Published on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 by Kathy McCabe The secret room in Florence where Michelangelo spent three months in hiding is expected to open to the public later in 2020. In the summer of 1530, the Renaissance master artist disappeared without a trace, camping out in an underground chamber beneath the Medici chapels in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He was hiding from the Medici, who had themselves just returned fr...

Published on Friday, March 20, 2020 by Kathy McCabe An archaeology graduate student at Venice’s University Ca’ Foscari found a rare 5,000-year-old sword made of copper and tin, common materials used prior to the Bronze Age. The PhD student, Vittoria Dall’Armellina, found the sword in a monastery on San Lazzaro degli Armeni, an island in the Venetian lagoon. Prior to Dall’Armellina’s discovery, the sword, disp...

Published on Monday, March 16, 2020 by Kathy McCabe During these uncertain and stressful times, we could all use a good laugh. Comedian Anthony Rodia created this funny video for Perillo Tours in an effort to look at the current situation in a funny way. Laughter is always the best medicine. You can enjoy more videos from Anthony Rodia on YouTube: Rodia Comedy and on Facebook: Anthony Rodia Comedy   &nbs...

Published on Friday, March 13, 2020 by Kathy McCabe A hypogeum (an underground temple) and tomb were found in the Roman Forum last month, dating back to the 6th century B.C. A sarcophagus that was found in the tomb was made of tufa rock, the same material with which Rome’s Capitol building was built. "This is an extraordinary discovery," Alfonsina Russo, the director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, told ANSA...

Published on Sunday, March 1, 2020 by Kathy McCabe Rome’s Palatine Hill is now producing honey and olive oil from ingredients grown on its grounds. Italy owes its culinary brilliance to fresh, local products – and it doesn’t get more local than this. Parco Colosseo, the archaeological park comprising Palatine Hill, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, is conducting a pilot project to produce the organic wildflo...

Published on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 by Kathy McCabe Romantic-era poet Giacomo Leopardi’s home will open the poet’s private living quarters to the public on March 21. Casa Leopardi, located in the town of Recanati in the central region of Le Marche, was the noble Leopardi family’s home. Parts of Casa Leopardi are already open to the public, such as the library and cellars, but the new opening will showcase the ...

Published on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 by Kathy McCabe Seven sites in Sicily are among the 37 most-visited locations in Italy in 2019, according to a recently released report by Sicily’s cultural department. The seven sites are: Siracusa; the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento; the Ancient Theater in Taormina; Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina; the Benedectine cloister in the abbey in Monreale; and the Greek ruins in ...

Published on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 by Kathy McCabe Archaeologists working on the Herculaneum site near Pompeii have discovered that the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD produced heat so intense that it turned one man’s brain into glass. The remains of the man, whom archaeologists believe was about 25 years old, were discovered in the 1960s, but his body wasn’t fully examined until now. Dr. Pier Paol...

Published on Thursday, January 30, 2020 by Kathy McCabe Rome’s Borghese Gallery has started a crowdfunding campaign to raise about $8 million to buy a bronze sculpture by Bernini. The bust is of Pope Urban VIII, who commissioned many works from Bernini and was the Baroque artist’s most important customer. Now, Anna Coliva, the director of the Borghese Gallery, wants to purchase the bust from its current owners, the des...

Published on Sunday, January 26, 2020 by Kathy McCabe Italian art newspaper Artribune has named Rome’s MAXXI museum the Best Museum in Italy for 2019. MAXXI, a museum of modern art, stands for Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo. MAXXI, which opened in 2010, showcases contemporary art by Italian and foreign artists. The institution comprises two museums: a museum of art, and a museum of architecture. Its build...