Annunciation, painting by Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio

Photo: The Annunciation, oil on panel painting by Italian artists Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio, 1472-1475, 38.6 x 85.4 in (98 × 217 cm), now in Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

The subject of the painting is based on a narrative by Luke according to whom during her betrothal the angel Gabriel sent by God announced to her that she would miraculously conceive through the Holy Spirit and give birth to a son. He told her that the baby was to be named Jesus. The subject has been very popular in Christian Art.

The Annunciation is widely considered the first work of the young Leonardo da Vinci completed in collaboration with his master Andrea del Verrocchio.

Following the established tradition of the times, the painting depicts Gabriel on the left and Virgin Mary on the right with a lectern in between. The architectural setting that opens out onto a landscape does not look to belong to the period when Mary lived. But it was born out of da Vinci’s fantasies of modern architecture, not even of his times, but much ahead.

Some immature visualization can be noticed, for instance, with poplars and pines and the mountains at a distance that seem to be full of greenery which defies logic as the geographical setting of Mary is in the Middle East where such vegetation is unusual.

However, da Vinci’s Annunciation is known for the perfection of linear geometric perspective in art, which later was widely followed by other artists.

In the picture, angel Gabriel is kneeling before Mary while delivering God’s message. He is depicted as draped in rich clothing and holds a Madonna lily. Mary, dressed in equally rich, supple drapery, is shown as was reading, and raises her eyes towards the angel and raises her hand in a gesture of surprise, or rather fear.

When The Annunciation was brought to the Uffizi Gallery from a convent near Florence in 1867, it was credited to Domenico Ghirlandaio, who was also an apprentice of Verrocchio. But later it was established by art experts to be the work of da Vinci in collaboration with Verrocchio.

The painting, as many other paintings depicting Annunciation, shows the angel appearing before Mary at her residence. But some other narratives say that the angel appeared before her when she went to the well to draw water. This well, known as Mary’s Well, is located in an area in Nazareth where there are several other churches and pilgrimage attractions in Nazareth. The well is said to have been a popular watering hole for Arabs for several centuries.

Life and Passion of Christ by Gaudenzio Ferrari

Photo: Stories of The Life and Passion of Christ (1513) by Gaudenzio Ferrari, fresco at the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Italy

The picture depicts Ferrari's wall, narrating the Stories of the Life and Passion of Christ, in the Church of Our Lady of the Graces (Santa Maria delle Grazie), a Roman Catholic Church in Italy. The giant fresco admeasuring 82 square meters was completed by Gaudenzio Ferrari, the Italian painter and sculptor of the Renaissance, in 1513. Twenty equal frames narrate the main events in the gospels, in addition to the Crucifixion scene in the center that occupies four frames.

The Biblical scenes depicted in the fresco are briefly as below:

In Annunciation Gabriel announces to Virgin Mary that she would conceive the Son of God and become his mother. The angel also tells her to name him Jesus.

The Nativity of Jesus is the scene after the birth of Jesus, born in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great, the king of Judea.

The Adoration of the Magi shows the visit of the Magi who spotted and followed a new star until they found baby Jesus. They saw him with mother Mary, knelt down before him and paid homage. They also presented him with expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Flight into Egypt displays Joseph fleeing to Egypt with Mary and infant Jesus after the Magi told them that King Herod planned to kill all the newborns.

The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is the forerunner to the public ministry of Jesus.

The Resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany (Saint Lazarus) is a miracle of Jesus, who resurrects Lazarus four days after his death.

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, days before the Last Supper, marks the beginning of his Passion. People crowded around Jesus, believed in him and welcomed him as he entered Jerusalem.

The Last Supper was the last meal shared by Jesus with his Apostles before his crucifixion.

The Washing of the Feet, commemorated on Maundy Friday, shows the event in which Jesus washes the feet of his Apostles.

The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane refers to the events in the life of Jesus between the Farewell Discourse at the Last Supper and his arrest by the temple guards.

