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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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 180 – Rome: The Villa Farnesina – Renaissance Pleasure Palace Part II

Posted: June 29th, 2022

This episode continues to explore the extraordinary painting decorations of Rome's seminal Renaissance suburban villa. From the zodiacal images that represent the patron's horoscope, to Sebastiano del Piombo's "Polyphemus," to one of Raphael's most beautiful paintings known as "The Galatea', and, fi...

Episode 179 – Rome: The Villa Farnesina – Renaissance Pleasure Palace Part I

Posted: June 22nd, 2022

The Villa Farnesina was the first Renaissance pleasure palace and belonged to the fabulously wealthy banker Agostino Chigi. The decorations of the palace delighted many a pope and international ruler. On one occasion, dinner was served on golden tableware that guests were invited to throw into the T...

Episode 178 – Rome – Raphael’s Room of the Fire in the Borgo

Posted: June 15th, 2022

The last of the apartments decorated by Raphael for Popes Julius II and Leo X was the Room of the Fire in the Borgo, painted between 1514-1517. Although largely executed by Raphael's student and friend Giulio Romano, the frescoes represent Raphael's mature period and were completed only 3 years befo...

Episode 177 – Rome – Raphael’s Room of Heliodorus

Posted: June 8th, 2022

In 1511, after completing the decoration of the Stanza della Segnatura, Raphael began painting the walls of Pope Julius' private audience room. Named after its principal scene - The Expulsion of Heliodorus - the room contains four of Raphael's most beautiful paintings. This episode will explore the ...

Episode 176 – Rome – Raphael’s School of Athens Part III

Posted: June 1st, 2022

This is the final episode of a three-part series dedicated to Raphael's great fresco in the Vatican Museums. It addresses the extraordinary Classically-inspired architectural setting of the painting, as well as identifying the celebrated philosophical and scientific personages depicted. Lastly, this...

Episode 175 – Rome – Raphael’s “School of Athens” Part II

Posted: May 25th, 2022

This episode explores the decorative context of Raphael's famous fresco. From Apollo on Mt. Parnassus, to the allegorical figures of the cardinal virtues, the extraordinary "Disputa", the paintings around the "School of Athens" are fundamental to its meaning....

Episode 174 – Rome – Raphael’s “School of Athens” Part I

Posted: May 18th, 2022

Although Raphael's fresco known as the "School of Athens" is the most celebrated painting of the Stanza della Segnatura, it is actually a part of a much larger program. This episode addresses the original function of the room, which was Pope Julius II's library, and how all of Raphael's paintings ar...

Episode 171 – Rome: Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling Part VI

Posted: April 27th, 2022

The prophets and sibyls that flank the main scenes of the Sistine Chapel ceiling are some of Michelangelo's most impressive figures. Their dramatic poses, expressive, vibrant colors and powerful forms are both inspirational and frightening. Below and between them, Michelangelo filled the spandrels ...

Episode 170 – Rome: Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling Part V

Posted: April 20th, 2022

The last three Genesis scenes of the Sistine Chapel ceiling demonstrate Michelangelo's extraordinary ability to represent complex subjects in incredibly effective ways. But they also reveal the divine artist's haste to complete the ceiling project. This episode closely examines the iconography, styl...

Episode 169 – Rome: Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling – Part IV

Posted: April 13th, 2022

By the time Michelangelo reached the frescoes in the middle of the ceiling, he introduced a major stylistic change, due, most likely, to being able to see the frescoes from the ground. This episode examines the Adam and Eve scenes and how they reflect this stylistic change as well as revealing the m...

Episode 168 – Rome: Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling – Part III

Posted: April 6th, 2022

Painting an 8,000 sq. ft. fresco cycle onto the ceiling of a chapel must have been a daunting task even for an artist of the caliber of Michelangelo. This episode examines the process and order by which Michelangelo executed his frescoes, focusing specifically on the first three painted scenes that ...

Episode 167 – Rome – Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling – Part II

Posted: March 30th, 2022

Although the Sistine Chapel is the Catholic world's most important chapel since it hosts papal conclaves, the subject matter of the ceiling paintings is largely Old Testament mixed with pagan imagery. This episode unpacks the rich and complex iconography of the many paintings executed by Michelangel...

Episode 166 – Rome: Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling – Part I

Posted: March 23rd, 2022

When Michelangelo signed the contract with Pope Julius II in 1508 to paint the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, little did he know the turmoil that awaited him. This first of several podcasts dedicated to the world's most famous ceiling will examine the circumstances behind the contract between artist and ...

Episode 165 – Rome: The Basilica of St. Peter

Posted: March 16th, 2022

After 120 years of construction, the reign of 18 different popes, and the direction of 12 different architects, St. Peter’s Basilica was finally consecrated in 1626. Measuring more than two football fields in length, it was by far the largest church in Christendom, and a fitting monument to the bu...

Episode 164 – Michelangelo and the Tomb of Julius II

Posted: March 9th, 2022

When Michelangelo was called to Rome in 1506 by the Pope Julius II, it was to design and carve the mother of all tombs. Intended to stand four stories in height and directly over the tomb of St. Peter, and to accommodate 40 over-life-sized statues, it was a direct reflection of both the pope’s meg...

Episode 163 – Venice – Titian’s “Assumption” and “Pesaro Altarpiece” in the church of the Frari

Posted: March 2nd, 2022

Titian's two great altarpieces in the great Franciscan basilica of Venice known as the "Frari" marked a turning point in the artist's career. These were his first two public commissions and allowed all of Venice to appreciate the extraordinary talent of a young artist who was still only in his twent...

Episode 161 – Venice: Giorgione’s “Tempest” and “La Vecchia”

Posted: February 16th, 2022

Notwithstanding that his life and artistic career were cut short by plague in 1510 while the artist was in his thirties, Giorgione revolutionized European painting by his introduction of enigmatic and unconventional iconography. This episode examines two of Giorgione's most important paintings, both...

Episode 160 – Venice – Vittore Carpaccio’s “The Legend of St. Ursula”

Posted: February 9th, 2022

Carpaccio's extraordinary visual narrative of the life of St. Ursula is one of the most celebrated examples of cyclical Venetian Renaissance painting. Recently restored, the nine large canvases are now on display in the Accademia Gallery of Venice and present a vivid snapshot of life in Venice at th...

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 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 148 – The Divine Michelangelo Part III – The Bacchus

Posted: November 17th, 2021

Michelangelo arrived in Rome for the first time in 1496 at the age of 21. His first important patron was the fabulously wealthy Cardinal Riario who wanted the young sculptor to carve a statue of the Roman god of wine that he could pass off as an antique. Surprisingly, Riario did not accept the finis...

Episode 144 – The Brera Gallery in Milan, Italy

Posted: October 20th, 2021

This episode explores the extraordinary collection of Italian Renaissance paintings in Milan's most important painting museum, which houses masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael, Piero Della Francesca, Tintoretto, Bellini and Mantegna. ...

Episode 142 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Sala delle Asse

Posted: October 6th, 2021

This episode examines one of the most unique decorative programs in history. A room in the Sforza Castle in Milan whose walls and vault are covered with illusionistic trees that form a natural pergola. We also discuss how Leonardo's expression of arboreal architecture has been brought back to life w...

Episode 137 – Leonardo da Vinci and the Bronze Horse

Posted: September 1st, 2021

Duke Ludovico Sforza’s principal motivation for bringing Leonardo to Milan was most likely Leonardo’s experience in working with bronze. The duke was hoping to apply Leonardo’s experience and talent to the realization of a colossal equestrian monument in honor of his father Francesco Sforza. T...

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 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 ...

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"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.