Musei di Strada Nuova translates to English as the Strada Nuova Museum in Genoa. The Strada Nuova is a collection of three museums in adjoining buildings. They are the largest museum group in the city of Genoa, containing ancient art. Palazzo Bianco (The White Palace), Palazzo Doria, and Palazzo Rosso, which were all former aristocratic […]
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Genoa’s Medieval Churches are filled with beautiful Renaissance Art. You don’t have to visit a museum to see great art in Genoa; it’s often available in the city’s medieval churches for free (or sometimes for a small fee). Most of the art in Medieval Churches is frescoes, which are painted directly on the walls, making them
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The Doge Palace was the home of the “supreme” leader in Genoa. Doge roughly translates to the word “Lord” in the city-state construction of the medieval period in northern Italy. The Doge was the central authority figure. Both the city states of Venice and Genoa used the term. Initially, a Doge was “elected” by the
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The Cinque Terre National Park is about five villages, listed from north to south, as follows: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Of course, there are more than just these villages, including the beautiful shoreline on the Mediterranean Sea. Photoblog, Cinque Terre, Italy, April 19, 2025 The villages are built on steep, rugged
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La Spezia was our destination, but not so we could see the castle. In fact, until our arrival, we didn’t know the Castle of San Giorgio dominated the hilltop over the city. Since this was our first actual castle on our European trip, we had to see it. Photoblog, La Spezia, Italy, April 18, 2025
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Donatello, Brunelleschi, Michaelangelo, and Nigetti combined their mastery to create the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici Chapels, and the Chapel of the Princes in Florence. This list reads like a who’s who of Renaissance artists. Photoblog, Florence, Italy, April 12-16, 2025 Basilica of San Lorenzo The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence dates back
Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici Chapels and the Chapel of the Princes Read More »
Like the paintings at the Uffizi Gallery, the Roman Sculptures at the Uffizi Gallery are Masterpieces. Unlike the paintings, the sculptures are almost all Roman and not Renaissance. At the top is a Renaissance Sculpture, but the rest of these are Roman Sculptures. Photoblog, Florence, Italy, April 12, 2025 The first sculpture, at the top,
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The paintings at the Uffizi Gallery are Renaissance Masterpieces. Like the world-renowned Louver in Paris, the Uffizi Gallery is the number one Italian Renaissance art collection. As you will see from the photos, all the prominent Renaissance artists are represented in the gallery. The only one I seem to have missed is Donatello. Photoblog, Florence,
Uffizi Gallery Renaissance Masterpiece paintings Read More »
Visiting Florence is an art lesson on the streets. You can’t go to Florence without seeing art. It is everywhere: in the buildings, on the walls, standing in the squares, and even drawn on the streets. When you are visiting Florence, you are surrounded by art. Photoblog, Florence, Italy, April 12-16, 2025 Where else can
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Michelangelo’s Masterpiece Renaissance sculpture of David, and several other Michelangelo statues are at the Gallery of the Academy of Florence. The centerpiece is Michelangelo’s David, but there are also finished and unfinished statues by Michelangelo and several other impressive statues. Most of them are Renaissance Sculptures, even up to the 1800s. Photoblog, Florence, Italy, April 12,
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Paintings at the Gallery of the Academy in Florence have three styles: Statues, Pre-Renaissance, and Renaissance. To me, the difference in the paintings is that Renaissance Paintings exhibit far more depth, perhaps even movement in the paintings. Pre-Renaissance is also divided into two groups, sometimes called Early Renaissance and the earlier works described as Gothic.
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Renaissance Paintings at the Gallery of the Academy look much like photographs and exhibit far more depth, background, and even movement. They are more lifelike than any art preceding them except for statues. I think realism comes from the advanced techniques used during the Renaissance. The Renaissance artists created depth, including methods for seeing the
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Everyone knows that Mount Vesuvius’s eruption destroyed Pompeii in 79 A.D. I didn’t know that Pompeii was at least 800 years old and had a fascinating history that pre-dated the Roman Period by hundreds of years. Photoblog, Naples, Italy, April 10, 2025 Pompeii was part of the Ancient Campania area south of Rome, which included
Pompeii completely destroyed in one day! Read More »
The Cathedral of Saint Andrew the Apostle is in the small town of Amalfi, the city for which the Amalfi Coast is named. According to Greek mythology, the Greek god Hercules loved a nymph named Amalfi, who died. Hercules chose the present-day Amalfi as the most beautiful spot and named the place after her. Photoblog,
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If you love beautiful views and quaint picturesque towns, go to the Amalfi Coast, but don’t drive there for one huge reason: parking anywhere on the Amalfi Coast is nearly impossible. Parking is especially impossible in the most picturesque towns. Photoblog, Naples, Italy, Europe. April 9, 2025 We first took a train from Naples to
Don’t drive the Amalfi Coast! Read More »
Paestum is an ancient Greek city in southern Italy. It is renowned for its remarkably well-preserved Greek Temples. In Paestum, we found Greek Temples in Italy. Paestum predates the Roman Empire by several hundred years. Because of locations like Paestum, the Romans were infatuated with Greek culture and mythology. Greek culture was well established when
We found Amazing Greek Temples in Italy! Read More »
The Trevi Fountain should be on every visitor’s list of must-see attractions in Rome. The fountain is one of the earliest water sources for ancient Rome. The ornate fountain was built to celebrate the finishing of a major aqueduct that brought much-needed water to the city. Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe. April 7, 2025 Today’s fountain
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The Pantheon, built on the site of an earlier temple, was dedicated to “all the gods” in the second century. In the 7th century, it was converted into a church. It is one of the best-preserved structures in ancient Rome, mainly because it has been continuously used throughout its history. Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe. April
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Before Rome was founded, the Roman Forum was a swampy area between Palatine Hill and Capitoline Hill. Over the next four hundred years, the swamp was filled in, drained, and converted into The Roman Forum, complete with a palazzo. Most cities in Italy and Spain have the same palazzo in the center of the town.
