€35, €25 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Morgan
The singer-songwriter and pianist, in a solo concert, performs vintage Italian songs by such names as Gino Paoli and Luigi Tenco.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi, Saturday, March 20, 9 pm
€35, €30 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Enrico Piernanzi and Rosario Giuliani
Jazz piano and sax. Pieranunzi has performed with such artists as Chet Baker and Lee Konitz, Giuliani with Kenny Wheeler and Cedar Walton.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, Monday, March 22, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Saba Anglana "Biyo"
The singer presents her latest album, "Biyo," meaning "water." A native of Somalia with an Italian father and Ethiopian mother, Anglana's music plays homage to her African roots.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, Tuesday, March 23, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Albrosie and the Shengen Clan Band
Teatro Tendastrice, Via Giorgio Perlasca, 69 (south Rome)
Saturday, March 27, 9 pm
€17,25 www.greenticket.it
Joanna MacGregor "Cross Border"
The innovative pianist mixes classical, jazz and contemporary music in her performances. She has collaborated with diverse artists from Django Bates and Brian Eno to Colin Davis and Simon Rattle.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, Tuesday, March 20, 9 pm
€15 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band
The celebrated filmmaker, actor and yes, clarinet player.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia, Wednesday, March 31, 9 pm €90-30 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
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OPERA, DANCE & THEATER
Daniele Lombardi and the Bad Boys of Piano
Choreography by Ileana Citaristi, Tadashi Endo, Fredy Franzutti, Mario Piazza, with dancers Carla Fracci, Olimpia Carlisi, Ileana Citaristi, Italo Dall'Orto, Tadashi Endo, Massimo Garon; pianist Daniele Lombardi
and soprano Susanna Rigacci. The énfants térribles of the last century, are honored in an evening inspired by Futurism. Teatro Nazionale, Via Viminale (Esquilino), Thursday, March 11, 8:30 pm; Saturday, March 13, 6 pm; Sunday, March 14, 4:30 pm. €30-€20 www.charta.itMefistofeleThe opera by Arrigo Boito, conducted by Renato Palumbo, directed by Filippo Crivelli, choreography by
Gillian Whittingham, with singers Orlin Anastassov,
Francesco Palmieri,
Stuart Neill, Mario Leonardi, Amarilli Nizza, Teresa Romano,
Anda-Louise Bogza, Letizia Del Magro
and Amedeo Moretti. A new production based on the historic sketches of Camillo Parravicini. Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Piazza Beniamino Gigli (Esquilino) Tuesday, March 16, 8:30 pm; Wednesday, March 17, 8:30 pm; Thursday, March 18, 8:30 pm; Friday, March 19, 8:30 pm; Saturday, March 20, 6 pm; Sunday, March 21, 4:30 pm; Tuesday, March 23, 8:30 pm €130 - €11 www.charta.itChopin Racconta ChopinChoreography by Paul Chalmer, with the Ballet of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth. Teatro Nazionale, Via Viminale (Esquilino) Friday, March 26, 8:30 pm; Saturday, March 27, 6 pm; Sunday, March 28, 4:30 pm; Tuesday, March 30, 8:30 pm €30-€20 www.charta.it |
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ART: In the MuseumsOpening:
I Mutanti
A group show presenting works by Ellen Gallagher, Adrian Paci, Stephen Dean and Djamel Tatah. These artists have produced works concerned with today's plurality, in its sociological manifestation, reflected in the hybrid techniques they put into practice.
Villa Medici - Accademia Di Francia, Viale Della Trinitŕ Dei Monti; Tuesday-Sunday, 11am - 7pm; March 29 through June 6 tel 06 6761291
Acquarelli d'interno 1810-1860
On loan from the Louvre, Paris, a selection of drawings by L. Th de Crissé depicting Roman scenes.
