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Vittore Carpaccio’s paintings in Venice are well known to the English speaking world still because of John Ruskin’s and Henry James’ praising words. Do you remember? Ruskin used expressions such [...]

Makeup in Venice: the concept of female beauty in 18th century nobility Who would be considered a beautiful woman in the 18th century Venice? It is a real joy to observe the paintings by Pietro [...]

Angels in Venetian paintings are easy to find.  One of my favorite paintings with angels can be admired in the church of San Giovanni in Bragora. In the altar, Cima da Conegliano has left us the [...]

Bridges in Venice are all unique and different from each other. The Rialto bridge Just consider the old Rialto bridge, a draw-bridge in wood as it shows in Vittore Carpaccio, the Miracle of the [...]

Tintoretto was around thirty years old in 1548 when he painted The Miracle of the Slave for the Brotherhood of St. Mark in Venice, the revolutionary manifesto of his art. Two exhibitions [...]

Luthiers create musical instruments and it’s thanks to them if we can hear that sound which is “a pleasure for the ears, a joy for the soul and a true delight for the eyes”. So Baldassarre [...]

Blackamoors and Diamonds Blackamoors appear on brooches only in the best jewellery shops in Venice, proudly featuring as pure Venetian tradition. Amidst gold, shining diamonds and precious [...]

Meeting with Leonardo D’Este in Venice The first time I met with Leonardo D’Este, he was not there, but there were his paintings and they deeply struck my attention. His intense portraits [...]

How the Accademia Gallery in Venice was born The year the Accademia gallery in Venice was born was devastating. In 1807 Napoleon’s troops looted the city. Guilds and brotherhoods were closed down [...]

One needs to plunder art to found an empire! When conquering a country, you cannot be happy just to get their land, their wealth or the lives of its inhabitants. It must affect history, which [...]