Roma If You Want To: The Final Countdown

I didn't forget about the blog...I've just been a little preoccupied with wrapping up what little is left of the semester (only one more week of classes!?). Our projects are due on Friday, and most of my classmates are heading home on the 26th. I'll be hanging around Rome until May 1st with the California boys, checking out anything I didn't get the chance to see or do in Rome before leaving town for two weeks of traveling.

This week, I visited the Borghese gallery with my fabulous Masters and Monuments teacher. The collection once belonged to the Borghese family and contains some of the most important paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance and Baroque artists, as well as many significant ancient statues. I was completely amazed by the Bernini sculptures, especially the stunning realism of the figures of The Rape of Proserpina. It's hard to imagine that Bernini was 23 (my age?!) at its completion.

This week we also visited Zaha Hadid's MAXXI, the modern art museum, Renzo Piano's Parco della Musica, a large complex of theaters and venues, and a few other notable contemporary Roman buildings.

With a quickly approaching project deadline, I probably won't be posting again for two weeks. Until then, lets hope for time to stop flying so fast!