When you think of Rome, what do you think of? Good food? Warm weather? The Pope? These are certainly laudable answers, but for me, what comes to mind is the architecture and sculptures that decorate the city's streets, and since we began our stay here, we've had ample opportunity to see many of these marvels firsthand. Of these works of art, I am still struck by the liveliness of the sculptures I saw at St Peter's in particular. In all honesty, pictures don't do them justice. When you see them in person, it feels almost like they're looking back at you. In fact, they are so life-like that I would even describe them as "lounging about" the place. It's strange and remarkable that inanimate objects should seem so "animated".
Just as one example, have a look and see for yourself (as best as you can):
Of course, this was nearly a week and a half ago that we toured St Peter's, so why do I bring this up now? Well, one of the men responsible for these beautiful works of art (and many others) is none other than Gian Lorenzo Bernini. His name has come up a lot. I'd never heard of the man before coming to Rome, but now I see his influence all over the place. However, when we toured the Basilica of St Mary Major today, it was not a work of Bernini that we encountered, but Bernini himself. There, in that basilica dedicated to the Theotokos, is Bernini's final resting place. For a sculptor of his pedigree, what kind of grave would you expect? Something extravagant, no? Instead, it was incredibly modest, or at least as modest as it can be in one of the four major basilicas:
It's so modest, you might literally step over it.
Our guide, Cornelius, described what has been a constant tradition of self-aggrandisement in Roman society but here, as per his wishes, Bernini's grave reflects incredible humility for such a talented man. The juxtaposition between Bernini's work and his resting place left a profound impression on me, and for whatever reason, I've been unable to think of much else.
Grandeur, as I said, litters the streets and the very culture of Rome, so much so that modesty of this kind might pop out as out-of-place, but in fact it is not. In many ways, it reflects a selflessness that made this city what it is, for as GK Chesterton said, "Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her." Bernini's legacy is, after all, not one of self-aggrandisement to be found in St Mary Major, but in his labours of love, which adorn the city he called home.
In many ways, seeing his grave, it feels as though we've come full-circle, and so I wanted to pay this small tribute to someone whose own love for Rome has inspired the love of its many visitors ever since.
-Paul
Comments
Post a Comment