The Arrest of Jesus by the Temple guards in the Garden of Gethsemane was shortly after the Last Supper, and immediately after the kiss of Judas.

The Trial of Jesus at Herod's Court refers to an episode in which Herod Antipas and his soldiers mock at Jesus, and sent him back to Pontius Pilate for the final trial.

The Trial of Jesus at Pilate's Court refers to the final trial of Jesus. Though Pontius Pilate publicly declared that Jesus was innocent, the crowd insisted on his punishment. Pilate then ordered crucifixion of Jesus.

The Flagellation of Christ is a scene in the cycles of the Passion and the Life of Christ.

Ecce Homo (Behold the man), the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate, when he presented Jesus, bound with ropes and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd.

Via Dolorosa (The Way of Grief) is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem, the path Jesus walked on his way to Crucifixion.

Preparation of the Cross: Christ falls down after which the cross is prepared to crucify him.

In Crucifixion of Jesus (depicted in the large central frame of the fresco), Jesus was stripped of his clothing and hung between two convicted thieves. The soldiers then cast lots for his clothes.

The Lamentation of Christ shows his friends mourning over his body after Jesus was crucified and his body was removed from the cross.

Christ's Descent into Limbo is the scene where Jesus experienced death and his soul joined the other souls in the realm of the dead, but he descended there as the Saviour of the souls imprisoned there.

The Resurrection of Jesus depicts his rising again from the dead. According to the New Testament, after crucifixion, he was buried in a tomb but God resurrected him from the dead.

The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent, fresco by Italian artist Pasquale Cati (1550-1620), Altemps chapel, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome

The Council of Trent was the Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church convened in Trent in the Holy Roman Empire (now Italy) between 1545 and 1563 in 25 sessions. The council fathers met in Trent (sessions 1-8, 1545-7) and in Bologna (sessions 9-11, 1547) during the pontificate of Pope Paul III, and in Trent (sessions 12-16, 1551-52) under Pope Julius III, and in Trent (sessions 17-25, 1559-63) under Pope Pius IV.

The council issued important reform decrees, defined Church teachings on the scripture and traditions, sacraments, original sin, justification, the veneration of saints and condemnations on heresies, among many other important matters concerning the Catholic Church.

Valentino Castle (Castello del Valentino), Turin, Italy

Public Domain Photo: Castle of Valentino (Castello del Valentino), in the Valentino Park, Turin, Italy

The Castle of Valentino (Castello del Valentino), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Valentino Park in the north-west Italian city of Turin, is the seat of the Architecture Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin.

The Valentino Castle is believed to derive its name from Saint Valentine whose relics were venerated in a church nearby. The castle has a horseshoe shape with four round towers at each angle, and a wide inner court with a marble pavement.

Piazza Carlo Alberto (Carl Albert Square), Turin, Italy

Public Domain Photo: Piazza Carlo Alberto (Carl Albert Square) is in Turin (Torino), a major city which is a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch. Before 1842 Piazza Carlo Alberto was the garden of the Palazzo Carignano, and in 1842 a park was opened here for the general public. The monument dedicated to Carlo Alberto stands at the center of the square. Piazza Carlo Alberto also houses the famous National University Library.

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Lake Garda (Lago di Garda), Italy

Photo 1: Val di Sogno, Lake Garda

Photo 2: Lake Garda at sunset, view from Malcesine

Lake Garda (in Italian, Lago di Garda or Benaco) having a surface area of about 370 sq km is the largest lake in Italy. Located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Venice and Milan, the lake is 52 km long with a width of 16.7 km at its widest part and the deepest point hast a depth of 346 meters. The lake has a number of small islands, the largest being Isola del Garda. The sulphur springs here have a reputation for healing catarrhal conditions, particularly those involving the ear.

