{"id":964,"date":"2023-04-12T11:34:14","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T10:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=964"},"modified":"2024-11-13T16:43:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T16:43:07","slug":"renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel","title":{"rendered":"7 Must-See Frescoes in Italy: Piccolomini Library, Basilica of San Francesco, &#038; More"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel\/#Scrovegni_Chapel_Padua\">Scrovegni Chapel, Padua<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel\/#Piccolomini_Library_Siena\">Piccolomini Library, Siena<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel\/#Camera_degli_Sposi_Mantua\">Camera degli Sposi, Mantua<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel\/#Chapel_of_San_Brizio_Orvieto\">Chapel of San Brizio, Orvieto<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel\/#The_House_of_Augustus_and_Livia\">The House of Augustus and Livia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel\/#The_Last_Supper_Milan\">The Last Supper, Milan<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/renaissance-frescoes-in-italy-beyond-michelangelo-sistine-chapel\/#Basilica_of_San_Francesco_Assisi\">Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\nThere&#8217;s nothing like Michelangelo&#8217;s world-famous frescoes in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/attractions\/the-sistine-chapel-in-the-vatican-museums\">Sistine Chapel<\/a>. But as special as the Sistine Chapel is, it isn&#8217;t the only architectural space in Italy where you can find jaw-droppingly vibrant, detailed, and beautiful, not to mention art-history-changing, frescoes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here are some of our favorite spaces in Italy to add to your list (some even influenced Michelangelo himself!). <strong>Bonus:<\/strong> Each of them is in a town that&#8217;s well worth a visit in its own right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Note: When visiting these incredible spaces, just remember that what damages fresco more than anything else is moisture and humidity! So don&#8217;t stand too close to the art (your breath really does make a difference!), and please, never, ever touch the artwork. That way, your children and their children will be able to enjoy these beautiful masterpieces, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Scrovegni_Chapel_Padua\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Scrovegni Chapel, Padua<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_969\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/00view.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-969\" class=\"wp-image-969 size-full\" title=\"Scrovegni Chapel of Padua, Italy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/00view.jpg\" alt=\"Giotto's gorgeous frescoes are like an early Sistine Chapel in Padova\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1099\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/00view.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/00view-768x844.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-969\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Giotto had to be creative to overcome the obstacles caused by the chapel&#8217;s architecture &#8212; you can even see how he extended the wall paintings up into the ceiling to try to balance it all!<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Located an easy 25- or 45-minute train ride from Venice, Padua has a lot to boast about: mythical ties to the city of Troy, the second-oldest university in Italy (and one where Galileo taught)&#8230; and an incredible 14th-century chapel that&#8217;s one of Italy&#8217;s top sites for pilgrims. Art history pilgrims, that is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artble.com\/artists\/giotto_di_bondone\/paintings\/scrovegni_chapel_frescoes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scrovengi Chapel<\/a> was built by Enrico Scrovegni in 1302, after his father&#8217;s practice of lending out money at super-high interest rates &#8212; something seen as so sinful, it landed the man in Dante&#8217;s <em>Inferno<\/em> &#8212; filled him with such guilt he built a chapel with the family&#8217;s earnings. (He dedicated it to to the &#8220;Virgin of Charity&#8221;).<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_971\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/joachi1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-971\" class=\"wp-image-971\" title=\"One of the most heartwrenching scenes in Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel\" src=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/joachi1.jpg\" alt=\"Expulsion from the Temple, in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy\" width=\"600\" height=\"560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/joachi1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/joachi1-768x717.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-971\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">The space on the right, planned that way by Giotto, makes it look like poor Joachim is being thrust into an empty, lonely abyss<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Scrovegni commissioned the Florentine painter Giotto for the frescoes. The result is the earliest work that&#8217;s accepted as being by Giotto&#8217;s own hand. For art historians, that means it&#8217;s the keystone for deciding if later pieces (like those in the Basilica of San Francesco, below) were by Giotto, too. Like Michelangelo more than two centuries later, Giotto had to grapple with how to lay his fresco cycle out on a barrel-vaulted building. And, like Michelangelo, it&#8217;s fair to say he did, well, a pretty good job!