If you ever find yourself in Emilia-Romagna, Ravenna is an absolute must. It really is a treasure trove of art and culture, writes Sara Scarpa. Above me is depicted a dark blue sky full of golden stars.The many thousands of tiny mosaic tiles set in various inclinations seem to capture and cascade light onto anyone […]
Though they are named for the Emperor Caracalla, it was probably his father, Severus, who laid the plans for these huge baths… Most tourists come here by public transport, though the walk from the Forum takes you past a number of sites. Or, if you really liked walking, you could combine the trip with a […]
Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577-1633) was a patron of Bernini and Caravaggio. The Baroque legacy at his Villa is a wonder to behold… People are often surprised to learn that, at least as far as major European cities go, Rome actually has a very good green space to concrete ratio. It certainly doesn’t feel like that […]
When St George slayed the dragon and rescued the princess, he acted with fearlessness – but his brave horse was never quite so sure that the fight would be won. High in the Alps, in the far northwest of Italy, is the Valle d’Aosta, the smallest of Italy’s official regions, and the most lightly populated. […]
Italy has been a republic since the Second World War, yet interest in the British Royal Family shows no sign of waning. Tom Alberto Bull considers the nation’s obsession with the Windsors… La famiglia reale Il recente annuncio che il Duca e la Duchessa di Cambridge aspettano il terzo figlio è stato accolto positivamente in […]
“Go and catch a falling star, get with child a mandrake root…”. This begins John Donne’s poem, and another writer created another literary work a century before, that dealt with a virtuous woman, and with the magical mandrake plant. So begins John Donne’s Song, a poem that was probably written early in the 17th century. The poem lists […]
Joe Gartman pays a visit to the home of the Brownings and reminds us of their path to love and fame… The courtship of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning may be the most thoroughly documented in history, because it was conducted almost entirely by letter. And Robert was certainly a very impetuous wooer; in his very […]
On the trail of Lionardo Buonarroti, and the family palace he renovated in Florence. Lionardo, I have received thy letter and with it the three shirts. I am very much surprised that ye should have sent them … they are so coarse that there is not a farm labourer here who would not be ashamed […]
Giotto shows the representation of human emotion, injects individuality once again in the people depicted and is interested in conveying a sense of realism. Back in the very early 1300s Padua was a very wealthy merchant city and the Scrovegni family was one of the most wealthy families in the city. Reginaldo Scrovegni had made […]
In Ravenna, a Queen gives birth to a daughter whose actions precipitate the founding of Venice. By the early 5th century AD, the Roman Empire was in two parts, ruled by two different emperors in two different capital cities. The eastern half was administered from Constantinople, in Thrace. The western capital was in Ravenna, in […]