The lake is a major tourist destination and has a number of exclusive hotels and resorts along its shores. The ancient fortified town of Sirmione, located on the south of the lake, is a particularly popular destination, home to the Virgilio & Catullo Spa Complexes, as well as numerous restaurants, bars, hotels, fashion stores, a market, and the picturesque 13th century Scaliger Castle. Gardaland, one of the most famous theme parks in Italy is quite nearby.

Bronze sculptures by Benvenuto Cellini

Photo: Replica of the bronze statue of Danaë in the pedestal of Perseus, by Italian goldsmith, sculptor, painter, soldier and musician Benvenuto Cellini, in the basement of Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, Italy. The original is on display at the Museo del Bargello in Florence.

Photo: Replica of a bronze statue in the pedestal of Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini in the basement of Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, Italy. The original is on display at the Museo del Bargello in Florence.

Ruins of the Temple of Hera at Agrigento, Magna Graecia

In classical Greek Mythology Hera, the wife of Zeus (Jupiter), was as the goddess of women and marriage, Juno being the equivalent in Roman mythology. Hera was worshipped at her sanctuary that stood between the ancient city states of Argos and Mycenae, where festivals in her honor were celebrated, and her other main center of cult was at Samos. There were also temples dedicated to Hera in Olympia, Corinth, Tiryns, Perachora and the sacred island of Delos. In Magna Graecia, in present day Italy, two Doric temples dedicated to Hera were constructed at Paestum in the period between 550 BC and 450 BC, according to historians.

Capitoline Venus, copy of Venus by Praxiteles

Image: Capitoline Venus (after the Aphrodite of Cnidus), a marble sculpture belonging to Roman artwork of the Imperial Era (2nd century CE), from Anzio, Italy, located at Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Sully, ground floor, room 17, Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

Praxiteles of Athens was the most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. It is widely believed that Praxiteles was the first to sculpt the nude female form as a life-size statue. While no unquestionably attributable sculpture by Praxiteles is in existence, numerous copies of his works have survived. The Thespian courtesan Phryne is believed to be his beautiful model, and a speculated relationship between Praxiteles and the model has inspired works of art ranging from painting (Gerome) to shadow puppetry.

A Pensive Moment by Eugene de Blaas

Image: A Pensive Moment (1896), oil on cradled panel painting by Italian painter Eugene de Blaas (1843-1932), 53.5 cm x 85 cm (21.06” x 33.46”), private, collection, signed and dated bottom right: Eugen von Blaas 1896.

In the water by Eugene de Blaas

Image: In the water (Dans l’Eau), oil on cradled panel painting by Italian painter Eugene de Blaas aka Eugen von Blaas (1843-1932), size 78.4 cm x 44.5 cm (30.87” x 17.52”) from private collection, signed and dated bottom left as ‘Eugen von Blaas 1914’.

The Capitoline Wolf in Rome, USA

Not just the name, but certain other features are also shared between the American city of Rome and the Italian city of Rome. Rome in Georgia, USA, was built on seven hills with a river meandering through them, a feature that was an inspiration for the name. The seven hills that inspired the name of Rome are Blossom Hill, Jackson Hill, Lumpkin Hill, Mount Aventine Hill, Myrtle Hill, Old Shorter Hill, and Neely Hill.

In 1928 Italian Chatillon Corporation began construction of a rayon plant in Georgian Rome, as a joint venture with the American Cotillion Company, for the cornerstone of which Italian premier Benito Mussolini sent a block of marble from the ancient Roman Forum with the inscription, "From Old Rome to New Rome". On completion of the rayon plant in 1929, Mussolini honored Rome with a bronze replica of the sculpture of The Capitoline Wolf, suckling the twin brothers Remus and Romulus, who named Rome after his name.

The bronze statue The Capitoline Wolf, a symbol of the original Rome, was placed in front of the City Hall of the new Rome on a base of white marble from Tate, Georgia, with a brass plaque inscribed, "This statue of the Capitoline Wolf, as a forecast of prosperity and glory, has been sent from Ancient Rome to New Rome during the consulship of Benito Mussolini in the year 1929."

