An Elephant In Rome: Bernini, The Pope, And The Making Of The Eternal City
Art
•
1h 8m
In 1655 a new Pope, Alexander VII, fired with religious zeal, political guile and a mani for building, determined to restore the prestige of his Church by making Rome the must-visit destination for Europe’s elite. To help him do so, he enlisted the talents of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, already celebrated as the most important artist of the age.
Together, Alexander VII and Bernini made one of the greatest artistic double acts in history, inventing the concept of soft power and the bucket list destination. Bernini and Alexander’s creation of Baroque Rome, a city grander and more beautiful than since the days of Augustus Caesar, continues to delight and attract.
Loyd Grossman was born in Boston and educated at Boston University, the London School of Economics and Magdalene College Cambridge. Well known as a broadcaster and entrepreneur, he has also worked in the culture and heritage fields for three decades. He has served as a Commissioner of English Heritage and of The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, Chairman of National Museums Liverpool, Chairman of the Heritage Alliance and Chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust. He is currently Chairman of The Royal Parks, Chairman of Gresham College and President of the Arts Society. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society. He was appointed CBE for services to heritage. Loyd also plays guitar and has made eight appearances at Glastonbury.
Buy the book through our online store
Up Next in Art
-
Espying Heaven: The High Anglican Aes...
Charles Eamer Kempe was an influential but controversial figure in the world of Victorian stained glass. His friendship and collaboration with the architect George Frederick Bodley helped to establish a distinctive High Anglican aesthetic that has yet to disappear entirely, but his life and legac...
-
Indigenous Textiles for the Catholic ...
The talk will explain how various textile types from the Pre-Columbian Americas were adapted to create Catholic church ornaments beginning in the sixteenth century. Examples will be drawn from each of the chapters of Dr. Stanfield-Mazzi’s new book, Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textil...
-
G.F. Bodley, All Saints, Cambridge an...
In 1981 the Redundant Churches Committee of the Church Commissioners agreed by a narrow margin – one vote – to vest All Saints, Cambridge, in the Churches Conservation Trust, thus saving it from certain mutilation and possible demolition. The building, designed by George Frederick Bodley and open...
