Marco’s Italy
Florence city skyline panorama – Florence – Italy
Travels Across Italy-In Search of Italy’s Soul is written by Mark Gordon Smith, published travel writer and President of Private Italy Tours.
Using an easy “IF YOU GO” format, the posts provide detailed and helpful information for those planning a trip to Italy or for those only curious about sites, cities, and the history of bella Italia.
The Circle of Women Who Changed Renaissance Italian Art
From politics to art, education to science, men dominated the world of Renaissance Italy. Yet, at least in the Arts, more and more women began to rise above the misogynistic domination of that world to become famous by their own talents. This article focuses on only three female painters of the time. Yet, [...]
Haarlem and the Faces of Frans Hals
Frans Hals Self Portrait When Franz Hals created canvases, he painted what today we would call the “real people” of the city in pubs and on the streets: musicians, barmaids, and governmental and community leaders. A self-driven tenacity created Hals’ reputation as nearly unapproachable. That attitude was exacerbated by his [...]
Relfections on a visit to Den Haag and Delft
Binnenhof Palace, Dutch parliament in Den Haag Portrait of Rachel Ruysch by Godfried Schalcken On an early November day, I traveled to Den Haag, the Hague. The train route from Amsterdam’s Centraal station includes a brief stop in the strikingly beautiful station in Leiden. I was tempted to disembark [...]
Milano – A City of Continuing Surprises
Duomo at Sunrise Master of early Renaissance painting Leonardo da Vinci lived in Milan from 1482 – 1490. During his time in the city, he inspired the work of one Andrea Solario, brother of Cristoforo Solari. Both Andrea and Cristoforo worked in the Duomo of Milan and at the Certosa di [...]
MICHELANGELO IN MARCIALLA
The news came quietly, leaving the art world stunned to learn that a fresco in the church of Santa Maria in Marcialla, not far from Florence, had been attributed to none other than Michelangelo. Fresco: The Deposition of Christ Residents of Marcialla, a tiny village south of Florence, have claimed for [...]
The Amalfi Coast and a Renaissance Master
The Amalfi Coast of Italy curves along the Mediterranean coast, south of Naples. As you rise above the village of Sorrento, you follow the signs to the small village of Sant’Agata sui due Golfi, one of the highest points on the Sorrentine Peninsula. From that village on, hold your breath; this is the [...]
Bergamo and the Historic Beauty of the Città Alta
I remember my first encounter with Bergamo. After several days in Stresa, on Lago Maggiore north of Milan, I headed east on the autostrada on a late Spring afternoon. The periphery of the old city called the Città Alta, Upper City, is a very industrial area. The main east to west autostrada and [...]
The Nine of Saint Ursula
Campo San Giovanni e Paolo When in Venice, either with one of our small group tours or on my own, I always stay at a lovely small hotel that faces the Campo Santa Maria Formosa, the Palazzo Vitturi Hotel. The rooms with views facing the campo look directly out on the [...]
Zealous life of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi
In the annals of the Catholic Church, few contain a story like Caterina (called “Lucrezia”) de’ Pazzi. She was born into a wealthy Florentine family. At an incredibly early age, some writings suggest perhaps nine years of age, Caterina began to mortify her flesh (self-flagellation, belt of nails, and others) in keeping with [...]
Puglia: The Road Less Traveled By
Since the time of the Grand Tour, Italy has beckoned travelers to the cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Naples. Beyond those well-traveled cities lie less well known places, regions, and cities of incredible beauty. Such is the case of Apulia, Puglia as it is called in Italian. Archaeological finds in the [...]
Naples: Treasury of Italy
Naples, Italy The city of Naples delights the eye, the palette, and the intellectual mind, but treasury? How so? How can a city that has become the brunt of jokes and even downright disgust be a treasury? When the Houses of Aragon and Bourbon occupied Naples and controlled the Kingdom of [...]
Vicenza: A Treasure of the Veneto
A universal truth holds that tourists who first come to Italy, and sometimes those who repeat visits to the country, think only of Venice when they consider a visit to the province of Veneto. However, visitors can find other beautiful and far less crowded cities throughout Veneto. Vicenza is “The Jewel” of the [...]
