The Six Pictures of Rome You Should Definitely Take (Part 2)

How do we know that such Italian art is so powerful? The same way we know whether or not anything is powerful: by seeing if it can hurt us. It turns out that the simple observation of such art actually can hurt you. People have been feeling dizzy and fainting around this art since at least the 1800s. As a testament to either labeling or observation this art-reaction even has a name: Stendhal’s Syndrome.

2 - Some Piece of Incredible, and Possibly Famous, Art

Creative Commons picture by Dimitry B.

A piece of art can cause a very personal connection across time. The artist expressed something, a feeling, a viewpoint, and you feel it also. Yet, you two may have lived hundreds of years apart. When you find such a piece of art you experience an impressively deep connection with a person that you will never meet.

Through the austere power of an Egyptian obelisk or the delicate sensuality of the Sant’Andrea della Valle ceiling you may find a close friend from another time.

3 - A Smiling Modern Woman in An Ancient Setting

Creative Commons picture by soylentgreen23.

As incredible as all this historic stuff is, it is hard to contend with the vitality of the present. Standing in a place where thousands have tread. Where lives may have been lost and fortunes won. When you stand in a place where the course of history may have been determined, you can see that the present has a particular potency. In fact, the history of Rome gains most of it’s power through its ability to inform and explain…the present.

This moment is now, it is yours, and it is beautiful.

Here are the other articles in this series:

• The Six Pictures of Rome You Should Definitely Take (Part 1)
• The Six Pictures of Rome You Should Definitely Take (Part 2)
• The Six Pictures of Rome You Should Definitely Take (Part 3)
• The Six Pictures of Rome You Should Definitely Take (Part 4, The Final Photo)