The black and white stonework of this Romanesque church, an offspring of the Pisan Romanesque constructions, makes an arresting sight as you approach the northwest corner of Sardinia. The striking Basilica della Santissima Trinità di Saccargia (Basilica of the Holy Trinity of Saccargia) sits on a plain at Codrongianos, south of Sassari, in the northwest […]
The picturesque courtyard known as La Rotonda Foschini is an integral part of Ferrara’s historic – and still flourishing – Teatro Comunale in Emilia-Romagna Ever since the advent of the camera this aesthetically pleasing courtyard – part of Ferrara’s communal theatre – has inspired photographers to snap it. This upward-looking shot of the Rotonda Foschini […]
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 […]