Tag Archives: Venice

April 20, 2013 · 11:52 am

I Love Italian Renaissance Art

: Image via Wikipedia

Euro-standard circulation Italian 1 euro coin (national/obverse side). The design represents Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of the proportions of the human body (also known as the Vitruvian man). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leonardo da Vinci was the embodiment of a Renaissance Man because he excelled at a variety of worthwhile endeavors. He was a celebrated sculptor, painter, architect, engineer and scientist. Leonardo’s “Vitruvian Man” represents the perfectly proportioned man.

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Watch the following video showing four major Italian Renaissance artists and their work : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVQBVE9BzYk

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Michelangelo Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbZen2OOA3M&feature=related

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Titian, Raphael, Giotto Video:

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBTtjDMBIbk&feature=related

Image via Wikipedia

Botticelli Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOILQzTfYww&feature=related are notable Renaissance artists who were commissioned by wealthy families and popes.

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leonardo (Photo credit: Arenamontanus)

The contributions of these artists decorate the walls of churches, palaces and museums around the world. The Renaissance flourished in Italy and Italian masters graced humanity with a wealth of masterpieces

Bartolommeo Vivarini from Venice produced works of art for cities across Northern Italy and down the Adriatic Coast including this altarpiece of “Saint Mark” around 1490.

Cosme Tura from Ferrara painted “Saint George” around 1474 for the Church of San Giorgio fuori le Mura in Ferrara.

Carlo Crivelli from Venice painted the “Madonna and Child” in 1468.

Alessandro Mattia da Farnese from Rome painted the “Portrait of Prince Augusto Chigi” in 1664.

Giovanni di Paolo from Sienna painted “The Madonna and Child with Angels” in 1475.

Sano di Pietro from Siena painted “Saint Catherine of Siena” in about 1450.

Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) from Florence painted “The Madonna and Child” in 1411-1413.

Giotto‘s “God the Father with Angels”

Saint Jerome

Bernardino Luini from Milan painted “The Conversion of the Magdalene” (An Allegory of Modesty and Vanity) in 1520 with gesturing hands.

Catena’s “Holy Family”

I love Luca Signorelli’s, ”The Coronation of the Virgin” 1508

Reasons Why The Renaissance Started in Italy (brighthub.com)
So How Did the Renaissance Begin? (vino-con-vista.us)
Vatican Museums (romeinfo.wordpress.com)
Excellent Art Galleries Worth Visiting in Italy (vino-con-vista.info)
Face of Devil Discovered in Giotto Fresco (inquisitr.com)
The devil’s in the details of a Giotto fresco (msnbc.msn.com)

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Filed under ebooks, Florence, IPad, Italy, Italy Travel Guides, Renaissance Art

Tagged as Alessandro Mattia de Farnese, Art, art history, Art of Italy, Bartolommeo Vivarini, Bernardino Luini, Bernardino Luini An Allegory of Modesty and Vanity, Carlo Crivelli, Coronation of the Virgin, Cosme Tura, Donatello, Fra Angelico, Giotto, Giovanni de Paolo, History, Italian Renaissance, Italy, italy travel, Italy Travel Guides, Leonardo, Leonardo da Vinci, Luca Signorelli, Madonna (art), Michelangelo, Mona Lisa, Raphael, Renaissance, Renaissance art, Renaissance Florence, Rome, Saint Jerome, Sano di Pietro, Titian, Travel and Tourism, Trevi Fountain, Venice, Vitruvian Man, Vitruvian Man in a Square and in a Circle

April 15, 2013 · 11:27 am

San Marco is the Church of the Venetian Community in Rome

Basilica of S. Marco, the place of the election of Anacletus II. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Italiano: Roma, basilica di san Marco, controfacciata e organo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Church of San Marco in Rome was founded by Pope St. Mark in 336. This may be the site where St. Mark the Evangelist stayed when he was in Rome. St. Mark was the patron saint of Venice. It was rebuilt after a devastating fire by Hadrian (772-795). It has undergone many transformations over the years. The façade (1466) was built by to Leone Battista Alberti with marble taken from the Colosseum and the Theatre of Marcellus.

