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On-Line/Live Event
FREE WEBINAR | “The Top 10 Baroque Monuments in Rome” with Dr. Rocky Ruggiero
April 15, 2025
1 hour
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR BUNDLE
“Exclusive Webinars in May”
Presented by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero and special guests Dr. Balbina Y. Hwang, Dr. Niall Atkinson, Dr. Peter Weller and Esteban Nigro
Dates & Times:
Thursday, May 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29
2:00 – 3:00pm ET | 11:00am – 12:00pm PT | 7:00 – 8:00pm London
EXCLUSIVE WEBINARS | "Exclusive Webinars in May"
Each webinar will include a 45-minute lecture followed by 15-minutes of Q&A.
Please note:
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | "Uniquely Universal: The Global Appeal of K-Pop and the Italian Renaissance"
Presented by Dr. Balbina Y. Hwang
The explosive popularity of K-Pop (music and dance by Korean performers) has become a global phenomenon in recent years, riding along an enormous surge of interest in the “Korean Wave” or Hallyu, which encompasses other forms of popular culture including K-Dramas, Korean cuisine, and even K-Beauty. The current global fascination with Korean culture is still relatively nascent, so it is too early to predict whether the movement’s impact will endure over the centuries such as the Italian Renaissance has done. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that the Korean Wave is tremendously influential in the development and consumption of contemporary global culture, similar to how the Italian Renaissance profoundly shaped the evolution of Western art and culture in the 15th and 16th centuries.
This webinar explores the intriguing range of strikingly similar factors that characterizes both cultural movements and their contributions to global society, explaining their enduring global appeal.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | "Florence Illuminated: Visualizing the History of Art, Architecture, and Society"
Presented by Dr. Niall Atkinson
In 1427 the fiscal crisis of the Florentine economy caused by its disastrous wars against the duchy of Milan prompted it to make a massive overhaul of is taxation policies. The resulting Florentine Census (Catasto) would become the first modern taxation policy in the Western world. Every household was required to file what we would understand as a tax return: an accounting of one’s assets and debts in order for the government to assess the net worth of each of its citizens. The result is a treasure trove of demographic information about the city at a specific moment in its history, precisely at the threshold of what we now understand as the Florentine Renaissance.
“Florence Illuminated” is a consortium of five separate digitally based projects focuses on reconstructing and mapping the city’s population in order to construct an online map that will allow anyone to investigate the wealth, poverty, and real estate holdings of the city’s individual and institutions. This talk will take the audience through this ongoing project that will produce a cartographic image of the city that has not ever seen before. It will also show how humanities-based research can harness the power of digital technologies to make historical data available to anyone interested in answering questions about one of the most dynamic urban communities of pre-modern Europe.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | "Leon Battista Alberti in Exile: Tracing the Path to the First Modern Book on Painting"
Presented by Dr. Peter Weller
The prodigy poet, playwright, architect, painter, and humanist savant Leon Battista Alberti emerged in 1435 with “De pictura” ['On Painting'], the modern era's earliest discourse on Western art, written in classical Latin by an ostensible practitioner of the craft. Alberti has captivated the art world from his own epoch to ours, and his dubious Florentine identity enables this allure. In this webinar, Dr. PeterWeller challenges the popular notion that “De pictura” - our first modern book on painting - is primarily the result of Alberti's return to Florence and his short exposure to its visual art. Weller argues that Rome, Padua, Bologna, and northern Europe – environs where Alberti studied, worked, and lived during exile – empowered his paramount intellectual-artistic gift.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | "The Timeless Legacy of Carrara Marble"
Presented by Esteban Nigro
Discover the fascinating journey of Carrara marble, from its geological origins to its role in shaping art and architecture throughout history. This webinar will explore the formation of Carrara marble and the unique geological processes that created this prized metamorphic rock. We shall also explore ancient extraction and transport methods, learning about the dangerous “lizzatura” technique used to transport massive blocks down the mountains, and how the Via Carraia led them to the port of Luni. Then, we shall examine Carrara’s role in art and architecture from Roman temples to Renaissance masterpieces and see how Carrara marble became a symbol of power and beauty. And finally, we shall discuss Michelangelo’s obsession with marble and explore the challenges of selecting the perfect block of his famous “Risen Christ” statue from Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome. Join us for this deep dive into the past and present of one of the world’s most iconic marbles, where geology, history, and artistry converge.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | "Between Genius and Madness: The Architecture of Francesco Borromini"
Presented by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero
While the architect Francesco Borromini might not be as celebrated as his contemporary rival, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, he was considered the greatest architectural genius of the Baroque age. Buildings such as San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, and Sant’Agnese in Agone in Rome all demonstrate Borromini’s new and - according to some - anti-classical vision of sculptural movement in architecture, undisturbed by color, materials or drama. His radical shift away from designs based on human proportions and towards geometric modules instead, as well as his use of space and light as architectural components revolutionized architecture. And although many called him a genius, Borromini’s neurotic, paranoid, frequently depressed and ultimately suicidal personality led many instead to call him mad.
