While Wandering Varenna

Varenna is a quiet little spot on the shores of Lake Como. We stayed in nearby Bellagio and took a quick ride on the traghetto (ferry) to wander and lunch in Varenna. Here’s some snapshots of what caught my attention during our passeggiata (stroll). I invite you to sign my guest book or join me on Facebook!

Discover the Park of Monsters with Tourist by Chance

A Guest Post by Valter Baldu I’m so happy to share today’s post by Valter of Tourist by Chance — Italian born, living in Rome and loving being a tourist in his own country. His blog is rich with Italian travel details and photos, and he often takes readers off the typical tourist path. Today…

A Visit to Rome’s Majestic Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Basilica di San Paolo Fuori Le Mura “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – Paul the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 13:13. In the early first century Paul the Apostle Paul — one of the original followers of Jesus — was executed in Rome by order of Roman emperor Nero….

Keep Calm and Love Roma

If “all roads lead to Rome”, I’m guessing that this ancient path in front of the Colosseum is one of those roads. If it’s your first visit to this ancient city, the Colosseum cannot be missed.  (Although truthfully, if I find myself in Rome, this is the first thing I want to see. For me,…

12 Things You May Not Know About The Last Supper

There were exactly two things I knew for sure about the Last Supper: 1. It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. 2. It was somewhere in Milan. (Clearly, I’m not an art historian.) This capolavoro (masterpiece) had long been on my wish list of Things to See in Italy, but mostly just to check it off the…

Masterpieces abound in Milan

Recently I have been writing about my newfound love of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. But this iconic painting is not the only masterpiece in Milan. Everything seems to be an incredible work of art in this fashionable metropolis. Exhibit #1: The Duomo — The fourth largest church in Europe (fifth largest in the…

A Moveable Feast

  Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Last Supper, inside the refectory of Milan’s Santa Maria delle Grazie Even though seeing this capolavoro (masterpiece) has long been on my wish list, I didn’t expect to be so moved by it when I finally saw it in person. I. Was. Wrong. The Last Supper pulled me in, enveloped me, took up…

Finding your Way

Hard to get lost in Arezzo. —  I invite you to sign my guestbook, and to join me on Facebook. This post first appeared on Prayers and Piazzas.

Art History Appreciation

Art is much more powerful when it jumps from the pages of a book and you can enjoy it face to face. We found Masaccio’s masterpiece, The Holy Trinity, sitting quietly inside Florence’s Santa Maria Novella church, a peaceful and cool oasis from a crowded summer day in the city. This work is considered “one…

Trovare

Trovare  (verb):  To find also: to locate, to uncover Unlike many Italian words which I have to look up over and over again in order to remember, trovare has always been easy. It reminds me of the word trove, as in treasure trove, which evokes the image of a treasure chest, and what does one do…