Madama Lucrezia, Piazza San Marco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pope Paul II (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1471, Pope Paul II Barbo made San Marco the church of the Venetian community of Rome. His crest can be seen in the gilded blue coffered ceiling. Many Venetian cardinals were buried in San Marco.

The church is located across the street from the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument. You can walk over to the Colonna Trajana and SS. Nome di Maria after you visit the church.

Interior, San Marco, Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Presbytery “San Marco papa”, San Marco, Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the 1740s, Filippo Barigioni created 20 columns with a veneer of Sicilian jasper. The colonnades on the sides of the church hide the original pillars of the nave. In the presbytery, the “Pope Saint Mark in Glory” fresco was done by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli. Beneath the altar, there is an ancient porphyry urn with the body of Pope St. Mark. In the crypt below, there is the tomb of 3rd century ROman martyrs Abdon and Sennen.

MOsaic in the absys of San Marco, Rome, showing Christ with saints: at the left of the absys, Mark evangelist; at right, Mark the pope. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love the Byzantine apse mosaic with an oversized Christ clad in royal purple. He is standing on a footstool that bears the Greek letters Alpha and Omega. He is holding a book with the words: “I am the Light, I am the Life, I am the Resurrection”.. Ln his right, yo can see St. Mark the Evangelist and St. Felicissimus.

Italiano: Roma, basilica di san Marco, angelo della tomba del cardinale Aloisio Priuli (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The altar has Pier Francesco Mola‘s “Immaculate Conception. You can also admire his “St. Michael Overcomes Lucifer” in this church.. I love the painting by Baccio Ciarpi, “St. Dominic Restores a Child to Life.” There are some beautiful Baroque monuments: Cardinal Marcantonio Bragadin and the monument to Cardinal Cristoforo Vidman. Visit the the tomb of Leonardo Pesaro (1796) by Antonio Canova.

Take time to admire the interesing artifacts in the Portico. I love the lions!

Trevi – san Marco vera di pozzo nel portico 00053 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Trevi – s Marco portico 1000120 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ambo; Church San Marco in Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Italiano: Vista frontale della statua (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Madama Lucrezia is one of the “talking statues” of Rome and is located next to the entrance of the basilica. It was once the bust of a statue of the goddess Isis.

Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Travel Guides @ www.vino-con-vista.com

Venice is the “Mistress of the Sea”: A UNESCO Site in Italy (vinoconvistablog.me)
Trinita dei Monti Church in Rome at the top of the Spanish Steps (vinoconvistablog.me)
Insights into the Vatican in Italy: UNESCO’s Holy City (vinoconvistablog.me)
The Ten Most Seductive Places to Drink Wine in Italy (vinoconvistablog.me)

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Filed under San Marco is the Venetian Church in Rome, Uncategorized

Tagged as Baccio Ciarpi, Basilica of St. John Lateran, Caravaggio, Filippo Barigioni, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italy, Mark the Evangelist, Pier Francesco Mola, Pope, Pope Mark, Pope Symmachus, Rome, San Marco, San Marco is the Venetian Church in Rome, St. Peter's Basilica, Venice

April 13, 2013 · 8:53 am

Get a Bologna Welcome Card in Italy

Palazzo dei notai in Piazza Maggiore a Bologna, Italia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Palazzo dei Notai, Bologna, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

La Pietâ (by Niccolò dell’ Arca); (upper part of the) Ark of Saint Dominic, Basilica of Saint Dominic, Bologna, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

La facciata di San Petronio e il Palazzo dei notai in Piazza Maggiore a Bologna. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Bologna Welcome Card is available for 48 hours (€20). The card gives you free access to the city’s museums and facilities, a tourist map with an itineraries and places of interest, free WiFi in the city, two tickets for the BLQ shuttle bus or one 24-hour pass for public transport. There are discounts and special offers for clubs, shops, restaurants, health clubs and leisure activities. It is available at all tourist offices.

