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An Italian Holiday Tradition
Gli Zampognari In the days before Christmas, from the mountains of the Abruzzo, the Matese and the Sannio, the zampognari come down to the cities to add their sonorous magic to the spirit of the coming Holiday. By tradition they come in pairs, in traditional garb: the senior member plays the zampogna (a kind of [...]
Venetian Gondolas, Jewelry and Romance on Lake Merritt
By Lorna Moglia, November 16, 2012 Once upon a time (c’era una volta), a Great Egret with snowy white plumage, long neck and a yellow dagger bill, was perched on the dock of Gondola Servizio–a rare occurrence (una rara occorrenza), watching a young romantic couple board an authentic Venetian gondola. As the gondolier lifted his [...]
Ceramics and the Italian Constitution
As we all know, the year 2011 was the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy and of its emergence as a modern national state. For this occasion a series of 12 ceramic plates were realized by ceramist Andrea Branciforti. On each plate is painted one of the first 12 fundamental articles of the Italian [...]
Italy’s Iron Crown
The tradition of Italian jewelry-making and of silver- and gold-smithing goes back centuries. But most objects of silver and gold, whether made for aesthetic or utilitarian purposes, belonged to wealthy individuals, and their historical vicissitudes were not necessarily recorded for posterity. Some institutional collections, however, such as royal treasures, have recorded histories that offer fascinating [...]
The Nativity Scene in Italian Art – 2
In Naples, where the most elaborate creations eventually took place, we have a record of a Presepe given by Queen Sancia to the Poor Clares in 1370. Development was subsequently rapid, with artists such as Giovanni and Pietro Alemanno and Giovanni da Nola. The Presepe became mobile, based on wooden sculptures crafted to scale. Artisans [...]
Le Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome
Some of the most acclaimed art exhibits to have taken place in Rome in recent years have been held at the Scuderie del Quirinale. These have included works from quintessentially Italian artists, such as Antonello da Messina and Giovanni Bellini, as well as international collections on loan from from their permanent homes. Such were the [...]
The birth of modern art in Italy – Giotto and Cimabue
How Modern Italian Art Was Born Slowly and painfully, over several centuries, Western Europe began to pick herself up from the ruins of the Roman Empire in the 10th century. During this period the Eastern half of the Empire was still relatively intact, and it was culturally and artistically far advanced over the West. What [...]
The Story of Glass Art and Jewelry in Murano, Italy
Italian glass jewelry can be something very special. There is an island named Murano in the lagoon of Venice renowned for its artistic glassworks. Its history and its destiny are wedded to the history of glass to such an extent that the very name Murano is often used as a synonym for “glass”. This is [...]
Ben Franklin and the Artistic Ceramic Stoves of Castellamonte, Italy
In a fascinating historical twist, an invention by Ben Franklin at about the midpoint of the 18th century migrated to a Piedmontese town called Castellamonte. Here, Italian artistry and design was married to American inventiveness, and the resulting “Franklin stoves” are objects of beauty as well as practical devices for space heating.
The Brera Pinacoteca – a Treasure Trove of Italian Paintings and Sculptures – 1
Close to the Teatro alla Scala, a short walk up Via Giuseppe Verdi (which soon becomes via Brera) one finds one of the richest repositories of Italian art on the peninsula, rivaling the Musei Vaticani in Rome and the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence both in the extent of its collection and in its artistic significance. This is a brief history of the Brera Pinacoteca.
The Brera Pinacoteca – a Treasure Trove of Italian Paintings and Sculptures – 2
Unlike the great Italian museums in Rome, Florence, Naples, Torino, etc., the collectionism practiced by the Brera museum had its roots, not in the aristocratic collectionism of the Italian Renaissance, but in the political collectionism of the State, a Napoleonic idea whose roots go back to the ideals of the French Revolution.
The Italian Educational Institute, Atherton, CA
The Italian Educational Institute, located on the campus of Menlo College in Atherton, California, has been offering Italian language and culture courses since 2002. Launched by a group of native Italians, it has scrupulously adhered to its stated policy of employing only Italian-born instructors. It is a 501-c-3 California non-profit institution relying mainly on student [...]
Press Release: New Italian Art E-Commerce Website
Looking around the web there are not many websites dedicated to Italian Artisans that also help them sell their products and services. Our new site is both dedicated to Italian American’s and artisans living in Italy today. Every time someone buys from this site a percentage goes to a non profit organization that promotes Italian Culture and Language. …
