Untitled by vincentinparis
Remember when you buy your ticket that you only get two hours to tour the museum before they rather unceremoniously clear you out and let the next crowd in. It can be a frustrating experience, especially in the first small rooms with everybody crammed in together, following the path indicated on the map you’re given when you enter. The trick is to do the exact opposite. When everybody else is milling around the Roman floor in the first room, make a beeline for the stairs in the back right-hand corner of the building. (The rooms on the ground floor are arranged in a circle so you can go left or right and you’ll find the stairs.) As you’re moving swiftly toward the staircase, you’ll catch glimpses of some stunning works, but you’ll have time for them later. Once you’re upstairs, you’ll have the galleries entirely to yourself and you can enjoy each picture without having to fend off other visitors. When people start to come upstairs, head back down. As if by magic, the first rooms are now empty. I always save extra time for Bernini’s Daphne and Apollo. It is a magical statue, full of light and movement. The stone is so finely chiseled that you can practically see through the cloth and the leaves. They say that if you were to tap a spoon on the foot of the statue, the leaves at the end of Daphne’s fingers would ring like crystal. Understandably, they don’t demonstrate this, but they look so delicate that you can easily believe it’s true.
over 5 years ago