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The whole story of the New Testament is laid out here, starting with the heartbreaking <em>Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple<\/em>. The panel shows Joachim, the Virgin&#8217;s father, being literally pushed out of the temple by a priest, Joachim&#8217;s offering rejected because he remains childless; the anguish on Joachim&#8217;s face is palpable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The narrative continues through to Christ&#8217;s life, with the famous frescoes of the <em>Lamentation<\/em> and <em>Kiss of Judas<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_970\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/chris20.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-970\" class=\"wp-image-970 size-full\" title=\"Lamentation by Giotto in the Arena Chapel, Padova\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/chris20.jpg\" alt=\"One of Giotto's most famous frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel of Padua\" width=\"1000\" height=\"925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/chris20.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/chris20-768x710.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-970\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Giotto was a master of emotion &#8212; just look at the anguish on Mary&#8217;s face<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don&#8217;t miss the <em>Last Judgment, <\/em>either, a fantasy of all the horrific tortures that await the damned. Few paintings in art history could be more frightening! This was one piece that influenced Michelangelo for his own version of the <em>Last Judgment.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_974\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/15_lastj.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-974\" class=\"wp-image-974 size-full\" title=\"Detail of Giotto's Last Judgment in the Scrovegni Chapel\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/15_lastj.jpg\" alt=\"Part of Giotto's frescoes in Padua's Arena Chapel\" width=\"1000\" height=\"918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/15_lastj.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/15_lastj-768x705.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-974\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">A detail of Giotto&#8217;s Last Judgment, complete with a monster eating the damned. Eek!<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In all of the frescoes, you can see just why Giotto was so groundbreaking, he&#8217;s known as one of the fathers of the Renaissance. Giotto&#8217;s use of space and volume, and his two-point perspective scheme (which unites both painting and architecture in the tricky-to-paint chapel), show an understanding of perspective that heralded the beginning of the Renaissance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It&#8217;s the emotion of the figures, though, that really set Giotto apart, making him one of the only artists of his day who knew how to paint saints to look and interact like <em>real <\/em>people. And, almost 800 years later, Giotto&#8217;s ability to invoke emotion still takes your breath away.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Piccolomini_Library_Siena\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Piccolomini Library, Siena<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_981\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-981\" class=\"wp-image-981 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0437_003-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Piccolomini Library in Duomo of Siena\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0437_003-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0437_003-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0437_003-1536x1020.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-981\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Piccolomini Library in Duomo of Siena<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Duomo of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/things-to-do\/what-to-do-in-siena\">Siena<\/a> is one of our favorite churches in Italy. But hidden within the gorgeous, elaborate space is another gem: the Piccolomini Library.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Like the Sistine Chapel, the library&#8217;s frescoes are, more or less, a family&#8217;s celebration of&#8230; itself. After all, Pope Julius II commissioned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/michelangelo-works-and-paintings\">Michelangelo<\/a> to glorify the chapel built by his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV. Similarly, in 1502, the famous painter Pinturicchio was commissioned by Francesco Todeschini to paint panels of the life of Pope Pius II.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">After all, Pope Pius II was Todeschini&#8217;s uncle &#8212; and he&#8217;d raised Todeschini to the rank of cardinal in 1460. Todeschini himself became pope in 1503, taking the name Pius III&#8230; but he died just 26 days later. (The next pope? Julius II!).