The Cloisters in Late September

Master of Belmonte (Spanish, Aragon, active ca. 1460–90) Saint Michael, 1450–1500 North Spanish, Tempera and oil on wood; Overall: 85 1/2 x 47 in. (217.2 x 119.4 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Cloisters Collection, 1955 (55.120.2)

Early on in our walk through the Cloisters, I encountered Saint Michael. The Met writes of him:

“Armed with a coat of mail, dagger, shield, and lance, the archangel Michael symbolizes the triumph over evil. The demon at his feet is the Antichrist, cast out of heaven. The youthful beauty and sumptuous raiment of Saint Michael in the rich courtly setting combine with the image of the demon to form a stark visual contrast between the strength and splendor of the Church and the monstrousness of evil defeated.” [cite]

When in Rome: Final Days, Part 2 of 2

Giovanni da Udine, festoon detail, Loggia di Amore e Psiche

I can only say, about our last days in Rome, that we certainly did not go out with a whimper. The opposite of anything we planned, it seems, in retrospect, that we’d been building up to this apotheosis from the moment we arrived.

When in Rome: Final Days, Part 1 of 2

View from Janiculum Hill

We settled on a new strategy for our final two days in Rome. We were again “based” in Trastevere. This time our plan was to explore only more-or-less immediate neighborhoods in an effort to minimize time spent in the logistics of finding our way around. The strategy worked better than we had any right to expect. With a minimum of time spent getting lost, we discovered a trove of Roman treasures most of which would likely not have made it to a short-term visitor “must see” list.

When in Umbria: Spoleto, Part 2

Rocca Albornoziana, second courtyard

The Umbria portion of our travels ended with a final full day in Spoleto. Our first days in Spoleto had coincided with the Rocca Albornoziana closing days, though there was plenty to see looking out over its ramparts.

When in Umbria: Spello

Marcantonio Grecchi, Madonna con Bambino, San Felice Vescovo e il Beato Andrea Caccioli (17 C, detail)

More frescoes, specifically “Pinturicchio’s superlative frescoes in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore,” awaited us at the hill town of Spello . . . or so we thought. [cite] Vasari didn’t think much of Pinturicchio’s work: