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 54: Florence: Santa Maria Novella – Strozzi Chapel - Posted: January 29th, 2020
Episode Info: This episode examines the beautiful pictorial decorations in the 14th-century Strozzi Chapel in Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy by the brothers Andrea (better known as "Orcagna") and Nardo di Cione. Almost perfectly preserved after eight centuries, the chapel also offers the ext...
Episode 53: Saints and Symbols - Posted: January 22nd, 2020
Episode Info: This episode examines the sometimes violent, often bizarre, and always fascinating representations of saints and martyrs in Italian medieval and Renaissance art. From St. Sebastian's arrows to St. Lucy's eyeballs to St. Lawrence's barbecue grill, we shall discuss saint imagery and its ...
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 51: Florence – Uffizi Gallery – Medieval Paintings - Posted: January 8th, 2020
Episode Info: This episode examines the medieval paintings in the extraordinary collection of paintings in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Works by Giotto, Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti exemplify the move towards naturalism in this proto-Renaissance moment....
Episode 50 – 50th Episode Celebration! - Posted: January 1st, 2020
Episode Info: This milestone episode celebrates the production of my 50th episode by telling you more about who I am, what I do, why I do it and I how I got there from both a personal and professional perspective....
Episode 49 – A Renaissance Christmas - Posted: December 25th, 2019
Episode Info: This holiday episode explores the history and traditions of the world's most popular holiday - Christmas! From St. Nick to Jesus' infancy to candy canes, we discuss how both pagan and Christian traditions magically coalesced into the holiday that we celebrate today....
Episode 48: Florence – San Miniato al Monte - Posted: December 18th, 2019
Episode Info: This episode explores the history and examines the architecture of one of the most unique churches of medieval Europe. Consecrated in 1018 CE, the thousand-year-old Romanesque church of San Miniato in Florence, Italy houses an eclectic mix of artistic styles inside of a distinctly myst...
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 46: Pisa – The Leaning Tower of Pisa - Posted: December 4th, 2019
Episode Info: This episode explores the great Romanesque architectural monuments of the Tuscan city of Pisa. From its majestic marble cathedral, to its elegant circular baptistry, to what I like to call the greatest architectural disaster since Babylon – the leaning tower, Pisa is home to some of ...
