Showing posts with label Etruscan Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Etruscan Art. Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

Rome, history and art around Via Veneto

Via Vittorio Veneto, called often Via Veneto, is one of the most famous, elegant streets of Rome. Federico Fellini's classic film La Dolce Vita was partly centered on this area. The Embassy of the United States and many famous hotels are located along the avenue.

old photo of the street with the palace Margherita ( American Embassy)

However, in the Via Veneto, there are some really interesting buildings.There are for example the church of the Capuchin friars with a strange museum and the ancient Porta Pinciana.

the church is famous for the crypt and many remains of friars buried on old times. Inside the church there are several paintings by artists such as Guido Reni, Giovanni Lanfranco and Domenichino.Some people speculate that a painting was done by Michelangelo Merisi called Caravaggio
The Archangel Michael, painted by Guido Reni.
Porta Pinciana is an old wall in Rome. We document this monument with an old engraving by Giuseppe Vasi.
 The gate is located near the Villa Borghese Gardens at the end of Via Veneto.
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The architecture of some hotels is often interesting. But in the restaurant of a hotel at number 70 of Via Veneto you can see also a valuable frescos by the artist Guido Cadorin. These murals were painted at the beginning of the fascist period, and historians acknowledge some people and also the journalist Margherita Sarfatti friend of Mussolini. The woman later emigrated in South America, in 1938 when Mussolini wanted the racial laws.
In Via Veneto tourists can arrive with a staircase to the beautiful church of S.Isidoro-Capo Le Case.
the staircase and the church of S. Isidoro -photo by Alpy

We publish some photos of the church and the small convent.

interior of the church-photo by A.Pav
fresco in the cloister, photo by A.Pav

sculptures in the chapel Da Sylva-photo by A.Pav

The Chapel Da Sylva was commissioned by a wealthy gentleman Portuguese, friend of the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, but the chapel was largely  made  by colleagues of the famous artistAt the end of Via Veneto, Piazza Barberini, tourists can admire two beautiful fountains made by Bernini

fountain of Api 
Tritone fountain 


Shortly far from the square there is Palazzo Barberini with important collection of paintings.
Many years ago a lot of land in the area belonged to the Ludovisi family and tourists can rarely see a famous fresco (Aurora) by Guercino in the Casino Boncompagni-Ludovisi.


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Sunday, 20 July 2014

Maremma: sea, beaches, fun, art, archeology

Maremma is the ancient name of part of the coast of Tuscany and northern Lazio. This area has very similar landscapes and ancient traditions, and Italians often like to talk about the Maremma.
Even a hundred years ago, the Maremma was a wild area. There were also several herds of cows. Some of the artists represented in the nineteenth century these views.

painting by Giovanni Fattori. Many paintings are exhibited in a museum in Livorno, a coastal town in Tuscany-image from wikipedia

pasture in Maremma

Currently in Maremma is also a park that tourists can easily visit. In the summer in the park young people can make trips on the backs of donkeys.


The beautiful beaches of the Maremma are many: in the Gulf of Follonica, Castiglione, Argentario, Tarquinia Lido, Marina of Grosseto etc.. Even the islands of Giglio and Giannutri are in the area. Many people in these seas likes to take trips by boat or speedboat.

castle Castiglione Pescaia

Talamone and the sea -photo L30 (wiki)
in this place were discovered some beautiful Etruscan statues  now in Orbetello
These statues are called "frontone di Talamone"

Not far from the coast there are some medieval villages. Typically tourists love the nice town of Massa Marittima.

Massa Marittima is not on the coast, but there are many works of art-photo ap

Massa Marittima, the old cathedral

For those who love archeology should not be forgotten that in Maremma obviously there are numerous sites of the Etruscan civilization. The most popular places are Populonia, Roselle, Vetulonia and finally Tarquinia little to the south.
A Populonia the Etruscans worked the iron ore that led from the islands as Corsica.

the medieval area of Tarquinia, in the south of the great Maremma (photo ap)
In this town there are a museum and a large Etruscan necropolis

In the distant past some ancient Greek sailors had founded a sanctuary near Tarquinia. The Romans called this place Gravisca.
Even English language books, such as the one written by Sybille Haynes, describe the archaeological situation in the area and also the emporium of Gravisca.

Friday, 27 June 2014

Etruscan enchantement

It 's time of Etruscan art. In addition to the exhibition in Rome dedicated to the Etruscans of Cerveteri, in Cortona is scheduled until July 31, another important initiative. Cortona is a beautiful town in Tuscany, a few kilometers from Umbria and Lake Trasimeno. For this exhibition the British Museum has lent many pieces Etruscans.


Etruscan enchantement 

the landscape and the lake Trasimeno, photo a.p. 2011


M.a.e.c  museum in Cortona, photo a.p. 2011


Cortona is a town of Etruscan origins and many objects are visible in the MAEC museum and the ancient Etruscan Academy. In the district of Camucia there are also some Etruscan tombs.

Etruscan tomb in an old photo 
In 1840, some residents discovered a famous and big chandelier in bronze.

Sometimes in museums Cortona tourists can see works of Etruscan art that have long been in foreign countries. This time, visitors can see nice objects from the British Museum.
Many works of Etruscan civilization were purchased  three hundred years ago by Thomas Coke during his stay in Florence and Rome. In the exhibition are also documented studies that  Thomas Dempster reported, ​​on behalf of Lord Coke, with the book very rare and precious De Etruria Regali.

Askos, duck. From the British Museum
                                            photo by the press office of the exhibition


Etruscan statue of a young man, from the British Museum
photo by the press office of the exhibition


The Etruscans loved music and dance
Stone tablet from the British Museum
photo by the press office of the exhibition


De Etruria Regali, written by Thomas Dempster in Pisa between 1616 and 1619,
 but published in Florence  between 1720 and 1726
Photo by the press office of the exhibition


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Tourists love very Cortona and the many works of Renaissance art that can be seen in museums and churches.

tourists in a museum of art-photo a.p. 2011

Some great artists were born in Cortona. But many tourists admire a large painting by Fra Angelico. For more, see article and some photos (Cortona art
For some time tourists arrive in Tuscany with low-cost flights arriving in Pisa or other cities. Some trains stop at stations Cortona-Camucia or Terontola-Cortona but the town is in the high position. So you have to take a bus or book a taxi.
For those who love the Etruscan history are other important destinations in Volterra, Tarquinia, Perugia, Vatican museums, Orvieto, many Etruscan sites in Lazio, etc