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"

- Valoreev

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

- Historywrocky

"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 84 – Florence: The Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti – Part II

Posted: August 26th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode is the second part of the two-part episode dedicated to Lorenzo Ghiberti's celebrated doors known as the "Gates of Paradise". In this second part, we look at each individual panel to examine its style, composition and iconography, where we discover Ghiberti was indeed a ma...

Episode 83 – Florence: The Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti – Part 1

Posted: August 19th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode examines the history and provenance of the world's most famous and beautiful doors - the so-called "Gates of Paradise" that were produced by Lorenzo Ghiberti between 1425-1452. Today, the Renaissance doors are one of the artistic gems of the Museo Dell'Opera del Duomo (Cat...

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 81 – Florence: Holy Trinity by Masaccio Part II

Posted: August 5th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode analyzes the mathematics involved in the creation of the first perspectival painting in history. Learn how geometry and algebra were not only part of the construction of the three-dimensional space, but also a surprising way to illustrate important theological doctrines....

Episode 80 – Florence: Holy Trinity by Masaccio

Posted: July 29th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode will discuss what might just be the most important painting in Florence - Masaccio's Holy Trinity in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy. Learn how this fresco, which was the first in history to apply linear perspective, was lost in the 16th Century when t...

Episode 52 – Siena: Cathedral Pulpit by Nicola Pisano

Posted: January 15th, 2020

Episode Info: This episode examines Nicola Pisano's great sculptural pulpit in the cathedral in Siena, Italy. Carved five years after his pulpit in Pisa Baptistry, this work is much more Gothic in style, reflecting its highly decorative architectural surroundings. Yet, Pisano's work is still full of...

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 15: Assisi – The Day the Earth Shook

Posted: May 2nd, 2019

Episode Info: This very personal podcast recounts my harrowing experience inside of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi when a severe earthquake struck the town in 1997 causing several vaults to collapse inside the Upper Basilica and killing four people....

Episode 14: Assisi – The Basilica of San Francesco

Posted: April 24th, 2019

Episode Info: This episode examines the history, architecture and decoration of great shrine to St. Francis in Assisi that was decorated by a veritable all-star team of late-13th/early-14th-century artists such as Cimabue, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti and perhaps even Giotto. It also discusses ...

Episode 13: Assisi – St. Francis of Assisi – How A Little Man Changed The World

Posted: April 22nd, 2019

Episode Info: This episode will examine the extraordinary life of one of the greatest revolutionaries in Western history: St. Francis of Assisi. It will also discuss how St. Francis' revolutionary natural philosophy may have sparked the historical movement known as the Renaissance....

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"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.