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"

- Treskovich

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

- Historywrocky

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

- Valoreev

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Episodes

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

Episode 294 – Maderno’s “Confessio” in St. Peter’s

Posted: September 4th, 2024

Located directly in front of the high altar of St. Peter’s and below Bernini’s magnificent Baldacchino, Maderno’s “Confessio” is an architectural stage that allows the faithful to revere the remains of St. Peter. It consists of a beautiful marble balustrade, nearly 100 perpetually burnin...

Episode 287 – The Façade St. Peter’s

Posted: July 17th, 2024

In 1608, the architect Carlo Maderno was commissioned by Pope Paul V to complete the Basilica of St. Peter by building its façade. That façade has been criticized for centuries for looking more like a palace façade than a church façade because of its emphasis on horizontality. This podcast explo...

Episode 244 – Paolo Veronese’s “Feast in the House of Levi” (Accademia Gallery, Venice)

Posted: September 20th, 2023

In 1573, Paolo Veronese was commissioned by the Dominicans at the church of Saints Giovanni and Paolo in Venice to paint a “Last Supper” to replace an earlier version by Titian that had been destroyed by fire. The result was a massive image full of numerous figures engaged in a hedonistic celebr...

Episode 243 – Paolo Veronese’s “Wedding Feast at Cana” (Louvre, Paris)

Posted: September 13th, 2023

In 1562, Veronese was commissioned to paint a massive painting of the “Wedding Feast at Cana” to adorn the end wall of the refectory of the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio in Venice, Italy. What he produced was an extraordinary impression of typical Venetian revelry in the late 16th century...

Episode 242 – Paolo Veronese’s Church of San Sebastiano in Venice

Posted: September 6th, 2023

Paolo Veronese is the third member of the great Venetian late Renaissance trio that also includes Titian and Tintoretto. The church of San Sebastiano in Venice was decorated over 15 years with paintings exclusively by Veronese and is a veritable shrine to the genius of this great painter. ...

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 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...

Episode 202 – Palazzo Te in Mantua – Part IV (The Room of the Giants)

Posted: November 30th, 2022

Giulio Romano's "Room of the Giants" in the Palazzo Te is one of the most dramatic and unique pictorial cycles in history. Depicting the fall of the Titans to the Olympian gods, the colossal-scale figures, rounded corners, and illusionistic architecture create a veritable sense of virtual reality....

Episode 201 – Palazzo Te in Mantua – Part III (The Room of Psyche)

Posted: November 23rd, 2022

The Room of Psyche in the Palazzo Te in Mantua, Italy, is one of the most erotic pictorial cycles of the Renaissance. From the 9 ceiling paintings that depict the story of Cupid and Psyche, to the lunettes depicting the labors of Psyche, to the wall paintings depicting examples of divine and bestial...

Episode 199 – The Palazzo Te in Mantua Part II

Posted: November 9th, 2022

The pictorial decoration inside of the Palazzo Te in Mantua, Italy, is some of the most inventive and delightful imagery of the Italian Renaissance. From the Room of Ovid, with representations of episodes from the "Metamorphoses," to the Room of the Imprese, with its many coat of arms and playful su...

Episode 198 – The Palazzo Te in Mantua

Posted: November 2nd, 2022

The Palazzo Te (1526-1535) was both designed and decorated by the great Mannerist artist and pupil of Raphael, Giulio Romano. Built for the Marquis-turned-Duke of Mantua, Federico II Gonzaga, every detail of the building was intended to delight the visitor. This episode explores the history and ar...

Episode 197 – Correggio’s “Danaë”

Posted: October 26th, 2022

Located in the Borghese Gallery in Rome, Correggio's sensual painting of the amorous relationship between Jupiter and the daughter of the King of Argos is sublime. Based on the account in Ovid's "Metamorphoses,'' Correggio is able to transform a literary metaphor into an equally powerful and erotic ...

Episode 196 – Correggio’s Dome Frescoes in Parma Cathedral

Posted: October 19th, 2022

Correggio’s breath-taking dome fresco in the dome of Parma cathedral depicts the Assumption of the Virgin (1526). Gigantic painted figures of the apostles stand below an explosion of heavenly clouds and hundreds of angels that create a celestial architecture upon which the Virgin Mary is assum...

Episode 195 – Correggio’s Paintings in the National Gallery of Parma

Posted: October 12th, 2022

Parma's National Gallery of Painting houses one of Italy's most important collections of medieval and Renaissance paintings. Amongst its treasures are several altarpieces by the great Correggio. This episode examines these extraordinary paintings and their expressive emotional power, which has inspi...