Still Lifes by a Female Renaissance Paintress
Poggio a Caiano A mere eleven miles from the city center of Florence lies one of the most beautiful of the many Medici villas which dot the Tuscan countryside. Lorenzo de Medici, known as “The Magnificent” oversaw the construction one such location: the villa Poggio a Caiano. The approach to the [...]
The Villa La Petraia and Localita’ Castello near Florence
The Medici Villa of Petraia and gardens As I prepare to board a flight out of Florence’s Peretola Airport, I always make a point to look to the northeast and seek out an incredibly special villa. In the near distance stands one of the Medici Family’s most beautiful country residences, La [...]
“Pray for the Paintress”: Plautilla Nelli and the Surprises of San Marco
Piazza San Marco Florence continues to surprise those of us fortunate enough to have spent years exploring the private and hidden corners in one of the world’s most sought after travel destinations. Such is the case of San Marco Monastery, located an easy ten minute walk north of the city’s Duomo [...]
Renaissance Man in Switzerland: Niklaus Manuel Deutsch
Self Portrait Bern lies in the heart of one of the most beautiful cantons of Switzerland, a gorgeous walled city center now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the beginning of the 16th century when one Niklaus Manuel Deutsch was born, the city had survived numerous plagues and [...]
Biagio di Goro Ghezzi and Paganico Frescoes
Each time I drive to the sea on the SS 223, the main road connecting Siena with Grosseto, I find myself charmed and enticed by the numerous small towns that exist in what most visitors call “rural Tuscany.” This area of Tuscany is referred to as La Maremma. Once a malaria swamp, Grand [...]
The Interlandi Throne of Grace in Sicily by Vrancke van der Stockt
Sicily remains as confounding and amazing as I found it during my first visit fifteen years ago. Each annual return brings surprises and experiences beyond imagination — none so more so than the discovery of a painting by a Dutch artist, Vrancke van der Stockt in, of all places, the Basilica of San [...]
Bartolomeo Suardi, known as Bramantino
With a birthplace like Milan and a lifespan converging with Leonardo da Vinci, it seems unlikely the two artists did not meet; however, Bramantino’s shows no influence by the well-known Leonardo. Numerous art historians dispute Bartolomelo Suardi’s family background and early years due to lack of verifiable documentation and substantial evidence to provide [...]
PIERO AND THE MEASURES OF ART
He was born in the small Tuscan village of Borgo San Sepolcro, Town of the Tomb. Tomb? Upon their return from the Holy Land, two monks, Arcanus and Giles, placed a stone they pilfered from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, giving rise to both a monastery and the town’s name. Piero’s early training [...]
Marietta Robusti: Along the Canals of Venice, Life In the Shadow of “The Furious One”
As the first born child of Jacopo Robusti, one of the late Renaissance’s most prolific and unpredictable artists, Marietta Robusti was destined to learn from her immensely talented father. Jacopo was called Il Furioso, and equally Tintoretto (his father was a fabric dyer, “tintore”); thus she became known as La Tintoretta, a diminutive [...]
Fra Angelico and a Masterpiece in Umbria
His contemporaries called him Fra Giovanni; after his death, angels joined his name. Guido di Pietro was born in a small village in the Mugello area of Tuscany. As an adult, he joined a confraternity associated with the Carmine order where assumed the name of Fra Giovanni, Brother John. He lived a devout [...]
Marco’s Florence – Olive Tree of Peace
In 1993, a car bomb exploded in Via dei Georgofili and damaged parts of the palace, killing five people. The most severe damage was to the Niobe room, (this room was relevant because it had many works of art that displayed those that are handicapped) and classical sculptures and neoclassical interior of which [...]
Great Italian Cookbooks for your Kitchen or Home Library
An accomplished culinary teacher and writer, Pat Gambarelli s private Italian cooking classes became an instant hit with women who wanted to learn both classic cooking techniques and modern preparations. Before long, bachelors living on their own, young executives, and men from all walks of life and professions attended the classes. Pasta for [...]