CARAVAGGIO TOUR IN ROME

Italy’s most representative Early-Baroque painter, Michelangelo Merisi (1573-1610), better known as Caravaggio, has been living and working in Rome for a long period, and the city still holds a vast selection of his masterpieces. The brilliance and quality of his work stands alone above other painters, yet he is also remembered as the controversial painter who killed a man and escaped the eternal city. Nevertheless, the significance of his works led several critics to identify him as the man who defined Baroque Art in Italy. Normally guided by an experienced art historian, our three-hour-and-a-half tour will explore the art of Caravaggio amid the context he worked in, so that you will get to known both the innovations he brought and the controversies that have always surrounded him.

By visiting three important churches in Rome’s historic center, Santa Maria del Popolo, San Luigi dei Francesi and Sant’Agostino, our tour will let you appreciate the part of Caravaggio’s work that is still held in the places it was originally designed for, as we walk through the same streets he used to inhabit. These locations are not much different today from what they looked like in the 1600’s, a picturesque and often dangerous (back then!) context used by Caravaggio as a source of inspiration and even models, in a controversial mix of sacred and profane.

The chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo, our first stop, hosts two Caravaggio’s works sitting right next to a painting by his most direct stylistic competitor in the Baroque era, Annibale Carracci. This will let us have a wider perspective upon the period the artist was working in, as well as getting to know the main motifs of Caravaggio’s artworks. The tour goes on walking by Piazza del Popolo to reach the neighborhood where Caravaggio worked and lived, the “Trident”. Here, our guide will unfold the secrets of his painting method, recent scholarship, his accusation of murder and the controversies in which he was involved all across his career.

The journey through history and art goes on by visiting the Church of the French Congregation in Rome, San Luigi dei Francesi. Here, you’ll have the chance to see the amazing series on Saint Matthew, Caravaggio’s first altarpiece. Our guide will explain you the stylistic topics that made Caravaggio an historical figure in the world of art, especially discussing the beautiful mix of light and dark and the radical use of chiaroscuro that became the most recognizable feature of his work. Our last stop is at the church of Sant’Agostino, home to one of Caravaggio’s latest works, often not included in most guided tours.

Master or PhD level historian normally leads our seminar. Our main goal is to offer our clients an in depth knowledge of the work of Caravaggio, as well as providing a comprehensive overlook over one of the most fascinating periods in the history of Rome.

This tour books quickly, so please don’t hesitate to contact us for information and reservations at info@raphaeltours.com.