Episode 194 – Correggio’s Dome Fresco in San Giovanni Evangelista in Parma

Posted: October 5th, 2022

After decorating the apartment of a Benedictine abbess, Correggio was called by the nearby Benedictine monks of Parma to decorate their church of San Giovanni Evangelista. The most spectacular of the paintings is the illusionist dome fresco depicting Jesus and the Apostles in dramatic di sotto in s�...

Episode 193 – Correggio’s “Camera di San Paolo” in Parma

Posted: September 28th, 2022

The Camera di San Paolo (1519) was Correggio’s first major commission in Parma. In the private quarters of a Benedictine abbess named Giovanna Piacenza, he executed a decorative fresco program filled with mythological and festive motifs. The particularly beautiful illusionistic ceiling decoration ...

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 159 – Venice: Gentile Bellini, Vittore Carpaccio and the Relic of the True Cross

Posted: February 2nd, 2022

At the end of the 15th century, large-scale-cyclical-narrative paintings became quite popular in Renaissance Venice. One of these cycles illustrates in spectacular fashion the legends of the relic of the True Cross that was owned by the Scuola Grande of St. John the Evangelist. This episode examines...

Episode 158 – Venice: Giovanni Bellini’s “St. Job Altarpiece”

Posted: January 26th, 2022

This episode examines the first great Venetian painting of the Renaissance. Although the Venetian school of painting appeared almost a full century after that of Florence, the extraordinary genius of Venetian painters such as Giovanni Bellini rapidly made it the major rival of central Italian Renais...

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 134 – Piero della Francesca’s “Madonna of the Egg” (Brera Gallery, Milan)

Posted: August 11th, 2021

This podcast examines one of the most important paintings of the early Renaissance: the "Madonna of the Egg" also known as the "Montefeltro" or "Brera Altarpiece" by Piero della Francesca. Painted between 1472-74, the painting was most likely commissioned to celebrate the birth of the son of the Duk...

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 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 ...

Episode 114 – Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation in Urbino

Posted: March 24th, 2021

Kenneth Clark described Della Francesca’s painting as the “the greatest small painting in the world.” Much has been written about the enigmatic meaning of the work, including it serving as a metaphor for the fall of Constantinople. This episode examines the iconography of the famous painting a...

Episode 113 – Piero della Francesca’s Paintings in San Sepolcro and Monterchi

Posted: March 17th, 2021

This episode examines the extraordinary paintings in the second leg of the "Piero della Francesca Trail" in the Tuscan towns of San Sepolcro and Monterchi. From Piero's majestic "Madonna della Misericordia," to his iconic "Resurrection," and finally to his moving fresco of "The Madonna del Parto," l...

Episode 112 – Arezzo: The Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca

Posted: March 10th, 2021

This episode examines the extraordinary fresco cycle in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo, Italy. Painted by Piero della Francesca beginning in 1452 in the high chapel of the church, the frescoes are one the most important painting cycles of the early Renaissance and one of the artist's best-k...

Episode 109 – Florence: Equestrian Frescoes of John Hawkwood and Niccolò da Tolentino in Florence Cathedral

Posted: February 17th, 2021

This episode examines the two monumental equestrian frescoes by Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno in Florence cathedral that represent two celebrated mercenary captains who had honorably served the Florentine Republic in the 14th and 15th centuries. These works represent two of the earliest Rena...

Episode 107 – Mantua: The Camera degli Sposi by Andrea Mantegna

Posted: February 3rd, 2021

This episode examines the Camera degli Sposi (1465-1474), which is Andrea Mantegna’s most famous work. Decorating the reception room of the Marquis of Mantua, Ludovico II Gonzaga, Mantegna created an incredibly vivid “picture” of life at a Renaissance court. In addition to the various p...

Episode 106 – Mantua: Basilica of Sant’Andrea

Posted: January 27th, 2021

This episode examines the history and architecture of one of the milestone churches of the Renaissance that was designed by the great architect Leon Battista Alberti. Home to one of Christianity's most important relics - the blood of Christ - the ruler of Mantua, Ludovico Gonzaga, wanted Alberti to ...

Episode 98 – Florence: Uffizi Gallery Early Renaissance Paintings

Posted: December 2nd, 2020

This episode examines those works in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, that best express the principles of Early Renaissance style painting. From the rigid perspectival constructions of Paolo Uccello, to the sensually beautiful madonnas of Fra Lippo Lippi, to the iconic portraits of the duke ...

"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

"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.