In 1520, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici—soon to be Pope Clement VII—commissioned Michelangelo to construct an ornate tomb for his family. In addition to creating a marble interior whose “strange proportions and thicknesses” defied classical conventions, per Encyclopedia Britannica, the Renaissance artist sculpted likenesses of two Medici dukes (Giulian...
READ MOREThis summer Italy will launch 'Dante's Train,' a special route tracing the journey of the Supreme Poet from Florence to Ravenna. The train will take visitors from the Tuscan capital of Florence to Ravenna in the Emilia Romagna region where Dante fled in 1302 to avoid the prospect of being burnt at the stake. The train will stop in Borgo S. Lorenzo...
READ MOREThe Uffizi Gallery in Florence is turning some of its most prized artworks into NFTs and selling them to raise funds after a cash-strapped year. And it’s starting off with a bang: an encrypted Michelangelo painting of the holy family, Doni Tondo (1505–06), just sold for €140,000 ($170,000). The museum will split the proceeds with Cinello, an Italia...
READ MOREThe first time I met Veronica Grechi, I almost made her cry. Not because of anything I said or did — not intentionally, anyway. But back in February, when I arrived, I was her first guest in four months. And as the owner of a B&B with just four rooms (Velona's Jungle in Florence), the glimmer of hope that I offered — even on a quick work trip — was...
READ MOREThe famous Boboli Gardens in Florence house a masterpiece of Mannerist architecture and culture that is sure to leave an impression on the visitor who sees it: the so-called Buontalenti Grotto, a unique blend of architecture, painting and sculpture. The grotto (also called ‘Grotta Grande’ in Italian) is located in the far north of the Boboli Garden...
READ MOREFiorentina President Rocco Commisso renewed his attack on the media in Italy, insisting he received ‘an avalanche of support’ and blasting La Gazzetta dello Sport for using ‘insulting Italian-American stereotypes.’ His fiery press conference on Friday sparked a furious reaction from the media, as press unions released a joint statement condemning h...
READ MOREVenice and Florence are key players in Italy’s well honed tourism industry. But the past year has proven difficult beyond belief for them, too. While the end of the pandemic is far from being “around the corner,” the mayors of both cities recently stressed it is essential to be ready when the emergency is over and to start the right way. One year o...
READ MOREThe Uffizi Gallery in Florence used the winter COVID shutdown to push ahead with renovations, discovering lost frescoes that will greet visitors when the leading repository of Italian Renaissance art reopens on May 4. Uffizi director Eike Schmidt said the six months of closure were put to good use: renovating 14 new rooms that will open to the publ...
READ MOREFlorence is a monument to the Renaissance, showcasing at every turn the art and architecture from that period, which continues to impress and inspire. It's clear what the Italian Renaissance looked like, but in the soaring Santa Maria Novella Basilica, "CBS Sunday Morning" got the rare chance to hear how it sounded, with music being heard for the f...
READ MOREBorn in late 13th century Florence, Dante influenced the theories, political beliefs and literature during and after the Renaissance era. Although Dante meticulously practiced writing in his early life, he later rose to fame as the author of one of the greatest works of literature, the Divine Comedy. He divided the poem in three cantiche—Inferno, P...
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