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... by Valerie | Jun 24, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Our long affair with Giambattista Piranesi began when I gave John a book with etchings of Rome. I wasn’t at all sure whether I should have done this. The collection had been given to me by a former boyfriend, but it was to change his life – and mine. Many hours were... by Valerie | May 1, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, people
Every spring I traipse into a thirteenth century castellated building and follow the signs to ‘Tributi’. For many years I climbed up worn stone steps to the second floor, but now they have fitted a slim lift into the stairwell following decades of complaints from the... by Valerie | Apr 1, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Of all portraits of popes that fascinate me, one stands out above all others. Shudder at the sheer power and frustration of Titian’s gnarled Farnese Paul Iii , and the fear of the cardinals around him, now in the museum in Naples. He was the pope who ordered the... by Valerie | Mar 4, 2015 | art, General interest, history, people, travel
I am writing this while contemplating the evening sunlight on the Minster. This winter there have been many sunny weekends, but paths are muddy and National Trust or English Heritage sites and country houses are closed for spring cleaning. What a blessing it is to... by Valerie | Feb 17, 2015 | people, travel, Uncategorized
For some years I used to go twice a year on lecture tours of the USA. It was a very pleasant way of seeing friends from the summer courses I had led in Cambridge and in Tuscany for UCLA and Berkeley. It was also a chance to travel all over the country and meet many...
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