Italy's top 5 Art Treasures
 

Mine are:
David
Pieta
Primavera
Moses (why does he have horns?)
Mosaics in St. Marks

I cant wait to see the Veiled Christ this fall.

His astrology sign was Taurus.

Hi J,

>Moses (why does he have horns?)<

It is a misinterpretation of the Hebrew which is accepted as "his face shown", which could also be translated as "rays (of light) came out of his head" and ended up as "he had horns".

I also like "The birth of Venus".

((I))

PS,

I very much liked "The Veiled Christ". I rank it close to "David" for technical skill and concept.

((I))

May we add Bernini's Apollo and Daphne?

The Sistine Chapel is a masterpiece which I loved, but David won my heart.

Gozzoli's Procession of the Magi stole my breath

The Pieta (the one in St Peters) stole by admiration

My heart belongs to Uccello's Rout of San Romano - don't know why really, there are much better paintings - but hey that's love - you can't explain it - it just happens. Luckliy there are three parts so I can get my fix in London, Paris or Florence

My list is:
Sophia Loren
Anything by Bernini

Ira,
thanks for the explanation on the rays of light. very interesting.

The Last Supper and David remain the highlights of our many trips to Italy.

My personal faves in Italian museums/churches/collections...
-David (natch)
-Caravaggio's Conversion of Saint Paul [church of Sta Maria del Popolo, Rome]--or for that matter anything by Caravaggio
-the Apollo Belvedere [Vatican]--he's beautiful and I want to kiss him, please
-Tintoretto's Last Supper [church of S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice]
-Botticelli's Madonna of the Magnificat [Uffizi]--or for that matter, anything by Botticelli

Gosh that was hard to narrow down. ;-)

DejaVu,
I have never seen -Tintoretto's Last Supper [church of S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice]. It looks so beautiful. I will check it out when I am there in Sept.

It if fun looking up everyone's favorites. Expands my knowledge.

I'm with wombat! "Walking into" Gozzoli's painting in the tiny chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence is an unforgettable experience!

Also, the glorious Byzantine mosaics in the apse of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna (of Justinian, Theodora, and more) are dazzling!

Round it out with Donatello's <i>David</i>, Michelangelo's <i>David</i>, and Bernini's <i>David</i>, and you have five!

(Those aren't really my absolute top five! I'm too wishy-washy to settle on a final five!)

A question on a lost art treasure that I &quot;remember&quot; from a visit to Florence in my youth. I say &quot;remember&quot; because it is very hazy (yes my youth was a few years ago). I am sure I remember some palace in Florence with incredible tapestries/frescoes which you viewed as you walked downstairs. The closest I have found is Gozzoli's painting – i.e. those are the types of images that I “remember’ but of course there is not the stair experience. Anyone have an idea of what I might have seen – or perhaps it’s just the passage of time and consumption of wine that has befuddled the mind of this wombat.

Wombat,

Are you thinking of the Palazzo Davanzati? (I've never seen it because it has been &quot;under restoration&quot; for the last 20 years at least.)

http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/en...sei/davanzati/

Eloise
I can't tell from the website whether that is it or not - but the &quot;youth&quot; to which I referred was comfortably over 20 years ago - will google and see if I can find some other pictures

How about the top 5 museums?

Top 5 buildings?

Top 5 piazzas?

Top 5 archeological sites?

ok scrb.. let's hear um :)

My personal top treasures:

1.Brunelleschi's cupola of the Duomo, Florence.

2.The Brancacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence.

3. Michaelangelo's David in the Accademia, Florence.

4. The Portinari Tryptich by Hugo Van der Goes (Uffizi), Florence.

5. The Doors of Paradise by Ghiberti, Florence.

I would have added the frescoes in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi before the earthquake.

JandaO: Tintoretto's Last Supper is to the right of the main altar inside the church of S. Giorgio Maggiore. In its original home, which is usually not the case--so you can really appreciate how Tintoretto geared the composition for the space, especially his use of diagonal perspective.