Being in Italy has been a dream considering the Renaissance and Baroque are some of my favorite periods of art. Gian Lorenzo Bernini is one of my favorite artists and architects. Like Mucha, he creates beautiful figures and always include such fine details that is hard to recognize unless you are able to observe his work up close. At Galleria Borghese, we were able to see this piece and many others. The entire museum was gorgeous, with each ceiling intricately painted and the signs low-key enough to be tuned out if you wanted to just enjoy the art in an almost natural environment. It was a perfect frame for his sculptures as it did not feel stagnant like many museums do. That is why being in Italy is incredible – the art was created here and belongs here. To take it out of context ruins the beauty and the experience.

Today I was given a bit of a treat. Although not on the itinerary for the trip, there were posters throughout the city for a Mucha exhibit in one of the museums. He is one of my favorite artists and being able to witness such an extensive collection of his work was inspiring. I was able to see the actual scale of his beautiful posters, as well see his process behind creating them. I was also able to see how multi-talented he was, as although I was familiar with a lot of his printed work, he also did paintings and packaging and jewellry that were all so stunning. After seeing the Banksy exhibit this morning as well, it is refreshing to see more contemporary art juxtaposed against such an ancient city.

Seeing Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures was pretty chilling. They are called his prisoners, because they looked as if they were trapped in the stone, caught in an eternal struggle to break free.

..remember to always look up. You might be standing underneath one of the most interesting features in the room without even realizing it.