- Madonna of Senigallia
Madonna of Senigallia (1474) by Piero della Francesca. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Ideal City
Ideal City (1470s) probably by Luciano Laurana. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Flagellation of Christ
Flagellation of Christ (1460) by Piero della Francesca. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Flagellation of Christ
Flagellation of Christ (1460) by Piero della Francesca. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Flagellation of Christ
Flagellation of Christ (1460) by Piero della Francesca. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - The town of Urbino
as seen from the palace. - Institution of Eucharist
Institution of Eucharist (1473-1476) by Joos Van Wassenhove (Giusto di Gand) and Corpus Domini predella (1467-1468) by Paolo Uccello. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Corpus Domini predella
Corpus Domini predella (1467-1468) by Paolo Uccello. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Madonna with Child on Throne
Madonna with Child on Throne, Saints John the Baptist, Francis, Girolamo, Sebastian and te Buffi family (1489) by Giovanni Santi. Giovanni Santi is, btw, the father of Raphael. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Annunciation (1485) by Giovanni Santi
Annunciation (1485) by Giovanni Santi Giovanni Santi is the father of Raphael. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Annunciation by Giovanni Santi
Annunciation (1485) by Giovanni Santi. Giovanni Santi is the father of Raphael. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Madonna with Child by Vincenzo Pagani
Madonna with Child and Saints Martin, Michael and George (1529) by Vincenzo Pagani. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Annunciation by Vicenzo Pagani
Annunciation (1532) by Vicenzo Pagani. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Madonna with Child
Church of Saint Dominic, Urbino. - Lantern
Lantern of what is now Higher Institute for Artistic Industries. Urbino - Napoleon's villa
Bathroom - Napoleon's villa
Sala del nodo d'amore: Ceiling with the lover's knot, expressing the love between Napoleon and Maria Luisa. - Nonno pino
The largest/oldest pine tree, about 400 years old. 15 m tall with a circumference of 4.5 m. - LIguella Museum, Portoferraio
Remains of a Roman villa. - Santo Stefano alle Trane
This church dates from the second half of the XII century. Completely destroyed in 1442 and once again 1747, last renovation was done in the 1970s. - Villa Romana delle Grotte, Portoferraio
A wonderful Roman villa from I century BC. If I'm not mistaken, this is the spa that included calidarium and frigidarium. - Villa Romana delle Grotte, Portoferraio
This was the upper pool of the villa. Not bad. Not bad at all. - Villa Romana delle Grotte, Portoferraio
A huuuge villa with an even larger garden. - Torre dell'Orologio
Their clocks used to show 24 hours, not just 12. - Mosaic
Venice is full of old mosaics. Although some are not as old as the others ... - Palazzo Ducale
Palazzo Ducale, built in 1340 (and extended later). - Piazzetta di San Marco
- Piazzetta di San Marco
The Piazzetta between the Doge's Palace and Jacopo Sansovino's Biblioteca with the two columns with Saint Theodore and the winged lion. - San Giorgio Maggiore
The church was designed by Andrea Palladio, built between 1566 and 1610. - Piazza San Marco
Piazza in the times of Covid, wonderfully empty. - Basilica di San Marco
The roof of the Basilica with Saint Mark, his winged lion and the protecting angels. - Porziuncola
Frescoes in the Porziuncola by Ilario da Viterbo (1393). - Volta pinta
This loggia in Piazza del Comune was painted in 1556, probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. - Cathedral
Insanely beautiful details on the facade. - Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
Frescoes on one of the columns. - Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
- Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
- Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Coronation of the Virgin, Filippo Lippi (1467-69). - Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Transition of the Virgin, Filippo Lippi (1467-69). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The Dome dates from the 12th century. Its 14th century interior is simply divine. - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Old Testament by Bartolo di Fredi (~1360). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The ceiling was painted with lapis lazuli. - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
New Testament by Barna da Siena and/or Lippo Memmi (~1345). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
- Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The last judgement by Taddeo di Bartolo (1393). The hellish part. - Siena Cathedral
The dome is topped with Bernini's gilded lantern. - Siena Cathedral
