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.
Episodes
Episode 18: Florence – Giotto’s Frescoes in Santa Croce
Episode Info:
This episode will analyze Giotto's frescoes of "The Life of St. Francis" in the Bardi Chapel in Santa Croce. Giotto's introduction of naturalism, psychology, movement, emotion, and drama into his paintings was a groundbreaking innovation for medieval painting....
Episode 17: Florence – Celebrity Tombs in Santa Croce
Episode Info:
This episode explores and examines what is arguably the world's most impressive collection of celebrity tombs that is housed in the great Franciscan basilica, including the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli....
Episode 16: Florence – The Basilica of Santa Croce
Episode Info:
This episode explores the history and architecture of this great church in Florence, Italy and how the social and economic forces of medieval Florence contributed to making it the largest Franciscan church in the world....
Episode 15: Assisi – The Day the Earth Shook
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
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 12: Florence – Speaking Statues in Piazza della Signoria
Episode Info:
This episode will examine the extraordinary collection of sculptures in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. From Donatello's "Judith and Holofernes' to Michelangelo's "David" to Cellini's "Perseus and Medusa", each sculpture represents a chapter in the extraordinary story tha...
Episode 11: Florence – Palazzo Vecchio
Episode Info:
This episode will analyze the architecture of the building that was the seat of political power in medieval Florence - the Palazzo Vecchio - and the historical circumstances that led to its construction....
Episode 10: Florence – Out of Darkness
Episode Info:
This episode will trace the historical evolution of Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire through Charlemagne and the creation of the Holy Roman Empire and finally to the rise of medieval city-states in Italy with particular emphasis given to the role of Florence....
Episode 9: Florence – Historical Origins
Episode Info:
This podcast will examine the ancient Roman origins of the city of Florence and trace its urban development from its foundation in 59 B.C. to the modern city that we see today....
Episode 8: Ravenna – The Byzantine Empire Strikes Back
Episode Info:
This podcast will examine the transformation of a provincial Italian town named Ravenna into an Imperial capital and how the Byzantine Emperor Justinian sought to recapture the western half of his empire....
Episode 7: Rome – Constantine and Christianity
Episode Info:
This episode will address the rise of Christianity in the Roman world and the critical role that Emperor Constantine played in its success and changing the world forever....
Episode 6: Rome – The Pantheon
Episode Info:
In this episode, we examine and analyze the ancient Roman temple that has been described as the most perfectly designed architectural monument in history....
Episode 5: Rome – Bread and Circus
Episode Info:
This episode examines that most decadent period in ancient Roman history when emperors provided both lavish foods and spectacular entertainment to the citizens of Rome....
Episode 4: Rome – Blood Sport
Episode Info:
In this episode we examine the jaw-dropping spectacles and bloody contests that took place inside of the Colosseum....
Episode 3: Rome – The Colosseum
Episode Info:
This episode analyzes the architecture and reconstructs the engineering marvels of the mother of all amphitheaters....
Episode 1: Rome – The Foundation Myth
Episode Info:
This episode examines the foundation myth of Ancient Rome and how it reflects those critical historical and social factors that contributed to making Rome the most absolute empire in history....
