by Valerie | Apr 4, 2018 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
I was asked to look at a painting and pronounce whether it is an authentic work by Zoffany, an 18th-century portrait painter. Is it really his autograph work? As I write his name, my memory conjures up visions of gentlemen and women, in formal or informal poses, in... by Valerie | Feb 8, 2018 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Square, bluey-black when dry, bluey-grey and slippery when wet, the old paving stones in the medieval heart of Rome, or sampietrini, were originally a cheap way of paving the streets with off cuts from blocks of basalt used to pave ceremonial buildings. They wear... by Valerie | Aug 19, 2014 | art, Italy, museums, people, travel
We climbed up the side of a hill, and it was hot. Rock tombs this time, not tumuli like the ones we had seen at Tarquinia. Then, in the Etruscan necropolis near Pitigliano, we came upon the temple front carved out of tufa, columns only stumps sticking out of the... by Valerie | May 28, 2014 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Tuscania is off the beaten track, almost a forgotten city. Not too long ago we discovered it by chance when seeking a different route from Rome to Tuscany from the usual one by Lake Bolsena. The name suggested it had been founded by the Etruscans. Inhabited since the... by Valerie | May 21, 2014 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people
My computer has been out of service for days. It started with the screen turning upside down for no reason at all, like the screen on my camera going milky for no reason too – I didn’t drop it but had it strapped to my wrist! On our way to explore three cardinal...
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