Five Works By Bernini To See In Rome

Michelangelo once said that he didn't create sculptures but, rather, freed beings from within blocks of stone. He is known for breathing life into rock. Yet, another great sculptor managed to bring believability to stone so that it seemed to move and live.

This was Gian Lorenzo Bernini, an Italian architect and artist born in Naples and who predominantly worked in Rome. Throughout the city there remains a trail of his masterpieces that truly must be seen to be believed.

Why not find a villa with a pool near Rome and spend a day following Bernini around that greatest of cities?

The only image of a beast on this list, this wonderful sculpture has the added bonus of being located outdoors and being, therefore, easy to visit. Probably erected by an assistant, it was designed by Bernini and built to include a pre-existing Egyptian obelisk which had been discovered nearby.

It was revealed in 1667, in the piazza in front of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and continues to stand there today.

Not only intricately detailed, it is also rather charming and has a real sense of motion.

This work is located in the church of San Francesco a Ripa and is a funerary monument. Completed in 1674, it was created for the Altieri Chapel. It depicts the pious figure of Ludovica Albertoni, a Roman noblewoman who entered the Third Order of St. Francis upon the death of her husband and later beatified. Ludovica is shown in mystical communion with God and her arching movement and the folds of her bed clothes seem as if of real life rather than stone.

One of his most famous works, this sculpture in the Galleria Borghese shows the nymph, Daphne being chased by the God, Apollo. As he reaches her, however, she sends a prayer to her father, a river god. She wishes to be saved from Apollo and, to do so, he transforms her into a tree. In the sculpture we see the transformation happen. Daphne's arms become branches and a trunk appears beneath her.

As you walk around the sculpture, you see this in increments, so it seems as though happening before your eyes; truly magical.

This work is similar to that of Ludovica as mentioned above. Located in the Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria Della Vittoria, it depicts Saint Teresa in a state of religious ecstasy in a theatrical manner. Holy light shines upon her from above and an angel of the Lord descends upon her. Teresa, with a flourish of her rather voluminous robes, arches upwards and makes a face of joy and swoons, unable to quite bear the majesty of what is happening to her. The drama of this story-telling and the innate tension of the work make it spectacularly effective and affects the viewer.

Another mythological scene, this work depicts the kidnapping of Proserpina by the God of the Underworld, Pluto. Also located in the Galleria Borghese, this work was completed in 1622 when Bernini was just 23 years old. It is one of his masterpieces, if not his best work, due to how he uses his materials. Under Bernini's touch, marble is as flesh. This is particularly evident if we look at Pluto's hands upon Proserpina's thigh and side, sinking against her skin as if she were real. It is an astounding feat in of itself but combined with the drama of the scene and the believability of the expressions, it is stunning.

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