Podcasts-2 - Rocky Ruggiero

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Rebuilding The Renaissance podcast will explore the development of the art, architecture, culture and history in Italy, from ancient Roman times through the Renaissance. Listeners will develop an understanding of Italy’s role in the development of Western civilization and an ability to appreciate and understand works of art in their historical context.

"No one brings the Renaissance to life better than Rocky"

- Historywrocky

"No one brings the Renaissance to life better than Rocky"

- Treskovich

"No one brings the Renaissance to life better than Rocky"

- Valoreev

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Episode 340 – Florence: Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum) Part 2

Posted: July 23rd, 2025

The Cathedral Museum of Florence, Italy, contains the three original bronze doors from Florence Baptistry by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. This podcast analyzes history, style, and influence of all three masterpieces. ...

Episode 339 – Florence – Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum) Part 1

Posted: July 16th, 2025

The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence is one of the world’s premier sculpture museums with works by Donatello, Ghiberti, and Michelangelo. This podcast examines the history of the museum and its spectacular reconstruction of the original early 14th-century façade of Florence Cathedral....

Episode 277 – Caravaggio’s “Sleeping Cupid”

Posted: May 8th, 2024

Caravaggio, still a fugitive from justice, left Naples for Malta in the second half of 1607 most likely because the sensational paintings he produced in Naples were drawing too much attention to him. When he arrived in Malta, he was inducted into the brotherhood and apparently changed his ways. One ...

Episode 251 – Caravaggio’s Paintings in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Posted: November 8th, 2023

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence contains three paintings by Caravaggio. Two of them, the “Bacchus” and “The Medusa Shield” were sent by Cardinal Del Monte to Grand Duke Ferdinand de’ Medici, while the third, the “Sacrifice of Isaac,” was acquired later. All three paintings reflect Carav...

Episode 234 – Giambologna’s “Rape of the Sabine” (Piazza della Signoria, Florence)

Posted: July 12th, 2023

Still located in the Loggia dei Lanzi where it was installed in 1583, the “Rape of the Sabine” was produced for Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. While the group of three figures may seem like a fitting representation of the mythological event where Roman men took Sabine women as their wives, th...

Episode 233 – Vasari’s “Last Judgment” (Florence Cathedral)

Posted: July 5th, 2023

The dome frescoes of Florence Cathedral cover nearly an acre of dome surface, making it the world’s largest fresco. Begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1572 and completed by Federico Zuccari in 1579, the main subject of the fresco is the Last Judgment and incudes some strikingly graphic imagery in the Hell...

Episode 232 – Ammannati’s “Neptune Fountain” (Piazza Signoria, Florence)

Posted: June 28th, 2023

Commissioned by Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici for the marriage of his son Francesco to Johanna of Austria, the massive fountain occupies the northwestern corner of the Palazzo Vecchio. Portraying the duke as the god of the sea, the fountain imagery was intended to glorify the Medici dynasty, but was no...

Episode 221 – Michelangelo’s Tomb (Santa Croce, Florence)

Posted: April 12th, 2023

Although he died in Rome, the nearly-89-year-old Michelangelo was buried in a tomb in the great Franciscan Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. Discover the tomb monument that celebrates the genius of the divine artist in this episode....

Episode 219 – Michelangelo’s “Bandini/Florence Pietà” (Museo dell’Opera, Florence)

Posted: March 29th, 2023

At about 75 years of age, Michelangelo began carving his second “Pietà” statue. Michelangelo was clearly trying to up his game by carving a group of four figures from a single block of marble. But the most intriguing aspect of this statue is that the extensive visible damage was inflicted by Mi...

Episode 215 – Cellini’s “Perseus with the Head of Medusa” (Florence)

Posted: March 1st, 2023

In 1545, the goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini was commissioned by Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici to create a large bronze statue of the Greek hero Perseus and Medusa. The resulting work was one of the most beautiful and famous of the Renaissance. This episode examines the history, style, and importance of Ce...

Episode 213 – Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library in Florence Part III

Posted: February 15th, 2023

This episode analyzes the extraordinary reading room of Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy. Faced with having to reduce the weight of the building, Michelangelo designed a type of structural cage into which he inserted layered walls, elegant architectural elements, and handsome f...

Episode 212 – Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library in Florence Part II

Posted: February 8th, 2023

This episode analyzes Michelangelo’s visionary architectural design for the vestibule - better known as the “Ricetto” – of the Laurentian Library. Dominated by the famous staircase which Michelangelo claimed appeared to him in a dream, the space perfectly expresses Michelangelo’s radical n...

