Pontormo’s Deposition at Santa Felicita: Mannerism inside a chapel

The most recent guides, in order of publication. If you are not sure where to start, the blocks below are sorted by kind of content, and every article appears only once.

the outer corner of orsanmichele in florence with two marble statues and one bronze statue in the gothic niches

Orsanmichele: the granary that became a church, and the fourteen guild statues

the uffizi panel of the battle of san romano, with the unhorsing of bernardino della carda at the centre

The Battle of San Romano: the three panels split between Florence, London and Paris

the inner courtyard of palazzo donnaregina, home to the madre museum, with three floors of ivory colored arched windows and the silhouette of a horse on the cornice

The Madre in Naples: twelve rooms commissioned from artists, inside a former pawnshop

the facade of san miniato al monte with bands of white and green marble and the mosaic in the gable

San Miniato al Monte: the finest church in Florence is free and closes at midday

the bare stone facade of the basilica of san lorenzo with the dome of the medici chapels behind it

San Lorenzo: the façade nobody ever finished and the sacristy that changed everything

the baroque spire of san domenico maggiore with its bronze statue on top, and behind it the gothic apse of the basilica with its buttresses and battlements

Book the Florence Duomo Book now

Spaccanapoli: Gesù Nuovo, San Domenico Maggiore and the Donatello almost nobody looks for

12 min read

Experiences to book

Discover the best things to do nearby: tours, museums and experiences you can book online, skip the queues, at the best price.

Twisted columns with cosmatesque mosaic inlay from a ciborium by Arnolfo di Cambio

Lithograph with impossible geometries by M.C. Escher

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Book the Florence Baptistery Book now

the florence baptistery seen from above with its octagonal plan and white pyramidal roof

rusting vintage cars parked in a row inside a tuff tunnel, with a lit lantern on the ground and a vaulted passage in the background

Book the Bourbon Tunnel Book now

the facade of palazzo vecchio on piazza della signoria with the arnolfo tower and its projecting walkway

Book Palazzo Vecchio Book now

the green wall of titian’s room at the uffizi with the venus of urbino at the centre between two small portraits

room a35 at the uffizi with the baptism of christ on the left and leonardo’s annunciation on the right

the doni tondo in its gilded frame on the red wall of the uffizi room, with visitors seen from behind

Piazza Navona underground Book now

Bernini’s veiled Nile in the Fountain of the Four Rivers

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6 articles

Travel guides

Guides answer one question: what do I see in this city. They put the stops in order, taking into account distances and closing days, which are the variables that ruin a plan.

the keep of the monforte castle in campobasso with its battlements, the flag and the external staircase

Campobasso: the Monforte Castle reopened in 2026 and the museum where the Samnites end up

a roman gate at saepinum with the grassy droving road running under it

What to see in Molise: a whole Roman town, a Samnite theatre and the day of the week that decides everything

13 min read

the bastione di saint remy in cagliari seen from piazza costituzione with its monumental staircase and arch

What to see in Cagliari in two days: the complete guide

12 min read

the pink and white chequered facade of the basilica of santa maria di collemaggio with three rose windows and three portals

What to see in L’Aquila in two days: the city that came back, monument by monument

14 min read

the porta praetoria in aosta, a double roman gate with three arches and the inner courtyard, seen from the street

What to see in Aosta in one day: the Roman city that the day of the week opens only halfway

13 min read

painting of a session of the council of trent with the council fathers seated in the nave of a church

Travel guides · Europe

The Council of Trent and the art of the Counter-Reformation: what actually changed in the pictures

12 min read

6 articles

Monuments & landmarks

One monument at a time, with its history and what you need in order to get inside: when to go, what you actually see, and what the most common ticket leaves out.

Florence Baptistery: the doors you photograph are copies, and the originals are two hundred metres away

the brancacci chapel with three tiers of frescoes on the walls and the madonna panel on the altar

Brancacci Chapel: the point at which painting learned to cast a shadow

the baroque high altar of the church of san gregorio armeno, with the gilded crucifix, the candelabra and the nuns’ choir grilles above

San Gregorio Armeno: how a shepherd figure is made, and the door almost nobody opens

The Bourbon Tunnel: the escape route a king had dug, and that never reached the palace

Palazzo Vecchio: the hall a friar built and a Medici painted over

the mezzanine of toledo station with its blue and green mosaic walls and columns clad in tesserae widening toward the ceiling

The art stations of Naples: Toledo, Università and Materdei, and the ticket you actually need

6 articles

Museums & masterpieces

Museums told through what they hold, not through their floor plan. Which works to look for, how much time to allow, and which rooms you can skip without regret.

Titian’s Venus of Urbino: what that painting really is

Leonardo’s Annunciation and Verrocchio’s Baptism: the master and the pupil in the same room

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula: the last Caravaggio, credited to another painter for two centuries

The Doni Tondo: Michelangelo’s only finished painting, and the frame nobody looks at

fra angelico’s annunciation with the angel on the left and mary seated on the right under a bare loggia

Museo di San Marco: a friary where every cell has its own fresco

the octagonal interior of the church of the pio monte della misericordia with the caravaggio on the high altar

The Seven Works of Mercy: the Caravaggio that was declared unsellable in 1613

6 articles

Artists

The lives and the style of the names that keep coming back in museum rooms. They help you recognise a hand in front of a painting, which is the difference between looking and seeing.

Artists · Artisti

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