Continuing our new series of identifying the best and most unique bucket list items to add to your Italian itinerary in addition to the more traditional examples that many will note – the Uffizi, Milan's iconic Cathedral, Vatican City, and more – we have another gem that we think you should make a point to see if you are booking a vacation rental in Rome: the sculptor Bernini's magical and mind-blowing ability to turn marble into flesh.
This incredibly gifted 17th century sculptor and architect left a huge stamp on Vatican City with his designs for St Peter's and his multiple sculptures that are famous for their extraordinary optical illusions and immense skill. He managed to act out full scenes with his sculpted figures through their expressive faces and the changing perspectives viewers were offered as they walked around a piece. However, Bernini's greatest feat might perhaps be on display in his piece, the Abduction of Proserpina.
Located in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, this group of sculpted figures depicts the kidnapping of Proserpina by Pluto, god of the Underworld. Completed in 1622 when the artist was just 23 years old, the work displays his extraordinary ability to truly breathe life into stone. In particular, where Pluto's hands rest upon the struggling Proserpina's thigh and side, we see his fingers visibly sink into her body as if she were made of flesh and bone rather than of the marble that we know it to be.
Pictures can capture this incredible effect and skill but nothing can compare with seeing it for yourself and in person. Even if you’re the kind of person who is not massively interested in art, the pure ingenuity of the work is sure to impress and leave an impression that will last a lifetime.
While artists such as Da Vinci or Michelangelo or Caravaggio may more quickly jump to mind when one thinks of the must-see artists and artworks that are a must-see on vacation in Italy, Bernini and his skill are truly exceptional and something that you should definitely make a point to take in with your own eyes.
Plus, while you are in the Galleria Borghese you can also see other masterpieces like Titian's Sacred and Profane Love, Raphael's Entombment of Christ, Peter Paul Rubens’ Susanna and the Elders, and more. There is also a particularly rich collection of works by Caravaggio including Boy with a Basket of Fruit, St Jerome Writing, St John the Baptist, Sick Bacchus, Madonna and the Serpent, and others. Furthermore, there are more incredible works by Bernini himself such as his transformative Apollo and Daphne and his incomplete Truth Unveiled by Time, which gives insight into his process. Additionally, the building itself, a former noble home that was a summer retreat for Scipione Borghese and his uncle Pope Paul V, is an astounding space worth exploring in its own right.
So, if you are booking a villa in Rome and you are planning out your itinerary, be sure to add in a pit stop to see this absolutely mind-blowing wonder during your time in a city so filled with extraordinary things...