It seems cliché to speak of reawakening after a long Winter, but with the amount of rain we got this year, putting England to shame, even a slight glimpse of Spring is extremely welcome. Easter came early this year and for a few hours on Sunday morning here in Maremma, the skies cleared, the sun …
Read the full story »Urban Trekking in Siena (Oct 31)
October 31st 2009 is not Halloween in Siena, but it is Urban Trekking day. How’s that for weird. There will be hiking around the streets of Siena on the theme of “The joy of trekking: tricks and treats walking in the city”. But you don’t have to wait until October 31st – really, you can …
Borghese paintings go to Japan; spark debate
Raphael‘s “Woman with Unicorn” is one of 48 works from Rome’s Borghese Gallery on their way to Japan, where they will stay 6 months at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto and the Metropolitan Musem of Tokyo (who you might think would have an English website).
The complete list of 48 works is not publicly available, but it includes …
Keats-Shelley House, Rome’s Romantic Treasure
In the summer of 1816, poet Lord Byron rented a villa on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. It rained for days. Byron was running out of ways to entertain his guests: fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley; Shelley’s wife, Mary; and Mary’s half-sister, Claire, who had had an affair with Byron and was now pregnant with his …
Chocolate Lovers unite in Perugia Oct 16-25
If you love chocolate (and who doesn’t?), don’t miss Eurochocolate 2009 in Perugia – a city in italy probably most famous for producing the Baci Perugina and for having a chocolate school.
Really slow tuscany: Montecastelli Pisano
Leonardo from Agriturismo Toscana Villa Centopino suggests visiting Montecastelli Pisano, a tiny medieval borgo and real “slow Tuscany” find (near Siena). Arttrav thanks Leonardo for allowing us to take some of the information from his website about this little town.
16th and 17th-century drawings at the Marucelliana (FREE!)
In the list of “best FREE” activities in Florence this fall…. go see the 16th and 17th century drawings on display at the historic Marucelliana library.
The Exhibit: ”Disegni del ’500 e ’600 della Biblioteca Marucelliana” contains drawings mostly produced in Florence, including a lovely Jacopo da Empoli (the featured photo) and sketches Stefano della Bella. A few …
Florence remembers the Berlin Wall with German films
November 9th 1989 – the fall of the Berlin wall.
This event is remembered at its 20th anniversary by a series of events put on in FLORENCE, sponsored by the Regione Toscana and other institutions from September 17 to November 10th. Of particular interest are:
October 7th: a round table
The film festival of german films from Oct 6-29 …
Article in The Florentine: my Florence is the Next Florence – revised!
Florence is the Next Florence – again! (still)
The folks at The Florentine English newspaper asked me to reduce my summary of Giuliano da Empoli’s document to 1000 words (and to remove the personal commentary ) for this week’s issue no. 109 (download pdf / read online). Now you can read the long commentary “Florence is …
Michelangelo Architect in Rome (exhibit)
Rome: Musei Capitolini. From Oct 6 2009 to Feb 7 2010, an exhibit of over 100 drawings highlights Michelangelo‘s architectural contribution to the Eternal City. During his two periods of residence in Rome (1505 to 1516, and from 1534 to his death in 1564) he worked on St. Peter’s Basilica, the Piazza del Campidoglio, the …
Piazza Santissima Annuziata: architects, innocents, experience
This is a guest post about Piazza Santissima Annunziata and one traveler’s experience while visiting it.
I often find it difficult to visualize real places before I visit them. The names of famous cities resemble designers’ labels and the signature buildings are recognizable from postcards and films. As you continue to read about specific streets, parks …
How to dress like a Russian with a taste for Italian fabrics
This weekend I went to the show “Lo Stile delle Zar” – the fashion of the Tsars, on the relationship between art and fashion and between Russia and Italy from the 15th to 18th centuries. Beautifully displayed at Prato’s Museo del Tessuto – fabric museum – the point of encounter between the two cultures is …
Florence is the Next Florence
Last week, Giuliano da Empoli published the draft of a document called “Florence is the Next Florence: a strategy for contemporary art and culture in Florence” on the BarCamp website. In the spirit of crowdsourcing, he calls out for commentary in his conclusion, and I readily step in. Not only because I feel a strong …
Who is behind ArtTrav?
ArtTrav is a blog about expat life, art, and travel in Italy and Europe. I am Alexandra Korey, a Florence-based art historian turned blogger.
My goal is to help travelers and residents like you experience countries through culture and local living. If it takes geeky, long articles to do that, so be it! Learn more.art history »
Being a woman in Italy… in the Renaissance
Anytime any of my friends expresses a preference for having lived in the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, I like to remind them that had they done so, their chances of dying in childbirth would be much higher than their likelihood of receiving any education. A 10 percent chance of dying in childbirth awaited each …
Info and Events »
Katrin Grote-Baker – colours and signs in Florence
I’m happy to announce the exhibit of a friend of mine’s work opening in Florence at Immaginaria Arti Visive Gallery at via Guelfa n. 22/ a r, Florence, from October 6 to November 1, 2012. I personally love Katrin’s work and invested in one of her paintings a few years ago, so I’m looking forward …
