Rome Day Four- Sunday February 21st, 2010
Today we woke up around 9:00, got ready and ate the same breakfast again, then headed out to Piazza Navona to go on a Baroque tour around the close boundaries of the piazza. I did not think the tour was as good as the Roman Forum tour, but regardless, the man was well-informed. He had a british accent and he couldn’t stop smoking cigarettes. He probably went through a whole pack of cigarettes in the short 2 hours that he was giving the tour. We went to two different churches and a piazza which were all within about 10 minutes from one another. One of the piazzas was designed by Michelangelo, which was kinda interesting. Right after the tour, Brandon, Jackie, Melanie, Tommy, Jessicca, and Ian went to the Millennium Church by Richard Meier.
The Millennium Church by Richard Meier
One of the leading examples of contemporary architecture in one of the world's most historic cities, the Jubilee Church sets an important precedent in international church design. Richard Meier's third ecclesiastical building, reinforcing the firm's commitment to accessible civic architecture and responsive urban design.
The project features concrete, stucco, travertine, soaring glass skylights and three dramatic shells or arcs evoking gliding white sails. Unprecedented in Richard Meier's work, the concrete arcs are graduated in height from 56 to 88 feet.
The Jubilee Church combines modern formalism with a respect for historical integrity, thus transforming the traditional house of worship. Six miles east of central Rome, it will serve the suburban S. Silvestro Papa Parish, led by Father Gianfranco Corbino.
Getting to the church was the hardest part. We took a bus- which we had trouble finding at first, to a metro, then back on the bus before we finally got to the church. We were only on site for 15 minutes before we had to get back on the bus to get back to the hotel to leave at 4:00 to head back to Florence with the group. Luckily, the church was closed (most are from 11-4:00 on Sundays) so we didn’t go inside and waste more time and miss the bus- I jumped the fence anyways to take pictures of the interior. The church was very impressive- I loved the design. It was very modern and contemporary- what I liked the most was the curvilinear forms and the curtain walls that emerged from them.
When we finally got back to Rome at 4:00 we grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonalds- which was right across the street from the Pantheon (I spent 11 euros on McDonalds!) haha! We got on a bus that was far too packed for my liking; then when we arrived at the train station we had an hour to spare before our train departed- so I shopped around at the bookstore, glancing through the many architecture books, tempted to buy at least one, but I didn’t. We left around 5 and got back to Florence around 8. I unpacked and stayed at the apartment for the rest of the night, reflected on my amazing weekend in Rome, anticipating going again with my parents when they come here in the middle of March!
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