by Valerie | Feb 26, 2020 | General interest, history, people, travel
When one reaches the ‘height’ of one’s ambition, it is presumed – or hoped – that one will stay up there for a while. When there is a ‘peak’ in one’s fortunes, a fall is predicated. The only way to continue along the relentless tread of time is downhill. Better,... 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 31, 2014 | art, General interest, history, travel
Rain from a grey Italian sky has brought me inside from gardening; it has put me in mind of what we humans do to the earth’s surface. Or non-humans, for that matter. A few years ago I was a ‘hanger-on’ at a conference in Paris. It was on the 18th-century architect... by Valerie | Feb 2, 2014 | book reviews, reading groups, travel, writing a novel
I felt there was something strange when I began teaching short courses for credit based in Venice for the University of California at Berkeley. Something was missing, but I wasn’t quite sure what. Of course, one couldn’t stroke the original bronze Horses of St....
Recent Comments