I think the impending end of the program has finally dawned on us, and as we assembled this morning, most of us had that panicked 'Ionlyhavetwodaystodoeverything' look on our face. Even Matthew's hair had lost its usual luster. Perhaps it was our refusal to submit to sleep or simply the replacement of the usual clear sky with ominous grey.
Nonetheless, we snaked resolutely to Villa Farnesina, a 'modest-sized' urban entertaining center (compared to the other villas and palaces we have visited). It was commissioned by Agostino Chigi in the early 1500s, and purchased by the Farnese family less than a century after it was built. Chigi was a wealthy banker who went to great lengths to display his wealth. He hosted lavish parties and dinners, and asked his guests to to toss their dinner plates into the Tiber River; Chigi was also a practical man though, because he placed nets in the river beforehand, and had servants collect his silver after the parties.
Once inside, Susie introduced us to the frescoes that cover almost all ceilings and walls of the house. In addition to the central stories depicted in each room, the frescoes contained hidden symbolism and false dimensions. In the Sala di Galatea, the ceiling painting by Baldassarre Peruzzi (left), encodes Chigi's birthday through the specific arrangement of the zodiac symbols, planets and constellations. The second room, Loggia di Psyche, contained work by Raphael that depicts scenes from the story of Cupid and Psyche; amazingly, the 
walls are flat and the dimensionality of the niches and windows are all painted (right). The left-most arch in the picture looks physically incorrect, but the viewer would have entered the room opposite the painted door (to the right of where this picture was taken from), so that the arches and shadows would have looked very realistic.
Next, we went upstairs and saw Peruzzi's skill in creating dimensionality out of flat walls--the room was painted as if it were an open space overlooking country surroundings. Even the painted floor of the balcony matched the actual tiles in the room. There was also graffiti from soldiers who occupied the villa during
the sack of Rome (1527!), proving that graffiti and walls go hand in hand (right). After the morning's tour, we all went out separate ways to take advantage of the precious little time we had left in Roma.
There was an unexpected treat (or headache, for some) as it started to rain and even pour, lasting into the afternoon. Some of us scrambled to catch up on writing assignments while others enjoyed frenzied last minute shopping. There were quite a number of dashes to the Pantheon (one of our writing assignments requires seeing the rain pour through the oculus). Towards the evening, some students went out to dinner, using the excuse that it was the night before the night before the last day (but really, no one wanted to cook). I slaved away at the assigned reading for Scott's presentation (an excerpt from Angels and Demons), but then decided to start the book from the beginning, for educational purposes. Fun was had all around: crests were drawn and colored, family histories were written, life was given to a pomegranate, and many of us crammed in trips to the Forno and various gelaterias.
Once inside, Susie introduced us to the frescoes that cover almost all ceilings and walls of the house. In addition to the central stories depicted in each room, the frescoes contained hidden symbolism and false dimensions. In the Sala di Galatea, the ceiling painting by Baldassarre Peruzzi (left), encodes Chigi's birthday through the specific arrangement of the zodiac symbols, planets and constellations. The second room, Loggia di Psyche, contained work by Raphael that depicts scenes from the story of Cupid and Psyche; amazingly, the 
walls are flat and the dimensionality of the niches and windows are all painted (right). The left-most arch in the picture looks physically incorrect, but the viewer would have entered the room opposite the painted door (to the right of where this picture was taken from), so that the arches and shadows would have looked very realistic.Next, we went upstairs and saw Peruzzi's skill in creating dimensionality out of flat walls--the room was painted as if it were an open space overlooking country surroundings. Even the painted floor of the balcony matched the actual tiles in the room. There was also graffiti from soldiers who occupied the villa during
the sack of Rome (1527!), proving that graffiti and walls go hand in hand (right). After the morning's tour, we all went out separate ways to take advantage of the precious little time we had left in Roma.There was an unexpected treat (or headache, for some) as it started to rain and even pour, lasting into the afternoon. Some of us scrambled to catch up on writing assignments while others enjoyed frenzied last minute shopping. There were quite a number of dashes to the Pantheon (one of our writing assignments requires seeing the rain pour through the oculus). Towards the evening, some students went out to dinner, using the excuse that it was the night before the night before the last day (but really, no one wanted to cook). I slaved away at the assigned reading for Scott's presentation (an excerpt from Angels and Demons), but then decided to start the book from the beginning, for educational purposes. Fun was had all around: crests were drawn and colored, family histories were written, life was given to a pomegranate, and many of us crammed in trips to the Forno and various gelaterias.
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