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Art and culture from Florence, Italy, focusing on exhibitions, museums, artisans and more.
I have enjoyed many, many books set in Italy or about its people, history, and art. Here are some that I have enjoyed recently and think you might, too: April Blood, by Lauro Martines, is about Florence and the plot against the Medici by the Pazzi family; in Scourge
The huge brown stone cube that presides over the Piazza della Signoria and whose tower figures so prominently in Florence’s skyline is equally imposing in the history of Florence. For nearly 700 years, the Palazzo Vecchio (‘Old Palace’) has been the place where civic affairs have
Historians have a tendency to dismiss military specialists as mere chroniclers of conflict. Proper historians concern themselves with the causes of war and the long-term effects of defeat or victory—they are excited by peace treaties, not casualty lists and are interested in grand strategy, not tactical details. &
In my research, I have found it puzzling that only one annunciation was cited as done by a woman’s hand. This reference is in Germaine Greer’s book, The Obstacle Race. She mentions an Artemisia Gentileschi Annunciation (1630) in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples, which portrays an interchange
Cornelio Bentivoglio writes from Montalcino to fellow officer Giovan Luigi Vitella in Siena on the 5th of July 1559 I wish to find a way to better endure this heat with some type of delicate wine more suited to the season and to my health than those that
An annunciation is an announcement, a proclamation. In Christianity, the annunciation is the moment the angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary, telling her that she will bear the son of God. A feast to celebrate this event is observed on March 25, and it is an important subject of
In February 1958, the Italian Parliament enacted Law No. 75/1958 or the Law on the Abolition of the Regulation of Prostitution and the Fight Against the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. Widely called the ‘Merlin’ law, it came into force six months later. The law took
I wasn’t surprised to read that Linda Proud spent 11 years researching A Tabernacle for the Sun and Pallas & the Centaur, two of the books that make up her ‘Botticelli Trilogy’.Their erudition, depth and breadth are quite astonishing. They are the work of a
Tania Vartan’s stunning apartment, which is covered floor to ceiling with her elegant trompe l’oeil designs and delicious, decorative paintings, is a feast for the eyes and the creative senses. Her transformation of a drab Ikea cabinet into a beautiful furniture piece is awe-inspiring, especially
Turning to writing after retiring from a successful career as a merchant in Florence in the late 1800s, Pellegrino Artusi was to produce the most influential cookbook published in Italy. His La Scienza in Cucina e L’Arte di Mangiar Bene or, as it is known in English,&
A treasure trove of trompe l’oeil painting, a stone prison turned into a showplace for sculpture, and a workshop for exquisite pietra dura creations: a visit to these three gems of Florence offer a rich visual experience that will leave you pondering the distinction between art and craft. &
Gina Lollobrigida, actress, painter, photographer, and sculptress. Before she was a film star, Gina Lollobrigida was an art student. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and, after a very successful film career, went back to her artistic beginnings—sculpture. Inspired by Italian sculptor Giacomo
Spring is the region’s most beautiful season and a wonderful time to discover historic and museum gardens as well as outdoor sculpture parks. It is also an opportunity to explore contemporary art. Here are three reasons to venture beyond Florence and enjoy art outdoors. A
Football is unquestionably the most basic of all team sports. The sole object of the game is to kick or head a ball into the opposition’s goal and to do this more frequently than your opponents do this to you. Despite, or perhaps because of, the absurdly simple
‘Michelangelo wrote poems’? That is the question you should expect when you tell someone that Michelangelo—sculptor, painter, architect—was also a poet. And you’re likely to hear the follow-up: ‘Are they ...
The Florence Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) recently restored Suor Plautilla Nell i’s Lamentaion with Saints, housed in Museo di San Marco. Suor Plautilla Nelli is the first known woman painter of Florence, as some readers will recall from a previous column (
If poets and artiststhroughout the centuries have called Venice ‘the jewel of the Adriatic Sea’,then the island of Murano is, without a doubt, a chip off the old block. Itsfame and history run parallel to that of the Venetian Republic, which governedfor more than a thousand years,
In Sergio Leone’sfilms, no symbol is more threatening or alluring than dynamite. It announcesthe arrival of something new and dangerous, changing people’s lives for betteror worse depending on whether they exploit others or have been exploited themselves.In Leone’s first film, A Fistful of
Many religious orders had monumental representations of the Last Supper in the refectories (or eating rooms) of their monasteries and convents. This choice of subject matter was to remind the religious of Christ’s sacrificial self-perpetuation in the form of bread and wine. All monasteries were taken over
Actors live lives of shifting fortune. Their constant scrambling to findcreative employment is never easy, nor was it probably ever meant to be easy.It’s a creative life fueled by espresso and tobacco, buoyed by ample amounts ofhope and wit. You’re always on the lookout for
From the buffo (funny) character of Arlecchino to the extravagant flirt Pulcinella, the characters of the Commedia dell’Arte have provided entertainment for centuries and their appeal remains strong even today. ...
