🇬🇧 The Renaissance Devil and the Spiteful Neighbors: The Secrets of Piazza Santo Stefano Bologna is known as “The Learned,” but beneath its intellectual porticos lies a fascinating side made of ancient rivalries and artistic revenges. The most iconic example is found in the beautiful Piazza Santo Stefano, a place of peace and spirit that,Continue reading “The Devil on the Wall: The Secrets of Piazza Santo Stefano”
Category Archives: art
Luigi Galvani (The Bolognese “Frankenstein”)
The Scientist Who Inspired Frankenstein 🇬🇧 English Text While the name Luigi Galvani is synonymous with “animal electricity,” the real-life inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was likely his nephew, the Bolognese scientist Giovanni Aldini. While Galvani studied the twitching of frog legs in his laboratory in Bologna, Aldini took these experiments to a macabre extreme.Continue reading “Luigi Galvani (The Bolognese “Frankenstein”)”
The Hidden Perfection: Fra Damiano’s Secret Marble “A” in San Domenico
🇬🇧 Inside the Basilica of San Domenico lies a wonderful detail that showcases the technical mastery of Fra Damiano da Bergamo, the artist who created the choir’s wood intarsia between 1528 and 1550. That tiny white marble “A”, inlaid with such precision that it looks painted, has become a “hidden treasure” for visitors. These choirContinue reading “The Hidden Perfection: Fra Damiano’s Secret Marble “A” in San Domenico”
Look Up! The Mystery of the Three Arrows in Corte Isolani.
🇬🇧 If you haven’t seen the “Three Arrows” yet, or if you’ve only managed to spot one, it’s time to head to No. 19 Strada Maggiore. Here stands Casa Isolani, one of the rare surviving examples of 13th-century civil architecture. This extraordinary structure, with its 9-meter-high oak beams supporting the third floor, features one ofContinue reading “Look Up! The Mystery of the Three Arrows in Corte Isolani.”
🇬🇧 “Dacci il tiro!”: Bologna, Cinema, and the Magic of the Intercom
If you live in Bologna, you will hear a phrase that sounds mysterious to any other Italian: “Dacci il tiro!” (literally: Give us the pull!). It’s the Bolognese way of asking someone to buzz them in. The Story Behind the “Tiro” As revealed in the book “Non tutti sanno che…”, this expression is a linguisticContinue reading “🇬🇧 “Dacci il tiro!”: Bologna, Cinema, and the Magic of the Intercom”
The Stolen Bucket: Bologna’s Most Famous Trophy
Literature, Legend, and the Heroic-Comic Spirit of Alessandro Tassoni A War for a Wooden Bucket? If you visit the Ghirlandina Tower in Modena, you’ll find a strange sight: a simple, old wooden bucket hanging from the ceiling. To a stranger, it looks like common trash. To a Bolognese, it is the reminder of the onlyContinue reading “The Stolen Bucket: Bologna’s Most Famous Trophy”
Bologna’s Endless Roof
Under the Arches: Why Bologna has 62km of Porticoes The UNESCO Heritage at your doorstep Imagine walking for miles without ever needing an umbrella or fearing the scorching summer sun. In Bologna, this isn’t just a dream—it’s a daily reality. With over 62 kilometers of porticoes (40 km in the city center alone), this “architectureContinue reading “Bologna’s Endless Roof”
The Borso d’Este Bible, the illuminated manuscript that symbolizes the splendor of Ferrara in the 15th century.
It can be said without too much hesitation that the Borso d’Este Bible, the most studied and well-known of the works preserved at the Estense University Library, is the most famous illuminated manuscript of the Renaissance, its fame probably equaled only by that of the Très Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry, or theContinue reading “The Borso d’Este Bible, the illuminated manuscript that symbolizes the splendor of Ferrara in the 15th century.”
FERRAGOSTO
Ferragosto, celebrated on August 15th, has its origins in ancient Rome. It derives from the Latin “Feriae Augusti,” meaning “Augustus’ Rest,” and was established by Emperor Augustus in 18 BC. Initially, it was a holiday to mark the end of summer agricultural work, with a period of rest and celebrations for workers. Over time, theContinue reading “FERRAGOSTO”
OSTUNI: the second largest “rosone” (rose window) in Europe
For the people of Ostuni (the White city), the cathedral’s rose window is the most beautiful and largest, but in reality, it is the second largest in Europe. The splendid Gothic cathedral, built between 1469 and 1495, stands just steps from Piazza della Libertà , looming eternally just beyond the Arco degli Incalzi—one of Frederick II’sContinue reading “OSTUNI: the second largest “rosone” (rose window) in Europe”