Bologne (Italie), les deux tours (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

San Petronio, Piazza Maggiore and Palazzo d’Accursio, photo taken from the top of the Two Towers, Bologna, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Visit these sites in Bologna:

Walk under the unique covered arcades, Portici, for a total of 38 km. The portici are currently nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

English: Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. South side of square, featuring from left to right: Palazzo dei Banchi, San Petronio Basilica, Palazzo dei Notai, Palazzo d’Accursio (now the Town Hall). Français : Piazza Maggiore, Bologne, Émilie-Romagne, Italie. Côté sud de la place, bordé de gauche à droite par: le Palazzo dei Banchi, la Basilique San Petronio, le Palazzo dei Notai, le Palazzo d’Accursio (aujourd’hui la mairie). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Italiano: Collage di varie foto di Bologna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The facade of Palazzo del Podestà palace in Piazza Maggiore square in Bologna, Italy. It was projected by Aristotile Fioravanti in 1453. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Check out Piazza Maggiore in the center of town.

Palazzo D’Accursio/Palazzo Comunale, Piazza Maggiore 6, ☎ +39 051 203111. Tu-Su 10AM-6PM. A 14th-century palace. There is an enormous main staircase designed to be used by horse drawn carriages. This is the home of the Municipal Art Collection and the Museo Morandi.

Basilica di San Petronio, Bologna, Italia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This large pedestrian square is surrounded by the Basilica of San Petronio, Palazzo d’Accursio, the portico dei Banchi and the Palazzo del Podestà. The Basilica of San Petronio, Piazza Maggiore, ☎ +39 051 231415. Daily 8AM-12:30PM & 3PM-6PM.

San Petronio Basilica (Photo credit: Ben Rimmer)

The “Duomo” of Bologna is the 15th largest church in the world by volume. The Basilica houses various treasures including: the sundial by Cassini and Guglielmini, which indicates the exact period of the current year at all times; the “San Rocco” by Parmigianino and the marvelous Bolognini Chapel. There is also a museum to the left nave of the basilica where bas-reliefs are on display.

English: Interior of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Fountain of Neptune, by Jean de Boulogne, in “Piazza Maggiore” square at Bologna, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Next to Piazza Maggiore is Piazza del Nettuno, which contains the Fontana di Nettuno, a fountain built in 1563 by Tommaso Laureti of Palermo and later embellished by Jean de Boulogne (Giambologna). It is considered to be one of Bologna’s symbols.

The Fountain of Neptune, by Jean de Boulogne, in “Piazza Maggiore” square at Bologna, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Got to Via Rizzoli. This is one of the main streets of Bologna. It opens up to Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, where the two famous towers rise.
Torre degli Asinelli and Torre dei Garisenda (The Two Towers), Piazza di Porta Ravegnana. 9AM-6PM. The main symbols of Bologna, built in the 12th century. Torre degli Asinelli is 97.20 metres tall (330 feet), with 498 steps and an incline of 1.3 meters (4 feet). Torre dei Garisenda (closed to the public) is 47 metres (162 feet) tall and has a lean of over 3 metres (10 feet). €3 to climb Torre degli Asinelli.
Bologna-Porta Ravegnana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Check out Corte de’ Galluzzi through a vault from Piazza Galvani, in front of the Archiginnasio.

Go to the University Quarter on Via Zamboni where you will find plenty of bars and cafés. The University of Bologna is the oldest university in the world. It was founded in 1088.
Tour the Orto Botanico (Botanical Gardens), Via Irnerio 42. M-F 8:30AM-3:30PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM. Created in the mid-16th century for medicinal herbs. The Botanical Gardens are home to over 5,000 plant species. Admission is Free.
Go to Certosa di Bologna on Via della Certosa 18. Daily 7AM-6PM. This is Bologna’s main cemetery with beautifully carved tombstones, built over the ruins of an ancient Etrusan necropolis.

Bologna was a city of canals much like Venice. Today most of the canals are underground but in Via Piella you can still see “il canale delle Moline” through a small charming window or “finestrella”.

