CORNELL IN ROME, PROF. JEFFREY BLANCHARD COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, ART & PLANNING, SPRING 2020 ARCH 3823-020
Fernan Bilik EXPLORING ROME WITH A SKETCHBOOK IN HAND
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San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane I visited San Carlino during my first week in Rome. I had seen an interview to the American sculptor Richard Serra where he talked about how San Carlino inspired some of his works. I remember googling San Carlino after watching the interview to try to understand what Richard Serra was talking about, but pictures did not convey the feeling of the space. Inside of San Carlino one can understand the overlapping of different geometrical shapes, rings balanced with each other, creating a space hard to describe. Now, I understand what Richard Serra said and how in some ways, his work is just like this church. San Carlino was designed by Francesco Borromini and regardless of its small scale, it made a big impression on me.
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Sant’Andrea al Quirinale When I visited Sant’Andrea al Quirinale I did not know it was designed by the great Gian Lorenzo Bernini. I was on my way to visit San Carlino when I noticed an amazing circular staircase, I have been always interested in curved architectural elements and this seemed like an interesting one. These steps were also surrounded by curved walls folding towards the sidewalk. Upon looking up I noticed a beautiful entrance crowned by two semi-circles going forward and up. As I was about to enter the church I saw two gentlemen walking out from the left curved wall, a sort of garage entrance, and I thought it was an opportunity to see this side of the church. I sneaked through the side and was able to see the church’s garden. From this vantage point I saw an interesting, almost cylindrical dome with a beautiful cornice. After this I went inside of the church and I could have never predicted what I was going to see. The plan and dome of the church was an oval and the dome let light in through a lantern at the top. The ceiling’s design made this whole of light look like the actual sun. Sant’Andrea al Quirinale took my by surprise.
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Public garden, Villa Borghese A Sunday morning I woke up wanting to visit the Galleria Borghese but was to stubborn to buy tickets online so decided I was going to try to buy a ticket at the Villa. After a long but beautiful walk to the Villa I found out I was not going to be able to buy a ticket and visit the galleria‌ I decided then to walk around the park and enjoy the beautiful day outside. I walked and walked and saw the Temple of Aesculapius, a beautiful sculpture with no head but holding a mask, ironic, and sat on a bench to listen to a street musician. Later that day, I bought tickets to visit the Galleria Borghese the following weekend.
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Museo e Galleria Borghese I was finally able to visit the Galleria Borghese; I had seen the Bernini sculptures so many times in pictures and couldn’t wait to see them in person. I learned one thing that day, some things you can’t photograph. Seeing these sculptures in person gives you a special understanding of the object that no picture can convey. My favorite was the Apollo and Daphne, the way Daphne’s hands are becoming branches is almost real: like someone paused the movie and at any time they are going to continue running at full speed. I also saw beautiful Caravaggio, Raffaello and Botticelli paintings.
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Piazza Navona Piazza Navona is in my opinion the piazza with the most interesting shape in Rome. This is because it used to be the Stadium of Domitian, a long rectangle with a semi-circle at the end of one of its short sides. At the piazza Bernini and Borromini left their mark, Bernini with the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi and Borromini with Sant’Agnese in Agone. Always full of life. During one of my last days in Rome I saw a street music band playing beautiful music under the roman sun.
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Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese’s history is interesting, it is an example of how in the renaissance different architect could work on a building while respecting each other. Antonio de Sangallo designed most of the Palazzo but upon his death Michelangelo was put in charge and instead of destroying Sangallo’s design he decided to add interesting “comments” on the architecture. The cornice of Palazzo Farnese is what struck me the most, how it is flying, suspended on the air like a cloud. Walking around the palazzo I found myself trying to peak into the beautiful garden, tangent to Via Giulia. Walking away, one always sees the Palazzo, it is an immense, solid building. A statement of power.
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Villa Barbaro At Villa Barbaro it was hard to focus, I didn’t know where to put my attention, in the architecture on in the art. This Villa was designed by Andrea Palladio and starts its construction in 1560. The design has a sort of harmony, a progression of spaces that together create a beautiful plan. The interior walls and ceiling painted by Veronese show scenes of the Olympus. With only 20 minutes to look at them and no pictures allowed, I had to rush from room to room.
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Teatro Olimpico This theater was designed by Palladio and was one of his last works. An interior theater but that imitates the outside world. With painted skies, and an amazing stage designed by Scamozzi, one feels in in an antique roman city. The stage acts as a false perspective giving the impression that the stage is much bigger than what it actually is.
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San Giorgio Maggiore One of the churches designed by Andrea Palladio in Venice, San Giorgio Maggiore is amazing. Its white faรงade is dominated by triangular shaped and big orders. It was portrayed by Claude Monet in a colorful painting. The white interior lets the viewer understand the plan of the church and its structure.
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Il Redentore This church is one of the several buildings designed by Andrea Palladio in Venice. Il Redentore is a beautiful church with a grand white faรงade and interior. I loved its square-ish faรงade and how in the interior, the colorful floor contrasts with its white walls and ceiling. In plan the building looks like a collage of shapes, a progression of spaces.
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Brion Cemetery The Brion Cemetery is in my opinion the building where Carlo Scarpa expressed all of his creative ideas. From the overall composition of the site to the minute detail, Scarpa carefully orchestrated and designed everything. Details are like sculptures, casted bronze hinges that looks more like artworks that mechanical elements.
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San Fermo Maggiore, Verona This church in Verona built and modified through centuries has an amazing ceiling, an extruded, hanging, wooden ceiling that extends the whole length of the building interior. I was amazed thinking that this sculptural ceiling was hanging from the structure of the building.
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Hinges of Rome During my time in Rome I documented through sketches different hinge mechanisms that I though were interesting.
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