Baroque Rome - the city of Bernini and Borromini
Experience the grandeur and drama of the Baroque
Rome was a ferment of art in the Baroque period, with the two great architects Bernini and Borromini transforming the city under the patronage of the Popes. Painting, sculpture, architecture - all the arts flourished in the service of the church, creating richly dramatic buildings meant to play on the viewer's emotions and amaze the passer-by.
Our first podtour™ starts at the church
of Santa Maria degli Angeli, created by Michelangelo out of the baths of
the emperor Diocletian. From this church - testament both to the Roman Empire
and to the work of the High Renaissance - we visit churches by Bernini and
Borromini, the fine Cornaro chapel with the statue of Saint Theresa of Avila
by Bernini, the Piazza Barberini with its fountains, and end up at the Spanish
Steps. Not forgetting a visit to the House of the Monsters, and some mummified
monks.
Price: £3.00
Baroque Rome II starts at the church of the Gesù, and takes the back roads to Piazza Navona, ending up at the Fontana di Trevi. On the way we visit a fine set of paintings by Caravaggio, get acquainted with some of Rome's “talking statues”, and see how an elephant can deliver a typical Roman insult. We also visit the Pantheon - possibly the greatest architectural work of the Roman Empire - and a baroque church with a dome that's just an illusion.
Price: £3.50
By the way, we also have a few favourite sights not on the podtour™ ... so here are some of our favourite curiosities and “off the beaten track” sights in the city.