- Siena Cathedral
- Siena Cathedral
A wonderful ceiling, but these heads are a bit creepy. - Siena Cathedral
The divine interior of the Cathedral. - Siena Cathedral
Floors in the Piccolomini Library. - Siena Cathedral
More interesting details on the ceiling of the Piccolomini Library. - Siena Cathedral
Ceiling of the Piccolomini Library, painted by Pinturicchio (1503). - Santa Maria Assunta
Madonna con Bambino e i Santi Agostino, Girolamo, Martino e Nicola by Matteo di Giovanni (1463). - Diocesan Museum of Pienza - Palazzo Borgia
Madonna col Bambino tra i Santi Biagio, Giovanni Battista, Nicola e Floriano by Lorenzo di Pietro - Vecchietta (1465). - Palazzo Vecchio
Officially, such decorations are called grotesque. - Palazzo Vecchio
Grotesque or not, I like them a lot. - Ponte Vecchio
THE brige across Arno. Built/destroyed several times. This one is from 1345 and still holds. Butchers used to have their shops here, but were replaced with goldsmiths because of the smell. - Arno
- Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
My favourite part of the ceiling. So intense. Unfortunately, the illumination of the whole mausoleum was almost nonexistent... - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Deer drinking water. At first I thought they were eating watermelons :-) And then there are two more apostles around the chi-rho-alpha-omega sign. - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Either Saint Lawrence or Saint Vincent. And come fantastic decorative mosaics. - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Each side has two apostles and a pair of doves. - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Above the entrance, there is the mosaic of the Good Shepherd. - DSC 4622
Abel sacrificing a lamb to God, and the King of Salem, Melchizedek, offering a loaf of bread. And another God's hand coming from the blue and pink clouds. Heh, Abel has a cottage and Melchizedek a palace. - Basilica of San Vitale
More apostles. And more fish :-) - Basilica of San Vitale
The apostles, decorated with fish! Fish! - Basilica of San Vitale
Part of the Sanctuary. - Basilica of San Vitale
A young Christ, two angles, St Vitalis on the left and bishop Ecclesius on the right. The bishop offers the church to the Christ, while St Vitalis, covering his hands with a veil, receives the crown of martyrdom. Christ holds a scroll closed with the seven seals of the Apocalypse. - Basilica of San Vitale
Under the arch: Abraham and Sarah feeding the three strangers at Mambre and the Sacrifice of Isaac, with God's hand stopping Abraham from killing Isaac. Over the arch: the prophet Jeremiah, two angels holding a shield, Moses receiving the Law on Mt Sinai. - The Arian Baptistery
The medallion shows the young Christ in the middle, river Jordan on the left (with red crab claws?) and John the Baptist on the right. Above Christ is a dove (the Holy Spirit). One does not often see a naked Christ. - The Arian Baptistery
Only the ceiling remains decorated - but what decoration it is! Basically: the baptism of Jesus and twelve apostles. - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Andrew - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Bartholomew - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Jacob - The Orthodox Baptistery
Lush decorations - The Orthodox Baptistery
The central image depicts the Baptism of Christ, Saint John the Baptist on the left and a small Jordan on the right. The bearded heads are not original though. And the apostles are named. Funnily, some have golden tunics with white pallium and other vice versa. - The Orthodox Baptistery
What a masterpiece this is! Multiple circles of mosaic depict the central baptism, followed by the twelve (named!) apostles and the outer circle shows richly decorated thrones and altars. This mosaic is a few decades older than the Arian one. - The Orthodox Baptistery
Hm, is this an optical illusion? Because sometimes I see birds and sometimes fish. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
The dome is decorated with four angels pointing towards IX, and the four symbols of the evangelists. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
I wonder if the red and blue were always that pale or were they more vibrant. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original). Spring on the left, Autumn with the crown is in the front, Winter in the back and Summer is missing. A personification of Time plays a pan flute. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original), the musician. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original), Autumn. - Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
The cylindrical campanile dates to the 9th-10th century. - Classe
The 6th century abse depicts: - a cross on the sky with 99 stars - the hand of God - Elijah and Moses - three lambs representing Saint Peter, Saint James and Saint John.