Time through Space / Historic Sites Worth a Visit

Time can be experienced in many different and subjective ways, often intertwined with emotional reactions. When doing something enjoyable, time is experienced as moving faster, while tedious chores and difficult situations seem to slow down the pace of time. Another question is how to make the effects of time visible in order to understand the role of time in our lives – through changes in architectural expressions, the passing of time is manifested.  

Writing on the subject of space, French philosopher Henri Lefebvre speaks of the nonlinearity of time: “The past leaves its traces; time has its own script. Yet this space is always, now and formerly, a present space, given as an immediate whole, complete with its associations and connections in their actuality.” Several levels of time are always present in the production of the now. This is noticeable in almost any space you visit; old wallpapers being exposed in a forgotten corner, indentations on the parquet floor as reminders of a wild party, someone’s perfume lingering in the air. In this article, we’ve selected three places that are particularly resonant when it comes to bringing back memories of the past. 

Palazzo Altemps, Rome

Time structures not only our days but also the spaces we live in. Different generations have different tastes and needs, and will alter the layout, size of rooms and number of doorways accordingly. Older buildings are memories of the past, a gateway to events otherwise lost to the continuous flow of time, always moving forwards while the people and moments of the past become lost in oblivion. At Palazzo Altemps, different eras exist in the same space. Layers of paint and types of decoration are gently uncovered, presented side by side to demonstrate how ideals have shifted throughout the centuries. The result is a subtle elegance – pleasing to the eye and fascinating for the mind.Today, it is one of the sites of the National Roman Museum, specifically dedicated to the history of art collecting. 

A collection is also a form of memory, an archive of stories centred around a certain topic or theme. In this way, the content of the museum correlates and enhances the architectural expression of the building. Located in Campo Marzio, only a few steps from Piazza Navona, the palazzo was built by Girolamo Riario, lord of Imola and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. 

In 1568, it was purchased by Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps, nephew of Pope Pius IV. The Altemps family would remain in the palazzo for several hundred years, until the mid-19th century, when the property was inherited by Giulio Hardouin (whose daughter Duchess Maria Hardouin di Gallese married the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio in 1883, in the palazzo’s Church of San Aniceto). 

Towards the end of the 19th century, the building was sold to the Holy See, and almost a century later, it was acquired by the Italian government and opened as a museum in 1997. Today, it is home to absolute masterpieces of ancient sculptures and noble collections, including Dei Drago collection, as well as Jandolo, Veneziani and Brancaccio sculptures, among many others. 

On display is also the archaeological collection of Evan Gorga, an eccentric collector of the early 20th century. 

The layout of the museum creates a harmonious composition through how the marble sculptures are placed in the palatial rooms, borrowing from and reintroducing solutions used in the design of antiquarian collections. 

Olympia, Peloponnese

“Valley of gods” is the name of the area where ancient Olympia lies, in the western part of Peloponnese, in a sleepy part of the Greek mainland. Two thousand years ago, when he participated in the Olympic Games of 65 AD, this is where emperor Nero lived in his famous villa “Octagon”, by the Kladeos River, complete with a peristyle court, many rooms, gardens and a luxurious bath. 

The mosaics and arched roofs are still well preserved and possible to visit. However, the name of the valley does not refer to the mortal Nero, but to the powerful Greek gods, who called Olympia and Peloponnese their home. The most famous building of Olympia was the temple of Zeus, placed in the Aitis, a sacred grove in the central section and providing the core of the sanctuary. 

The giant temple, devoted to the ruler of gods and men, dominated the cluster of buildings, while the oldest temple dedicated to Hera, lies slightly north. 

East of these two holy temples is where the Olympic Games were held. Zeus was the king of gods and the god of sky and thunder (and cognate with the Roman equivalent Jupiter). Son of Cronus and Rhea, he was raised by his grandmother Gaia. Together with the Olympians (from Mount Olympus, not to be confused with Olympia), he fights for power, and wins over his father, thus becoming the ruler of cosmos. 

Married seven times, Hera was his seventh wife (and also his older sister). To woo her, he turned himself into a cuckoo. Together, they had several children. Hera was the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. She was also the first deity to whom the Greeks dedicated an enclosed roofed temple sanctuary, possibly an effect of the large cult-like following she enjoyed in Ancient Greece. 

Olympia was the most celebrated sacred place in Greece, and also the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the most important sports events in all of antiquity. It started in 776 BC, and from then on, every four years all Greeks would be united, and all hostilities suspended, so that everyone could take part in the games. 

Olympia was a famed destination and a powerful landmark. Today, this is where the Olympic flame – symbol for the continuity between ancient and modern times – is lit, and then brought to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, where it continues to burn for the duration of the Games. 

In Ancient Greek mythology, fire had divine connotations, having been stolen from the gods by Prometheus. During the Olympic Games at Olympia, fires would be lit in the temples of Zeus and Hera. 

The first games took place during the festival of Zeus at Olympia, at the time a sanctuary within the independent state Elis. The games conducted in Zeus’ name drew visitors from all over the Greek world. Today, Olympia’s archaeological site is categorised as part of the UNESCO World Heritage. It is possible to tour the impressive remains of buildings used by the ancient Greeks as worship areas, and as sports and symposia centres. 

In the sleek and cleverly designed Archaeological Museum of Olympia, many of Greece’s most important ancient treasures and statues are on display, including several depicting emperor Marcus Aurelius. 

Pinoteca Ambrosiana, Milan

Pinoteca Ambrosiana, one of Milan’s greatest art museums, was founded already in 1618 by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, who donated his art collection to the eponymous library (established about ten years earlier). The library is worth a special mention, as it was only the second public library to ever open in Europe (in 1609). 

The institution offered free cultural and artistic training to anyone with artistic or intellectual capabilities. This is quite a nice idea – to make available an archive of some of the world’s finest art, to inspire new generations to develop their skills, so that the culture of the world can continue to grow. 

Since 2009, it has the world’s largest collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and writings, including over 1,000 pages of his Codex Atlanticus, as well as many explanations of his inventions. 

The museum’s art collection includes several paintings by da Vinci, Titian, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Cerano, Caravaggio, and Botticelli (among many other masters). 

The museum is full of curiosities, including the work of Virgilio that once belong to Petrarca (complete with an original glossary to make it easier to read), and a lock of hair that once belonged to Lucrezia Borgia. Daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei, Borgia was one of the most famous politicians and intellectuals of her time, known equally for her wits and beauty. 

The exhibitions follow a chronological trajectory, beginning with the collections of Cardinal Federico and ending in the early 20th century. All in all, the museum holds more than 1,500 works of art.