Visit these churches and architectural wonders in Bologna:

Tombe dei Glossatori, Piazza San Domenico e Piazza Malpighi. Named for the lawyers who used to add glosses (notes) to documents. The tombs, which date from the end of the 13th century, are monumental arches covered with shrines, supported by columns decorated with enamelled tiles, within which are the remains of many of Bologna’s famous scholars.
Basilica di Santo Stefano, Piazza Santo Stefano. “Sette Chiese” The so called Seven Churches, a complex of connected chapels with the 2 earliest religious edifices in Bologna, the Holy Sepulchre from the 5th century and the Holy Crucifix from the 8th century. One of the most famous sights of the city.
Santuario della Madonna di San Luca (San Luca’s Basilica), Colle della Guardia. Completed in 1765 there is a fabulous “Vino con Vista: panoramic view of the City. Walk along the 666 arches of its unique portico. This is where you will find the “Madonna di San Luca”.

: Shrine of Saint Dominic, Basilica of Saint Dominic, Bologna, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Basilica of San Domenico, Piazza San Dominico 13, ☎ +39 051 6400411. Houses the remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) inside the shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and his workshop, Arnolfo di Cambio and with later additions by Niccolò dell’Arca and the young Michelangelo.

The church’s small museum houses many important works of art and a wide collection of precious reliquaries and chalices.

Santa Maria della Vita, Via Clavature 8-10, ☎ +39 051 236245. Museum & Oratory: Tu-Su 10AM-12PM & 3PM-7PM; Sanctuary: M-Saturday 7:30AM-7PM Sunday & holidays 4:30PM-7:30PM.
Bologna italy duomo from Asinelli (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The cupola was designed by Bibiena and is the most important example of Baroque architecture in Bologna. Includes the Sanctuary which houses the largest collection of terracotta sculptures of the Italian Renaissance, the masterpiece Compianto sul Cristo Morto “The Lamentation” by Niccolò dell’Arca; the Oratorio dei Battuti, which houses the Transito della Vergine by Alfonso Lombardi, and the Museum of Health, situated in the old Santa Maria Della Vita hospital.

Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Italy Travel Guides @ www.vino-con-vista.com

: Il Palazzo dei notai (a sin.) e Palazzo d’Accursio, in Piazza Maggiore a Bologna, Italia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Filed under Get a Bologna Welcome Card in Italy

Tagged as Bologna, Get a Bologna Welcome Card in Italy, Giambologna, Italy, Nettuno, Piazza Maggiore, San Petronio Basilica, Tommaso Laureti, Venice

April 10, 2013 · 8:57 am

Wine Tourism in the Venato

English: by Melchior Barthel, at the funeral monument Chiesa dei Frari, Venice. Italiano: di Melchior Barthel, monumento funebre nella Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: St. Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, interior view (5) (Photo credit: Prof. Mortel)

Inside Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: HarshLight)

English: Giusto Le Court, altar in Chiesa dei Frari, Venice Italiano: Giusto Le Court, altare in Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Inside Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: HarshLight)

English: Altar by Baldassarre Longhena and Giuseppe Sardi (1624-1699) Chiesa dei Frari, Venice. Italiano: Altare di Baldassarre Longhena e Giuseppe Sardi (1624-1699) nella Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: by Alessandro Vittoria Chiesa dei Frari, Venice. Italiano: San Gerolamo di Alessandro Vittoria nella Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plan a trip to the Venato Region of Italy for amazing art, architecture and wine tourism adventures. Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, and many other sites have glorious churches, galleries, monuments and palaces.

Veneto produces: Soave, Bardolino, Recioto, Amarone, Torcolato, Prosecco, Tocai Rosso, Garganega, Valpolicella, Verduzzo, Raboso, Moscato, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Nero, Pinot Grigio, and Merlot.

The most cultivated grape in Veneto is glera, the grape of Prosecco. The second most important grape is garganega, for the Soave wine and the third is Merlot.

Prosecco is a dry sparkling wine made from white grapes of the same name near the areas of:

Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills north of Treviso. The name of Prosecco is derived from the northern Italian village of Prosecco (Trieste) where this grape variety is believed to have originated.

Have a Bellini, enjoy the sumptuous Prosecco and Amarone in this region. Try some of the luscious local cheese products:

Asiago (PDO) (from Asiago), Monte Veronese (PDO), Piave (PDO), Morlacco, Grana Padano (PDO).

