Continued in Rome: That evening I met up with Susanna at the St. Peter's in Chains church, mostly to view Michelangelo's tomb of Pope Julius, with Moses as the centerpiece. This is quite an amazing sculpture. Michelangelo always struggled during the carving of this massive work because the Pope commissioned him to paint the Sistine Chapel in the middle of his job on the tomb. He didn't consider himself a painter and was always anxious to get back to sculpting. Susanna and I then ventured to Trastevere for dinner and more walking: Campo de Fiori, Pantheon and Trevi fountain. We were exhausted at 11:30, but it was a great way to spend my last night in Rome. Day 3: Off to Naples: My last ½ day in Rome I went to the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva for Michelangelo's Christ with the Cross. It showed Christ in a standing pose holding the cross to his side. It I unlike so many other sculptures depicting Christ as a weakened man. Then it was on to Conad (ultimate grocery store) @ Termini for a picnic lunch for the train to Naples.
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St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
How cool that you saw the Tomb! It's been 11 years since I visited Italy and I really need to get back. Yeah, Michelangelo hated painting and didn't want to paint the ceiling or the Last Judgement wall. He was a sculptor to his core, which may explain why the figures in his paintings look like sculpture.