Oh I have to quickly get your attention before you click me off after seeing this grand 18th century portrait of Govanni Paol Pannini!  Here is the more well know panini or hot toasted Italian sandwich , we all know and love.

And this is two favorites in one. . . . caprese panini!

Back to Mr. Pannini, the painter. . . . . . . . His paintings popped into my mind the other day, but of course I couldn’t remember his name or the time of  his life.  But the professor, used to my deficient memory, was able to determine whom I was describing.

Pannini was a painter and architect  and the most famous of the Roman view painters know as the Vedutisti . He was a part of the Romantic Period at the end of the 18th century. This was a movement in art and music that was a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment where rational thought  was  most valued in the Industrial Age.  Romantics once again valued beauty and emotion of by gone days.

Pannini’s art is a visual history of Rome and her ruins and monumental buildings and art. Panini’s  work is highly detailed, usually in a large scale painting  or print of vista or city scape.  Some are  views of museum like spaces where you can visit without leaving home.  Look closely at the pictures that are filled with images.  Just an  amazing visit to the Eternal City !

The Roman Forum

Interior of St. Peter’s Cathedral  and honestly the scale feels that large. It is the largest church on earth.

The Pantheon built during ancient Rome as a temple to the pantheon of gods first constructed from 27-25 BC. It is the best preserved ancient monument in Rome.  Later it became a Christian Catholic Church and is known for royalty buried there. The most famous person laid to rest is Raphael, the renowned Renaissance painter.

These last two are favorites of mine with the beauty, history and whimsy of the construction.  Notice the curtain being drawn back and the ancient monuments and domes of churches, all together as if Pannini couldn’t decide which to paint so he included them all!

Several people have asked me my favorite places to visit and I do have a list.   I feel strongly that  if you have  only one trip in a lifetime. . . . .go to Italy.  The whole country is a museum, art gallery, historical site with beauty and drama everywhere you look. . . . and did I forget the food?

Are you familiar with Pannini’s work?  Do you have a favorite painter?