field trip to Bologna!

Weekend 5: Bologna

Saturday-All of us went to Bologna for our last Art history weekend for awhile. We had a 5 hour bus ride there and then it took almost 6 hours to get back to Rome. The bus ride left everyone really tired, but we went right onto tours and art history as soon as we arrived. As usual Dr. Lev didn’t disappoint with the amazing art she showed us and her knowledge that she shared with us. I am starting to feel like I understand art a bit.

We started with a Tour of the Basilica of San Domenico. It was much different than the churches that we have visited in Florence and much different than Roman churches too. All of the beautiful art work had been stripped away, leaving plain whitish walls and ceilings. However, there were two stunning side chapels. One is dedicated to Our Mother Mary and the other is dedicated to Saint Domenic-the founder of the Dominicans. There was also a captivating column outside of the church of Mary holding Jesus in one arm and the Rosary extended out to us in her other hand.

Side alter dedicated to Mary. The mysteries of the Rosary surround the main painting.

The side alter holding the body of St. Domenic.

Michelangelo actually sculpted two of these little figures around the tomb. One is visible in this picture.

Then we visited the Archiginnasio home of the University of Bologna.

Here the most interesting part was seeing the lecture hall where doctors and students examined corpse to learn more about the human body.

After Lunch on our own, we went to the Basilica of San Petronio. It is the 15^th largest churches in the world and went it was being built it was supposed to outdo even St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. However, Pope Pius IV had another building constructed by it so that the church could not get any bigger! We were not allowed to take pictures here and had to go to security just to get in. This is largely because this church has been under terrorist attacks a few times. One of the late gothic frescos shows Mohammed in Hell so it has been threatened to be destroyed many times.

Then we walked through the city center and past the Due Torri, or the two towers that Bologna is known for.

Saint Cecilia giving away her possessions.

The Oratory of Santa Cecilia was next. At first when we took our seats in the worn pews of this small and almost shabby looking chapel I was disappointed. Saint Cecilia is my confirmation saint and I was hoping for breathtaking depictions of her life. However, the more I listened and then later researched I realized that some of the frescos in this little chapel were my favorites, and not just because of their relations to Saint Cecilia. Many of the depictions were not about her actually. Instead they were about her husband whom she helped convert by the way she lived her life. He eventually became a martyr like she had before him.

Then we headed over to the Pinacoteca Nazionale or the National Art Gallery of Bologna. Here we saw more amazing art including works from Annibale Carracci and Guido Reni. Both of whom are becoming more and more familiar. Finally we get to go out for a nice dinner and then back to our hotels for a short night before early Mass in the morning.

Sunday-We started the morning with Mass at Saint Dominics. It was really nice to get here early. We could look around and then go to Mass without tourists being disrespectful and blocking the good views.

Then we visited Santo Stefano and the seven oldest churches. They are all connected or contained within another church.

One of the churches inside another church.

The seven churches from the front. Only three can be seen here.

The following are the seven churches:

Church of Saint John the Baptist or of the Holy Crucifix (8th century)
Church of the Holy Sepulcher (according to tradition: 5th century)
Church of the Saints Vitale and Agricola (4th century, rebuilt first in the 12th century)
Courtyard of Pilate (“Santo Giardino”, 13th century)
Church of the Trinity or of the Martyrium (13th century)
Chapel of the Bandage
Santo Stefano

At the church of the Holy sepulcher the was a sculpture of Jesus as he would have been laid in his burial clothes taken from the depiction left on the Holy Shroud.

Next we went to Santa Maria Della Vita and saw the terracotta sculpture “The Lamentation” by Niccolo dell’Arca. It was eye-catching. It shows different reactions to seeing Jesus lying dead. Every emotion is captured whether it is Saint Johns sorrowful head droop and perplexed face to Mary Magdalene’s intense rush of clothes and horrified face to the immense grief of His mother. It was one of those pieces that you just need to stare at and look at each figure.

Finally we went to San Paolo Maggiore. Here we saw my favorite alter piece thus far in my life. It was the beheading of Saint Paul. The sculpture captivates the slight hesitation the executioner has just before he cuts off St. Paul’s head.