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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Episodes

Cities Artists Theory Answers to Open Questions Interviews

Fiesole: A Florentine Hilltop Treasure

Posted: January 7th, 2022

The hilltop town of Fiesole – rising 295 meters above the city of Florence – has ensnared the imaginations of writers and poets since Renaissance times. Filled with relatively undiscovered treasures, including Etruscan ruins, an ancient Roman amphitheater, beautiful churches, Renaissan...

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...

La Befana – Italy’s Christmas Witch

Posted: January 4th, 2022

According to Italian legend, on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5th), a little witch known as La Befana delivers presents and goodies to all the good children throughout Italy. She swoops down chimneys on her broomstick, and if the children have been well-behaved, she leaves present...

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

Posted: December 29th, 2021

Il Giorno di Santo Stefano

Posted: December 23rd, 2021

Il Giorno di Santo Stefano In Italy, St. Stephen’s Day (il Giorno di Santo Stefano) is a national public holiday. Celebrated on December 26, the day after Christmas, Italians honor the saint – the very first martyr ever recorded in Christian theology – with joyous celebrations and tim...

Episode 153 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

Posted: December 22nd, 2021

When Leonardo began painting the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, in 1503, little did he know just how much employment he would generate for future art historians. From theories concerning her enigmatic smile, to the painting being a self-portra...

Madonnelle in Italy (Street Shrines)

Posted: December 17th, 2021

Ancient Origins Italian Madonnelle - or street shrines - can trace their origins as far back as ancient Rome. The tradition began with ancient lares (paintings or statues of domestic Roman deities) placed at crossroads (or compita) to guard passersby. Roman legend held that demons from ...

Episode 152 – The Divine Michelangelo Part VII – The David (Part III)

Posted: December 15th, 2021

This episode is the third and final part of a three-part podcast on the world's most celebrated statue. From the lack of Goliath's head, to the sling and hard-to-see stone in David's hands, to the expressive body language of the statue, this podcast will examine the unique iconography and local civi...

Christmas in Italy!

Posted: December 10th, 2021

Italy is at its most magical during the Christmas season. From the twinkling lights to the Christmas markets to roasted chestnuts and other seasonal delights, there is no better place to be than Italy during the holiday season! How Long the Celebrations Last In Italy, Christmas spirit abou...

Episode 151 – The Divine Michelangelo Part VI – The David (Part II)

Posted: December 8th, 2021

This episode is the second of a three-part podcast on the world's most celebrated statue. From the original contract drawn up in 1463 - 12 years before Michelangelo was even born! - to Michelangelo's sculptural inheritance and eventual triumphant completion of the statue, to the city-wide commission...

Episode 150 – The Divine Michelangelo Part V – The David (Part 1)

Posted: December 1st, 2021

This episode is the first of a three-part podcast on the world's most celebrated statue. From its original location in Piazza della Signoria, to its move in the 19th century to a newly built museum, to the centuries of erosion and damage that the sculpture has suffered, this podcast examines the pro...

Episode 149 – The Divine Michelangelo Part IV – The Pietà

Posted: November 24th, 2021

The Pietà was Michelangelo’s first “number one hit.” At the ripe old age of 23, he produced one of the greatest statues of all time. The innocence, sensitivity, and technical virtuosity of this particular early work would never be achieved again in Michelangelo’s entire 72-year career. ...

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 147 – Answers to Open Questions – Part X

Posted: November 10th, 2021

From contemporary theories about Brunelleschi's dome, to Ghirlandaio's frescoes in Santa Trinita, to the abandoned design of semi-circular chapels on the outside of Santo Spirito, to Bernini's extraordinary early sculpture of Aeneas, this episode answers the very questions that you ask me about the ...

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 145 – The Divine Michelangelo – Part I

Posted: October 27th, 2021

Michelangelo Buonarroti’s artistic career spanned more than seven decades, during which time he produced some of the most extraordinary works of art in human history. This episode will examine the early years of the artist from his birth through his apprenticeship to his earliest teachers and his ...

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 143 – Salvator Mundi and Leonardo da Vinci

Posted: October 13th, 2021

This episode addresses the world's most expensive painting that sold for nearly a half billion dollars in 2017. Although the attribution to Leonardo da Vinci is not certain, the astonishing cost, murky provenance and uncertain current location of the painting have made it one of the most famous work...

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 141 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper – Part II

Posted: September 29th, 2021

This is the second of a two-part episode on Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" which is considered the first work of the High Renaissance. From the meticulously constructed linear perspective, to the theatrical gestures of the apostles, to the singular dramatic moment that Leonardo almost seemed to "...

Episode 140 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper – Part I

Posted: September 22nd, 2021

This episode will introduce Leonardo's famous work. From its location, to the rather complicated process of making arrangements to see it, to its poor state of conservation, discover the surprising reality behind one of the most famous paintings in the world. ...

Episode 139 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man

Posted: September 15th, 2021

This episode examines one of the most famous drawings in the world - Leonardo's "Vitruvian Man." From the meaning of the subject, to those artists who influenced Leonardo, to how the drawing has come to symbolize the historical period known as the Renaissance, we shall unpack the extraordinary image...

Episode 138 – Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine”

Posted: September 8th, 2021

This podcast examines one of Leonardo da Vinci's most celebrated portraits, the subject of which was Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of Ludovico Sforza. In this beautiful portrait, today located in Krakow, Poland, Leonardo introduced further innovations to the genre of Italian portraiture, particularly ...

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 136 – Answers to Open Questions – Part IX

Posted: August 25th, 2021

From the disproportions in Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," to the origins of the name "Colosseum," to the original decoration on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, this episode answers the very questions that you ask me about the great art, artists, and history of the Italian Renaissance. ...

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 133 – Pienza: The Ideal Renaissance Town

Posted: August 4th, 2021

In 1459, Pope Pius II transformed the provincial town of his birth, Corsignano, into an ideal Renaissance urban town and renamed it after himself - Pienza. His architect, Bernardo Rossellino, was a follower of Leon Battista Alberti, and applied both medieval and classical architectural principles to...

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 129 – Leonardo da Vinci’s 2 “Virgin of the Rocks” (Paris and London)

Posted: July 7th, 2021

In 1483, the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception commissioned Leonardo da Vinci and Ambrogio and Evangelista de Predis to paint an altarpiece for their chapel in the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. Due to controversy regarding payment to the artists, it appears that the painting was ...

Episode 128 – Answers to Open Questions – Part VIII

Posted: June 30th, 2021

From the characters in Duccio's and Leonardo's Last Suppers, to Vasari's "Lives of the Artists", to why it took so long for the Renaissance to begin, to Raphael's overactive sex life, this episode answers the very questions that you ask me about the great art, artists, and history of the Italian Ren...

Episode 127 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Resume

Posted: June 23rd, 2021

In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci sent a letter to the then regent of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, in hopes of landing the position of court artist of the duchy of Milan. This episode will examine this letter, which is essentially the resume of the great artist, and how someone like Leonardo would qualify himse...

Episode 126 – An Interview with Maurizio Seracini -“Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi: The Rediscovery of a Masterpiece”

Posted: June 16th, 2021

For over 500 years it was believed that the brownish monochrome look of the "Adoration" was the work of Leonardo. That is, until Maurizio Seracini’s in-depth scientific analysis of 2001 proved beyond a doubt that this was not true. This podcast includes an exclusive interview with Seracini that wi...

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...

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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.