Museo Mario Praz ,Via Giuseppe Zanardelli 1 (Piazza Navona)
Tuesday - Sunday, 9 am -2 pm and 2:30 pm - 7:30 pm; through March 26
Mimmo Jodice
180 photographs shot in the years from 1964 to 2009, the exhibition aims to uncover laffinities between the metaphysicality in Jodice's photographs and the sweeping metaphysical themes that characterized De Chirico's1 painting and sculpture.
Sunday, Tuesday - Thursday 10 am - 8 pm; Friday - Saturday, 10 am - 10:30 pm; March 31 through July 11 tel 06 489 411
La Natura secondo De Chirico
A major exhibition of 120 artworks by Girogio De Chirico, the iconic 20th century painter who founded the scuola metafisica movement. Works for this exhibition are on loan from museums worldwide, and the private collection of Giorgio and Issa De Chirico.
Palazzo Delle Esposizioni, Via Nazionale 194 (Esquilino)
Sunday, Tuesday - Thursday 10 am - 8 pm; Friday - Saturday, 10 am - 10:30 pm; March 31 through July 11 tel 06 489 411
Continuing:
Sacra Mirabilia. Tesoro da Castiglion Fiorentino
A collection of over 50 works of art extending from the Etruscan period through the Medieval and from the 13th through the 19th centuries. These works in gold, ceramics, painting, bronze, polychrome sculpture in wood and marble, normally housed in three Roman institutions, are brought together to show the range of the Castiglion Fiorentino region's (Arezzo) artistic heritage.
Castel Sant'Angelo, Via Lungotevere Castello 50
Tuesday-Sunday 9 am-7 pm; through April 11
Edward Hopper
The first retrospective exhibition in Rome of 143 works by the major exponent of American realism. His unparalleled portrayal of daily American life and the solitude of modern man remains unchallenged.
Museo Fondazione Roma, Via del Corso 320
Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-7 pm; through June 13 tel 06 678 6209
Caravaggio
An iconic exhibition celebrating 500 years since the death of Caravaggio, one of history's most enigmatic artists. Works selected for the exhibition offer a rare opportunity to penetrate the essence of Caravaggio's work, examining the artist's "terribile naturale" (his natural tendency to genius).
Scuderie Del Quirinale, Via XXIV Maggio 16
Sunday - Thursday, 10 am-8 pm; Friday, 10 am-10:30 pm; through June 13 tel 06 399 67500
Charlotte Bonaparte: Dama di molto spirito
Through a selection of paintings, documents and objet d'arte, this exhibition traces the life of Charlotte Bonaparte, the princess, artist and niece of Napoleon.
Museo Napoleonico, Piazza di Ponte Umberto I 1
Tuesday-Sunday, 9 am-7 pm; through April 18
Lawrence Ferlinghetti: 60 anni di pittura
Tracing the artistic career of American poet, painter, liberal activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who is best known for "A Coney Island of the Mind", a collection of poems that has been translated into nine languages.
Museo di Roma in Trastevere, Piazza Sant'Egidio 1/b
Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-8 pm; through April 25
Biographical Landscape. Fotografie di Stephen Shore 1969-1979
More than 160 photographs examining the relationship between Stephen Shore's photography and the conceptual art that unfolded during the same decade.
Museo di Roma in Trastevere, Piazza Sant'Egidio 1/b
Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-8 pm; through April 25
Il segreto di marmo. I marmi dipinti di Ascoli Satriano
A group of 11 unique painted marble works, dating to the classical period of Magna Grecia, found in the ancient territory of Ausculum, known today as Asscoli Satriano in the province of Foggia (Puglia). The sculptures are important for the crystalline quality of the marble, which was quarried on the island of Paro and used exclusively for sculpture and painting.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Largo Di Villa Peretti 1
Tuesday-Sunday, 9 am-7:45 pm through April 18, 2010
Boldini e gli italiani a Parigi. Tra realtŕ e impressione
A
group exhibition of the works of Giovanni Boldini, Giuseppe De Nittis,
Federico Zandomeneghi and other Italian artists who sojourned in Paris
during the second half of the 19th century, traces the artistic
maturation of these artists while investigating their attraction to the
mythical era of Paris as captured in portraiture, paintings of cafes,
theaters, boulevards scenes and ateliers.
