by Valerie | Jul 25, 2015 | history, Italy, museums, people, travel
One Easter in Italy we were preparing supper we heard chanting. I turned off the flame under the pasta water; we pulled on jackets and followed the sounds and lights moving across the valley. The sun had not set and we could just make out a group of people holding... by Valerie | Jul 16, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Everyone who has been to Venice has looked out from the Piazzetta, the Doge’s Palace on the left and Sansovino’s magnificent library on the right, over the bevy of gondolas across the lagoon to Palladio’s San Giorgio Maggiore. It is marooned on an island – seemingly... by Valerie | Jul 7, 2015 | childhood, General interest, history, museums, people, theatre
The only time I’ve seen Michael Wood was when he came to give a lecture in Hull University’s Middleton Hall and the projector could only project stamp sized images on to the massive screen in front of an eager audience. He was, understandably, furious, stamping his... by Valerie | Jul 1, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, poetry, travel
Not long ago I was leaning against a wall warmed by the sun and reading a dog-eared copy of Keats’ poems. I have visited the house in Rome where he died – the Keats-Shelley Museum – many times, and each is profoundly moving in a different way. That is why I return...
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