The Dolomites are a UNESCO site in the Veneto. The mountain range in the northern Italian Alps has 18 peaks which rise to above 3,000 metres with beautiful mountain landscapes including: vertical walls, sheer cliffs and deep and long valleys. A serial property of nine areas that present a diversity of spectacular landscapes of international significance for geomorphology marked by steeples, pinnacles and rock walls, the site also contains glacial landforms and karst systems. It is characterized by dynamic processes with frequent landslides, floods and avalanches. The property also features one of the best examples of the preservation of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems, with fossil records.Culture’s lovers? … not to mention the many historical Veneto villas situated crossing over the great plain, right up to the Alps.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. One the greatest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. It stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Veneto region is the eighth largest region in Italy but it generates more than 15.5 millions of tourists every year. Venice as founded in the 5th century with about 118 small islands. “Torcello to the north extending to islands in the south, almost every small island had its own settlement, town, fishing village and artisan village including Murano. When a group of tiny islands were consolidated and merged into one, nothing remained of the primitive topography but what became canals, such as the Giudecca Canal, St Mark’s Canal and the Great Canal, and a network of small rii that are the veritable arteries of a city on water. In this unreal space, where there is no notion of the concept of terra firma, masterpieces of one of the most extraordinary architectural museums on Earth have been accumulated for over 1,000 years.” UNESCO

Click on this link for a virtual tour of Venice:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/40953

There are plenty of interesting events in Venice including: International Meetings of Literature in Venice, four days to share different cultures, ideas, ways of thinking: authors from around the world talk about their work, cultures and experiences with students and readers.

When: 10 April 10th -13th 2013

For a comprehensive list of events visit:

http://www.veniceconnected.com/events

Entrance to the Doge’s Palace, Saint Mark’s Square, Venice. (Photo credit: seriykotik1970)

The city has architectural masterpieces that contain art by artist that include: Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and others. Here’s a link to UNESCO sites in Venice:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/394/gallery/

In Venice visit The Grand Canal where you will find:

Chiesa di San Moisé

Piazza San Marco with the Basilica (1730) by Canaletto. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Piazza San Marco

Basilica di San Marco

English: Basilica di San Marco, Venice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Venice – St. Marcus Square – Procuratie Vecchie Italiano: Venezia – Piazza S. Marco – Procuratie Vecchie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Palazzo Ducale

St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Torre dell’Orologio

Here’s a list of interesting travel tips for Venice:

http://www.veniceconnected.com/itineraries

English: Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, Veneto, Italy. The Coro dei Frati (friar choir) by Marco Cozzi. Français : Basilique Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venise, Vénétie, Italie. Le Coro dei Frati (choeur des frères) par Marco Cozzi. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Visit the magnificent churches on the island of Torcello as well as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta from 639 with a bell tower that was erected in the 11th century. The Martyrium of Santa Fosca was built around 1100 and has impressive mosaics.

Santa_Maria_gloriosa_dei_Frari. L’Assunta del Tiziano. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Plan of Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are fine examples of Gothic art: the Venetian church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the Scaliger Tombs in the historical center of Verona.

Titian, the 16th-century Venetian school of painting master is interred in the Frari.The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is located on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district. The church is dedicated to the Assumption.

The campanile, the second tallest in the city after that of San Marco, was completed in 1396.

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venezia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Frari is a parish church of the Vicariate of San Polo-Santa Croce-Dorsoduro. The other churches of the parish are San Barnaba, San Ludovico Vescovo, Santa Maria del Soccorso and Santa Margherita.

Inside Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Photo credit: HarshLight)

In the Veneto Byzantine was brought to Padua by Giotto. In 1302 he was commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni to paint the family chapel, now known just by the name of Scrovegni Chapel, one of the most important artistic monuments of Padua and Veneto.

Padua was a cradle of the Venetian Renaissance. Renaissance artists who worked there included

Donatello, who worked on an altar of the Basilica of Saint Anthony

In architecture, Andrea Palladio was born in Padua and designed influential Villas in the mainland, in Vicenza, Padua and Treviso. In Venice, he designed the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, the Il Redentore, and Zitelle on the island of Giudecca.

Palladian Villa architecture includes: Villa Emo, Villa Barbaro, Villa Capra, and Villa Foscari.

