The portico of San Luca: the arches everyone calls 666, and the view Bologna has left

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 lamentation over the dead christ by niccolo dell arca in santa maria della vita in bologna, with the seven terracotta figures around the body

The Lamentation by Niccolò dell’Arca: how you carve a scream in clay

the santo stefano complex in bologna seen from the sloping triangular square, with the brick facades of the different churches

Santo Stefano in Bologna: seven churches around a courtyard, and a basin that is not Pilate’s

raphael’s ecstasy of saint cecilia in the pinacoteca nazionale of bologna, with the saint letting the portative organ slip from her hands

Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna: the works to look for, room by room

the unfinished facade of the basilica of san petronio in bologna, with the marble cladding breaking off and bare brick above

Basilica of San Petronio: the facade nobody finished and the meridian that measured the year

the grand canal seen from the accademia bridge with the salute the dogana and a gondola

What to see in Venice in 2 days: the itinerary that works around the bookings

12 min read

a wall of the scrovegni chapel with the three bands of panels frescoed by giotto against the blue ground

Scrovegni Chapel: how to visit it and how to read Giotto’s cycle

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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.

Landscape painted by Chaim Soutine, with distorted houses and twisting brushstrokes

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette, a Sunday dance in Montmartre

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naples seen from castel sant elmo with the bell gable of the certosa di san martino in the foreground, the port, the gulf and vesuvius behind

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piazza navona with borrominis facade of sant agnese in agone and the fountain of the four rivers

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borrominis concave and convex facade on via di propaganda in rome seen from below

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detail of bernini’s fountain of the four rivers in piazza navona in rome

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the view over florence from piazzale michelangelo, with brunelleschi’s dome and giotto’s bell tower

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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.

piazza maggiore in bologna with the palazzo del podesta and the torre dell arengo lit by low sun and the porticoes in shadow

What to see in Bologna in 2 days: the itinerary of a city you walk under cover

12 min read

What to see in Naples in 2 days: the itinerary that holds the old centre and the hill together

12 min read

Borromini’s works in Rome: what they are, which ones you can visit, and in what order

The Borromini you cannot visit: four works you look at from the street

Bernini’s fountains in Rome: which ones are really his and how to see them in a day

15 min read

What to see in Florence in 2 days: a full itinerary with tickets and opening times

15 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.

titian s assunta on the high altar of the frari basilica between the gothic windows of the apse

The Frari basilica in Venice: Titian’s Assunta and the choir nobody expects

the royal chapel of the treasure of san gennaro in naples cathedral with the frescoed dome and the baroque altars in polychrome marble

Naples cathedral: three churches one inside the other, and the richest treasure in Europe

the seaward front of the doge s palace in venice with its two stacked loggias and moored gondolas

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.

the central part of paolo veronese s feast in the house of levi with christ at table and the dogs in the foreground

Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice: 7 works to see (and one that is not there)

the pink and grey facade of the palace of capodimonte in naples seen from the avenue of the royal park

Capodimonte museum: the works to look for, room by room

borrominis perspective gallery at palazzo spada seen on axis with the statue at the far end

Borromini’s perspective gallery at Palazzo Spada: nine metres that look like thirty-five

8 min read

The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Bernini at the Borghese Gallery: the works nobody looks at

The first bust of Cardinal Scipione Borghese by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

The two busts of Scipione Borghese: the crack that made Bernini start again

8 min read

Truth Unveiled by Time by Gian Lorenzo Bernini at the Galleria Borghese

Truth Unveiled by Time: the statue Bernini carved for himself

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.

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

Artists · Artisti

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