Episode 211 – Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library in Florence Part I

Posted: February 1st, 2023

In 1524, the Medici Pope Clement VII asked Michelangelo to design and build a new library to house the extraordinary collection of manuscripts and books owned by the family. The logical location was the Medici-sponsored complex of San Lorenzo. This episode analyzes the construction history of the li...

Episode 210 – Baccio Bandinelli’s “Hercules and Cacus” (Florence)

Posted: January 25th, 2023

Although the commission was originally given to Michelangelo in 1508, the eventual carving of the sculpture fell into the lesser hands of Baccio Bandinelli. Symbolic of the new authoritative Medici regime and rule over the city, the sculpture was a strong man image intended to warn Florentines of th...

Podcast 191 – The Capponi Altarpiece Part II

Posted: September 14th, 2022

Jacopo Pontormo's altarpiece for the Capponi Chapel in the church of Santa Felicità in Florence, Italy, is one of the most beautiful paintings of the Italian Renaissance. Yet, the subject matter of painting still confuses art historians as it does not fit in any traditional iconographic parameters....

Episode 190 – Pontormo’s “Capponi Altarpiece” – Part I

Posted: September 7th, 2022

In 1525, Jacopo Pontormo, one of the greatest Mannerist painters of Florence, was commissioned to decorate the family chapel of Ludovico Capponi in the church of Santa Felicità. While the altarpiece is the chapel's most celebrated work, Pontormo also decorated its dome, pendentives and window wall ...

Episode 188 – Michelangelo’s Unfinished “Slaves” (Accademia Gallery, Florence)

Posted: August 24th, 2022

With the death of Pope Leo X in 1521, Michelangelo was forced to abandon his work on the New Sacristy and to return to the unfinished tomb of Pope Julius II. It was, in fact, for the tomb that Michelangelo began work on the so-called "Slaves" today in the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy. Often ...

Episode 186 – Michelangelo’s New Sacristy in Florence Part II

Posted: August 17th, 2022

This episode examines the extraordinary tomb of Giuliano de' Medici in the New Sacristy. The allegorical figures of "Day" and "Night" are two of Michelangelo's most beautiful statues, while the "Effigy of Giuliano de' Medici" is a revolution in funerary statuary....

Episode 187 – Michelangelo’s New Sacristy in Florence Part III

Posted: August 10th, 2022

This episode examines the extraordinary tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici in the New Sacristy. The allegorical figures of "Dawn" and "Dusk" are two of Michelangelo's most elegant statues, while the "Effigy of Lorenzo de' Medici" is a clear allusion to the Classical "thinker" pose. We also analyze how the s...

Episode 185 – Michelangelo’s New Sacristy in Florence Part I

Posted: August 3rd, 2022

While working on the facade project of San Lorenzo, Michelangelo undertook another architectural project for Medici Pope Leo X. Known as the New Sacristy, and located in the Medici Chapels in Florence, Italy, the space was intended to serve as a royal funerary space for the Pope's brother and nephew...

Episode 184 – Michelangelo’s Facade Model for San Lorenzo (Casa Buonarroti Museum)

Posted: July 27th, 2022

In 1515, Michelangelo undertook his first architectural commission for the facade of the Medici church of San Lorenzo in Florence. For the project, he produced a large wooden model of the facade, today located in the Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence, Italy. This episode examines the history around...

Episode 156 – The Divine Michelangelo Part VIII – The Doni Tondo

Posted: January 12th, 2022

This episode examines the only painting by Michelangelo in Florence, and one of only two finished paintings executed by the artist before he decorated the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In many ways the vibrant, expressive colors and sculptural plasticity of the figures in this painting anticipated ...

Episode 155 – Leonardo vs. Michelangelo- The Battle of the Battles – Part II

Posted: January 5th, 2022

In 1504, Florence found its two greatest artists in the city at the same time. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to have them test their talents against each other, massive murals were commissioned from each in the great hall of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. This second part of a 2-part podc...

Episode 154 – Leonardo vs. Michelangelo- The Battle of the Battles – Part I

Posted: December 29th, 2021

Episode 135 – Hugo van der Goes’ “Portinari Altarpiece” (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

Posted: August 18th, 2021

This podcast examines the exquisite Flemish masterpiece which was painted for a prominent Italian patron. Located in the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, the "Portinari Altarpiece" exhibits all those aspects typical of the early Flemish Renaissance period, but with an Italian twist to suit the p...

Episode 132 – Florence: Strozzi Palace

Posted: July 28th, 2021

This podcast explores the architecture and history of one of the largest family palaces in Florence, built for the illustrious Strozzi family. After nearly a half-century of exile for their failed attempt at exiling the Medici, the fabulously wealthy banker Filippo Strozzi was the first of his famil...

