Kaetrena's Art Gallery
Our introduction to art did not start with paintings or marble sculpture - but with glass. On our first morning, we hopped on a ferry to Murano, a series of islands about a mile away from Venice. Our destination was Ferro-Lazzarini Vetri Artistici (Ferro-Lazzarini Artistic Glass) Factory. There, we were treated to a glass-making demonstration by George, a master glassmaker. The craftsman created two pieces -- a flower-lipped vase and a standing horse -- with the ease that only someone who has studied for several decades could pull off.
In Verona, I found myself intrigued by the Lover's Wall that is near the entrance of "Juliette's balcony." Millions of visitors have left evidence of their relationships on the wall, in addition to leaving keyless padlocks near Juliette's statue in the adjoining courtyard. While many of the Lover's Wall notes allude to romantic relationships, some act as memoriams - one devoted child left a note to her father who had passed away.
As expected, Florence offered a corncopia of art in all its forms, and even with Michaelangelo's David nearby, I found myself drawn to Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa. The statue, set in bronze, is on display in the city's Piazza della Signoria (or as our tour guide called it, "where fake David is!" - the real David is on display nearby at the Accademia). Perseus' confident stance on Medusa's body is striking, and even in death, Medusa's form is perfect.
In Assisi outside the lower basilica of St. Francis, there is a statue of a weary knight riding a weary horse. This statue depicts St. Francis before he started his order. As a young man, St. Francis became a knight for his hometown of Assisi, but during his travels he heard God's voice telling him to return home from war. This statue captures St. Francis' moment of surrender to God's will, along with his trepidation at returning home. I was not only touched by the melancholy in this statue, but that the melancholy seemed to turn into reverence when one notes that the statue is turned towards the Basilica.
During our time in Rome, the group visited the Vatican Museum. In the musuem's Cortile della Pigna stands Arnaldo Pomodoro's Sfera con Sfera (sphere within sphere). The piece was created in 1990 as a nod to the coming Millennium and was the first piece of contemporary art to be added to the musuem's collection. According to Pomodoro, the inner globe represents Earth and the outer globe represents Christianity. Interesting fact: the globe can be turned manually.