by DHales | May 1, 2018 | art, Books, culture, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) The Da Vinci Code transformed his last name into an international phenomenon, but Italians have always referred to the ultimate Renaissance man simply as Leonardo. Next year the world will commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death on...
by DHales | Jun 12, 2017 | art, Books, culture, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Religion, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo June 15, 1479 — July 15, 1542 On a mid-June day in Florence in 1479, a midwife—called a levatrice for her “lifting” (levare) of a baby into the light — gently washed the newborn daughter of Antonmaria and Lucrezia Gherardini...
by DHales | Jun 8, 2017 | art, Books, culture, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Il Convento di Sant' Orsola The Convent of Saint Ursula Mona Lisa Gherardini, the woman with the world's most recognized smile, celebrates her 538th birthday this month. The mother of six children lived quietly as a merchant's wife in...
by DHales | Apr 23, 2016 | art, Books, culture, history, Italy, Language, Music, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Sorridi! Smile! Ever since publication of MONA LISA: A Life Discovered, the question I’ve been asked most concerns her smile (sorriso)—or, more precisely, her half- or slight smile (sorrisino, sorrisetto). Italians refer to the painting as La Gioconda, a descriptive...
by DHales | Sep 19, 2015 | art, Books, culture, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
MONA LISA: A Life Discovered has made its way to India! This review recently appeared in the Business Standard, India's leading business site: Mona Lisa: Behind the Portrait by Uttaran Das Gupta She seduced the most famous Italian Renaissance artist and slept with...