<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_998\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/002siena1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-998\" class=\"wp-image-998 size-full\" title=\"Pinturrichio's frescoes in the Piccolomoni Library\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/002siena1.jpg\" alt=\"Italian frescoes in the Duomo of Siena\" width=\"900\" height=\"1089\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/002siena1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/002siena1-768x929.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-998\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Scene of the coronation of Pope Pius III himself, in Pinturrichio&#8217;s Piccolomini Library<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The 10 episodes from Pius&#8217; life are done with extraordinary realism, clarity, detail, and color, and thanks to a recent restoration, they&#8217;re particularly vibrant. As if those frescoes weren&#8217;t incredible enough, even the ceiling is covered in paintings with gold leaf accents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although it&#8217;s easy to get caught up in all the gorgeous painting, don&#8217;t miss the books that give the Piccolomini Library its official purpose. These precious, illuminated manuscripts belonged to Pope Pius II, who was known for his humanism and his learnedness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Siena is a 1.5 hour train ride from Florence. A jewel of a medieval city, and once Florence&#8217;s main rival, it&#8217;s also the home of the famous Palio races.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Camera_degli_Sposi_Mantua\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Camera degli Sposi, Mantua<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Camera degli Sposi is a room entirely covered with\u00a0frescoes painted by Mantua&#8217;s artist-in-residence Andrea Mantegna, who\u00a0spent 46 years of his life in the town\u00a0serving Ludovico Gonzaga and his successors.\u00a0Located in the\u00a0Palazzo Ducale, the 500-room behemoth that served as\u00a0the Gonzaga Family Palace, the 15th-century frescoes depict members of the powerful Gonzaga Family. In particular, the &#8220;meeting scene&#8221; and the &#8220;court scene,&#8221; each celebrating the power and prestige of the Gonzaga&#8217;s and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/things-to-do\/mantua-city-guide\">Mantua itself<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A relatively small room in the north tower of the palace, Mantegna&#8217;s fresco paintings completely transformed the space with color and perspective. Using the\u00a0<em>trompe l&#8217;oeil<\/em> painting technique, the most striking feature seems to be the room&#8217;s ceiling and the sky painted on the center of it, creating the illusion that the room extends on forever. Originally called the <em>Camera Picta<\/em>, or painted room, the romantic name of\u00a0<em>Camera degli Sposi <\/em>(wedding chamber or bridal chamber in English) is likely an allusion to the repeated presence of Ludovico and his bride on the walls, and not a suggestion that the room was actually used as a wedding chamber.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With internal courtyards, frescoes, world-class art and incredible mosaics, there&#8217;s plenty to see inside Palazzo Ducale, but the biggest draw is by far the intricate frescoes in the\u00a0Camera degli Sposi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chapel_of_San_Brizio_Orvieto\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Chapel of San Brizio, Orvieto<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_984\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/02view.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-984\" class=\"wp-image-984 size-full\" title=\"Signorelli's work in the Chapel of San Brizio in Orvieto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/02view.jpg\" alt=\"Cappella Nuova in the Duomo of Orvieto, which inspired Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel\" width=\"1000\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/02view.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/02view-768x691.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-984\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Signorelli&#8217;s frescoes here laid the groundwork for Michelangelo&#8217;s Last Judgment<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Before Michelangelo&#8217;s <em>Last Judgment <\/em>in the Sistine Chapel, there was Luca Signorelli&#8217;s masterpiece: the Chapel of San Brizio frescoes in the Duomo of Orvieto.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Signorelli started his work in the Duomo of Orvieto in 1499. Tuscan in origin, like Michelangelo, he&#8217;d already painted in the Sistine Chapel himself, being responsible for the <em>Testament and Death of Moses <\/em>on the side wall. What Signorelli did with the Chapel of San Brizio, though, made the fresco cycle one of the most influential works of art in Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_985\" style=\"width: 651px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/3resurr2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-985\" class=\"wp-image-985 size-full\" title=\"Resurrection in the chapel by Signorelli in the Duomo of Orvieto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/3resurr2.jpg\" alt=\"Signorelli had a huge influence on Michelangelo for his Last Judgment\" width=\"641\" height=\"926\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-985\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Those muscled bodies, hauling themselves out of the earth, showed up again 