Colosseum comes from the Latin word for really big (colossal). In this case, the huge item is the Roman Colosseum. This structure is massive, but the name Colosseum is not associated with the size of the amphitheater; instead, the Colosseum was named after the enormous bronze statue of Emperor Nero. Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe. April
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Monument of Victor Emmanuel II di Savoia: The first king of united Italy was Victor Emmanuel II di Savoia. Before unifying Italy as its first king, he was the King of Sardina. Sardinia is an island between Italy and Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. Victor Emmanuel assumed the title of King of Italy in 1861, Photoblog,
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The frescos in the Borghese Gallery have the wow factor. I think the most impressive paintings in the Borghese are the frescos. Frescos are painted while the plaster on the walls and ceilings is drying. If the painting is not completed rapidly, the artist must remove the plaster and start over. Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe.
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The Borghese Gallery is all about the best fine art. In many cases, especially when considering Masterpiece paintings in the Borghese Gallery, these are the original paintings by the original artists. Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe. April 4, 2025 You might say that Pope Paul V (Cardinal Camillo Borghese) of (1605-1621), his cardinal nephew, and Cardinal Scipone
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Statues in the Borghese Gallery The Borghese Gallery may have more masterpieces than any other building worldwide. I have included some mosaics at the end of the post we found in the Borghese Gallery. Starting with Roman statues and including masterpieces of both paintings, the Gallery is famous for Renaissance art. More than 300 years ago,
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The Vatican Museum has many significant Roman statues, but its focus is the frescoes, not the statues. The halls of the Vatican museums all lead to the Sistine Chapel, which contains Michelangelo’s depiction of creation through judgment. The statues in the Vatican Museum tell the story of Roman and Greek figures who outlined Roman life
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I didn’t expect an Egyptian room at the Vatican Museum. Over the last two thousand years, the Vatican purchased, gathered, commissioned, and was gifted perhaps thousands of treasures. The Egyptian room includes some of these treasures. Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe. April 3, 2025 Statues in the Egyptian room The statue would have been brought to
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The Vatican Museum’s ceiling frescos blend into the walls, and even the floors have mosaics. However, I think the frescos on the walls are the best part. Each has a historical theme. I think I have most of the names of these frescos correct, but they were not labeled. It took a little research to
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Everything in the Vatican Museum is decorated. Michelangelo and Raphael painted many of the ceiling frescos, which were painted when the ceilings were freshly plastered. The artist only had a few hours to finish the painting before the plaster would dry and not hold the paint. Once finished, the paint and the plaster were fused.
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Everything about Saint Peter’s Basilica is amazing, especially the paintings inside the dome, as seen in the above photo. Saint Peter’s Basilica is often called Saint Peter’s Cathedral, including by me. The Catholic church calls it a Basilica. A Catholic church building is called a Basilica when the location has exceptional merit. Photoblog, Rome, Italy,
Everything about Saint Peter’s Basilica is amazing. Read More »
After arriving in Rome, we didn’t want to go to sleep, hoping to get over Jet Lag as soon as possible. So, one of the first things we did was go to the Church of the Gesu. The theory says that if you stay awake until the usual bedtime of the local people, it will
Beautiful art at the Church of the Gesù in Rome. Read More »
Flying to Europe was difficult. We arrived dead tired. Now, I remember why I hate flying long distances and perhaps why I would rather travel in our motorhome. But you can’t get to Europe in a motorhome. Poor baby, he had to fly to Europe, and now he’s tired… Europe timeline April 1, 2025 Like
Flying to Europe, LAX direct to Rome is difficult. Read More »
For the next four months, we will be homeless vagabonds while touring Europe. Going to Europe and leaving our RV in storage might be crazy. Right now, it seems like a crazy idea, and it is only two weeks away. We are storing our RV and flying to Europe in fifteen days. Our plane to
Touring Europe might be a crazy idea. Read More »
