By Jennifer Ciotta

Caravaggio still exists in an unlikely placein Amsterdam, Netherlands.  The Rembrandt-Caravaggio exhibit in the Van Gogh Museum is celebrating Rembrandt's 400th anniversary in 2006.  The artists, referred to as the masters of light, are featured with 25 original paintings.  Caravaggio's paintings sparkle with a theatrical tone, and close resemblance to Rembrandt's realistic style.  The paintings of the Carvaggisti, Dutch artists who had been influenced by Caravaggio, are on hand as well, and one can see how Rembrandt himself had attempted their style, even though he and Caravaggio had never met.

In Milan the Pinoacoteca Ambrosiana, the Ambrosiana Library and Picture Gallery, houses Caravaggio's only still life painting named the Canestra.  The library, founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, holds over 15, 000 manuscripts, including twelve of Leonardo da Vinc'is and the Muratorian Fragment, the earliest reminiscence of a Biblical canon, circa 170 A.D.  Over 12, 000 European drawings are on display, including Portrait of a Musician, a possibly-fake da Vinci, while the exterior of the library and gallery resembles an old brick church. 

The town of Caravaggio, near Milan, located in the province of Bergamo, is the birthplace of the artist.  The town, of 14,000 inhabitants, is also famous for its miraculous spring water.  In 1432, a young woman saw Mary, the mother of Jesus.  In this very place, it is said, that a spring started flowing, thus providing the inhabitants of Caravaggio with curative water.  A sanctuary built over the holy spring, provides a landmark for the thousands of pilgrims who visit here every year.  The huge red and white stone, cathedral-like building has a long rectangular pool of water in front, where visitors can worship at the source.

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