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 | Mar 16, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian, Italian movies, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Renaissance, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
In English the most eagerly awaited of seasons “springs” to life with blunt urgency. In Italian la primavera blossoms into four elegant syllables. My etymological dictionary traces primavera back to radici indoeuropee (Indo-European roots): prima for “before” and vas...
by Dianne Hales | Mar 2, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian language, Italy, Renaissance, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
Italy’s dazzling pantheon of artistic geniuses seems a man’s world. Yet a few women with singular passion defied all obstacles and created important works of art. As a way of celebrating International Women’s Day, here are three artists whose stories I recount in LA...
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 | 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...
