Florence in the fifteenth century was not a great power. It had no navy, no empire, and no natural defenses worth mentioning. It was a city of bankers and wool merchants, surrounded by stronger neighbors who could crush it if they chose. And yet, within a hundred years, this small Tuscan city would become the … Read more
Rome is not the city where Michelangelo was born, and it is not the city where he is buried. But it is the city where he became Michelangelo. He arrived as a young man of twenty-one, already skilled but not yet famous. He left, decades later, as the most celebrated artist in the Western world. … Read more
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to explore a building that has been standing for almost 2000 years? Well, you have to go to Rome and see the Pantheon for yourself. You walk through the massive bronze doors, you step onto the ancient marble floor, and you look up. And then you stop … Read more
In Italy, there are moments that will stop you right in your tracks. Emerging from the Duomo metro station in Milan is one of them. One moment you’re underground, the next you’re standing in the vast Piazza del Duomo, and there it is. A colossal confection of pink-hued white marble, impossibly intricate, rising into the … Read more
I have seen lots of great sculptures in my life, but there are two that live in my mind rent-free. One stands in the Accademia Gallery in Florence, while the other sits inside St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. Both were done by the same man. Today I will tell you everything I know … Read more
The best thing about the Trevi Fountain is that you hear it before you see it, especially early in the morning (which is when we first saw it, and so should you). I vividly remember my wife and I walking along Via Poli, taking a left turn and coming face-to-face with something we had wanted … Read more
Pompeii. You have seen the haunting plaster casts of bodies frozen in their final moments. You have heard the story of the eruption that buried an entire city in ash. You know about the frescoes, the forum, the amphitheater. It is a story that has been told so many times that it seems complete, sealed … Read more
When you step out of the metro station and see it looming against the Roman sky, you understand why it has survived for nearly two thousand years. This was no mere building. This was a statement of power, a monument to Roman engineering and ambition, and a stage for the most brutal and spectacular entertainment … Read more
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it didn’t just destroy this Roman settlement—it preserved it. The ash and pumice that buried the city acted as a time capsule, protecting buildings, frescoes, and even everyday objects from the elements for nearly two thousand years. What you’re walking through today is not a reconstruction. It’s the … Read more
The Vatican Museums are a city unto themselves. More than seven kilometers of corridors weave through this sprawling complex, past ancient sculptures, Renaissance frescoes, medieval tapestries, and modern art. It’s overwhelming in the best possible way. And at the very end of this marathon of masterpieces waits the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo’s ceiling, his Last Judgment, the … Read more