Caravaggio – the master of light and dark and emotion, a tormented, violent and yet brilliant artist, who died too young, leaving a legacy of art work which captures the imagination and adoration of so many, including myself. The painting above, The Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence, is...
Standing just a few steps from the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the Façade of Palazzo Bembo-Boldù is decorated with a very distinctive sculpture: a life-size figure of a hairy man holding a round shield adorned with the Sun. This pelt-covered figure us a rare depiction of Homo Silvanus,...
The body of the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, lies buried in the small, superb Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida – but only his body, as his head has never been found. There has been numerous theories concerning the fate of Goya’s skull, and among them two,...
Giovanni Battista Moroni – Portrait of a Man (‘The Tailor’) c. 1570, Canvas 97.8 x 74.9cm, London, National Gallery. Moroni is one of the most famous North Italian portrait specialists of the 16th century. He was a native of Albino, near Bergamo. In his early years he worked in...
There is something about this painting of Saint Jerome in his Study by Antonello da Messina (1475) which really captures my attention. Saint Jerome is depicted in art as either a penitent (he spent some years in the Syrian desert as a hermit) or as one of the...
Of late I have spent a lot of time looking for unusual works of art from the Renaissance period and I came across this wonderful sketch by Rubens which I wanted to share with you. Rubens was born in Siegen, Westphalia on June 28, 1577 and spent the first...
Located in Capella Corner in the church of Santi Apostoli, Cannaregio, Venice you will find a relatively unknown 1748 work by Giambattista Tiepolo – The Last Communion of St Lucy. Lucy was born in Syracuse around the year 300. She was a Sicilian noblewoman who pledged herself to God,...
In the last chapel on the right in the Cathedral of Pescia, a chapel known as the Turini Chapel, you will find a painting which you may think you have seen somewhere before, and if you have visited the Pitti Palace in Florence, then you will doubtlessly have seen...
In 1941 Matisse told Pierre Couthion: ‘The chief goal of my work is the clarity of light’. And it was the special quality of light that Matisse was seeking when he arrived in Tangier with his wife Amélie on 29 January 1912 on the packet ship SS Ridjani from...
There is much that is strikingly beautiful about this painting, The Venetian Paolo Veronese (Paolo Caliari) (1528-1588) is said to have painted this c.1580 and it is currently held in Room X of the Pinacoteca at the Vatican. Here we see Helena (ca.248/50 – 330) adorned as a noblewoman, and...
Welcome to my love affair with the food, wine, history and culture of the Mediterranean, past and present. Here you will find not only recipes, drinks and fabulous products, but the history of the food and culture of the Mediterranean.
My purpose is to get you to explore and experience new tastes and along the way to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of this diverse and wonderful region – from Venice to Istanbul, Rome to Dubrovnik, Athens to Crete and all places in between and in the surrounds. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted and enthralled as you take this trip with me.
