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 […]
Photojournalist Marina Spironetti travelled to inland Sardinia and the remote region of Barbagia to document the most fascinating and ancient carnival traditions of the island… Sos Thurpos, Orotellisos Sos Thurpos from Orotelli represent another centuries-old tradition. Unlike the masks in Mamoiada and Ottana, they don’t wear sheepskins but a simple black coat, handmade chaps (gambali) […]
Today’s the day for the weird, the wonderful and the downright scary, so we thought you’d like to take a look at this wonderfully misshapen curiosity which we came across in an elegant Sicilian vegetable garden this month. A serious contender for Ugliest Fruit of the Year 2016, its knarly, pitted, pock-marked appearance and lumpy […]
In the woods and fields around the Palazzina di Stupinigi, outside Turin, between harvest time and Christmas, no animal big enough to be hunted was safe… The silhouetted figure on top gives a clue as to what this building was designed to be: a hunting lodge, a very grand hunting lodge. There has been a […]
It’s Halloween, so it’s time to delve into ghoulish stories, if you dare… Between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon lies Poveglia, thought to be the most haunted place in Italy. For centuries this island has been a place of refuge, exile and a dumping ground for the diseased, dying and deceased. In 421, Poveglia took […]
What the Vespa was to private transport in Italy in the lean years following the Second World War, the Ape would be to commercial transport… When the Second World War ended, Italy was in ruins. Not only had she fought on the losing side but, in the process of losing, much of her infrastructure – […]