by Dianne Hales | Jun 8, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian, Italian language, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci, Religion, Roman history, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo (June 15, 1479 — July 15, 1542) My quest for the real Mona Lisa began years ago in Florence when I was doing research for LA BELLA LINGUA. An art historian who befriended me casually mentioned during a dinner at her home that the mother...
by Dianne Hales | Apr 13, 2021 | art, art history, books on Italy, culture, history, Italian, Italian language, Italy, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, Renaissance, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
More than five centuries after his birth on April 15, 1519, Leonardo da Vinci and his Mona Lisa are still making headlines. A front-page article in the New York Times claims that the Saudi Cultural Ministry, which bought Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World)...
by Dianne Hales | Jun 9, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, coronavirus, culture, Italian language, Italy, Language, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, Renaissance, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
Leonardo’s muse, Mona (Madame) Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, was born 541 years ago on June 15, 1479. Few art works have experienced more adventures—and misadventures—in and out of the frame. The Florentine matron has shed her stately robes and appeared in...
by Dianne Hales | May 26, 2020 | amore, art, art history, Books, books on Italy, coronavirus, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, Leonardo da Vinci, literature, love in Italy, Romance, Sayings and expressions, Social behavior, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, wine
Cari amici, In a world turned upside down, we know that we can’t return to what was, yet we have no idea what will be. Although much has changed, one thing hasn’t: our love for Italy. Over the past few months, we’ve wept for the lives lost. We’ve worried about friends...
by Dianne Hales | May 19, 2020 | amore, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Current Affairs, Florence, food, Food and Drink, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, Leonardo da Vinci, literature, love in Italy, Music, Renaissance, Romance, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, wine
Not even a global pandemic can stop people from doing what they love. Over the last few months, we’ve seen dancers dance; singers sing; actors perform—wherever and whenever they could. The same is true of writers. While sheltering at home in California, I...
by Dianne Hales | Apr 14, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, history, Italy, Language, Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Leonardo da Vinci, the consummate Renaissance man, was born on April 15, 1452 near the town of Vinci. Nothing about this artist and architect, musician and mathematician, scientist and sculptor, engineer and inventor, geologist and botanist was ever ordinary. The...
