Podcast - Rocky Ruggiero

REBUILDING THE RENAISSANCE PODCAST

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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"

- Valoreev

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

- Historywrocky

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Episodes

Episode 331 – The Ceiling Fresco of Sant’Ignazio in Rome

Posted: May 21st, 2025

One of Rome’s most spectacular works of art is the illusionistic fresco that covers the ceiling of the church Sant’Ignazio. It was painted in 1685, covers nearly 40m of ceiling surface and depicts the “Glorification of St. Ignatius of Loyola” in an extraordinary example of trompe-l’oeil pe...

Episode 330 – Rome: The Capuchin Crypt

Posted: May 14th, 2025

Located on the famous Via Veneto in Rome, Italy, the 17th-century Capuchin Crypt is one of the world’s most unique examples of funerary decoration. It consists of a series of rooms decorated with human bones! Each room has a different theme based on the type of bone used – skulls, pelvises, leg ...

Episode 329 – The Spanish Steps

Posted: May 7th, 2025

Built between 1723 and 1725, the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy, are one of the most famous staircases in the world. Consisting of 135 stairs spread over different levels, the steps were immortalized in the famous movie “Roman Holiday” and today are one of the most popular destinations of the “e...

Episode 328 – The Trevi Fountain (Rome)

Posted: April 30th, 2025

The Trevi Fountain is arguably the world’s most famous fountain! It was designed in 1732 by the Roman architect Nicola Salvi for a competition staged by Pope Clement XII. Rushing water passes through massive allegorical sculptures and blocks of stones into a massive stone basin in a uniquely drama...

Episode 327 – Answers to Open Questions XXIV

Posted: April 23rd, 2025

From how many paintings Caravaggio produced, to visiting Florence at Easter time, to how form and color were applied in Renaissance painting, to an overlooked equestrian monument, to finding the wooden beams in Brunelleschi’s dome, to the model used by Leonardo da Vinci in three of his most ...

Episode 326 – Borromini’s Sant’Agnese in Agone (Piazza Navona)

Posted: April 16th, 2025

In 1653, Borromini was asked by Pope Innocent X to take over the building of his family church of Sant’Agnese in Agone in Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy. The result was a revolutionary façade design that tragically was not realized according to Borromini’s plans. ...

Episode 325 – Borromini’s Church of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza

Posted: April 9th, 2025

Borromini began construction on another of his architectural masterpieces, the church of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza in Rome, Italy, in 1642 for Pope Urban VIII. His curvilinear façade, bulging drum, and spiraling lantern are all eye-popping aspects of his design. But it is the extraordinary floor plan ...

Episode 324 – Borromini’s Oratory of the Filippini

Posted: April 3rd, 2025

In 1637, Francesco Borromini designed and began building an oratory – a place for public worship and musical performances – for the followers of St. Phillip Neri, known as the “Filippini.” The façade of this oratory is another of Borromini’s visionary architectural projects with its curve...

Episode 323 – Borromini’s Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Part II)

Posted: March 26th, 2025

The cloister and façade of the church complex San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (better known in Rome as “San Carlino”) are two of the most beautiful and revolutionary aspects of Borromini’s design for this project. ...