Monument to Antonio Canova in the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, Italy. File:Naya, Carlo (1816-1882) – n. 074 – Venezia – Cenotafio del Canova.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The research style of Palladio has created an architectural movement called Palladianism.

Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Travel Guides @ www.vino-con-vista.com

English: The Church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice. Runa Simi: Venezia. Türkçe: Venedik gece manzarası. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Prosecco Gold Bottle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A vineyard in the Italian wine region of Valpolicella in the Veneto in late September. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A bottle of the Italian wine Amarone della Valpolicella from the Veneto. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Filed under Italy Travel Guides, Wine Tourism in the Venato

Tagged as Amarone, Dolomites, Frari, Italy, Monte Veronese, Prosecco, Scaliger Tombs, Soave, Torcello, Valdobbiadene, Valpolicella, Veneto, Venice, Wine Tourism in the Venato

February 13, 2013 · 12:29 pm

Ten Spectacular Destinations for Carnival

Image via Wikipedia

English: Diablada Ferroviaria in the Carnival de Oruro, Bolivia. Español: Diablos de la Diablada Ferroviaria de Oruro en el Carnaval de Oruro en Bolivia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Carnival is celebrated before Lent in many countries around the world in radically different forms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPKKC1vRiB8&feature=fvst. The word “carnival” is derived from the Latin word carne vale which translates into farewell to meat. On Shrove Tuesday (March 8, 2011) in Britian they make pancakes. In other countries they wear wild costumes with exotic masks and have parades and parties that last for days.

English: Arcangel San Miguel in the Carnival of Oruro, Bolivia. Español: Arcángel San Miguel de la Gran Tradicional y Auténtica Diablada Oruro, en el Carnaval de Oruro 2009. Bolivia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Español: En la foto, el Arcangel Miguel dirigiendo una tropa de diablos de la Fraternidad Artistica y cultural “La Diablada”, en el dia del diablo y del moreno del Carnaval de Oruro “Obra maestra del patrimonio oral e intangible de la humanidad”, UNESCO. La Diablada, danza primigenia de Oruro. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have compiled a list of ”You Tube” Videos of interesting places to witness the festivities. Some of the locations like Benche Belgium and Oruro Bolivia are listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity sites.

1. Via Reggio Carnevale in Italy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siak0NgyApE&feature=related

2. Rio de Janeiro Brazil http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QvxuYceHmY&feature=fvst

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Deutsch: Karneval in Rio de Janeiro. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3. The Canary Islands in Spain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voGeEOYaUXk

Map of the Canary Islands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. Venice Italy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqWFz5VsDLU&feature=pyv&ad=6639910676&kw=venice%20carnival

5. New Orleans in the USA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTYcgnqAzqE

6. Trinidad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OvILlTRwqo

7. Cologne Germany http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXAMEmfdgeE&feature=related

8. Benche Belgium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-oJoCj98BE

9. Oruro Bolivia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0ocXXwWkOc&feature=related

English: Diablada Ferroviaria of Oruro, Bolivia in the Carnival of Oruro 2009. Español: Diablada Ferroviaria de Oruro, Bolivia en el Carnaval de Oruro 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

10. Basel Switzerland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBUYS-Mg5s0&feature=related

To learn more about festivals in Italy read Vino con Vista Travel Guides @ www.vino-con-vista.com.

Dr. EveAnn Lovero’s Vino Con Vista Travel Guides can be purchased at these sites

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Filed under Carnevale in Italy, Carnevale in Tuscany, Carnival in Italy, Fat Tuesday, Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, Italian art, Italian Food, Italian Food and Wine, Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro Brazil Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Via Reggio Carnevale in Italy

Tagged as Bolivia, Canary Islands, Carnevale, Carnevale in Venice Italy, Carnival, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival in Benche Belgium, Carnival in Oruro Bolivia, Fat Tuesday, Intangible cultural heritage, Italy, Lent, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Shrove Tuesday, Trinidad Carnival, unesco, UNESCO Intangible Heritage list, United States, Venice

· 10:58 am

Carnival of Venice Italy 2013: Elaborate Masks and Costumes Prevail

Image via Wikipedia

Plan to attend the Carnival of Venice. The 2013 Venetian Carnival runs until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday which is known “Mardi Gras”.

