Now displayed in the gallery of the Intesa Bank on the first floor of Palazzo Zevallos, Naples, The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, the last work by Caravaggio painted just before his tragic death at Porto Ercole , has a troubled history. The picture, commissioned in 1610 by the son...
Giorgione (born Giogio da Castelfranco c.1477-1510) The Tempest c. 1506 (83 – 73cm: Oil on Canvas). Venice, Accademia The Tempest is an extraordinarily unusual but reasonably small painting and is a must see for anyone, regarded by some as a Renaissance mystery, and still holding onto its true interpretation to...
Leonardo da Vinci – St Jerome ca. 1482 (103 x 75cm: Oil on wood panel) Pinacoteca Room IX, Vatican Museum Vale Vaticano, 0016, Rome Info: tel. 0039 06 69884676 – 0039 06 69883145 Ticket office opening hours : Monday-Saturday 9am -4pm This unfinished work by Leonardo da Vinci...
You may never have heard of Caffarelli, one of Italy’s finest Castratos so here is a a little about him…. Caffarelli, whose real name was Gaetano Majorana (1710-1783), is said to have had one of the purest voices in the history of Italian opera. Apulian by birth (from...
I have been sorting through a heap of photos of late and I came across a series of photos taken in Venice at my last visit. Apart from the beauty of the architecture (of which I never tire) and of course, the many tourists, there was one photo in...
(Unknown Florentine Painter: Leon Battista Alberti, early 17th century, oil on canvas 63 x 45cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence) Leon Battista Alberti was born an illegitimate, albeit recognized son, of one of the most high-ranking and wealthiest Florentine families. He received a comprehensive education, and obtained his doctorate...
Judith and Holophernes (c.1598 – 1600) – Caravaggio (Oil on Canvas, 145 x 195cm – Galleria Nazionale, d’Arte Antica, Rome). The deutero-canonical Book of Judith tells how Judith saved her people by seducing and killing Holophernes, the Assyrian general. Judith is invited into Holophernes’ tent and encouraged him to get drunk during...
Colour is such an important part of our lives whether it is in the choices of colours that we wear, what appeals to us about what someone else is wearing, the colour of flowers, butterflies, the sky, our surroundings, birds etc. Colour can soothe, disturb, unsettle and...
(Tempura on panel, 209 x 213cm) Also known as The ‘Saint Lucy Altarpiece’ Domenico Veneziano (active 1438-61) arrived in Florence pursuant to a letter of 1438 asking Pietro de’Medici for work. Even Vasari knew little about Veneziano and invested anecdotes in his account of the artist’s life. even going as far...
One of Venice’s Renaissance masters was Vittore Carpaccio (1465 – 1525/26), an Albanian painter who studied under Bellini. While he is probably best known for his cycle of nine paintings, The Legend of Saint Ursula, he also painted two paintings of St Jerome’s monastery which are well worth viewing...
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.
