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What does the great Dutch painter Vermeer (1632–75) have in common with Pontormo, the Florentine Mannerist (1494–1557)? At first glance, nothing. They were born in different parts of Europe almost a century and a half apart. But there here are two paintings, one by each artist, and whenever I see…
The religions practised in the later Roman empire were many and various. There was the official state cult, of course, centred around the great triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. But many other cults from different parts of the empire also flourished. There were the Egyptian religions, for example those…
That the Roman city of Londinium boasted an amphitheatre was never subject of dispute. Its precise location, however, was unknown until comparatively recently. Excavations close to the old Roman road now known as Watling Street, during the construction of the Guildhall Art Gallery in 1988, revealed its stone foundations. Those…
I have always been fascinated by circular buildings. The Pantheon and Santa Costanza in Rome, the tholos at Delphi. One of my especial favourites is the little-visited Santo Stefano Rotondo, on the slopes of Rome’s Caelian Hill. Below is an extract from the Blue Guide travel monograph Pilgrim’s Rome: Santo Stefano…
Moulded in stucco above the west doorway of the Lombard Tempietto in Cividale del Friuli is a famous frieze of six graceful female figures appearing in single file on either side of a narrow aperture. Below the aperture is a semicircular door hood carved with Eucharistic symbols of grapes. On…
1. Fonte Ciane, near Syracuse, just west of the city itself. To get there, leave town on the road signed for Canciattini. Then fork left onto a narrow lane called Traversa Cozzo Pantano. The Fonte Ciane is at the end of this lane (follow signs to Villa dei Papiri). The…
People often worry that a trip to Venice will be marred by excess numbers of their fellow human beings. True, the city gets very crowded at certain times of year, and yes, there are ever fewer Venetians and ever more wretched carnival mask shops. But overcrowding afflicts only St Mark’s…
Charles Freeman, ancient history consultant to the Blue Guides, reports from a recent tour. I am not good on the Lombards. They hover in northern Italy at a time when not a lot else seems to have been going on, after the fall of the Roman Empire, and were defeated…
Over 100 years after the excavations at Knossos, Crete, it is hard for the modern observer to appreciate the excitement engendered by Evans’s finds. Here was a whole new civilization with artistic achievements rivalling Egypt’s. Evans himself fostered expectation by dwelling on the modernity of the style and by embarking…
Charles Freeman, ancient history consultant to the Blue Guides and author of Sites of Antiquity and Holy Bones, Holy Dust, takes a tour group to Volterra and Prato, to get away from it all. One of the enduring pleasures of having written extensively about relic cults is recognizing obscure scenes…
Among the fragrant pines of the Adriatic island of Lokrum, a short boat ride away from the old town of Dubrovnik, stands a complex of buildings that began life as a votive chapel, founded by Richard the Lionheart in thanksgiving for his survival when he was shipwrecked here on his…
A Cambridge archaeologist has unearthed evidence for a previously unknown ancient language. The find was made during excavations at the palace of the Assyrian imperial governor at ancient Tushhan (modern Ziyaret Tepe, close to the Syrian border). See the report in Britain’s Independent newspaper and for a picture of part…
Verona is a lovely city. It is just the right size for exploration on foot, and there lots to see. Many of its restaurants are justly famous. It is amply stocked with comfortable places to stay. Its Roman theatre, whose tiers of seats rise high above the river Adige, must…
Mural of a bird-filled garden from the triclinium of the Villa of Livia (wife of Augustus). In the Museo Nazionale in Palazzo Massimo, near the Baths of Diocletian, Rome.
A few steps away from Piazza Navona, facing the busy Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, is the delightful and little-visited Museo Barracco, home to an eclectic private collection of ancient sculpture. The palace itself, the Piccola Farnesina, is an elegant Renaissance building built for the French prelate Thomas Le Roy in…
International Gothic in Florence, 1375–1440 (and Paolo Uccello’s “Battle of San Romano” restored). Alta Macadam reports on an exhibition at the Galleria degli Uffizi, open until 4th November. This large exhibition is a sequel to one held in 2008 entitled “The Legacy of Giotto. Art in Florence, 1340–75” and, given…
…at the Museum of the City of New York, from September 13th. “From Farm to City”, focusing on the “forgotten borough” of Staten Island. Staten Island is the subject of a forthcoming Blue Guide Travel Monograph, due out next year.
The Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia on Monte Pellegrino. An extract from Blue Guide Sicily by Ellen Grady. The most direct approach to Mt Pellegrino from Palermo is from Piazza Generale Cascino, near the fair and exhibition ground (Fiera del Mediterraneo). From here Via Pietro Bonanno ascends to the sanctuary of St…
A new type of guided tour has come to Delhi: ghost-stalking. The Delhi-based travel company Lets Get Packing has teamed up with the Paranormal Society to offer “Creatures of the Night”, a tour of haunted parts of the old city, including one of the landmarks of the Mehrauli Archaeological Park…
A guide to Rome’s Christian monuments, explained and put into context by an examination of the history of pilgrimage, from its most ancient forms to more modern, even secular practice. View the book’s contents, index and some sample pages, and buy securely from blueguides.com here »
