Pictorial Muscle: “Grand Tour of Italy”

words and photos by Mike Cacioppo

In the 18^th & 19^th century, American artist knew in order to improve their skills they needed to take what became known as the Grand Tour of Italy.  They traveled to Italy to experience the grandeur of the Roman Empire along with the  Renaissance & Baroque masters.

They went to see the sculpture, paintings, frescos, mosaics & architecture of the ancients to the present day.  They visited with Italian artist & their studios. Many artist went for weeks & others stayed for months taking up residence of the previous American artist.  You know many of their names & see works made during their stay in Italy.

The Grand Tour included the must see areas of Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples & Sicily.  I have been lucky enough to travel to Italy at least 6 times.  I recently completed a 2 week Rick Steves tour of  Southern Italy.  I got to see new regions along with revisiting towns from previous trips. 

I have now seen all the regions of Italy that comprise the “Grand Tour” & have a better understanding why American artist traveled so frequently to Italy.  With the glory of the Roman Empire & Florence being the birthplace of the Renaissance, Italy is one of the top western art destinations.  Even with all my visit’s, there’s still art, architecture & regions that I want to visit.  It has scenic beauty, delicious food especially in the south & locals that make you feel welcomed.  I don’t speak Italian, but an interaction with a local is a touch less hug.

Here are some of my Southern Italy highlights:

Rome – I have been many times, but this time I stayed in the Trastevere neighborhood on the Tiber River adjacent to Vatican City.  It has a neighborhood feel with green leafy trees.

Trastevere contains a number of historic churches.  Next door to my hotel was San Francesca de Ripa Church.  It contains a sculpture by the baroque master, Gian Lorenzo Bernini.  The work is title “Beato Ludovica in Ecstasy“.  It’s a masterful sculpture similar to Bernini’s famous “St. Teresa in Ecstasy“.

Another stunning church is St. Cecilia in Trastevere.  It has a marble sculpture of St. Cecila by the late Renaissance artist Stefano Maderno.  It portrays the saint’s incorruptible body when her tomb was opened in 1599.  But the treat is the level below the church.  The entrance fee is 3 euros to a senior nun, but it’s so worth it. The crypt of the saint is a Roman arched space in comostesque style.  It is a completely mosaic environment that glistens in the windowless underground.

Alberobello-It’s on the southern Adriatic Italian coast & is famous for it “trulli” buildings.  They are round limestone structures with a round stone pointed roof.  They served as houses & businesses for centuries.  The painted white buildings with grey roofs are accented with green vines & colorful flowers.  They are remind me of our Native American tepee, but in stone.

Vieste-IA seaside town with craggy rocky cliffs that overlook the sandy Adriatic beaches.  The scenic beauty of Vieste is balanced by it’s white rocks & icy blue Adriatic waters. 

Matera-This is a prehistoric cave city located in Italy’s heel of the boot.  It’s a maze of caves inhabited since prehistoric times known as the “sassi’.  It is among one of the oldest towns still inhibited  today. They served as homes & rock churches for centuries. Now they are shops, restaurants & even our hotel.  It was like visiting “Bedrock” in Fred Flintstone times.

Paestum-The Greeks established this town that can now boast the best greek temples on the mainland.  Sicily’s Valley of the Temples also has better preserved Greek temples than you will see in Greece.  The museum houses many of the painted tombs which contain images on stone so that the dead would not be forgotten. 

Pompeii-Not far from Paestum is the Roman town of Pompeii which was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius.  The volcanic eruption in Roman times covered the large Roman city which was the Las Vegas of  it’s time.  Before the eruption, Pompeii was a port city with wares from throughout the Roman empire.  It had an elaborate engineering system which supplied running water & sanitation to many of the city dwellings as well as luxurious  Roman bathes. 

Sorrento-A relaxed town on the Amalfi coast tucked into the hillside overlooking the blues hues of the Mediterranean.  In addition to it’s natural beauty this is where all things are lemon.  Lemons grow in all sizes & everywhere. Trees drip with lemons as you walk the streets or have dinner under them.  The waters in this area of the Amalfi are noted for their deep blues & almost fluorescent blue as you see in Capri’s Blue Grotto.

Naples-It’s the third largest city in Italy with over 3 million Neapolitans in the metro area.  The Greeks named it which translates to “new city”.  By the middle ages Naples was a cosmopolitan & a rich world class city & much of that grandeur remains today.  Two of the highlights are the Campodimonte Museum & the Archeological Museum. 

The Campodimonte Museum is a Bourbon Palazzo that contains over 47,000 objects of art.  In addition to works by Raphael, Lippi, Caravaggio & others, there are works  by Michelangelo & Botticelli.  One room contains the cartoons Michelangelo used for figures in the Sistine Chapel.  The Botticelli Madonna & Child is in his classic gently  painted style.  The museum is large, but navigable with a feast for the eyes in each gallery.    

The Archeological Museum is the other must see Naples institution. All the great works of art from Herculean & Pompeii are housed in what was originally a military barracks. 
The 2000 year old mosaics from these roman towns are as dazzling with color as they day they made.  

The Farnese sculpture collection is incredible with marble Roman copies of  bronze Greek sculptures that were melted down millenniums ago.  Two outstanding works are the Farnese Hercules & the Farnese Bull.  Hercules was sculpted for the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.  The baths were massive architectural wonders & the size of this beautifully carved marble work would be right at home in this setting. The sculpture is a massive figure over 10 feet tall. It’s impressive height & physique are similar to Michelangelo’s David centuries later.

The other outstanding sculpture is the Farnese Bull.  It is a huge marble Roman copy of a Greek Hellenistic sculpture.  It’s the largest Roman sculpture to be discovered to date. It was carved from one block of marble, 12” by 9”.   It was also found in the Roman baths of Caracalla.  Similar to the Greek inspired Roman marble sculpture “Laocoon“, it’s a group of human figures & animals in twisted positions with the bull at it’s peak.  Michelangelo planned to use the sculpture as a centerpiece for a piazza in Rome. He restored the marble that was missing from the human figures & animals. This makes it what I call a two for one.  A Roman sculpture  restored by a Renaissance master. 

Travel is a wonderful thing. You get to visit another part of the world, culture & landscape. It’s especially wonderful for an artist.  I received a fine art, studio art degree from Lamar University decades ago.  Lynne Lokensgard was my art history professor & still is my good friend.  She gave me great advice many years ago.  She knew I studied art in textbooks, but she told me that I wouldn’t fully appreciate it till I could see it in person.  She was so right. It comes alive in person.  Seeing the actual size of  Michelangelo’s David. Walking into the architectural environment of the Pantheon or the Pazzi Chapel.  Being in the presence of Raphael’s fresco “The School of Athens”.  As wonderful as our technology is today, you have to experience art to fully appreciate it.

So travel as much as you possibly can.  The younger the better, but at any age.  Italy is always a wonderful destination, but if overseas isn’t right for you we have many wonderful things to see in our hemisphere as well as the states.  If that’s not possible then a day at Houston’s world class museums which are either free or have a free day.  Don’t forget about the free art venues in town, The Art Studio, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, The Beaumont Art League, The Music Studio & the Dishman Art Museum. 

Get out & experience art.  It refreshes your inner being-mind, body & spirit. Thank you to the Art Studio for letting me share my travels.