Italian Art for Travelers
Your passport to culture, history, and art

Two friars became renowned early Renaissance Florentine painters. Fra Angelico was a pious friar whose faith was mirrored in his art and was later beatified. Fra Filippo Lippi, the rogue friar, fathered two children with a nun. Each was renowned for their innovation and style. Born Guido di Pietro, Fra Angelico worked as a Dominican artist in Fiesole then Florence. “Fra” means “brother,” short for Fratello in a religious order. A prolific painter, his most famous frescoes are

Mercenary armies played a pivotal role in conflicts. John Hawkwood was an English mercenary commander who earned fame and fortune in Italy.

The Renaissance bedroom was the room where it happened, serving many purposes, including sleep, sex, childbirth, illness, recovery, death, a

Clothes made the man, from his velvet doublet, brocaded codpiece to his armor.

Renaissance hair served dual functions. Hair beautified the individual and indicated well-being and character. The length and style of hair

Michelangelo’s fame was well founded after completing two early masterpieces, the Pietà and the David. Both speak to his creative genius.

The author presents readers with parallel stories of two young women from different countries, each playing a role in Nazi looted art.

Michelangelo and Titian, the two sixteenth century powerhouse competitive artists, decided to create their own memorial as the end of their

The merchant and banking classes gained their fortunes largely from the textile trade and in turn became patrons of art. Artists paid homage