Dart - Chiostro del Bramante, Arco Della Pace 5 (near Piazza Navona)
Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-8 pm; through March tel 06 688 09035
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GETAWAYS: The Grandeur of Rome's Palaces
Rome is a museum with no walls. Wherever you wander, there is history and great beauty to be discovered. Throughout the centuries, wealthy merchants, popes, cardinals, nobles and politicians commissioned master architects to erect great palaces, monuments to their lust and power. While artists, in their turn, were commissioned to decorate these magnificent buildings with elaborate fresco cycles that strove to bridge the schism between paganism and the Catholic scriptures, and to exalt their patrons through frescoes of allegorical and mythological imagery, and grand portraits in gilded frames. Artisans created fine furnishings and finishes using local and imported marble. Many of these great palaces were replete with collections of ancient Roman sculpture.
Today, Rome's palace-museums are repositories of the legacies of the original owners, reflecting personal taste and family history.
From the 14th century though the 17th centuries, the Chigi, Borghese, Barberini, Colonna and Farnese families channeled their attention, wealth, influence, and desire for immortal glory into art and architecture.
La Farnesina was built in 1509 by Baldassare Peruzzi at the commission of the wealthy and noble Sienese banker, Agostino Chigi (1465-1520), who established economic ties with the whole of Western Europe,
at one time having up to 20,000 employees, receiving from Siena the
title of "Magnifico". He was indisputably the richest man in Rome, and a great patron of the arts. The palace is designed in accordance with the proportions and aesthetic sensibilities of Renaissance architecture, one of few examples of that syle to be seen in Rome. Chigi ordered interior decorations from Raphael, Sebastiano del Piombo, Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (known as Sodoma), Giulio Romano and Peruzzi himself.
This palace is now a museum, surrounded by a beautiful garden of bergamot trees, cedars of Lebanon, cypresses, laurel bushes and evergreens. Public exhibition space is confined to two floors. The Loggia of Psyche is adorned with an exquisite fresco cycle painted by Raphael and his pupil Giulio Romano, along with Francesco Penni, Raffaellino del Colle and Giovanni da Udine. The frescoes represent episodes from the story of Eros and Psyche as told in the "Metamorphosis" of Ovid. The story ends with two scenes painted on the ceiling representing the Council and the Banquet of the gods during which the arranged marriage between Eros and Psyche is celebrated.
The room of the Frieze, a fresco of mythological scenes painted by Peruzzi, and the images of the labors of Hercules are remarkable for their intricate detailing.
One of Raphael's finest frescoes is in the Hall of Galathea, representing the triumph of the nymph Galathea, on a sea shell pulled by dolphins.
On the upper floor, the extraordinary Salone delle Prospettive, also designed by Baldassare Peruzzi, is decorated with painted scenes opening onto a lush bucolic landscape framed in Greek columns. Works by other artists contribute to the splendor to be seen on this floor. It is worth noting that an ancient "graffiti" in German Gothic style was discovered during a recent restoration.
Via della Lungara 230 (Trastevere) Monday-Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm
tel 06 688 01767 Entrance fee €5
Palazzo Spada Across the Tiber and just off the narrow streets leading from Campo dč Fiori, Palazzo Spada is nestled in a small but perfect piazza. Built in 1540 by Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro, it became the residence of Cardinal Bernardino Spada in 1632. The entry of the palazzo was small, too modest to satisfy the pride of the cardinal, so he commissioned architect Francesco Borromini to install the now-famous perspective gallery. Standing in the entrance courtyard of the palace, one views what appears to be an expansive colonnade, but it is an optical illusion. Borromini brilliantly used tricks of perpspective to make the small hall appear grand, tilting the pavement, walls and vaulted ceiling to create an illusion of a colonnade stretching nearly 120 feet. In reality, the distance is less than 30 feet long.
Palazzo Spada's impressive sculpture collection represents the first Roman kings and early emperors and important Roman gods and godesses.