In 1940, anti-Italian sentiments due to World War II ran so strong that the Rome city commission moved the statue into the storage to prevent any possible vandalism, replacing it with an American flag. In 1952, the statue of The Capitoline Wolf was restored to its original location in front of City Hall. You can view the picture of the historical statue above, taken on 8 August 2005.

The Capitoline Wolf - She-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus

The Capitoline Wolf (Lupa Capitolina), a larger than life-size bronze sculpture standing 75 cm tall and 114 cm, long is located in the Museo Nuovo in the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Campidoglio (the ancient Capitoline Hill) in Rome, Italy. The statue's theme is linked to the founding of Rome, when the twins Romulus and Remus saw their father Numitor dethroned by his brother Amulius, who ordered the twins be thrown into the Tiber. But the twin brothers were rescued by a she-wolf that suckled them and took care of them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found them raised them further. The brothers, with the support of their followers decided to found a new city, but in a dispute about the site of the city Romulus killed Remus and built Rome, which was named after his name.

The Capitoline Wolf statue was long thought to be an Etruscan work of the 5th century BCE, with the figures of the twins added in the late 15th century CE, probably by the sculptor Antonio Pollaiolo. However, radiocarbon and thermo-luminescence dating tests found that sculpture was possibly created in the 13th century CE.

The she-wolf from the legend of Romulus and Remus has been regarded as a symbol of Rome from the ancient times. Several ancient sources refer to statues depicting the wolf suckling the twins. Cicero mentions a statue of the she-wolf as one of several sacred objects on the Capitoline that was inauspiciously struck by lightning in 65 BCE, "It was a gilt statue on the Capitol of a baby being given suck from the udders of a wolf."

German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann of the 18th-century attributed the statue to an Etruscan sculptor of the 5th century BCE. But, Winckelmann also identified a Renaissance origin for the figures of Romulus and Remus, saying they were probably added in 1471 or later.

During the 19th century several researchers questioned Winckelmann's dating of the bronze sculpture. In 1854 August Emil Braun, Secretary of the Archaeological Institute of Rome, proposed that the damage to the wolf's paw had been caused by an error during casting of the statue, not due to lightning. Similarly, Conservator of the Louvre, Wilhelm Fröhner, stated in 1878 that the style of the statue was of the Carolingian period rather than Etruscan. In 1885 Wilhelm von Bode also opined that the she-wolf statue was most likely a medieval work.

In 2006 Italian art historian Anna Maria Carruba and Etruscologist Adriano La Regina contested the traditional origin of the she-wolf on the basis of the bronze casting technique. Carruba was restoring the sculpture in 1997, when she examined how it had been made. She observed that the statue had been cast as a single piece, using a ‘lost-wax casting’ technique that was not used in ancient times. Ancient Greek and Roman bronze statues were constructed from multiple pieces. Whereas, single piece casting technique was widely used in medieval times to mould bronze items. Carruba argued, like Braun, that the damage to the she-wolf's paw had resulted from an error in the moulding process. In addition, La Regina, the state superintendent of Rome's cultural heritage, argued that the sculpture's artistic style is more akin to Carolingian and Romanesque art than to the ancient times.

In February 2007, radiocarbon and thermo-luminescence dating tests was conducted at the University of Salento. Although in July 2008 La Regina announced that the results of the tests had produced a ‘very precise indication in the 13th century’, the question of the age of the statue was not solved. The results of the tests were not to be disclosed before the end of 2008, but as of April 2010, they have not been published by the Museo Nuovo.

The twelfth-century English cleric Magister Gregorius in his essay, De Mirabilibus Urbis Romae, recorded in an appendix three pieces of sculpture he had neglected, one being the wolf in the portico at the principal entrance to the Vatican Palace. But he mentioned no twins.

The present-day Capitoline Wolf could not have been the sculpture seen by Benedict and Gregorius, if its newly attributed age is accepted, though it could have been a replacement for an earlier, now lost, statue of the Roman wolf. In December 1471 Pope Sixtus IV ordered the present sculpture transferred to the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill, and the twins were possibly added then.

