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

Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are culturally and linguistically dissimilar. Both are proud homes to Leonardo da Vinci and Titian. One painted a sex worker, the other his patron’s mistress. Both occasionally used their fingers to paint and were exacting in their precision.

Veronese was a celebrated sixteenth century Venetian artist and the only painter summoned by the Inquisition. We have the transcript of his interrogation before the tribunal of the Holy Inquisition, and his stunning response to their charges. The role of images and art became a focus for inquisitors as they searched to counter the Protestant and Lutheran reformation. Religious and government officials comprised the tribunal who sought to keep artists in line with Catholic tea

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

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

Are selfies an evolution of the self-portrait, or do they lack the cleverness and creativity of early modern self-images? The Italian Nation

How did a piece of an Italian saint make it from Milan, Italy, to St. Paul, Minnesota, USA? I found answers to most of my questions, includi

The relic of all relics is a linen sheet bearing faint blood stains of a Christ’s body. It has been venerated, debunked, and debated for cen

A painting with a peacock, a wheel, a blue garment, a dead tree, and a woman holding pincers – what does it mean? If we could time travel ba

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper is one of his most admired and recognizable art works. It is iconic, has been reproduced endlessly, parodied