Saturday Sojourn: The Borghese Gallery

Salve, folks, I'm back from the dead. Thanks for the prayers and best wishes for my birthday and as I prepared for my exams. They went very well, and so I'm grateful that the work paid off and that I've gotten a feel for how this thing works. It's nice to have one semester down, and, what, ... nine or so to go?

The Borghese Gallery

An interior room in the Gallery

Unlike most of the NAC seminarians, I wasn't able to get away for any travel between or after exams. A few of us did make a little half-day trip here in Rome yesterday, heading over to the Borghese Galllery to view some of its very fine and very famous collection. Begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the Gallery features art from true masters, including Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael, and Peter Paul Rubens. However, it is perhaps most famous for its wide collection of works by the Baroque painter, sculptor, and architect Gianlorenzo Bernini, who benefited as a young artist from the patronage of Cardinal Borghese. The Bernini sculptures, in particular, are as good as advertised, with the famous David perhaps being the highlight.

Bernini's David

The Gallery's most striking sculpture, to me at least: Bernini's The Rape of Proserpine
EDIT: My mom tells me that my description of this statue could be misunderstood or is, at least, a bit untoward. She's right, of course -- my apologies.

Tickets to the Gallery can be hard to get (especially in summer) and must be purchased ahead of time. And though you only have two hours to view everything before you're shuffled out in time for the next group, the museum's permanent collection isn't terribly large so the time restriction works out alright. It's a nice half-day trip and a fairly cheap way to get some serious culture on a Saturday morning.

Second semester starts tomorrow, so there's no rest for the weary. My classes, for any that are interested: The Credibility of Revelation, Fundamentals of Christian Liturgy, Christology & Trinity, Biblical Exegesis: Pentateuch & Early Prophets, Introduction to Patrology & Christian Archaeology, Greek II, and finally, God Revealed: the Trinity (taught by this bishop). Should be great fun!

I still want to detail my Christmas travels a bit, so look for that soon. Hope you're having a nice February, everyone -- ready for spring yet?