The Maternal Muses of Italy

A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.” —Unknown The famous Renaissance artist known as Botticelli was born in Florence when his mother was 40 years old. He was nicknamed Botticelli which means "little barrels" by his family. A special fondness for his mother must have inspired him to create many of …

The Renaissance Version of WebMD

Cold and flu remedies from prescription antivirals to OTC brands to home remedies and immune boosting foods swirl through the media like the airborne viruses they seek to control leaving most of us wondering what is the best way to stay healthy. Citizens of the early Renaissance relied on the advice and recommendations of the …

Leonardo’s Cookbook

In his personal library collection Leonardo da Vinci owned a single cookbook, On Right Pleasure and Good Health (De honesta voluptate et valetudine). Written by 15th century papal librarian/philospher Bartolomeo Sacchi under the name “Platina”, it is considered to be the first printed cookbook. Bartolmeo Platina kneeling before Pope Sixtus IV appointing him prefect of …

Mela Bianca Latte

No its not Starbuck's latest Fall flavor but a rare and uncommon Italian apple rediscovered. A core to the cultural identity of a region. Near the village of Citta di Castello, on the border of Tuscany in Umbria, Isabella Ragione, an agronomist and  self-proclaimed arboreal archeologist, explores the abandoned farmsteads, orchards and old monastery gardens …

The Caravaggio in the Kitchen

Still Life with a Basket of Fruit - Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (circa 1559) I once thought to build a new house. Plans were drawn up and submitted by the designer with details of a kitchen with windows that overlooked a ravine.  The designer self-assuredly waited for my approval of the plans and was taken …

An Italian Masterpiece Arises From the Seventh Circle of Hell

Scrovegni Chapel One of the most important masterpieces of Western art was painted as a fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Giotto in a chapel on the estate grounds of a money lenders son who in atonement for his father’s sins commissioned the fresco cycle. Reginaldo Scrovegni was a wealthy moneylender from the city of Padua. …

The Many Last Suppers – From Da Vinci to Warhol

  No one can deny the powerful visual presence of da Vinci’s Last Supper, Il Cenacolo.    However the 15 X 29 foot fresco-like painting on the wall of the Dominican refectory (dining hall) of the Church of Santa Marie delle Grazie in Milan, Italy was not the first representation of la ultima cena. The various depictions of …

An Italian Brigadoon

I'm always interested in similar backgrounds and interests and the history of how a business begins. Being a small business owner, teacher and inveterate  researcher I came across Valvona Crolla, a foodhall and deli in Edinburgh, Scotland and found a bit of shared history about family, food and a generational journey. There are kindred Italian …

The Art of the Towel

I was looking for an inexpensive work of art to hang in my guest bathroom when I glanced over to the towel bar next to the sink. Hanging there was a linen towel that was given to me by my friends from Perugia. With patterns and styles from Umbrian folklore or Renaissance  designs, they complement any setting from the …

The Medici, Magi and “Opus Benozzo”

The fatal charm of Italy is never more felt than during the Christmas holidays. Like a Renaissance painting the holiday season in Italy unfolds with symbolism and dazzling scenes that remind us of the story of the birth of Christ . Some hidden away throughout the year are again visually unwrapped to be pondered anew. …