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Getting into this amazing Roman palace is being immersed in the history of Italy. The Doria Pamphili aristocratic family have been accumulating in this noble mansion (which occupies a full block of downtown Rome) delicate decorative objects, fine furniture of all styles and impressive works of art of the best artists of the last centuries. All for the visual pleasure of the members of this noble clan, that even today still live there surrounded by such illustrious walls. But economic needs are imposed and The powerful Doria Pamphili family are forced to open to the public to raise cash to contribute to the maintenance of such antiquated facilities.

Thus, some of the most spectacular rooms of the palace can be booked for meetings, receptions and events of all types, those who do not have the opportunity to be invited to a elegant soirée, may, at any rate, enjoy anyways another way the Palazzo Doria Pamphili.

And to do what? I propose a multiple plan that is the best way enjoy the visit. First, we will enjoy the awesome sight of the baroque building, apart from the dozens of spectacular paintings hanging on their walls. Although the most famous painting is the portrait of Innocent X, painted by Velázquez (art work that obsessed so much Francis Bacon that he painted more than 40 versions of it).The Palazzo Doria Pamphili is a small museum, and a special gallery with a full representation of the very best of the past centuries. Caravaggio, for example, is present with weeping Magdalene and the Holy Family with a musician Angel all accompanied by the dark par-excellence painter Raphael, as well as painteings by Carracci and the French painter Claudio de Lorena.

If the gift of such a visual pleasure is not enough, the Doria family, who know quite a lot about the enjoyment of senses, organizes a series of chamber concerts by the Extravaganza Music Group. The intention is that the sounds and notes of the viols, harpsichords, lutes or harps embraces the visitors to recreate the entertaining and leisure atmosphere that the ancient inhabitants of the palace enjoyed. Undoubtedly, the traveler has a better opportunity to go back to a past time with the incorporation of live music ,a time  when the hours flowed calmly and slowly (at least for the aristocratic elite) and this is what the heirs of old Doria Pamphili propose, that the visitor feels like he is part of a privileged past. This is a plan that could satisfy the thirst for refined beauty of any self-respecting spirit.

Enter the mansion, walk its halls and galleries filled with works of art and sit down to enjoy a chamber concert is today within reach of a click. Of course, you have to make reservations well in advance. I enclose the web address http://www.doriapamphilj.it/musica.asp where they give due consideration to all practical information and a video to open your appetite

Candela Vizcaíno

I forgot: before you leave, rent some of the nicest apartments in Rome the best way to visit the the Eternal City without rushing

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Translated by: Marc
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Campo dei Fiori was one of the lungs of Roman life at least since the fifteenth century, when Callistus III made pave the flowery meadow that in classical times was part of the Champ de Mars and the palaces of families like the Orsini or Borgia arose in that environment. During the morning, Il Campo, as everybody knows it, it vibrates from the early hours with the activity of bustling food market, as colorful as sinfully expensive, which takes place in the square until lunchtime. It is in that moment of cosmic rotation of the square that things start to change and Il Campo becomes one of the most popular areas in the city to go out to eat and drink until late at night.

Noting all the bodies that under the stars nocturnally clutter the place driven by the desire for fun and enjoyment, it is not easy to know how many of them know which star influenced the great painter Caravaggio when killed a person who had dared to defeat him in a tennis match played in this square. Or what percentage is aware that the site was the setting for countless beloved representations of Commedia dell ‘arte. Or perhaps you know all these things without remembering them.

It is gratifying, however, imagining that when they raise their cups and celebrate a toast, some of them could perhaps be doing it in honor of one of the most famous designers of the art of memory, astronomer, philosopher and stars poet Giordano Bruno, killed by the Inquisition in 1600 also in this square, then a scene of public executions because of being unable, unlike Galileo shortly after, to resign to secretly pronouncing “however”.

Paul Oilzum

When you rent apartments in Rome maybe you do not mind raising your glass in Il Campo looking at the statue or the sky and brightly overwhelm the feeling we are all stardust.?

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Translated by: salome antigone
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You’ve just been hired as a private detective, an part of your mission is to visit certain lost and secret corners of Rome in search of clues- the Galleria Borghese Palazzo Barberini, the Galleria Doria Pamphili, Santa Maria del Popolo, San Luigi dei Francessi, Sant  Agostino, the Palazzo Corsini and the Vatican Museums- but when you review your notes, you feel very confused.

You try to establish a connection, some common element in all places visited and conclude that  the suspect is none other than Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio, (1573-1610), whose works can be admired in these select places in  the Italian capital.

If we consider that Caravaggio painted probably not more than thirty paintings during the 14 years he lived in Rome, that only 16 are found in Rome may seem like very few. However they are all decisive. Not only are they prime examples of Renaissance life and art, they also reflect the sordid glory of Caravaggio’s legacy as a painter. Rome, with its historically seedy underworld, formed an essential element of the legend of this villainous and reckless painter. His life story has become that of a noir character able to symbolize all the amorality and depravity, including murder that has played into our construction of the tortured artist for years. For better or worse his uneven biography is in itself also a work of art. Not in vain did his contemporaries accuse him of being nothing more than a provocateur, someone whose main goal was to shock and defame, with a mocking splash of tradition and beauty.

