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"

- Valoreev

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

- Treskovich

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Episodes

Cities Artists Theory Answers to Open Questions Interviews

Bernini Borromini Brunelleschi Canova Caravaggio Donatello Giotto Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo Other Artists Raphael Tintoretto Titian

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 146 – The Divine Michelangelo Part II – Madonna of the Stairs / Battle of the Lapiths

Posted: November 3rd, 2021

This episode explores two of Michelangelo's earliest known sculptures that were produced while the teenage sculptor was still part of the Medici household. The sculptures reflect the influence of Donatello on a young Michelangelo, but also the later sculptor's obsession with the male nude form. &nbs...

Episode 110 – Padua: Donatello’s “Gattamelata” and Statues in the Santo

Posted: February 24th, 2021

This episode explores Donatello's extraordinary artistic production during his sojourn in Padua during the 1440s. From his milestone Equestrian Monument to Gattamelata, to his refined bronze Crucifix, to his 3-dimensional sculptural sacra conversazione and complex perspectival bronze relief scu...

Episode 99 – Florence: Penitent Mary Magdalene by Donatello (Museo Dell’Opera del Duomo)

Posted: December 9th, 2020

This episode examines one of the most moving and expressive sculptures in the history of art. Carved from white poplar wood, Donatello captures the meaning of ascetic spirituality by physically decimating his figure while still expressing an inner vitality in this extraordinarily modern-looking stat...

Episode 88 – Florence: Donatello’s Bronze “David” – Part II

Posted: September 23rd, 2020

Episode Info: This episode is the second part of my two-part episode about Donatello's eclectic statue of David. It examines the unusual iconography of the statue as well as the particular homoerotic culture of Renaissance Florence....

Episode 87 – Florence: Donatello’s Bronze “David” – Part I

Posted: September 16th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode is the first of a two-part episode that examines one of the most beautiful and controversial sculptures in history. In this first part, we exam the history, museum context, and unusual iconography of the sculpture....

Episode 82 – Florence: The Cantorie by Luca Della Robbia and Donatello (Cathedral Museum)

Posted: August 12th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode examines two of the largest and most beautiful works of Early Renaissance sculpture in Florence, Italy - the Cantorie, or "choir lofts" in the Museo Dell'Opera del Duomo. Designed and carved respectively by Luca Della Robbia and Donatello, each work is a visual celebrati...

Episode 66 – Florence: Donatello’s Crucifix and Prophet Statues (S. Croce/Museo Del Opera)

Posted: April 22nd, 2020

Episode Info: This episode explores how Donatello revolutionized sculpture in the early 15th century by using three of his most famous works to illustrate his new visual language of naturalism....

Episode 62 – Florence: Donatello’s St. George (Bargello)

Posted: March 25th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode examines Donatello's sculptural representation of the St. George subject for the Sword and Armor Guild at the church of Orsanmichele, although both sculpture and niche are in the Bargello Museum today. Not only was this first sculpture of the Renaissance to depict a subjec...

Episode 61: Florence – Donatello’s Marble “David” (Bargello)

Posted: March 18th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode examines Donatello's seminal heroic interpretation of the "David" subject in sculpture. Removed from its original context at the Duomo and inserted into a civic setting at the Palazzo Vecchio, the statue became the symbol of divine protection for the Florentine Republic....

Episode 60: Florence – Cathedral Facade Sculptures

Posted: March 11th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode examines the statues that were produced by the likes of Arnolfo Di Cambio, Nanni Di Banco and Donatello and adorned the original facade of Florence cathedral. These extraordinary statues reflect the transition from the International Gothic to the Early Renaissance style....

Episode 47: Pisa – Baptistry Pulpit by Nicola Pisano

Posted: December 11th, 2019

Episode Info: This episode examines one of the most extraordinary sculptures of the Middle Ages. Nicola Pisano revolutionized sculpture in the 13th century by introducing drama, psychology, classical motifs, anatomy and movement. Although few works exist by the great sculptor, he would inspire later...

Episode 40 – Florence: Statues at Orsanmichele

Posted: October 23rd, 2019

Episode Info: This episode examines the extraordinary collection of statues on the outside of the church of Orsanmichele in Florence, Italy. Produced by some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, such as Donatello, Ghiberti and Verrocchio, each statue reflects the changing artistic styles of t...

Episode 12: Florence – Speaking Statues in Piazza della Signoria

Posted: April 11th, 2019

Episode Info: This episode will examine the extraordinary collection of sculptures in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. From Donatello's "Judith and Holofernes' to Michelangelo's "David" to Cellini's "Perseus and Medusa", each sculpture represents a chapter in the extraordinary story tha...

"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

"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

"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.