Roger's Grand Tour to Italy 2019

It is time to realize a long-held dream of visiting the grand monuments of Italian Renaissance sculpture, painting, architecture and music. So I reserve the month of May 2019 and create an agenda to visit Rome and Florence, with side trips to the medieval country village of Bomarzo to see the 16th century Sacred Grove, or Park of Monsters; and to Cremona, a center of violinmaking for the past 500 years. I also intend to learn as much as possible of the Italian language and culture.

The adventure begins in Rome, with lodging not far from Saint Peter's. It's an easy walk to the Vatican Museums and the ancient sculpture of the Laocoön.

I didn't get the message that photos are not allowed in the Sistine Chapel until after I had taken this one:

On my agenda this month is to track down paintings by Caravaggio. This is the Madonna of Loreto (1604-06) at the church Sant'Antonio, a Baroque church dedicated to Saint Anthony of Lisbon. Renaissance church officials were not pleased with the soiled feet of the peasant, and with Mary's exposed bare feet.

At the church San Luigi dei Francesi, three paintings by Caravaggio decorate the Contarelli Chapel, on the life of Saint Matthew. This one is the Inspiration of S. Matthew.

At nearby Piazza Navona are some of the numerous fountains in Rome. These are the Moor Fountain (1575) by Giacomo della Porta and the Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Bernini, with the Egyptian obelisk in the background. The heavy crowds of tourists made it difficult to get clear photo views.

A visit to the Borghese Gallery astonishes with gorgeous ceilings

The Borghese has these paintings by Caravaggio

Self-portrait as Bacchus

Youth with basket of fruit

The Palazzo Barberini is the home of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, 

with many Renaissance masterpieces:

Narcissus by Caravaggio

Judith beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio

Carlo Saraceni (Venice 1579-1620), Santa Cecilia and the angel:

I visited the Santa Cecilia concert hall for a wonderful concert with pianist Yefim Bronfman and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia conducted by Daniele Gatti. The all-Brahms program offered the Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 2.

My review of the concert is here

This is just a sampling of the many treasures in Rome. Next, it's off to Bomarzo, Florence, and Cremona. Click HERE for the next page.

Capillas de Mármol

The Capillas de Mármol, or Marble Chapels, is a group of mineral formations of calcium carbonate located on several small islands in Lago (Lake) General Carrera, near the town of Puerto Tranquilo in the Region of Aysén in central Patagonia, Chile.

Many tour operators in Tranquilo offer a 90-minute tour by boat of the Capillas. Note the color of the lake water, the milky hue indicating water from nearby glaciers. The lake is the second largest in south America (after Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia) and is shared with Argentina, where the name changes to Lago Buenos Aires. Its surface covers 714 square miles (1850 sq. km.) and has a maximum depth of 2789 feet (850m). I first saw this lake from the air in 1965 and was so impressed by its size and especially its color that I determined to return some day. This was my third visit to the lake.

Lago General Carrera / Buenos Aires Feb. 1965

Over millennia the wave action in the lake caused erosion of the escarpment into myriad formations.

Some of the caves are so large that our boat enters and we can touch the walls

The fellow tourists are not seasick, but are impressed with the view under the water.

The roof of the capilla

And now the tour takes us to the small island called the Marble Cathedral.

Glaciar San Rafael, Patagonia Chilena

A day trip to the largest glacier in the Chilean northern ice field was arranged with Destino Patagonia in Puerto Tranquilo, on the shore of General Carrera Lake in the Aysén Region of central Patagonia. A vehicle took several of us tourists to Bahía Exploradora to begin the expedition. We were 13 tourists, the captain, and guide on a fast moving covered boat which traveled through the fjords to arrive at the Laguna San Rafael, where the glacier empties.

There are hundreds of icebergs which calve off this rapidly melting glacier.

And here is the glacier. It covers 293 square miles (760 km2) and is said to be moving at the rate of 55 feet (17 m) per day. According to a BBC news report, "In recent years, the glaciers of the Northern Patagonian Icecap have been melting rapidly as a result of global warming, and the San Rafael Glacier has mirrored this retreat."

The captain grabs some blocks of ice near the glacier for the ancient Chilean custom of serving whiskey and millenary ice to the tourists. He chose a block that had a natural depression where the whiskey could be poured and drunk. 

A fellow tourist demonstrates the technique while our guide pours.

The difficulty was getting the whiskey in the mouth while the ice was melting in the hands. 

Bottoms up!

The return trip through the fjords

There are waterfalls everywhere, rushing down steep mountains as we drive back to town.