Your shopping cart is empty.
Mar 09, 2022
As you know, I love walking in Rome. I’m always a little dazzled by the depth of history here. Even on a short stroll, you are likely to pass some building, structure, or monument that is literally thousands of years old.
Take L’Isola Tiberina for example. Since it is an island, it has of course been here since the founding of Rome. Although there are a few legends from ancient times that suggest its origins are far more dramatic and involved throwing a tyrant king into the river.
It’s most striking feature comes from the oval shape which came about when the Romans decided to use marble slabs to make embankments around the island. They used these walls to sculpt it into the shape of a ship that appears to be sailing down the river. This was not an accident, nor did they have too much vino : )
They chose a ship because of a little incident with a snake. (Here me out, even though I hate snakes, it’s an interesting story!)
In 300 BC they decided to build a temple to Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing on the island. This necessitated someone going to Greece and getting a statue of the diety.
On the way back, a snake wrapped itself around the mast of the ship. It was content there until arriving in Rome when it promptly decided the island would be a much better place to live and swam there. To commemorate this event a rod of Aesculapius is carved into the wall at the “prow” of the island. Here is a photo for reference.👇🏻
In my painting you can see l’Isola Tiberina which is an island in the middle of the Tiber in Rome. It is connected to the city by two bridges: Ponte Fabricio (also known as Ponte Quattro Capi) on the North and Ponte Cestio on the South.
This is the view from the Ponte Cestio looking southeast toward the Ponte Palatino. You can see it on the left side of my painting just next to the walls of the Lungotevere.
Did you know the Tevere is the Italian name for the Tiber River? It also has the honor of being the third longest river in Italy.
On the right side of the painting you can see the Chiesa di San Bartolomeo all’Isola and its campanile.
In 293 BC a temple to Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing was built on the island.
Then in the first century, the island was landscaped to resemble a ship with an oval shape and travertine marble walls. You can see the oval shape and steep walls sweeping diagonally through the painting. Even today there is a hospital here.
Are you ready to see me paint this historic island in the Tiber? Watch the video below to see a time-lapse of me painting “L’Isola Tiberina, Roma”!
Watercolors of the Sun: Paintings of Italy
Original Paintings and Fine Art Prints on paper, metal, canvas and more
Archival certified printers, inks, and media
ARTIST and AUTHOR |
This is only visible to you because you are logged in and are authorized to manage this website. This message is not visible to other website visitors.
This means you can use the camera on your phone or tablet and superimpose any piece of art onto a wall inside of your home or business.
To use this feature, Just look for the "Live Preview AR" button when viewing any piece of art on this website!
This means you can use the camera on your phone or tablet and superimpose any piece of art onto a wall inside of your home or business.
To use this feature, Just look for the "Live Preview AR" button when viewing any piece of art on this website!