La Rondanini Pieta' | The Lamentation
Michelangelo's final sculpture
(left unfinished at his death in 1564)
you can see parts of the original sculpture
in the floating arm to the left
(and Jesus' legs are also presumed to be
from the original, more polished sculpture)
but, then, Michelangelo began
removing more and more stone,
crafting Jesus' body from that of
Mary, his mother,
in such a way that they are almost one
(as they were in the beginning)
from the back, the floating arm is on the right,
completely separated from the fused Mary-Jesus
& (below), the arm & legs are such a contrast
to the very rough-hewn torsos and faces
just six days before he died,
Michelangelo spent hours
working on this sculpture
(he was almost 89 years old)
for awhile, we had the space
completely to ourselves
just us & Michelangelo's last work
~ ~ ~
we emerged from the art museums
and headed towards the Duomo
with thoughts of attending
Christmas Eve Mass
passing another perfume-sponsored tree
with smiling representatives
ready to spritz you
with Chanel!
we really found that,
everywhere we went
in downtown Milan,
we encountered beauty
and the Milan Duomo
blew it all away
simply magnificent!
undertaken in 1386 when Gian Galeazzo Visconti
wrested power from his tyrannical Uncle Barnabo'
(he of the horse-riding sculpture in my last post),
who succumbed to Gian's fake claims of conversion
and an ambush during a religious procession,
was imprisoned, poisoned (perhaps),
and died (definitely)
Gian Galeazzo Visconti became the first
Duke of Milan in 1395,
a title gifted* to him by
King Wenceslaus IV (not the Good King one -
though they were both of Bohemia,
separated by about 500 years)
*this gift cost Gian Galeazzo Visconti
100,000 florins
(about $55,557.27 in today's dollars)
the Duomo reminded me
of the intricate (drip) sand castles
my father used to make
at the beach every summer.
are you familiar with the technique?
you make the castle in that stretch of the beach
from where the ocean is just receding
(oh, the terror and delight of an incoming wave!),
piling up the damp sand,
then scooping a waterlogged handful
and letting it
slooooooowly and strategically
DRIP.DRIP.DRIP
from your closed hand
to form delicate sand-drip towers
...naturally, there are now multiple online tutorials...
but back in my childhood,
it was just my enthusiastic & playful father
making drip castles and ball rolls
at the beach!
but back to the Duomo...
(made from Candoglia Marble,
considered to be "pink" marble)
i mean...can you even?
it's simply stunning in its intricacy!
so, we joined tourists and parishioners
for early Mass on Christmas Eve
in Milan's Cathedral
it was freezing!
we were so, so, so cold by the end.
actually, we didn't even make it to the end.
we weren't the first to leave, either -
even some who appeared to be Milanese
left before the service was done.
we scurried home and made ourselves
a red-and-green Xmas Eve meal.
and i will just note that Italian store-bought sauce
is amazing...it actually tastes like tomatoes,
as opposed to the versions here at home
that taste like...um, sugar?
the very best gift was knowing
that our two wonderful & amazing sons
were together on the other side
of the Alps 💗
🎄 Merry Christmas 2022 🎄
