Details

EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “The Castle of Bracciano: Restoring the Honour of Isabella de Medici and Paolo Giordano Orsini”
Presented by Dr. Paolo Alei
with Additional Commentary by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The Castle of Bracciano is one of the biggest private manors in Italy.  Built in the 1470s under Napoleone Orsini and his son Gentil Virginio, it was restored in mid-16th century when Paolo Giordano Orsini married the daughter of Cosimo de Medici, Isabella. Although Isabella was never allowed to live for long periods in Rome or Bracciano, her husband commissioned Giacomo del Duca and Annni di Baccio Bigio to restore the edifice and the Zuccari brothers to embellish their private apartment. Isabella died of natural disease in 1576 near Florence but rumors veiled the truth and soon Paolo Giordano was accused of having murdered her. This lecture will shed light on their newly rediscovered letters and try to investigate the truth about the most discussed couple in Renaissance Italy.

The webinar will include a 45-minute lecture followed by 15-minutes of Q&A.

Please note:

• Your participation is confirmed once you have purchased your ticket. You will receive the Zoom link to join the presentation circa 30 minutes before the start time.
• VIDEO RECORDING of the webinar will be available for unlimited streaming at your convenience for 7 days after the event.

Lecturer

Paolo Alei is an art historian from Rome. He is Professor of art history at the University of California (the UCEAP academic program in Italy) and Curator of the Museum of the Castle of Bracciano near Rome. He has a Master from Columbia University where he specialized on Venetian Renaissance Painting and a PhD from Oxford University where he completed a dissertation on the influence of the Natural History by Pliny the Elder on Italian Renaissance art. He has published several essays on Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, and a book on the history of the Venice Carnival. Recently, he coedited a monumental book about the patronage of the Orsini family in Central Italy. He is co-organizer of EMR (Early Modern Rome), one of the greatest conferences about Renaissance and Baroque culture.