Facades in Rome: old and new signs of culture

A few weeks ago I visited Rome after a gap of many years.  I had wanted to revisit for a while, especially after seeing contemporary films set in Rome by several of my favourite Italian directors: Nanni Moretti, Gianni di Grigorio and Paolo Sorrentino.

I was immediately struck by the architecture and monumentality of Rome, but also the way fashion and the contemporary coexist with historic buildings. I love the terracotta tones of the Roman facades:

Icons of  20th and 21st century western masculinity are added to the visual mix:

Heavy metal band Metallica model designer dinner suits:

Author and poet Charles Bukowski’s rugged masculinity framed against Roman facade and shutters:

And a stencil of Michael Madsen from Quentin Tarantino’s film Reservoir Dogs, combined with a graffiti CIAO:

In the picture below the typical Roman terracotta and creeping ivy serves as a backdrop for street art by French team Noty & Aroz:

Fashion and beauty advertising and facades combine to form surreal illusions:

Monuments and sculptures are reflected in architecture:

The shadow of a historic monument is cast on the side of a building undergoing construction; the front facade displaying oversized fashion advertising:

The swirling ornamental curls of Baroque sacred architecture suggest a mermaid tail on this bearded column supporter:

Here are some images I took of Catholic religious iconography: in the image below religious figurines are juxtaposed with the reflected facade of a church.

The Pope and Jesus both depicted with raised right hands – the salutation, blessing, waving gesture further extending the notion of connected holiness.

A decorated tram on Via Flaminia; I am not entirely sure what the advert is about but I think it promotes the Pope’s relationship with Jordan in the Middle East. I like the illusory quality; the silhouette of the standing tram passenger appears connected to architectural backdrop of the advert.

Here is a contemporary artwork on the theme of Adam and Eve by street artist Mr.Minimal

Here are some pictures I took around the area of the Colosseum. The first three images feature graffiti and text: Below, No Stopping signs with a chalk I love you:

An obscured view of The Colosseum with stickers and graffiti:

There is restoration taking place at the site and I like the fake illusionistic arches that show the intended reconstruction: