Category: Art
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The Temple of Clitumnus, sacred center of the Longobards
There are places that, even across the centuries, preserve intact that admirable perception of innate sacredness. A stream of water flowing gracefully in the moonlight on the valley floor. A silent forest of beech and cypress trees, the edge of which declines impetuously along the banks of an ancient spring: the Sources of Campello reveal…
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Saint Michael’s Abbey and the Portal of the Zodiac
On the summit of Mount Pirchiriano, like an ancient guardian protecting the valley, stands the marvellous Saint Michael’s Abbey. It is an ancient and admirable place of faith, towering 962 metres above sea level, almost seems to reach towards the sky: it can only be accessed by a steep climb. The ascent is a metaphorical…
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The Parish Church of Gropina and the Lombard pulpit
The Parish Church of San Pietro at Gropina, in the Upper Valdarno, stands bare like a tree shaken by the wind on a winter morning. Nothing here is meant to impress, nor is anything given over to ornament, except the stone itself, which has ruled this space with quiet authority for centuries. There are no…
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The Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso
A fascinating sheer cliff, known as Sasso Ballaro, overlooks the shores of Lake Maggiore. The rock slopes downwards with its two hundred and sixty-eight steps. Suddenly, like an ecstatic revelation, a glimpse of infinite beauty appears. The landscape is majestic, and the calm waters of the lake reflect the mountains like diamonds. There appears the…
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The Basilica of San Vittore and the Baptistery of Arsago Seprio
An ancient path led from Milan to Lake Maggiore. Where the foothills of the Alps began to rise and the land broke up into rugged, jagged terrain, one arrived at Arsago Seprio. In the Middle Ages, this village in the Seprio countryside was of great importance. In fact, it had been home to a parish…
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Casamari Abbey, the sobriety of the Cistercians
The birth of the Ordo cisterciensis can be compared to a journey back to the origins of monasticism. Thus, when Robert of Molesme in 1098 decided to establish a new monastery at Cîteaux he felt the need to rediscover that profound sense of the sacred that had characterized the monks of the early centuries. The…
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The church of Saint Peter in Gemonio
According to the popular tradition, the little church of Saint Peter in Gemonio was founded by the Lombard queen Theodelinda. Additionally, it would have been entrusted to the monks of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro in Pavia by the king Liutprand. However, there are no historical sources that might confirm this thesis. Anyway, the church…
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Giorgione, the mystery behind the Tempest
A bolt suddenly splits the sky. The lightning penetrates the threatening clouds and they get an unusual and surreal color. It is a green of an indefinite reality, which seems to dominate the helpless city visible on the horizon. There are echoes of classical and Oriental architecture. Some towers, a dome, a bell tower are…
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The Apulian Romanesque of Ruvo Cathedral
The Apulian Romanesque Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta overlooks a pretty little square in the historical center of Ruvo di Puglia. Its facade soars towards the sky, with its magnificent circular rose window. The impressive Romanesque portals invite visitors to look for the mystical quietness that is inside the building. Next to the southern side…
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Is the Savior of the World a masterpiece by Leonardo?
The renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci has given us immortal masterpieces. With them a multitude of mysteries: we can mention the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa, her controversial identity, or the extraordinary machines Leonardo designed. And more: the lost Battle of Anghiari, an obsession for those trying to find it under the plaster of…