He left us master works such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. His intricate, ahead-of-his time thinking influenced the worlds of art, science and engineering. But at the heart of this Renaissance rock star was someone intensely human. 573 years after his birth, here are seven stories to celebrate the man behind the legendary…
Category: Biographies
Saint Catherine of Siena, Patron Saint of Italy
In a country filled with cities and towns each protected by a different patron saint, Italy, as a country, is watched over by two patron saints: Saint Francis of Assisi, and Saint Catherine of Siena. Today marks the feast day of Saint Catherine, who died in Rome on this day in 1380, at just 33…
Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici: The Woman Behind the Treasures of Florence
And so it was that on this day in Florence in July of 1737, a day which I imagine would have been oppressive and hot as summer days can be in Tuscany, the last ruling member of the Medici family, Grand Duke Gian Gastone, died. He had been a poor representation of the once-great Medici…
Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici: The Woman Behind the Treasures of Florence
And so it was that on a July day in Florence, 1737, one which I imagine would have been oppressive and hot as summer days can be in Tuscany, the last ruling member of the Medici family, Grand Duke Gian Gastone, died. He had been a poor representation of the once-great Medici family and with his…
Prayers & Piazzas 