Christopher Bakke
@christopherbakke.bsky.social
Doctoral student in technical art history at the École Pratique des Hautes Études. Study caravaggeschi. Co-authoring critical study of Louis Pasteur at the École des Beaux-Arts. Heavily accented polyglot and urban ethnographer.
Living in Italy makes you deathly sensitive to the mildest cold weather. It’s 12 celcius and I’ll head for the only bar I know of with a working fireplace.
December 18, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Living in Italy makes you deathly sensitive to the mildest cold weather. It’s 12 celcius and I’ll head for the only bar I know of with a working fireplace.
I’ve waited 14 years for the Metro C station at the Colosseum. It finally opened today at 4 in the afternoon.
December 16, 2025 at 7:29 PM
I’ve waited 14 years for the Metro C station at the Colosseum. It finally opened today at 4 in the afternoon.
The best way, and maybe the only way, to see an exhibition is to see it with someone who knows the art as deeply as they know their spouse of 40 years and who talks continuously about the works on view. That’s what I got at the Palazzo Strozzi’s Fra Angelico show with Andrea De Marchi.
December 15, 2025 at 11:04 PM
The best way, and maybe the only way, to see an exhibition is to see it with someone who knows the art as deeply as they know their spouse of 40 years and who talks continuously about the works on view. That’s what I got at the Palazzo Strozzi’s Fra Angelico show with Andrea De Marchi.
Props to the used bookseller in Rome who greeted me with “good evening” at 12:43 in the afternoon on a crisp, sunny Saturday.
December 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Props to the used bookseller in Rome who greeted me with “good evening” at 12:43 in the afternoon on a crisp, sunny Saturday.
Captivated by this picture of Hot Yeats at my Dublin hotel. Blown away to discover it’s not an artist’s interpretation, but a colorized real photograph.
November 26, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Captivated by this picture of Hot Yeats at my Dublin hotel. Blown away to discover it’s not an artist’s interpretation, but a colorized real photograph.
Yesterday at the bookstore sotto casa. A victory for New York and an inspiration to the world.
November 5, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Yesterday at the bookstore sotto casa. A victory for New York and an inspiration to the world.
Catching the train from Turin to Rome, I hopped off in Florence for 12 hours.
September 21, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Catching the train from Turin to Rome, I hopped off in Florence for 12 hours.
Rare cool summer evening in Rome.
July 14, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Rare cool summer evening in Rome.
The Argentine church in Rome, Santa Maria Addolorata. Since it was built in the early twentieth century, the church is not captivating like the city’s other great Santa Maria with façade mosaics, yet it remains a gem all the same.
June 26, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The Argentine church in Rome, Santa Maria Addolorata. Since it was built in the early twentieth century, the church is not captivating like the city’s other great Santa Maria with façade mosaics, yet it remains a gem all the same.
Despite my love of the region’s red onions, I know nothing about Calabria’s wines. But the very affordable organic red that I tried last night at my friend Francesca’s restaurant was full of flavor. Polished off the whole bottle.
June 4, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Despite my love of the region’s red onions, I know nothing about Calabria’s wines. But the very affordable organic red that I tried last night at my friend Francesca’s restaurant was full of flavor. Polished off the whole bottle.
Difficult to decide what season in Rome is the most beautiful (though it’s not summer). When the jasmine covers the city in spring, it’s hard to best.
May 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Difficult to decide what season in Rome is the most beautiful (though it’s not summer). When the jasmine covers the city in spring, it’s hard to best.
Quick photos from the evening walk.
May 21, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Quick photos from the evening walk.
Sometimes the lights of the Ponte Sant’Angelo aren’t turned on. I don’t know why not. It happens regularly. And it always gives the bridge a very spooky air.
May 12, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Sometimes the lights of the Ponte Sant’Angelo aren’t turned on. I don’t know why not. It happens regularly. And it always gives the bridge a very spooky air.
On a beautiful, hot Spring day in Rome, it suddenly starts pouring. Then all my social media feeds are filled with friends and colleagues posting photos of the same rainbow.
April 29, 2025 at 9:11 PM
On a beautiful, hot Spring day in Rome, it suddenly starts pouring. Then all my social media feeds are filled with friends and colleagues posting photos of the same rainbow.
For what it’s worth, my favorite painting from the Capodimonte collection is also on view: Annibale’s Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena.
April 1, 2025 at 9:14 PM
For what it’s worth, my favorite painting from the Capodimonte collection is also on view: Annibale’s Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena.
The Farnese exhibition at the Capitolini is effectively loans of paintings and antiquities from the the Naples museums. Nevertheless it’s worth seeing for the extraordinary drawings by Annibale, borrowed mostly from Turin, Florence, Paris, Besançon, and Windsor.
April 1, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The Farnese exhibition at the Capitolini is effectively loans of paintings and antiquities from the the Naples museums. Nevertheless it’s worth seeing for the extraordinary drawings by Annibale, borrowed mostly from Turin, Florence, Paris, Besançon, and Windsor.
Returning to Trouville and Deauville after over 11 years.
February 22, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Returning to Trouville and Deauville after over 11 years.
Eating (and drinking) totally alone for an hour in a crêperie on Rue Montparnasse. I have the place all to myself. The waiter tells me about his Lebanese girlfriend. Finally it hits 7:50, and every table is taken.
February 13, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Eating (and drinking) totally alone for an hour in a crêperie on Rue Montparnasse. I have the place all to myself. The waiter tells me about his Lebanese girlfriend. Finally it hits 7:50, and every table is taken.
Walking around residential neighborhoods in Rome, it is not uncommon to stumble upon abandoned movie theaters. The juxtaposition between incomparable beauty and urban squalor is one of the reasons we are so drawn to Italy.
January 24, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Walking around residential neighborhoods in Rome, it is not uncommon to stumble upon abandoned movie theaters. The juxtaposition between incomparable beauty and urban squalor is one of the reasons we are so drawn to Italy.
For the moment it still shows up in Italy.
January 21, 2025 at 12:13 PM
For the moment it still shows up in Italy.
Hipster coffee shops in Rome don’t really have a market, since Italian bars prepare coffee well (unlike Parisian cafés). Pergamino is an exception. It’s a tiny bar with only outdoor seating. Every drink is made with two shots of espresso.
January 11, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Hipster coffee shops in Rome don’t really have a market, since Italian bars prepare coffee well (unlike Parisian cafés). Pergamino is an exception. It’s a tiny bar with only outdoor seating. Every drink is made with two shots of espresso.
The tiny, yet hugely popular Monteforte is a microcosm of Rome. All the people that pass through this city are here. You see the few Romans that still live in the centro drinking espresso, tourists eating pizza at 7:30 in the morning, teenagers from the adjacent liceo hanging out before class.
January 8, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The tiny, yet hugely popular Monteforte is a microcosm of Rome. All the people that pass through this city are here. You see the few Romans that still live in the centro drinking espresso, tourists eating pizza at 7:30 in the morning, teenagers from the adjacent liceo hanging out before class.
No matter how many times I wake up here, it never gets old. The juxtaposition of perfect natural beauty and thoughtless urban sprawl remains fascinating.
December 28, 2024 at 8:04 AM
No matter how many times I wake up here, it never gets old. The juxtaposition of perfect natural beauty and thoughtless urban sprawl remains fascinating.
A cool Christmas morning in Rome.
December 25, 2024 at 1:52 PM
A cool Christmas morning in Rome.
Vigilia di Natale, Roma.
December 25, 2024 at 1:47 PM
Vigilia di Natale, Roma.