The museum holds a surprisingly significant collection of paintings, among them two s by the celebrated 17th century female painter, Artemesia Gentileschi.
Palazzo Spada, Piazza Capo de Ferro 13
Tuesday - Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m; tel 06 683-2409 Entrance fee €5 euros
Palazzo Farnese is one of the most evocative buildings in Rome. The Renaissance palace looms over an expansive piazza, dwarfing and even squeezing out the church angled in the corner. Only the grandiose fountains, a pair of enormous granite tubs that were pillaged from the baths of Caracalla, compete with the majesty of Palazzo Farnese. The fleur de lis pattern etched onto the surface of the fountains is said to be part of the Farnese family insignia. Cardinal Farnese, who later became Pope Paolo III, hired Antonio Sangallo il Giovane to design his palace. After Sangallo's death, Michelangelo took over the project, and Giacomo della Porta finally brought the project to its conclusion. During the time of the High Renaissance, the palace was considered one of the marvels of Rome, acclaimed for the sublime elegance of its architecture. Most notable in the Farnese collection are the cycle of paintings, mostly executed by Mannerist artists from the middle to late 1500s, such as Daniele da Volterra, Francesco Salviati, Taddeo Zuccari and the Caracci brothers, Annibale and Agostino, and the magnificent frescoes by Annibale Caracci in the Camerino and the Galleria.
The palazzo has been the French embassy since 1871.
Palazzo Farnese, Piazza Farnese, 67 (near Campo de'Fiori) offers free tours in Italian or French, Monday - Thursday at 3, 4 and 5 p.m. Reservations necessary
tel 06 6889 2818 visitefarnese@france-italia.it.
Palazzo Colonna has such a modest, unadorned entrance that it could be easily mistaken the "servants quarters". But once inside, the visitor is immediately awed by the elegance of this regal palace. The Colonna were one of Italy's foremost noble families. With no pause in continuity, their lineage can be traced back over a thousand years. In the 16th century, Marcantonio Colonna II kept the family crest polished with his famous victory over the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto (1571). The triumph of this naval victory is narrated in a fresco series covering the entire grand salon. Other elements of the military feat spill out over doors and along the molding. An odd combination of history and pomp is presented in this gallery, which is filled with objects, painting, mirrors, table tops supported by statues of Ottoman slaves, and Murano glass chandeliers. Because descendants of the Colonna family still live in the palace, the the gallery is open only on Saturday mornings.
Palazzo Colonna, Via della Pilotta 17; tel 06 678 4350;
www.galleriacolonna.it Open Saturdays only, 9 am - 1 pm Entrance fee €7
Palazzo Massimo was built at the end of the 19th century in a Neo-Renaissance style by Duke Mario Massimo di Rignano. In the 20th century, the palazzo was leased by a Jesuit order and served as a scholastic institute, and was later purchased by the Italian Arts Ministry to house a portion of the state's massive collection of sculpture and collectibles. Although it has undergone a superb restoration, the palace barely attracts the attention of passersby. Now a museum, it houses an exhibition of historic items arranged according to function and origin, complexity, provenance, excavation and material, in four areas: jewelery; antique Greek and Roman sculpture, statures of Roman emperors, bronze from sea vessels Nemi and Dioniso; and numismatica, collections tracing the origins of money systems. The last section is dedicated to mosaics and frescoes, which were removed from Prima Porta, just north of Rome, where Livia, the wife of the first Roman emporer, Augustus, had her holiday palace. Amazingly, some of these first century frescoes are still in close to perfect condition.
Largo di Villa Peretti 1 (near the Termini rail station)
Tuesday - Sunday 9 am - 7:45 pm tel 06 480201 Entrance fee €6,50
A 20 euro, three-day Romapass (www.romapass.it) offers free entrance to two city museums of your choice and discounted admission to another 40 institutions in and around Rome, as well as a pass for public trasportation. Available at tourist kiosks throughout Rome.
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Go to In Rome Now Home Page www.InRomeNow.com
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