Cesare Borgia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
maleborgia) wrote2012-07-27 07:26 pm
maleborgia) wrote2012-07-27 07:26 pm
Entry tags:
Travel Pics: Roma
After my semester in Spain, my dad met up with me and we went briefly through Italy and then up to Germany to visit with family.
Italy!
To keep this relevant to the character journal, I'm just going to comment on things that directly relate to Cesare: Castel Santangelo and the Borgia Apartments. I dreamt about being able to see these two since, gosh, like 2006? Actually, the thing that first got me really interested in history was Cantarella, aka that really really really shojo series about Cesare where he's a gay demon. Cantarella has a few pretty important scenes set in Santangelo so when I was in high school I realllllllly wanted to see it someday, so when we got to Rome I made Dad go with me.
The bargain was basically, "In exchange I'll help you find the crypt made out of monk-bones."
That's the Tiber, btw, aka where a lot of bodies including that of Cesare's brother got dumped.
The "secret" pathway from the Vatican to the fortress on top of one of the walls.
Unlike that other castle I went to see, this one was open and you could walk along the rampant and into a bunch of the rooms and courtyards, eventually getting up to the top where the statue the fortress is named after is. You couldn't take pictures inside most of the rooms, but this is an idea of what they looked like:
I was really surprised! I had only seen pictures of the fortress from a distance, and the outside is a pretty basic circular stone structure. I knew Alexander VI, Cesare's father, had ordered work on the surrounding wall and its defensive structures, but I didn't know that he had also been the one who commissioned the ramp going up on the inside of the main building, letting horses and soldiers move more easily. It's still named after him, along with one of the courtyards where he had a well drilled.
Exiting the ramp--too dark in there to get a decent picture, and it's kind of just what you'd expect.
The Courtyard of the Well, as it is also known! Check that artwork!
Aww yeah, that is some sweet family seal shit going on all over that well.
By the exit, there was a storage area where a bunch of things were sitting, I assume awaiting repairs. You couldn't go past the grate to look at them up close, but this was right up front.
Please note to the right the rays hitting the bull from the sun. Normally you just see the papal tiara/keys, the bull rampant, the double crowns. This is like finding a shiny or something for me, okay?
Later we went on one of the Vatican tours, where I pretty much pissed myself with excitement waiting to see the Borgia Apartments. I'd say they're like the holy grail for crazy Borgia fans (come on, there have to be like, three of us out there), but I think it's actually harder to see Cesare's grave, and that one is more relevant for me at least, so.
Anyway, sadly most of them were closed for renovation, but I photographed the shit out of what we did get to see. Didn't get to see the big famous frescos of Alexander and his family ( :( ), but it was really awesome anyway.
Bulllllllll
More bulls and crowns and flames! Also, hngggg check out that Islamic influence in the detailing. You know the art books and biographies always mention this but literally no one ever takes a picture that really shows it? It's all just YES IT'S TOTALLY THERE, NOW LET'S ONLY SHOW YOU THE FRESCO, guys it's a lovely fresco but I really should have seen at least ONE picture of the Mudejar style here before ACTUALLY GOING THERE, Jesus.
Oh also, that blue plaque in the middle basically just says Alexander VI.
If I knew a skilled carpenter in Camp I'd be so tempted to make the ceiling in Cesare's room look like this because ;o;
Alexander's court sometimes gets referred to as more medieval than renaissance in terms of art, and this is a pretty decent example of why.
I also took pictures of things relating to Julius II and Leo X (aka tinymedici, who would be amazing in Camp, if I may tangent into pimping for a moment.), but this is long enough as it is. In my defense, while canon is currently set in Pisa, there are occasional jumps to Rome either to look at Rodrigo or in flashbacks, and Cesare's time in Pisa is quickly drawing to a close. Really, I'm just being proactive.
Italy!
To keep this relevant to the character journal, I'm just going to comment on things that directly relate to Cesare: Castel Santangelo and the Borgia Apartments. I dreamt about being able to see these two since, gosh, like 2006? Actually, the thing that first got me really interested in history was Cantarella, aka that really really really shojo series about Cesare where he's a gay demon. Cantarella has a few pretty important scenes set in Santangelo so when I was in high school I realllllllly wanted to see it someday, so when we got to Rome I made Dad go with me.
The bargain was basically, "In exchange I'll help you find the crypt made out of monk-bones."
That's the Tiber, btw, aka where a lot of bodies including that of Cesare's brother got dumped.
The "secret" pathway from the Vatican to the fortress on top of one of the walls.
Unlike that other castle I went to see, this one was open and you could walk along the rampant and into a bunch of the rooms and courtyards, eventually getting up to the top where the statue the fortress is named after is. You couldn't take pictures inside most of the rooms, but this is an idea of what they looked like:
I was really surprised! I had only seen pictures of the fortress from a distance, and the outside is a pretty basic circular stone structure. I knew Alexander VI, Cesare's father, had ordered work on the surrounding wall and its defensive structures, but I didn't know that he had also been the one who commissioned the ramp going up on the inside of the main building, letting horses and soldiers move more easily. It's still named after him, along with one of the courtyards where he had a well drilled.
Exiting the ramp--too dark in there to get a decent picture, and it's kind of just what you'd expect.
The Courtyard of the Well, as it is also known! Check that artwork!
Aww yeah, that is some sweet family seal shit going on all over that well.
By the exit, there was a storage area where a bunch of things were sitting, I assume awaiting repairs. You couldn't go past the grate to look at them up close, but this was right up front.
Please note to the right the rays hitting the bull from the sun. Normally you just see the papal tiara/keys, the bull rampant, the double crowns. This is like finding a shiny or something for me, okay?
Later we went on one of the Vatican tours, where I pretty much pissed myself with excitement waiting to see the Borgia Apartments. I'd say they're like the holy grail for crazy Borgia fans (come on, there have to be like, three of us out there), but I think it's actually harder to see Cesare's grave, and that one is more relevant for me at least, so.
Anyway, sadly most of them were closed for renovation, but I photographed the shit out of what we did get to see. Didn't get to see the big famous frescos of Alexander and his family ( :( ), but it was really awesome anyway.
Bulllllllll
More bulls and crowns and flames! Also, hngggg check out that Islamic influence in the detailing. You know the art books and biographies always mention this but literally no one ever takes a picture that really shows it? It's all just YES IT'S TOTALLY THERE, NOW LET'S ONLY SHOW YOU THE FRESCO, guys it's a lovely fresco but I really should have seen at least ONE picture of the Mudejar style here before ACTUALLY GOING THERE, Jesus.
Oh also, that blue plaque in the middle basically just says Alexander VI.
If I knew a skilled carpenter in Camp I'd be so tempted to make the ceiling in Cesare's room look like this because ;o;
Alexander's court sometimes gets referred to as more medieval than renaissance in terms of art, and this is a pretty decent example of why.
I also took pictures of things relating to Julius II and Leo X (aka tinymedici, who would be amazing in Camp, if I may tangent into pimping for a moment.), but this is long enough as it is. In my defense, while canon is currently set in Pisa, there are occasional jumps to Rome either to look at Rodrigo or in flashbacks, and Cesare's time in Pisa is quickly drawing to a close. Really, I'm just being proactive.
