Art is a part.........of Rome

From cathedrals and museums to doorways and heating grates, art is definitely a big part of the essence of Rome. There are four National Museums each with a different theme for the art within. Walking the streets you see fountains and doorposts with statues and figurines hundreds of years old. As I mentioned before, the basilichi and cathedrals have millions of dollars worth of frescoes, statues and artworks. And, yes, in St. Peter's Basilica there is even a heating grate worthy to be called art.

One of my favorite surprises walking through Rome was the day we saw a poster in a doorway inviting us into an exhibition of 17th century Flemish and Dutch painters. It was only to be in Rome from November until February and lucky for us, we were there at the right time. To some people seeing an art exhibit wouldn’t be very special but to a girl whose only childhood exposure to great art was the pictures in school textbooks this was an invitation to explore the works of masters.

We paid a minimal fee thanks to an earlier purchase of the “Roma Pass” and spent an hour or more examining the beauty created by a great number of artists including Rubens, van Dyke, Steen, Vermeer, and Rembrandt. These are copies of the photos on the flyer and would never do justice to the awesomeness (is that a word?) of those paintings. The depth and color and stories within each painting was worth staring at…..and we did. We kept saying, “Oh, look at that part.” or “Look how he…..” They were beautiful. I can truly see why they were the masters.

And…..they were painted four hundred years ago.

Amazing.