The Capitoline Wolf was a favorite of Benito Mussolini, who projected himself as the founder of the ‘New Rome’. To win American goodwill, he sent several copies of the Capitoline Wolf to U.S. cities. In 1929 he sent one replica to Cincinnati, Ohio, which was replaced in 1931by another replica of the statue, which still stands in Eden Park, Cincinnati. The same year another replica was given by Mussolini to the city of Rome, in Georgia, located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, United States. A third replica was sent to New York City.

The Capitoline Wolf has a special place in the past and present history, as well as the culture of Rome. The image of the Capitoline Wolf was used on both the emblem and the poster for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Also, the Roman football club A.S. Roma uses the Capitoline Wolf in its emblem.

David by Michelangelo

The statue of David, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created from 1501 to 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo, stands 5.17 meter (17 feet) tall. The marble statue portrays the Biblical hero David. The statue is said to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Florentine Republic, the independent city-state threatened on all sides by powerful enemies and by the hegemony of the Medici family. This interpretation was encouraged by the original setting of the sculpture outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence. The statue was moved from Piazza della Signoria in 1873 to the Accademia Gallery in Florence where it attracts many visitors now. In 1910 a replica of David was placed in the Piazza della Signoria, where David was originally installed.

The death of Cleopatra by Guido Cagnacci

Painting: The Death of Cleopatra (1659) by Guido Cagnacci, oil on canvas, 153 cm x 168.5 cm, current location at Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Wien (Vienna).

Casa Leonardo, the house where Leonardo da Vinci grew up

Photo: Casa Leonardo, the house where Leonardo da Vinci is believed to have grown up. It is situated alongside Via di Anchiano, 3km north of Vinci, Tuscany, Italy.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the Italian painter, sculptor, architect, cartographer, anatomist, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, geologist, botanist and writer, was born on April 15, 1452, in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci in Florence. He was the illegitimate son of Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine legal notary, and Caterina, a peasant woman. It is believed Leonardo spent his first five years in the hamlet of Anchiano in the home of his mother, which is shown in the above photo.

Primavera, painting by Sandro Botticelli

Photo: Primavera (1482), icon of the springtime renewal of the Florentine Renaissance, also at the summer palazzo of Pierfrancesco de' Medici, as a companion piece to The Birth of Venus and Pallas and the Centaur. Seen from left to right are Mercury, the Three Graces, Venus, Flora, Chloris and Zephyrus.

The masterpieces of Sandro Botticelli, Primavera (1482) and The Birth of Venus (1485) were seen at the villa of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici at Castello in the mid-16th century, and until recently, it was assumed that both works were painted specifically for the villa. But recent studies suggest the Primavera was painted for Lorenzo's townhouse in Florence, and The Birth of Venus was commissioned by someone else for a different site. The influence of Gothic realism is tempered by Botticelli's study of the antique. But the subjects themselves remain fascinating for their ambiguity. The complex meanings of these paintings continue to receive widespread scholarly attention.

Mulberry Street in Little Italy in 1900s

Photo: Mulberry Street in Little Italy in 1900s. Little Italy, a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, was once known for its large population of Italians. Now much of it has been engulfed by Chinatown as a large number of immigrants from China moved to Little Italy. Currently the section of Mulberry Street, between Broome and Canal Streets, is all that is left of the old Italian neighborhood. The street is lined with about two dozen Italian restaurants, which are popular with tourists. In 2010, Little Italy and Chinatown were listed together as a single historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation.

Lake Garda, view to Nago-Torbole

Photo: view from Monte Creino to Nago-Torbole and the northern part of Lake Garda. Nago-Torbole is a municipal town in the Province of Trento in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 30 km southwest of Trento on the north shore of Lake Garda.

Sunset on Lake Garda viewed from Malcesine