Eine kliene German Romanticism

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, like any German Romantic worth his salt, was drawn to Italy during his life.  In fact, he made a personal pilgrimage to the Eternal City in 1786 with the intention of spending time with artist Tischbein, who ended up painting this rather famous portrait of him:

He stayed with Tischbein, in a little apartment off the Palazzo del Popolo.  Today I visited this residence.  Probably the coolest things in there are his sketches and some thoughts written down on various scraps of paper and journals.

I love the intimacy of things like this.  I bought a book that had excerpts from his diary and here is one of my favorite of his observations:  "I am now in a state of clarity and calm such as I had not known for a long time.  My habit of looking at and accepting things as they are without pretension is standing me in good stead and makes me secretly very happy.  Each day bring me some new remarkable object, some new great pleasure, and a whole city that the imagination will never encompass, however long one thinks and dreams. ... The Colosseum is so huge that the mind cannot retain its image."  (11 Nov 1786)
I simply had to have lunch to ponder it all:

Earlier in the day I went to the Museo Etrusco at the Villa Giulia inside the Borghese gardens.  Again, part of the thrill of museums here is just being allowed into these stunning old homes:

With their courtyards so beautiful.  Who needs a room with a view when you have this?

The collection is vast and unbelievable.  It is mostly the collection of a very wealthy 19th century devotee of Etruscan art.  V v old.  6-7th century BC, darlings.  And so sophisticated and divine!

Here's a very famous couple :)  You have to take a close look at these works or you'll miss their story: