Tracks of the StoneBear Copyright MMXV ALL Rights reserved
ROF= Ring of fire journey
ITL= Italy Journey
Sunday November 22, 2015
ITL Rome, Italy 5 Piazza del Campidoglio 1
This plaza, designed by Michelangelo - The Piazza del Campidoglio- is laid out between two summits of the Capitoline Hill, the most important of Rome's fabled seven hills.
The Senate of Rome assembled here and today it is the City Hall.
The elegant staircase, Pallazos... the Cordonata... is one of the two "sister staircases". The Italian marble stonework is overwhelming.
From an inadequate college course in western civilization you are not prepared to describe this.
This is where a gang of guys got together, decided to do away with the top dog gang leader,.... and then they'd run things the way they wanted. They surrounded and then stabbed to death the King.
They were not street thugs, wanting to build some street cred; they were Senators!
Right here... it was not a new concept to gain power. It was an old MO, but they perfected it enough to be legendary. When the English speak of "The night of the Long Knives" they studied what these guys did. It's prison law; make sure they don't get up.
Piazza del Campidoglio is one of Rome's most beautiful squares, designed in the sixteenth century by Michelangelo and laid out between two summits of theCapitoline Hill, the most important of Rome's fabled seven hills.
Piazza del Campidoglio
From the founding of Rome until its fall almost one thousand years later, theCapitoline Hill symbolized the epicenter of Rome's might and many of the city's most important buildings stood on this hill.
Later, during the Middle Ages, the site continued to play an important part in Rome's history. The senate of Rome assembled here and even today it still has some political significance since the city hall is located here
Later, during the Middle Ages, the site continued to play an important part in Rome's history. The senate of Rome assembled here and even today it still has some political significance since the city hall is located here
Michelangelo's Design
Cordonata and
Palazzo Senatorio
Palazzo Senatorio
Castor
When Emperor Charles V planned a visit to Rome in 1536, the muddy Capitoline Hill was in such a derelict state that pope Paul III Farnese asked Michelangelo to design a new square, the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Square). The project also included a redesign of the existing buildings surrounding the square.
Michelangelo came up with an original, trapezoidal design for the square with an intriguing oval shaped ground pattern. He rebuilt the Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the Roman senate, and redesigned the facade of the Palazzo dei Conservatori.
Additionally a new building, the Palazzo Nuovo, was to be constructed just opposite the Palazzo dei Conservatori. Both palazzos were positioned at a slight angle so that it changes the perspective in such a way that the square seems larger than it actually is.
Finally, Michelangelo's ambitious plans for the square also included the creation of an elegant staircase, the Cordonata.
Construction of the square started in 1546 but only the staircase at the entrance of the Palazzo Senatorio was realized when Michelangelo died in 1564. The project was finally completed in the seventeenth century according to Michelangelo's designs.
Michelangelo came up with an original, trapezoidal design for the square with an intriguing oval shaped ground pattern. He rebuilt the Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the Roman senate, and redesigned the facade of the Palazzo dei Conservatori.
Additionally a new building, the Palazzo Nuovo, was to be constructed just opposite the Palazzo dei Conservatori. Both palazzos were positioned at a slight angle so that it changes the perspective in such a way that the square seems larger than it actually is.
Finally, Michelangelo's ambitious plans for the square also included the creation of an elegant staircase, the Cordonata.
Construction of the square started in 1546 but only the staircase at the entrance of the Palazzo Senatorio was realized when Michelangelo died in 1564. The project was finally completed in the seventeenth century according to Michelangelo's designs.
A close up of the cordonata on the Capitoline Hill. The steps on the left lead to the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli.
****************
After a lifetime of odyssey some things can't be put into words.
Throughout this lifetime,... this brief time between the eternities has been a gift of journey,... an odyssey of the roads less traveled on the way to Emmaus.
You never drink twice from the same stream.
