The Pope commissioned Michelangelo to build a new burial chamber for his family on the San Lorenzo church The Medici Chapels in Florence is a fascinating complex. It is entirely planned both architecturally and sculpturally by Michelangelo, whose own life was so intertwined with the Medici family. When he was commissioned the project by Pope […]
Visiting Venice at this time of year will offer you an experience quite unlike the one you would have if you were to join the throngs of tourists in mid-summer Local woman Sara Scarpa describes the atmosphere of a Venetian winter and shares with us some secrets about what Venetians will be enjoying in their […]
The Romans really knew how to relax, as this ancient spa complex in Rome attests – it had room for 1,600 leisure-seekers, and came equipped with shops and libraries! There’s nothing quite like taking an indulgent trip to a spa to let the soothing waters ease the cares of the world from our shoulders. And […]
Marooned like a tiny island on an outcrop of crumbling volcanic rock, the once-thriving settlement of Cività di Bagnoregio in Lazio clings to a perilous existence When you catch sight of its precarious position today, it is hard to imagine that Cività di Bagnoregio was once a large, thriving Etruscan city situated on a wide […]
Time to revisit Fra Angelico to Leonardo’ awe-inspiring exhibition from 2010 featuring Italian Renaissance drawings, but as Amanda Robinson finds out, there’s more to it than meets the eye… With 100 works from the collections of both the British Museum and the Gabinetto Disengi e Stampi Uffizi in Florence, ‘Fra Angelico to Leonardo’ is the most […]
Choosing from Italy’s long list of Renaissance artists is not an easy task. Here are five old masters whose exquisite, timeless works of art continue to amaze… 1 – Michelangelo (1475-1564) Near Arezzo, Caprese, Tuscany Born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, the legendary artist’s masterpieces are too numerous to mention, although his Statue of David, […]
They are double-sided portraits, painted by Piero della Francesca, who was the court painter at the court of Urbino These portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino are amongst the most famous portraits in 15th century Italian art. Why? Because they are revolutionary in their depiction and fascinating in their symbolism. They are double-sided […]
What, you may well ask, are 400 or so classical sculptures, as well as mosaic panels, stone funerary monuments and sarcophagi, doing in a power plant? Just off Via Ostiense, in Rome, about halfway between the Pyramid of Cestius and the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, you can visit the first public electrical […]
Florence is now considered the capital of culture and restoration, a perfect setting for this fair… The International Art and Restoration Fair in Florence will take place from 9th to 11 November 2016 . It will be an event of extremely high relevance for the restoration, conservation and preservation of our cultural heritage. Of course, Florence is […]
In the small town of Vetriano, in the province of Lucca, is this theatre, now part of the Guinness World Records. This historial theatre, is now recognised as the smallest world! The theatre is located between houses and the streets of this stunning Tuscan village and keeps features of the 19th century, with a very little stage which is still […]