The Old and The New

Chiostro del Bramante (Matteo Carboni)

Rome is a city in which the modern world plays with the past. To me, the Chiostro del Bramante, stands as an example of the ways this occurs in the Eternal City.

The Chiostro was a monastery designed by Donato Bramante (1444-1515) and commissioned by Cardinal Oliviero Carafe around 1500 CE. Bramante incorporated elements of Greek and Roman architecture so characteristic of the Renaissance. Today, the Chiostro is a social and cultural hub in Rome. Part of the building features art exhibits. The current exhibit, Emotion: Contemporary Art Tells the Story of Emotion, highlights the work of several artists from around the world. What struck me, as I walked through the installations, is how the modern art incorporated elements of Bramante's Renaissance architecture and decorations. Rather than hiding the ceilings and floors, many of the installations incorporated elements of building into the contemporary art. By doing this, the exhibit created an immersive experience in which the several art installations merged as one.

In this way the Chiostro is a metaphor for Rome. Rome is a place in which the world merges, a place in which meaningful conversations between generations and ethnicities and religions occur. The city holds an ability to re-oriente the people who visit her to new possibilities. Similarly, the Chiostro is a place in which the Renaissance and the modern world speak to one another, and create something new.