Ghiberti’s doors are a splendid masterpiece of what would become the characteristic of Renaissance art – spatial realism with people and buildings shown proportionately. The bronze, gold-covered doors of the Florentine Baptistery opposite the entrance to the Cathedral are one of the masterpieces of the early Renaissance period. They were 25 years in the making […]
Born the daughter of a Lancashire blacksmith, she rose – thanks to her incomparable beauty, sharp wit and fine intelligence – to become one of the most celebrated ladies in all of Europe… Two hundred years ago this month the world lost Emma, Lady Hamilton, second wife of Lord William Hamilton, British Envoy Extraordinary to […]
Executive chef Antonio Tonelli tells about La Tagliata, the exciting new Italian dining concept in London’s Spitalfields… What made you decide to come and work at La Tagliata? Mainly it was the enthusiasm of Carlo Palumbo, managing director of the restaurant, and the challenge involved in creating a place like home, where you always go back for […]
Serious books on the architecture of Rome seldom mention Coppedè’s Quarter. If you enjoy it, you are indulging in a guilty pleasure! When Gino Coppedè was commissioned to design a residential complex in the Parioli section of Rome, he knew he needed a unifying fountain. Since the time of Marcus Agrippa, who established hundreds of […]
Planning a trip to Verona? See below for Lorenza Bacino’s tip on the things to see and do, what to eat and where to stay! WHAT TO SEE AND DO ➤ ARENA +39 045 800 3204 Built in the 1st century AD, a 12th century earthquake destroyed most of the outside walls – only a small section […]
Each region of Italy is unique, but there is none quite so different to the rest of the country as Sicily. James Miller finds he can’t keep away from its capital city… They say that Italy is a diverse cultural tapestry. Each region can be considered a country in its own right. There is one […]
Getting to know Venice is that much easier when your guide is a Venetian. Sara Scarpa takes us on a tour of the city she calls home… Most of my friends have already been to Venice at least once so when they come to visit me I show them the side of town that I […]
Restoration work has begun on the plaster casts of 86 Pompeii victims. The poignant relics were created in the mid 19th century around the preserved remains of men, women and children killed during the 79AD disaster when Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying the Roman city. They offer a fascinating and deeply moving insight into how quickly the tragedy occurred, with some […]
“And suddenly there is Cagliari,“ wrote DH Lawrence. “A naked town rising steep, steep, golden-looking, piled naked to the sky.” Adrian Mourby explores this ancient Sardinian city… You have to choose your angle these days to see the Sardinian capital as Lawrence did in 1921, but the Aragonese fortress (known as Castello) still towers over […]
It was not until 1924, when the nuns of Santa Chiara in Naples swapped digs with the monks, that outsiders were allowed to view these beautiful tin-glazed earthenware tiles, known in Italy as maiolica. Music plays as men and women dance and flirt with each other, food and wine is quaffed with abandon; general merry-making […]