The fine Renaissance Palazzo Carafa holds a copy of the horse’s head originally exhibited in Naples National Archeological Museum in the 18th century. Considered as a symbol of the city, the provenance of the head has always been disputed: some have seen it as a Greek original while others ...
The Sansevero chapel in Naples, built in 1590, was enlarged and embellished by Raimondo di Sangro in 1744 with an extensive collection of statues all dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Beyond the religious orthodoxy of the statuary, there are a series of symbols of the hermetic heterodoxy...
The Veiled Christ statue in the Sansevero chapel in Naples, carved from a single block of marble by the Neopolitan Giuseppe Sanmartino (1720-1793), is considered the great masterpiece of 18th-century European sculpture. However, did you know that there is a theory that this sculpture was created through a process which...
In the ancient heart of Naples. where almost 3,000 years of stratified history is frozen in time, part of Via dei Tribunali (the main east-west axis crossing the Graeco-Roman city) is closely associated with stories of witchcraft. Here (before it was swept away by the wave of modernisation...
Palazzo Penne, built in 1406 for Antonion Penne, the private secretary of King Ladislas of Anjou, is a rare example of the architecture of this period with its blend of Catalan (doorway) and Tuscan (façade bosses) elements. The renowned Antonio Baboccio was probably the designer. Penne’s influence at court was...
Prints of Castel Nuovo up to the mid 19th century show a stuffed crocodile hanging above the main doorway. No historian has been able to provide a rational explanation of what this exotic animal was doing or when it was put there. A symbolic act, some say. But...
The 16th and 17th centuries were particularly disastrous for Naples: earthquakes, eruptions, famines and epidemics followed one another (the 1656 plague alone killed 250,000 out of 400,000 residents), with everything made worse by the negligence of the Spanish viceroys. As the church cemeteries were filled to capacity, gravediggers...
When you are next planning a trip to the wonderful city of Naples, you must pay a visit to the extraordinary Museo di Capodimonte, one of Itay’s finest museums, which sits in the hilltop haven of Capodimonte. When Charles III of Bourbon became king, he gathered all the artworks...
The fountain on the wall of the church of Santa Caterina della Spinacorona in Naples has a curious and interesting story. The fountain was installed on the orders of Viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo in 1498 and is the least known of the three Naples fountains representing the Siren...
The remarkable frescoes that decorate the Chiostro del Platano in the former Benedictine monastery of Saints Severino and Sossio – now the State Archives – are attributed to Antonio Solario, nicknamed Lo Zingara (The Gypsy) but this attribution cannot be verified as the artist is shrouded in a mystery...
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.
