Archive for 'Churches & Religious Buildings'

The mosaics of Ravenna entered the common parlance and radars of a very large audience in 2013 when Dolce & Gabbana used prints of some of the works of art in their garments. However, the Byzantine mosaics created in the city in the 5th and 6th centuries have always been one of its distinguishing features and one of the things that it is most well-known for.

Even today, it is still one of Italy's greatest producers of mosaics.

If you are interested in art or are fond of awe-inspiring church interiors that glitter like jewellery boxes then find a vacation rental in Ravenna and see them for yourself.     Read More

The Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro, or the Metrolpolitan Cathedral of Saint Peter, is the cathedral of Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The present structure largely dates to the sixteenth century but the history of the building stretches back much further than that. The massive emphatically baroque interior is complimented by a stunning red exterior made from brick covered in a pink-toned plaster and accented with marble ornaments. If you have an interest in Baroque architecture or the history of Italy, this is sure to be fascinating to you. Why not find a holiday rental in Emilia-Romagna and spend a few days exploring Bologna's historic centre?     Read More

The great painter, Titian, sadly left us very few frescoes by his hand after his death. One of these few examples is a rather well-preserved group in the Scuola del Santo (or “Scoletta”) in Padua which comes from 1511, very early on in his career as an artist. Padua, in Veneto, is actually a city with an extremely rich tradition and heritage of fresco painting.

It is here that we find Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel which cemented the enormous importance of fresco painting as decoration, the tradition of grand fresco cycles and the standard by which all others would come to be measured.     Read More

St George's Oratory is a Roman Catholic church built in the 14th century as a family chapel by Marquis Soragna Raimondino Lupi. It is one of the many buildings that make up the rich architectural, artistic and cultural heritage of the historic city of Padua in the Veneto region. Not far from the more famous jewel that is Venice, it is a similarly rewarding place to visit if you are a lover of the arts. Maybe it's time to find a villa with a pool in Veneto and explore it for yourself.

The oratory has a small brick facade and is built on a simple plan of a single nave basilica, topped by a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The interior is like a jewellery box, adorned by frescoes on the walls and ceiling.     Read More