Just in case my recent post on the nefarious Borgias has whet your appetite for a little lust, violence and treachery, Italian Renaissance-style, check out this trailer for Season Two of Showtime's The Borgias. It is premiering this April for those of you in the states. If you are in Italy, you'll have to hold out at least a few more decades or, a much more practical solution, just buy the DVD set online
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The most enjoyable thing about taking a long afternoon to visit the Renaissance in Rome exhibit, besides getting the chance to see so much amazing art in one place, was the sensation I kept getting that I was bumping into an old friend.
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My last history post was about Rome's second king, Numa Pompilius and his calendar reform. Now, for those of you stifling a yawn, I'll have you know that little post has become one of this blog's top all-time most read posts, and number one by far in 2011. Numa was the most religious of Rome's seven kings, so it's no surprise that he was responsible for the institution of the order of the Vestal Virgins.
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In my mind, there's nothing better then some fabulous art, especially when a bit of mystery and scandal are thrown in. That's why I was practically giddy yesterday to be able to see a long-lost work of art with a shocking past. Back in the 1490s, just around the time a pair of Spanish monarchs sent Christopher Columbus off in search of a new route to India, another famous Spaniard was stepping into the most important shoes in Christendom.
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If you are in Rome and haven't yet had a chance to visit the wonderful exhibit at Palazzo Sciarra, I suggest you high-tail it over there soon, because in just a few weeks it will be over and the amazing works will be shipped back from whence they came. I try to post about each exhibit as it is beginning, but this one got lost in the shuffle, and I am just getting around to write about it now.
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At the close of last year, Alex Ross, cultural writer for the world-famous magazine The New Yorker, announced what he believed to be the number one music event of 2011, not in New York, but in the entire world. And I was (kind of) there! Let me explain. Riccardo Muti, one of the greatest living Verdi conductors, recently signed on as director of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.
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It's funny how I can get on a roll with blogging, pounding out several posts in a week, and then all it takes is few days of laziness and procrastination and I haven't blogged in 3 weeks! I'll make this a short post, to get my feet wet again. Even though I went to two amazing exhibits this week and I am dying to share them with you!
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