There are so many exciting events, check the www.carnivalofvenice.com website for details. The word carnival comes from the Latin for “Farewell, meat!” Devout Catholics are obliged to fast during lent. Since all meat, butter and eggs had to consumed prior to that day, it became an excuse for a party that replicated historical pagan festivities.

Italiano: Immagine dal Carnevale di Venezia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Historically in Rome, Saturnalia and Lupercalia festivals celebrated lewd behavior that was beyond the realm of propriety and social order. Popes Clement IX, Pope Clement XI and Pope Benedict XIII were advocates of Carnival celebrations. Venice Carnival festivities declined through to the 1930s, when Mussolini banned it.

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In 1162, when The Republic of Venice defeated Ulrico, the Patriarch of Aquileia, the tradition of slaughtering a bull and 12 pigs in the Piazza San Marco around Shrove Tuesday was initiated to commemorate the victory.

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Carnival Masks made the Venetian Carnival noteworthy. Traditionally, people were allowed to wear masks between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen’s Day) on December 26 and the start of the carnival season and also at midnight on Shrove Tuesday. Maskmakers (mascherari) enjoyed a special position in society.They had their own laws and their own guild.

Venetian masks can be made with leather or with the glass. Contemporary masks are made with the application of gesso and gold leaf. Theyare hand-painted using feathers and gemstones.

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Some of the traditional masks depict Commedia dell’Arte characters. Others were more sinister.

Image by Domen Jakus via Flickr

Authentic Venetian Masks are rather expensive because they are so labor intensive. They are sold all year round in Venice. Check out the Carta Alta website for an extensive array of masks at www.cartaalta.com

Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Italy Travel Guides @ www.vino-con-vista.com

Carnival Venice (photosfreelance.wordpress.com)

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Filed under Attractions in Venice Italy, Venice Italy Carnival 2012

Tagged as Ash Wednesday, Carnival, Francesco Guardi, Giacomo Casanova, Mardi Gras, Patriarch of Aquileia, Piazza San Marco, Pope Clement XI, Rome, Shrove Tuesday, Venice, Venice Carnival

March 30, 2012 · 10:45 am

Venice is the “Mistress of the Sea”: A UNESCO Site in Italy

Lavishly adorned palazzi like Ca d’Oro and Ca’ Rezzonicone line the Grand Canal. These palaces are embellished with Baroque magnificence and Rococo elegance. Gondolas and Vaporetti (water buses) transport residents and exuberant tourists through paradise via waterways.

Ca' d'Oro, Venice facade. Français : Ca' d'Oro à Venise Vue de la façade. Italiano: Ca' d'Oro Venezia Facciat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

View to Santa Maria della Salute over the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After the fall of the Roman Empire, mainland refugees settled the sparse islands to escape waves of invasions. These residents harvested seafood from the canals of the Adriatic Sea for sustenance. Eventually, they became sailors and then wealthy sea merchants. This gateway to the Asia became a major maritime power in the 10^th century. Exotic spices like saffron, cinnamon and curry fueled the Venetian Empire. Salt was a crucially important profit center for the Venetians. The term salary is derived from the Venetian practice of being paid in salt. The extraordinary profits earned through trade, filled the coffers of the patrons of the flourishing artists. Marco Polo (1254-1324) was a prominent Venetian explorer who traveled to Asia.

This enchanting city is an architectural masterpiece with domes, spires and campaniles. St. Mark’s basilica and the Doge’s Palace constitute the fulcrum of Venetian religious and civic life.

The work of Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese adorn her magnificent buildings. Saint Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) is the location of some of the major attractions including St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace and the Sansovino Library. Saint Mark is represented by the winged lion surmounting one of the tall 12^th century granite columns. The gorgeous church of Santa Maria della Salute has a prime location on the mouth of the Grand Canal. Purchase a museum card or Museum Pass to avoid long lines at key sites in Venice.

Giusto Le Court, main altar in Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute Italiano: Giusto Le Court, altare prinicipale in Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Photo credit: Wikipedia)