The truth, however, is that the naturalism of Caravaggio, the personal aesthetics of  his work, and their extreme use of chiaroscuro technique, which causes such a startlingly realistic pictorial effect, was precisely a attempt to reinvent the concept of beauty through the commitment to truth. Caravaggio did not pursue the ideal beauty of classical models and shunned it as “ugly” because what he was looking for something else and that something else was the truth as he saw it. Hence his rejection of conventions devoted to traditional aesthetic. Hence his journey to a point of no return which led him to utilize all the gallery’s own marginal characters (including male and female prostitutes, criminals, lovers) as models  for the saints and virgins of his paintings.

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Paul Oilzum

This path which led to Rembrandt and Velazquez through Pasolini, another illustrious Roman by adoption, was, perhaps, in retrospect, the most radical and modern response to mannerism, possible, allowing for a radical reassessment of aesthetics and opening new ground on a path in the visual arts which we still continue traveling. Follow this curious and winding path though museums, cloisters and apartments in Rome.?

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Translated by: salome antigone
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The newspaper of the Vatican informed recently that a new painting has been found that could be by Caravaggio, because there have been found lots of similarities between this piece and other immensely famous painting by this Italian artist.

Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio, is news again, because it seems like there has been found a new painting in one of the properties of the Jesus Company in Rome.

This announcement by L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, stated that the painting, that shows the San Lorenzo’s ordeal, is of impeccable style. The piece shows a naked young man, lying on a table surrounded by flames and who is making a last and weak attempt to escape, because he has practically given up, asking for help.

The experts assure that there are a lot of similarities between this piece and other paintings by Caravaggio (such as “Saint Paul’s conversion”, “Saint Mateo’s ordeal” or “Judith”) and that there is practically no doubt that the found work of art was painted by the famous Italian. In any case, scientists and experts have to keep investigating to determine the real author of the piece. The only thing we can do now is waiting.

The compositions usually made by the Italian painter, who was born in 1571 and died in 1610, had stylistically a lot going on and oozed expressiveness, underlined by the gestures of the people who usually showed aggression, abandonment, horror, surprise or fright. Rays of light illuminated the movement of his figures, which at the same time, also hid them in absolute darkness.

A lot of Michelangelo Merisi’s paintings can now be found in art galleries and art museums in Rome. So if you want to enjoy the paintings of this world famous artist, rent apartments in Rome and don’t miss this chance.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio died 400 years ago. For this reason an extraordinary exhibition has been organised to celebrate this anniversary. The location of such an amazing event couldn’t be any other but Rome, the city where the famous Lombard genius realised most of his painting.

An intense life
A lot has been written about the genius of Caravaggio. Sometimes he has been appreciated and considered more for his eccentric and unconventional life than for his special creative ability. Caravaggio seems to be the epitome of a true artist…loose living, genius, bohemian life style; during his youth he has been involved in several criminal actions and was sentenced to prison and even to death penalty for murder. However the bohemian lifestyle of Caravaggio can only be considered to be true partially because he was also very “organic” to the society of his time.

Powerful patrons
He was friends with some members of the influential family of Colonna, he had, as well, several important sponsors, such as the aristocratic cardinal Del Monte, the noble Marcantonio Doria, cardinal Mattei and Vincenzo Giustiniani, probably the richest man in Rome at that time. The protection through these personalities permitted to Caravaggio to express his genius freely, reaching the highest peak of fame.

The exhibtion
For sure it’s not the first exhibition dedicated to Caravaggio but certainly this one gathers the highest number of masterpieces. 24 paintings, coming from the most important museums and galleries of Rome, Italy and rest of the world. The idea of the exhibition is to choose only paintings which have been historically certified as original, excluding, for now, the pieces which are still under critical discussion about their authenticity and those ones which are “second or additional versions” of original pictures.

The “Basket of Fruit” from the Ambrosiana Library of Milan, the “David with Goliath’s Head” from the Borghese Gallery in Rome, the “Amor Vincit Omnia” from the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, the “Lute Player” from the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg, the “Bacchus” from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the “Boy with the Basket of Fruit” from the Borghese Gallery in Rome…these are just a few of the amazing paintings that we will be able to admire in the exhibition, which has been organised in the elegant location of “Scuderie del Quirinale”, just nearby the “Quirinale Palace”, in the center of Rome.

The exhibition has started on February 20th and will terminate on June 13th. Success has been immediate and over 5000 people are visiting the gallery every day. Considering that price is very honest (10 euros is really not mucg for the number of incredible masterpieces), I would suggest you to rent some Apartments in Rome, visit the exhibition more than once and breath the art feeling in the air.