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April 10, 2013 – 7:00 am | 4 Comments

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 …

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Articles tagged with: Rome

San Pietro in Montorio and Bramante’s Tempietto

May 14, 2012 – 8:51 am |

Sometimes, the hunt for perfection makes it necessary to hike uphill. This is the case with Bramante’s Tempietto, which you’ll forgive me if I call a “jewel” of Renaissance architecture, for its size and perfection is much like a little, domed jewel box.

5 things not to miss in Rome

January 22, 2012 – 5:00 pm | 2 Comments

In this guest post, Steve Brenner suggests a slow approach to travel: even if you have only a weekend in Rome, or a few days, there are some things he thinks you should not miss to experience Rome like a local (or as close as possible to one)… and of these five things, only one …

Bernini’s Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in Rome

December 19, 2011 – 1:00 pm |

At Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in Rome, Gianlorenzo Bernini created a jewel of the Baroque; a keyhole through which to peer into the mind of mid-seventeenth century Rome. Architectural historian Agnes Crawford contributes this learned guest post that connects Bernini’s Baroque architectural style to the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola.
Over a century before Bernini’s creations, Martin …

Lazio off the beaten track: Caprarola, Ronciglione

February 24, 2011 – 9:00 am |

You could be forgiven for thinking that outside the main tourist sights, Rome, Viterbo, perhaps Tivoli, there isn’t much to see in Lazio. You’d be wrong. Northern Lazio, in between Rome and Florence, is an area mostly ignored by tourists and yet, for me, it’s one of the most interesting and beautiful regions you could …

Where to see Contemporary Art in Italy

February 17, 2011 – 10:35 am | 8 Comments

Italy is not known for its contemporary art – at least not lately, and not in Italy itself. Recently a Tripadvisor member posted a question about where to see contemporary art in Tuscany and Italy and I realized that I’d never summarized it all in one post.
There was an interesting article in the New York …

Pablo Echaurren: Baroque ‘n’ Roll @MACRO

February 15, 2011 – 1:06 pm |

This exhibition title and the image I received from the MACRO press office was just too funny to resist. From Feb 12 to March 13 2011 at Macro in Rome check out six clever works by Echaurren that cross Baroque art with rock and roll. The large-scale ceramic sculptures recall the Baroque religious works – …

Tod’s sponsors 25 million euro Colosseum restoration

January 26, 2011 – 3:56 pm | 3 Comments
Tod’s sponsors 25 million euro Colosseum restoration

Diego della Valle for Tod’s (the fancy shoe company) has pledged 25 million euros for the 15-year restoration of the Colosseum. The proposal, made last August to the Soprintendenza, has been accepted and announced officially on January 21st 2011. The complete restoration of the building and the development of a new lighting scheme will be …

Concerts in Rome’s Centrale Montemartini

December 2, 2010 – 9:17 am |

One of Rome’s most unusual museum spaces opens its doors to evening concerts and wine tastings. At Centrale Montemartini, Friday and Saturday night (from 8pm) through January 8 2011, concerts are followed by a visit to the wine bar courtesy of Enoteca Regionale Palatium. The concert series’ theme is “Movie Music”. It’s a suggestive way …

Rome meets Teotihuacan, the city of the gods

November 25, 2010 – 9:31 am |

News from my friend Valeria Lenuzza who is involved in the museum education section of this exhibit about Mexico held in Rome.
A wonderful exhibition entirely dedicated to Teotihuacan, the first great empire in the pre-Columbian America, opened at the beginning of November in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. It is organized by the Instituto …

The Chapel of Saint Zeno at Santa Prassede: mosaic revival and survival

November 16, 2010 – 4:00 pm | 5 Comments

I’m very lucky to host this guest post from Agnes Crawford, an architectural historian who offers intelligent tours of Rome (my words – not hers!). I remember being dazzled by the mosaics at Santa Prassede exactly 6 years ago when I spent a month in Rome and started this website; had I had Agnes by …

Travel In Rome with Foursquare

September 29, 2010 – 11:44 am |

Okay, the title of the post is a leeetle misleading… because last week I wasn’t so much traveling in Rome with Foursquare as actually in Rome, with the co-founder of Foursquare. Yup, yours truly got sent for work to an event held at Telecom headquarters called World Wide Apps at which Naveen Selvadurai was a …

Ara Pacis in full colour

August 3, 2010 – 3:45 pm |

Here’s an event I can’t make it down to Rome to see, but if you happen to be in the area, it looks very cool. Let me know if you go, I want pictures!!
I colori dell’Ara Pacis – the colours of the Ara Pacis. The original colours of the building are reconstructed with a projection …