Episode 131 – Florence: Rucellai Palace

Posted: July 21st, 2021

This podcast examines the architecture, authorship, and history of one of Florence's most important early Renaissance family palaces. Perhaps the most classically inspired of the 15th-century palaces in the city, the Rucellai Palace is a true Renaissance architectural gem. ...

Episode 130 – Florence (Santa Maria Novella): The Tornabuoni Chapel Frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio

Posted: July 14th, 2021

This podcast examines the extraordinary early Renaissance fresco cycle in the family chapel of Giovanni Tornabuoni, who was the uncle of Lorenzo the Magnificent de' Medici. It was while Ghirlandaio was working on these frescoes in Santa Maria Novella in the 1480s that a 13-year-old apprentice named ...

Episode 125 – Florence: Uffizi Gallery – Leonardo da Vinci’s “Adoration of the Magi”

Posted: June 9th, 2021

In 1481, Leonardo began work on a major altarpiece for the church of San Donato a Scopeto. At the same time, he sent his resume to the ruler of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, in hopes of landing the position of court artist for that duchy. This episode examines Leonardo’s painting of the Adoration of the...

Episode 123 – Florence: Uffizi Gallery – Leonardo da Vinci’s “Annunciation”

Posted: May 26th, 2021

This podcast will analyze Leonardo’s earliest known painting for the church of San Bartolomeo a Monte Oliveto, which he painted at only 20 years of age. Leonardo’s early works were clear indicators of his unique artistic vision and superlative talent. "The Annunciation" is not only stunningly be...

Episode 122 – Botticelli’s Muse – Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci

Posted: May 19th, 2021

This episode will attempt to unravel the mystery behind one of the world’s most famous paintings – the Birth of Venus by Botticelli. Was the artist's muse the legendary Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, who is still reputed to be the most beautiful woman of Renaissance Florence? Just who was this leg...

Episode 121 – History: The Pazzi Conspiracy

Posted: May 6th, 2021

On April 26, 1478, Giuliano de’ Medici lay dead on the pavement of Florence cathedral with 19 stab wounds serving as testimony to the vicious attack that he had just suffered. Had his assassins succeeded in eliminating his older brother, Lorenzo “il Magnifico” de’ Medici, that day as well, t...

Episode 119 – Florence: Uffizi Gallery – Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”

Posted: April 28th, 2021

Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" is one of the most celebrated paintings in the history of art. The work depicts how the Roman goddess of love, Venus, came into being. This episode will examine the style, composition and symbolism of the painting, as well as discuss those factors that give the p...

Episode 118 – Florence: Uffizi Gallery – Botticelli’s “Primavera”

Posted: April 21st, 2021

When Botticelli painted the "Primavera" in the 1470s, he opened up a veritable Pandora’s Box. No longer would Renaissance artists be limited to simply dressing Christian saints in togas and sandals, they could now gradually introduce the very literature, philosophy and religion of the ancient Grec...

Episode 116 – Florence: Andrea del Verrocchio – Part II

Posted: April 7th, 2021

This episode is the second part of a two-part episode about the extraordinary 15th-century Florentine artist who is best known as the master of Leonardo da Vinci. We examine Verrocchio's later sculptures such as the "Putto with a Dolphin", "Lady with a Primrose" and his "Equestrian Monument to Barto...

Episode 115 – Florence: Andrea del Verrocchio – Part I

Posted: March 31st, 2021

This first part of a two-part episode examines the art and career of the extraordinary sculptor who is best known as the master of Leonardo da Vinci. Although often overshadowed by the notoriety of his pupil, Verrocchio was one of the most significant sculptors in history. He was also one of the ...

"I can say that Rocky Ruggiero is the best among the very best. I have yet to encounter a more precise, informative and commanding teacher or conductor through the beauty and magnificence of Florence and Italy"

Peter Weller

Actor, Director, Writer, Musician, Scholar

"We recently traveled to Florence with our twin daughters and we wanted them to experience the rich art history of Florence in a more personalized basis. We were grateful that Rocky agreed to this assignment. His Knowledge, love and enthusiasm for the arts was contagious. It was the highlight of our trip!"

Alan L. Rivera

CFO and General Counsel, Millbrook Capital Management, Inc.

"Rocky is a favorite and one of the best art historians we’ve ever used. He has led our family on occasion where are high school and college kids praised how Rocky made art "interesting" and "relevant", while his interactive style held everyone’s attention"

Michael Chesser

President and Founder Chesser Group Inc., Los Angeles CA