Tag: art Renaissance
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Today … visits to Flea Market at Santo Spirito, Brancacci Chapel and Queer Cinema
Last night I enjoyed a delicious dinner at Laura’s with some of her friends. I had met Gregorio and Roberta before. They are charming. They had a very rapid conversation about the Meloni situation which was amusing. Cloister at Santo Spirito … a rather austere church Santo Spirito contains a crucifix by the young Michelangelo……
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Capella Scrovegni a Padua e Giotto
I’m writing this sitting by the Grand Canal having my Colazzione. Yesterday was very busy: St Marks, Doge’s Palace and Padua combined with a lot of walking. As i walked I was struck by how hard it must be living in Venice. Bridges and steps everywhere, deliveries by trollies, hauled up and over bridges or…
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The afternoon tour
This afternoon our tour with the lovely Maurizio took us to the 13th century church of Santa Maria Novella. Not necessarily beautiful architecturally though it was interesting. A large church it’s principal interest lay in the wonderful frescoes in the Tornabuoni chapel by Ghirlandaio from the late 15th century and those earlier frescoes in another…
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A visit to the Museo del Duomo e La Battisteria
This morning I awoke a little later than usual. I didn’t realise how tired I was. I had booked tickets for the museum and the Baptistery as the weekend is free. It’s a little drizzly today but very warm. The museum is excellent. To preserve them many of the original sculptures together with Ghiberti’s fabulous…
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Pomeriggio a L’ospidale degli Innocenti
This afternoon we had a wonderful afternoon at the Ospidale. A very beautiful renaissance building by Brunelleschi. It was a fascinating place founded by the guild of silk makers in the fifteenth century as a place where women who were poor, prositutes and abandoned children could be left to be cared for by the church.…
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A room with a view
I’m sitting at the table having my colazione of cereal, yoghurt, fruit and croissant looking at the view of the terrace in Cristina’s apartment… it’s sunny today after yesterday’s rain and the swallows are flying high squealing … they zoom everywhere. The bells of Firenze are ringing out from the churches. It’s one of those…
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Ducal Palace in Mantua
The Palace is remarkable. It is a huge space with so many rooms and galleries. It is a testament to the wealth, power and pride of the Gonzaga family who ruled here. The frescos by Mantegna in La Camera degli Sposi are absolutely wonderful. Painted into wet plaster they seem fresh as the day the…
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Uffizi
Not sure I loved the Uffizi if I’m honest. I saw some of the famous painters but it was a lot of religious art by a lot of second rank Renaissance painters. However did get to see theee or four works I loved; Botticelli, Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Bellini among them. At €25 I thought it…
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Santa Croce Florence
The church of Santa Croce in the centre of Florence has an important place in the history of art as it contains two seminal fresco cycles painted for the chapels of the wealthy Bardi and Peruzzi families. Giotto is important to the Renaissance as he was one of the first artists to attempt to portray…
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Siena and a wine tasting
After San Gimignano we left for a lunch and wine tasting. You know me and wine … I drink it … but the owner who took us around and lead the tasting during lunch was passionate about his work and it showed. The winery specialised in Chianti but also made Balsamic Vinegar which seemed just…
Escape to myself 