A calling point for pilgrims from the north on their way to Rome, Lucca Cattedrale or Cathedral is the resting place of one of the most important holy images of the Middle Ages… Saint Martin’s Cathedral in Lucca is famed for housing the Holy Face of Lucca (Il Volto Santo di Lucca), a large wooden crucifix […]
The term Grotesque derives from the caves, or grotte, where Renaissance builders unearthed this ancient form The Grotesque style was all the rage during the 1500s for both interiors and exteriors all over Italy. It continued to be so for the following two centuries. Nowadays, when the word is mentioned, negative images of unfortunate distorted […]
Although its origins are the subject of perpetual debate, the remarkable cycle of frescoes that adorns Tolentino’s Basilica di San Nicola holds enduring appeal for visitors to Le Marche Who painted the 14th-century masterpiece that dominates the chapel of Basilica di San Nicola? The artist’s identity remains shrouded in mystery, though the scenes are widely […]
In the eastern Castello district of Venice lies a huge dockyard where revolutionary building techniques took shipbuilding and military manufacturing into the next level This dockyard has been thought to have existed on this site since the 12th century, and it boasts a significant role in Venice’s historical legacy, being an important example of pre-Industrial […]
Sardinia’s prehistoric past is impossible to ignore thanks to the numerous Bronze Age megaliths that litter the island’s beautiful landscape The largest of Sardinia’s ‘giants’ tombs’ (tombe di giganti), Li Lolghi, is a prehistoric communal burial site constructed around 4,500 years ago. Over 300 of these magnificent megalithic structures were built on the island from […]
“He who controls the high ground controls the battle,” goes the old military adage – and it doesn’t get much higher than the Rocca Calascio. Standing at 1,460 metres above sea level – that’s 300 metres higher than Ben Nevis – this medieval fortress provides a vantage point over huge swathes of land… Standing in […]
High in the hills overlooking Varese is one of the most remarkable hidden treasures you could wish to behold – the rarely seen frescoes of the Sacro Monte de Varese As far as hidden secrets go, the Sacro Monte di Varese appears like the central plot focus in a sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Situated […]
This statuette was commissioned in the mid-1930s to glorify ‘il Duce’. It’s about 18 inches tall, but it carries a story much taller than that… The artist and sculptor Antonio Ligabue (1899-1965) was not what anyone who knew him would have called a ‘people person’. Though obviously talented – albeit in that self-taught way art […]
Commissioned by the Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family, the Castel Sant’Angelo has been a fortress, a castle, and is now a museum… This unusual, cylindrical edifice used to be the tallest building in Rome. Built to a height of 48 metres on the right bank of the Tiber by Hadrian […]
Artists’ inspiration and magnificent feat of engineering, but the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute on Venice’s Grand Canal was originally built to stave off the plague The year is 1629 and a great plague has hit Venice, turning it into a watery tomb. Prayers and processions to Venetian churches fail to stem the tide […]