The Italian Renaissance Podcast

Apr 16 2024 8

The Italian Renaissance Podcast artwork

Welcome to the Italian Renaissance Podcast, where we discuss the culture and art of fifteenth and sixteenth century Italy. This podcast aims not only to provide a general overview of historical themes of the Renaissance, but also to dive deeply into interpreting how we understand the period today through analysis of key figures, moments, texts, but most importantly, the art. I intend this podcast to be both a useful study guide for students, and an engaging and digestible source of information for a general audience interested in enhancing their own understanding of Western history. Follow us on Instagram for images and updates: @italian_renaissance_podcast

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Ep. 45: Dr. Alan Pascuzzi, Bronze Casting and "Becoming Michelangelo."

Apr 16 2024 47 mins

I am joined by the Florence based artist and art historian Dr. Alan Pascuzzi for a thrilling interview about his career as an artist following the techniques of the Renaissance masters. We first discuss the process of becoming a sculptor and painter in the Renaissance techniques. He walks us through his technical process, looking closely at his recent allegorical bronze group for F

Ep. 44: Frank Nero Part 2: San Martino del Vescovo

Apr 02 2024 45 mins

Join me in conversation with Frank Nero, who takes us on a journey to a hidden gem in Florence, San Martino del Vescovo. This oratory serves as a fascinating case study of the intersections between Medici power and art patronage, as well as offering a glimpse into the everyday of Florentine life in the Quattrocento. The oratory frescoes depict scenes of the deeds of the buonuomini,

Ep.43: Frank Nero Part 1: Teaching Renaissance Art in Florence, Italy

Mar 19 2024 45 mins

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Frank Nero to the podcast. Nero is an art historian, award-winning educator, and former director of Florida State University Florence. He specializes in on-site lectures, having taught and inspired thousands of students during his career, myself included. The first part of this interview departs from our typical mode of discussion, and looks

Ep. 42: The Followers of Raphael Part 2: Giovanni da Udine, feat. Esme Garlake

Mar 05 2024 32 mins

Join me in the continuation of my conversation with ecocritical art historian and climate activist Esme Garlake. In the second part of our interview, we discuss the works of Raphael's pupil, Giovanni da Udine. Giovanni not only had an intense fascination with accurately depicting the natural world, which we discuss via his drawings, but had a substantial role in decorating Ago

Ep. 41: The Followers of Raphael Part 1: Ecocritical Art History and Giulio Romano, feat. Esme Garlake

Feb 20 2024 32 mins

Join me in conversation in two parts with Esme Garlake, an ecocritical art historian and climate activist who centers her research on the interaction between the artist and the natural world. We are talking about two artists who were trained under Raphael, Giulio Romano and Giovanni da Udine. How do animals manifest in their works, and what does it tell us about the social history

Ep. 40: Romeo and Juliet: The Italian Renaissance Novella that Inspired Shakespeare, feat. Michael Curtotti

Feb 06 2024 46 mins

Welcome to the Italian Renaissance Podcast Interview Series!Passionate translator Michael Curtotti joins us on the podcast to discuss the Renaissance novelliere Matteo Bandello and his Romeo and Juliet, which serves as the inspiration to the famous play by William Shakespeare. Curtotti has recently published a new translation of Bandello's novella, a must read for all lovers o

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper

Nov 22 2023 24 mins

Leonardo da Vinci arrived in Milan around the year 1482. Under the patronage of Duke Ludovico Gonzaga, Leonardo painted his famous Last Supper on the wall of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Still, his technical application of paint was a failure, causing almost immediate damage to the famous work. Between his inadequate innovation, the wars with Napoleon, and WWII, the L

Ep.38: Veronese and the Inquisition

Sep 19 2023 22 mins

Season 2 Finale! For the conclusion of this treatment of Renaissance Venice, we discuss Paolo Veronese and his famous painting that enraged the Holy Inquisition: The Supper in the House of Levi. Indeed, upon completion of this painting, the forces of the Counter-Reformation descended upon Veronese, bringing him under interrogation to explain what they deemed to be inappropriate in

Ep. 37: Renovatio Urbis - Jacopo Sansovino and Pietro Aretino

Sep 05 2023 24 mins

Touted as the 'triumvirate' of sixteenth century Venice, Titian, Jacopo Sansovino, and Pietro Aretino were cultural megaliths that bolstered the ambitious city development plan under Doge Andrea Gritti. This episode explores the presence of both Aretino and Sansovino in Venice. Aretino was a famed writer, open homosexual, and merciless critic of the famed nobles of Italy.

Ep. 36: Gaspara Stampa - Venetian Renaissance Poet

Aug 22 2023 27 mins

Gaspara Stampa is among the most important poets of the Renaissance. Living in Venice, she was a central figure in the music and literary scene thriving during the sixteenth century. Her Rime, published the year of her death, give us insight to the brilliant mind of an upper class socialite with a complicated love life, far flung from the rigid confines of what we might expect from