Ciao Roma

Categories: Architecture · Art · Italy · Rome · TravelTags: · · · · ·

The elegant Piazza del Popolo in Rome started as a trapezoidal piazza in 1538 and contains a 3,200 year old obelisk from Heliopolis. Renaissance and Baroque art, architecture and sculpture can be found in the spectacular Santa Maria del Popolo church. Masters from the Early Renaissance (Pinturicchio, Bramante), High Renaissance (Raphael) and Baroque (Caravaggio, Bernini) exercised their genius in all disciplines here. Beyond the city walls is Rome‘s second largest church, the San Paolo fuori le Mura, over the spot where St. Paul was buried. For about 400 years, it was the largest church in Europe.

Basilicas

Categories: Architecture · Art · Florence · Italy · TravelTags: · · · · · ·

The Cathedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, or commonly referred to as the duomo, is Florence‘s most iconic landmark. Designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, it’s construction took almost 150 years starting in 1296. The facade was designed by Emilio de Fabris and the dome by Filippo Brunelleschi. Basilica Santa Croce has an austere interior compared with its magnificent neo-gothic facade. Though some may come to see the tombs of Michaelangelo, Dante, Gallileo and Macchiavelli, the real highlights are the Giottto frescoes and the Brunelleschi‘-designed Capella de’ Pazzi. Founded in the 4th century, the Basilica di San Lorenzo  is considered to…

Tutto Bene

Categories: Architecture · Art · Florence · Italy · TravelTags: · · · · · 1 Comment

“All is good“. Well, it is more than good! For serious art lovers, Florence is delightful and inspiring. I had to go back to my two favourite art institutions – the Uffizi Gallery and Galleria dell’Academia. Nothing beats making a reservation for both galleries in advance. For an extra 4EUR fee for each ticket, one gets to bypass the long queues. The Uffizi was uncrowded at 8:30 in the morning, which rewarded me with some serious solo time with the gallery’s masterpieces that included Boticelli’s Birth of Venus, Michaelangelo‘s Tondo Doni, and Piero della Francesca’s portraits of the Duke and Duchess…

Aga Khan Museum

Categories: Architecture · Art · Canada · TorontoTags: · · · · · 2 Comments

Opened ten days ago, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto is one magnificent building designed by Japan’s Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Fumihiko Maki. Utilizing light as inspiration, light animates the building in myriad ways depending on the time of day or season. Maki incorporates historical elements from Islamic cultures into contemporary design. The $300 million Aga Khan Museum is the first museum in North America dedicated to showcasing Islamic Art. It offers visitors into the world of Islamic civilization across the centuries from the Iberian Peninsula to China. Across the museum is the also newly-built Ismaili Centre Toronto designed by Indian architect Charles Correa. The…

Recoleta

Categories: Accommodations · Argentina · Art · Buenos Aires · TravelTags: · · · · · · · ·

Adopted by upper-class porteños (or locals) after yellow fever broke out in San Telmo in 1871, the barrio of Recoleta has grown into a model of bourgeois refinement as one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. Recoleta has a distinctly European feel with its French and Italian architecture, tree-lined streets, big-name international brand stores, restaurants and galleries and of course, the barrio’s famous cemetery — the Cemeterio de la Recoleta.   Cemeterio de la Recoleta has earned its reputation as one of the world’s great necropolis. Occupying an area of 14 acres, the Recoleta Cemetery is a labyrinth of more than 6,400 tombs and mausoleums…

MCASD

Categories: Art · California · Carlsbad · San Diego · USATags: · · · · ·

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego  was founded in 1941 and  has a collection of more than 4,000 works created after 1950 in its location in La Jolla, California  and it’s second location in downtown San Diego. The MCASD reflects an artistic program that encourages promising emerging artists and recognizes mid-career artists whose works need more visibility.

Botero + Street Art

Categories: Art · Bogota · Colombia · TravelTags: · · · · · 2 Comments

One highlight of my trip is the visit to the Museo Botero. Colombia’s world famous artist, Fernando Botero, is well known for his figurative artworks of sculptures and paintings that depict people and figures in large and exaggerated volumes that are viewed as satire, caricature or political commentary. The widely recognized collection of gordas and gordos (or “chubby women and men”) are brilliant and at times, humorous. His monumental public sculptures adorn squares and parks in cities around the globe, including Paris, Madrid, Florence and New York. The Museo Botero in Bogotá exhibits several of his sculptures, paintings and drawings which…