The importance and the ambition of the Neoplatonic Academy are still not fully understood. Founded in Villa Medici Careggi in 1459, on the initiative of Cosimo de’ Medici, its purpose was to study the great traditions of thinking and spirituality – Judaism and the Kabbalah, Christianity, Platonic and...
Leo V or Levon V (sometimes referred to as Leon VI, 1342-1393), of the House of Lusignan, was the son of John of Lusignan and Soldane, daughter of George V if Georgia. Last sovereign of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, he governed from 1374 to 1375. His reign...
When on 25th December, 1476, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan was murdered in the Church of Santo Stefano, few of his subjects or indeed his close family circle would have mourned his death. He had made many an enemy and those that did not directly hate him, loathed...
If Guiseppe Verdi and the Duchess of Parma were alive today, and they strayed into the Via Soziglia in Genoa, the would certainly recognize one store, that of the confectioner Pietro Romanengo, famous for over 200 years for the most exquisite specialties. Pietro Romanengo’s history began in Genoa...
The Hapsburg Emperor Charles V (Carlos I) of Spain ruled over an empire over which it is said, the sun never set. In the 16th century, his ships bought gold and silver from America to Seville, making Spain the superpower of Europe. The conquerors of the ‘new world’...
Born around 1510 in Barenton, a small village in the diocese of Avranches , Guillaume Postel studied oriental languages at the college of Sainte-Barbe in Paris. Having become one of the foremost experts in his field he was appointed as Lecture royal to the French court of François I...
The age of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was profoundly marked by the decline of the Order of the Knights Templars, and above all by the series of persecutions, imprisonments and condemnations to which the Order was subjected following its interdiction by the King of France, Philip IV, and Pope Clement...
In the oratory at the junction of Via Santi Quattro and Via dei Querceti, Rome there is a painting in a very poor condition that has often been interpreted as a memorial of the scandal of the legendary Pope Joan, who gave birth in the street, however, the...
Printed by Aldus Manutius in Venice in 1499, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is perhaps the most complex roman-a-clef ever published. Illustrated with around 170 exquisite woodcuts, it is also considered one of the finest examples of early printing. The book, written in a mixture of Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew,...
Francesco I de Medici (Florence, 1541-1587) commissioned a special Studiolo within the Palazzo Vecchio. The decoration was in part the work of the most famous Mannerist painter of the day, Giorgio Vasari, who was commissioned to oversee the entire project (1570-72), with the assistance of humanist scholars Giovanni Battista...
Welcome to my love affair with the food, wine, history and culture of the Mediterranean, past and present. Here you will find not only recipes, drinks and fabulous products, but the history of the food and culture of the Mediterranean.
My purpose is to get you to explore and experience new tastes and along the way to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of this diverse and wonderful region – from Venice to Istanbul, Rome to Dubrovnik, Athens to Crete and all places in between and in the surrounds. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted and enthralled as you take this trip with me.
