Rick Steves, America's most respected authority on European travel, writes European travel guidebooks, and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio.
A great pioneer of Baroque was the dynamic Italian
named Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Known as the Michelangelo of Baroque,
Bernini could do it all.
He was a great sculptor, a painter,
and a groundbreaking architect.
He designed St. Peter's Square.
Embracing the theatrical nature of Baroque art,
Bernini turned this chapel into a theater.
In fact, the members of the family who paid for the art
got to look on from the VIP box.
Using all his artistic tools and 3-D tricks,
Bernini invigorates reality with emotion.
Center stage, an angel pierces St. Teresa's heart
with a heavenly arrow.
As the saint famously described her ecstasy,
the pain was so sharp that I cried aloud,
but so delightful that I wished it would last forever.
At this elegant Roman mansion,
Bernini sculpted several masterpieces for his patron,
a wealthy cardinal who invested in great art
meant to decorate these very rooms.
Bernini, employing both genius and chisel,
masterfully brought marble to life.
His Rape of Persephone packs a dramatic punch.
Persephone's entire body seems to scream for help
as evil Pluto drags his catch into the underworld.
His three-headed dog howls triumphantly.
Bernini's Apollo and Daphne is quintessential Baroque
in how it captures a dramatic moment.
Apollo, happily wounded by Cupid's arrow,
chases Daphne, who's saved by turning into a tree.
Bernini captures the instant when,
just as Apollo's about to catch Daphne,
her fingers turn to leaves,
her toes sprout roots,
and Apollo is in for one rude surprise.
The statue, as much air as stone,
makes a supernatural event seem real.
This pre-Christian scene, while plenty fleshy,
comes with a church-pleasing moral.
Chasing earthly pleasures leads only to pain and frustration.
By the way, to appreciate the boldness
of Bernini's Baroque style,
compare his version of David
with Michelangelo's Renaissance David
from a century earlier.
Michelangelo's is poised, balanced, and thoughtful,
perfect for the cerebral Renaissance era.
Bernini's, on the other hand, is a Baroque action figure,
his whole body wound like a spring
as he prepares to slay the giant,
showing the energy of the age.
Bernini was a brash young man of 25 when he sculpted this,
and the determined face of David is his own.
Bernini inspired a generation of artists
whose work is found throughout Rome.
In fact, the city of Rome itself
is like a Baroque work of art.
Its great churches sport facades
with trend-setting Baroque elements,
classical columns on a gargantuan scale,
Greek-style pediments,
and straight lines broken
by dips, curls, and decorative medallions.
Interiors, of course, are also decorated to the hilt
in the Baroque style.
You hardly know where to look.
Every inch is slathered with ornamentation.
Oh, wow, spiral columns framing scenes
that almost jump to life.
Cupids doing flip-flops,
explosive gilded starbursts,
and ceilings opening up into the heavens.
It's all glorious Baroque.
The exuberance of the Baroque age
even spills out into the streets.
Piazza Navona, a festival of Roman life,
is dominated by this curvaceous facade.
Its playful oval domes
overlook a fountain by,
you guessed it, Bernini.
Fountains, so full of energy
and effectively harnessing nature,
were a favorite with Baroque artists.
Nearby, the famed Trevi Fountain
is a bubbly Baroque avalanche
that seems purpose-built
for today's Roman embrace of life.
Immersed in history, art,
and partying under the stars,
people toss a coin over their shoulder
to assure their return
to this eternal city.
That may sound silly,
but with every visit,
I go through the ritual,
and it works.
