Project 2 Urban Design at Villa Torlonia

For Project 2 Abbie and I worked together on designing urban space at Villa Torlonia, an area just outside the Aurealian walls of Rome.

http://rolandorome2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/project-2.html

Capri

The weekend before Easter, my class and I had the great opportunity to go to the island of Capri on the bay of Naples to visit Casa Malaparte. We arrived on Thursday night and had a relaxing evening. Friday I hiked around the island with some of my friends. Saturday we spent the whole day at Casa Malaparte, which may have been my favorite day of the whole semester. Sunday morning we took a boat tour around the island. We stopped to jump in the water which was chilly. We also went into the Blue Grotto, which is absolutely amazing.

Easter

Abbie and I got to spend a wonderful Easter Break in Ireland. First visited Dublin and then went to County Mayo to visit my family.

Northern Italy and Switzerland

We went on a fantastic trip to Milano, Tornio, Como, Vals, Zurich and Basel. There are a few fantastic buildings in those cities but the best is by far Peter Zumthor's Baths in Vals.

Stanley Hallet Photo Project

A few weeks ago Stanley Hallet visited us in Rome. He gave us an assignment to tell the story of a place in Rome...

This is the story of Piazza Farnese.

The Baths of Caracalla

My roommates and I went on a little adventure to the Baths of Caracalla recently. They were very nice and after having visited the thermal baths in Vals, Switzerland I have a new appreciation for the Roman ruins.

Spring Break

La Sagrada Familia, Nativity Facade










Park Guell

I spent 7 days of spring break in the beautiful Catalan city of Barcelona. There is a huge range of architectural style in the city, from the Roman Empire to the most modern. One of the more famous modernisme architects, Antoni Gaudi has captivated me the most. I got to see an incredible amount of Gaudi's work including La Sagrada Familia, and my favorite Park Guell. La Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882. At first this seems like a very lengthly construction project, but when you think about it Notre Dame in Paris took roughly 100 years to complete.

Baroque Architecture

Our most recent history class took us to study the Baroque Architecture of Bernini and Boromini. I never was able to appreciate the baroque style until experiencing it for myself.
Bernini's St. Teresa in Ecstasy in the Church Santa Maria della Vittoria and Boromini's church San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.

Cupola of St. Peter's

Sunday I went to the Vatican and climbed to the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. The view of Rome is fantastic.



"Hi Mom!"

Project 1

Project 1 : Piazza S. Ignazio
Analysis of Space

Carnivale

This past weekend I went to Venice for the start of Carnivale with Maria Dave and Christina. Best 21st Birthday ever!

I've got a fever + the only cure is more Scarpa

My class spent the past 9 days touring Northern Italy. Early Friday(30.2) morning we departed Roma for Firenze. On our first day in Florence we saw the Lorentian Library designed by Michelangelo, and the Uffizi Gallery. Saturday we started out sketching the facade of Santa Maria Novella designed by Alberti, then we went to San Lorenzo designed by Brunelleschi, in San Lorenzo we also saw the New Sacristy where a few Medici's are buried, designed by Michelangelo. His sculptures Dawn + Dusk, and Night + Day are in this chapel.


Saturday afternoon we made the epic climb up il Duomo, a feat comparable to Brunelleschi's engineering. Later on we went to the Academia to see the David and Michelangelo's slaves. Tonight we had a group dinner of delicious Florintine steak. Sunday morning we left la bella citta and headed on to Piza. (side note from this day on it did not stop raining except for one miraculous day in Venice.) The Leaning Tower is impressive but I don't recommend climbing it when it is raining, the sloped top becomes a bit slippery.


Sunday night we stayed in Florence. Monday morning we journeyed to Bologna, left our bags in the train station and went to explore the arcades. In Bologna we saw a Le Corb exhibition apartment building and a Carlos Scarpa store front. Monday night we arrived in Venice, thankfully not underwater, although the catwalks were all out. Some time during the night the city flooded, but the water receded by the time we all woke up. This morning we saw a newly christened Calatrava bridge on the way to catch the vaparetto (water bus) to San Marco. We climbed up the Bell Tower in Piazza San Marco where you can see the entire city. We also went in to the Church to see the beautiful gold mosaics that cover every inch of wall and ceiling. Later we went to a gallery turned museum designed by Carlos Scarpa. Being inside we were able to sketch for a while. Wednesday morning we had a wonderful chunk of free time without rain! Abbie, Chloe, Lauren, Alex and I wandered around the city discovering some beautiful churches, great cappuccino and a Leondardo da Vinci exhibit. We finally made our way across the grand canal on a traghetto and arrived in Piazza San Marco with minutes to spare. We then ventured to Isola della Giudecca to see Santissimo Redentore a church designed by Palladio. Before dinner we walked past another Carlos Scarpa but it was too dark to really appreciate anything.


Thursday we went to Vincenza and began the Great Palladian Adventure. Piazza dei Signori, Teatro Olimpico, Palazzo Chiericati and Villa Rotunda. Walking back we went to the basilica di Monte Berico (not designed by Palladio) and the rosary arcades. Early Friday morning we began part 2 of the Great Palladian Adventure took a bus to the country side to see Villa Barbaro and Villa Emo where you can feel the harmony of the universe in every room.

Villa Emo
Villa Rotunda
Palazzo Chiericati
Teatro Olimpico


And a day would not be complete without Scarpa so we saw his designs in Brion cemetery. On the way back to Vincenza we stopped in Marostica where every year they stage a life sized chess match, with real horses. As our trip comes to an end we travel to Verona for the day to immerse ourselves in more Scarpa! We saw a bank facade he designed as well as a museum inside Castelvecchio. Oh and what's a trip to Verona without stopping by Juliet's balcony. Finally we got on the train to return to our home in Roma. I can't believe the amount of beautiful architecture i have absorbed over the past 9 days. We had allot of fun, but I'm glad to be back in Rome.

Elevator to the top of il Vittoriano



























Piazza di Venezia















The Victor Emmanuel Monument

Quirinal Palace
Home of the President of Italy and former summer residence of the pope

"D"

Santa Maria delle Quatro Fontane

Santa Maria Maggiore "F"

The Coliseum

Point G

The Palatine Hill

Point "H" on the 7 Hills map

The orange grove on top of the Aventine Hill.
S. Pietro in the background.

Spot "I" on my map of the 7 Hills

Finding my way about Roma

We are here: Campo di Fiori; the arrow points to the general location of my apartment. I'm in walking distance of both the Tiber River and the Pantheon, amongst other things. We spent about 6 hours of Friday walking around Rome on a tour of The 7 Hills.

The occulus in the Pantheon. While I was here it was raining.