FINDING ITALY IN ENGLAND: ART AND ARTIFACTS

As I embarked on a long trip to England, my friend and fellow AMHS member, Nancy DeSanti asked if I would miss not being in Italy. Of course, I always miss not being in Italy; but England proved to be a delightful experiment in finding Italy in the cities, the neighborhoods of London, and the art museums. To fully understand the Roman influence on Britannia, I recommend reading Christopher Daniell’s Traveller’s History of England, fifth edition.

Daniell states that towns were introduced into Britannia by the Romans. As early as 53AD, London was a thriving center for trade and commerce and became the most Romanized city in Britannia with large buildings, bath houses, a forum, and fine works of art imported from the continent. The Romans occupied the province for 400 years and the Roman physical legacy continues today as residents and travelers wind their way over more than the 5,000 miles of roads built during Roman rule. Roman art, artifacts, archeology, and collections abound in London and its many towns and cities.

England’s Italian art collections span all centuries and it would take a lot more than my cursory visits to do them justice. Aside from the grand and vast Roman and Italian treasures of the London National Gallery and the British Museum, there are a couple of locations that may be of interest should your travel plans include England.

Bath

Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is easily accessible from London. It is the gateway of west-central England to the Cotswold, StratfordUpon-Avon, Bristol and Cheltenham. If you like Pompeii and Herculaneum visit Bath and spend an afternoon visiting the Roman Baths, the Pump Room and Museum. The first shrine at the site of the hot springs was built by Celts and dedicated to the goddess Sulis. Then, in the 1st century, the Romans invaded, identified Sulis with the goddess Minerva, renamed it Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis) and built a network of baths to make full use of the mineral springs that gush from the earth. The baths thrived then fell into disrepair after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century.

The baths have been modified throughout the centuries and gained immense popularity during the 18th century when Queen Anne visited. Legend has it that she came to bathe in the waters in hope of conceiving a child. Visit the Pump Room and museum to see numerous artefacts from the Roman period, including more than 12,000 Roman currency coins tossed into the Sacred Spring, presumably as offerings to the goddess. Marvel at the Roman engineering feats and take a sip of the warm mineral water. For those who love Jane Austen walk around this beautiful Georgian city, take in the Royal Crescent, the Italianate Pulteney Bridge, or book a thermae bath spa treatment to really channel your Roman roots.

Oxford

Another easy trip from London is Oxford. Of course, any trip to Oxford must include wandering through the colleges of Oxford University. The entire town center revolves around this 1167 famous center of learning. While there, make time for the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, Beaumont Street. The Ashmolean Museum is a fine example of nineteenth century neo-classical architecture designed by C.R. Cockerell and located in the heart of Oxford. Founded in 1683, at a time when the idea of the 'museum' was brand new, Britain's first public museum, the Ashmolean, was initially the home of a collection of miscellaneous manmade and natural specimens and curiosities from every corner of the world, which was presented to the University by the wealthy antiquarian and polymath, Elias Ashmole.

To channel your inner-Italian while in Oxford, visit the Ashmolean Museum. There are five floors and it is filled with superb collections. Highlights of their Italian collection include: drawings by Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci; paintings by Piero di Cosimo, Paolo Uccello, including The Hunt in the Forest and The Annunciation; and many others. They also have over 30 pieces of Late Roman gold glass roundels from the Catacombs of Rome, the 3rd largest collection after the Vatican and the British Museum. If Majolica interests you, the Ashmolean possesses an Italian majolica collection of international importance, thanks to the scholarly collecting of C.D.E. Fortnum (1820-1899) and loans from English private collections.

If your travels take you to Oxford between now and January 2016, don’t miss the special exhibit: Drawing in Venice: Titian to Canaletto. This exhibition features a hundred drawings from The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Ashmolean, and Christ Church, Oxford. It traces continuities in Venetian drawing over three centuries, from around 1500 down to the foundation of the first academy of art in Venice in 1750.

Cambridge

Only 54 miles from London, Cambridge is a great day (long day) trip and if taking the train, you will see a lot of the East Anglia region. As with Oxford, touring the University and its colleges as well as King’s College Chapel is a must. Not far from city center, down Trumpington Street, is the Fitzwilliam Museum. The Fitzwilliam owes its foundation to Richard, VII Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion who, in 1816, bequeathed to the University of Cambridge his works of art and library, together with funds to house them, to further "the Increase of Learning and other great Objects of that Noble Foundation".

Fitzwilliam's bequest included 144 pictures, among them Dutch paintings he inherited through his maternal grandfather and the masterpieces by Titian, Veronese and Palma Vecchio he acquired at the Orléans sales in London. Like the Ashmolean, there is a lot to see so plan on spending a full afternoon. The Greek and Roman collection spans the period from around 3000 BC to the 4th century AD. The Coins and Medals collection is vast and a bit overwhelming, with about 25,000 roman coins. One interesting coin is The Ides of March, 15 March 44 BC from the Hart Collection.

The Ides of March denarius, struck by Brutus in 43/2 BC is easily the most famous of Roman Republican coins. Another treat is the Rothschild Bronzes, attributed to Michelangelo. A team of international experts led by the University of Cambridge and Fitzwilliam Museum has gathered compelling evidence that argues that these masterpieces, which have spent over a century in relative obscurity, are early works by Michelangelo, made just after he completed the marble David and as he was about to embark on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. If the attribution is correct, they are currently the only surviving Michelangelo bronzes in the world by his hand.

These two meter high bronze male nudes astride two ferocious panthers are a non-matching pair, one figure older and lithe, the other young and athletic. Long admired for the beauty of their anatomy and powerful expressions. Their first recorded attribution was to Michelangelo when they appeared in the collection of Adolphe de Rothschild in the 19th century. But, since they are undocumented and unsigned, this attribution was dismissed and over the last 120 years, the bronzes have been attributed to various other talented sculptors. If you travel there between now and November, you can “vote” or register your opinion as to their authenticity.

The collection of Italian art is immense spanning from the 14th to the 18th Centuries. Not to be missed are two large Titians and numerous paintings and drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Tiepolo and Parmigianino. Where ever I travelled in England, Roman and Italian contributions to art, engineering, beauty and civilization greeted me and transported me back to my roots.(

Sources:

Daniell, Christopher, A Traveller’s History of England, fifth edition 2006, www.interlinkbooks.com; Bath: www.romanbaths.co.uk; Oxford: www.ashmolean.org/collections; Cambridge: www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk)