Rick Steves Italy 2015 by Rick Steves

Author:Rick Steves [Steves, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Avalon Travel
Published: 2014-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

• Look for the marble altarpiece decorated with statues.

Piccolomini Altar: This was designed for the tomb of the Sienese-born Pope Pius III (born Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini). It was commissioned when he was the cardinal of Siena, but because he later became a pope (see the fresco of his coronation with Pius wearing the golden robe—above and to the right of the Michelangelo statue), he was buried in the Vatican, and this fancy tomb was never used. It’s most interesting for its statues: one by Michelangelo, and three by his students. Michelangelo was originally contracted to do 15 statues, but another sculptor had started the marble blocks, and Michelangelo’s heart was never in the project. He personally finished only one—the figure of St. Paul (lower right, clearly more interesting than the bland, bored popes above him).

• Now grab a seat under the...

Dome: The dome sits on a 12-sided base, but its “coffered” ceiling is actually a painted illusion. Get oriented to the array of sights by thinking of the church floor as a big 12-hour clock. You’re the middle, and the altar is high noon: You’ll find the Slaughter of the Innocents roped off on the floor at 10 o’clock, Pisano’s pulpit between two pillars at 11 o’clock, a copy of Duccio’s round stained-glass window at 12 o’clock, Bernini’s chapel at 3 o’clock, the Piccolomini Altar at 7 o’clock, the Piccolomini Library at 8 o’clock, and a Donatello statue at 9 o’clock.

Pisano’s Pulpit: The octagonal Carrara marble pulpit (1268) rests on the backs of lions, symbols of Christianity triumphant. Like the lions, the Church eats its catch (devouring paganism) and nurses its cubs. The seven relief panels tell the life of Christ in rich detail. The pulpit is the work of Nicola Pisano (c. 1220-1278), the “Giotto of sculpture,” whose revival of classical forms (columns, sarcophagus-like relief panels) signaled the coming Renaissance. His son Giovanni (c. 1240-1319) carved many of the panels, mixing his dad’s classicism and realism with the decorative detail and curvy lines of French Gothic—a style that would influence Donatello and the other Florentines.

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