by Dianne Hales | Dec 8, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, history, Italian language, Italy, literature, Renaissance, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
A guest post by Melissa Muldoon Even if you are a fan of Italy and Renaissance art, you may be wondering who Sofonisba Anguissola was, why she is important, and what would lead me to write a novel about her. Her unusual name doesn’t roll off the tongue easily. But in...
by Dianne Hales | Nov 10, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, ceramics, culture, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, Renaissance, Saint Francis, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
In the thirteenth century an Arabian technique for glazing rough clay with gleaming white enamel made its way, via the Spanish island of Majorca, to Italy. The Umbrian town of Deruta embellished maiolica (majolica) with colorful designs baked into the glaze during a...
by Dianne Hales | Oct 6, 2020 | art, Books, books on Italy, culture, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, love in Italy, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Every October the United States celebrates Italian heritage month—with good reason. More than a mere country, Italy embodies a culture that has transformed art and architecture, language and music, food and fashion. Imagine painting without Leonardo. Sculpture...
by Dianne Hales | Aug 18, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Current Affairs, Health, history, Italian language, Italy, Social behavior, Travel, Venice, Web/Tech, Weblogs
I fell in love with Venice at first sight. This luminous collection of first-person accounts of the past year made me fall in love with the Venetians — “magnificent by nature,” as a historian once put it. A guest post by Kathleen Ann Gonzalez When a...
by Dianne Hales | Aug 4, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, history, Italian language, Italy, Rome, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
A guest post by Elizabeth Lev Some of Rome’s masterpieces come on strong. Who can resist the rakish ambush of Caravaggio? Who isn’t swept off his feet by the might of the Coliseum? The Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps are all awe-inspiring...
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...
