It’s finally Spring in Tuscany!

Venice: linking high water and tourists

A Poem:
 
 

 
The city of Venice is slowly sinking; ground floors of buildings become useless.
The ocean waters are rising one annual inch.
Flooding is frequent, daily in winter.
Sidewalks float away.
The mayor says: “buy tall rain boots”.

Tips for Sustainable Tourism

How often do you associate eco-tourism or sustainable travel with the great art cities of Italy? Perhaps not as often as you would with, say, the Amazonian rainforest, a natural area that clearly needs to be preserved. Sustainable tourism can and should, however, be practised everywhere.
The way I see it, sustainable tourism is a combination …

How to study for an art history slide comparison exam

It’s the end of term and you have to study for your art history exam…
Make like Dewey the Library Cat and hit the books…
The classic art history test and exam format is the dreaded two-slide comparison. Your professor is asking you a leading question about two works in order to get you to prove that you …

Saturday May 9: DeGustibus spring dinner event

Arttrav is pleased to announce events put on by the enogastronomic association De Gustibus, starting with the SPRING DINNER on Saturday May 9 2009 at Agriturismo La Collina (Montefiridolfi) in the Chianti region. Please see below for the programme, menu, and contact information. Deadline for reservations is Thursday May 7 (sorry for the short notice!).
De …

Don’t miss the cinghiale: Upcoming events in Tuscany (spring/summer 2009)

Local “sagre”, down-home festivals dedicated usually to one, obscure food item, are a great way to have a genuine Italian experience. Grab your rental car and head out ready to chow down with thousands of people eating outside on paper plates while listening to bad live music. Best experienced in a large group but definately something …

The “Cantorie” by Luca della Robbia and Donatello (art history comparison)

Two exemplary works of relatively early Renaissance sculpture are set up for a classic art history comparison in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence: the Cantorie by Donatello and Luca della Robbia.
In the late 1420′s the Operai del Duomo di Firenze decided upon a program that, likely from its inception, included two “organ pulpits” …

Agostino Chigi’s pleasure palace: the Villa Farnesina

Agostino Chigi was a rich Sienese banker who was the only person other than the Pope who managed to get Raphael to carry out large commissions. The Villa Farnesina was his Roman pleasure villa, just steps from the Vatican in the area now known as Trastevere. Here, he famously held lavish banquets in a loggia …

Il Poggiolo: luxury rental accomodation in the heart of Tuscany

My friends own a recently restored holiday rental accomodation in Tuscany that I highly recommend for its peaceful atmosphere and excellent hospitality. Il Poggiolo Tuscany (www.poggiolotuscany.com) offers two large, beautifully decorated accommodations in the heart of the Valdarno, the area of Tuscany equidistant from Florence, Siena, and Arezzo.

Il Poggiolo is a great base for exploring not …

Take your kid to a museum: tips on approaching art with children

Exposing children to art from a young age develops cognitive and verbal skills, arguably good things. But it may be daunting to enter a museum with kids: they may be easily bored, they probably won’t resist long, and you may not be sure what to do to help them approach the works. I have recently …

Female artist biographical film project

Students in my advanced seminar on “Women and the Arts in Early Modern Italy” have been assigned the production of a short film biography on a female artist of the Renaissance or Baroque period.

Lavinia Fontana (female artist biographical film)

This video and article are part of the Female Artist biographical film project described here.
Summary: Lavinia Fontana was born into an artistic and middle class family in Bologna in 1552. Her talent and promise as an artist was recognized early in her childhood, for while Lavinia had numerous brothers, her father Prospero, himself a successful …

Elisabetta Sirani (female artist biographical film)

The Funerary Procession of Elisabetta Sirani
Summary: Elisabetta Sirani was a 16th century female painter from Bologna. She exceeded the expectations for her sex by painting scenes atypical for a female artist. Unfortunately, not much is known about her; what is known is that after her tragic death at age 27 Bologna held a lavish funeral …