35 years later&#8230; in Michelangelo&#8217;s Last Judgment<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It was also one of the most influential works of art on Michelangelo, who studied Signorelli&#8217;s work before he started his own <em>Last Judgment<\/em> in 1535. And it&#8217;s safe to say that without Signorelli&#8217;s incredible compositions of muscled men hauling themselves out of the earth for the Resurrection, or gruesome tortures being administered to the damned, Michelangelo would have wound up with a much different <em>Last Judgment <\/em>than the one we see today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of the most striking things about Signorelli&#8217;s frescoes are just how, well, <em>new <\/em>they seem &#8212; and not only because they&#8217;re so bright and vibrant. All twisted postures, exaggerated muscles, and crazy color schemes (like the purple, green, and blue-colored demons in the scene of the damned), they look like something out of a comic book or even a video game. To 16th-century viewers, though, the scenes would have seemed much more real, showing them exactly what they could expect on the day of judgment&#8230; and how their sins today would have terrifying consequences tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Whether you want to see where Michelangelo got his inspiration, or just lose yourself in these crazy, colorful scenes of the afterlife, don&#8217;t miss the Chapel of San Brizio. You can get to Orvieto from Rome on the train in 45 minutes, and, given its beauty and sites of interest, we think it&#8217;s one of the best day-trip options from Italy&#8217;s capital city.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_House_of_Augustus_and_Livia\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The House of Augustus and Livia<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Emperor Caesar Augustus&#8217; palace on the Palatine Hill is considered\u00a0one of the world&#8217;s most significant houses. Considered the perfect example of private art and decoration of the time, overall the house was quite a humble home, by the standards of the day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Augustus&#8217; own house was quite small and devoid of marble, and the emperor was known for sleeping each night in small, spartan quarters. His second wife, Livia, lived in\u00a0slightly larger, slightly more opulent apartments, with marble floors and pillars. Both of the houses are nearly perfectly preserved: visiting them it feels as if\u00a0the inhabitants have simply stepped out for the afternoon and will soon return home to resume life as normal.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7471\" style=\"width: 1220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7471\" class=\"wp-image-7471 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Caesars-Palace_Masks.jpg\" alt=\"Paintings in the House of Augustus on Walks of Italy's new 'VIP Caesar's Palace Tour'.\" width=\"1210\" height=\"803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Caesars-Palace_Masks.jpg 1210w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Caesars-Palace_Masks-768x510.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1210px) 100vw, 1210px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-7471\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The &#8216;Room of the Masks&#8217; in The House of Augustus.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One area where Augustus didn&#8217;t follow his humble design themes was in the artwork. The best painters of the day frescoed gorgeous scenes of theaters and countrysides along the ceiling and walls, particularly in the Palace&#8217;s west wing.\u00a0One room, the\u00a0&#8220;Room of Masks&#8221;, has a theater scene painted on the walls, with masks painted on the frame around it. The other is painted with garlands of pine needles hanging among thin pillars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Though the frescoes cracked and fell over time, archeologists were able to collect them, clean them off, and put them back together on the walls, piece by piece.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Visiting his house (which you can only do on a guided tour) offers the chance to experience these paintings just as Augustus did over 2,000 years ago, giving visitors an intimate look at the great man\u2019s private life and a unique insight into a mind that was as ruthless and cunning as it was fair and orderly.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Last_Supper_Milan\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Last Supper, Milan<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If there is\u00a0one other fresco as highly celebrated\u00a0as the Sistine Chapel, it&#8217;s Leonardo da Vinci&#8217;s Last Supper in Milan&#8217;s Santa Maria delle Grazie Cathedral.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7628\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/milan\/facts-about-da-vincis-last-supper\/attachment\/leonardo_da_vinci_-_the_last_supper_high_res\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-7628\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7628\" class=\"wp-image-7628 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_The_Last_Supper_high_res.jpg\" alt=\"Public Domain version of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. Photo from Wikicommons\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7628\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Public Domain version of Leonardo da Vinci&#8217;s Last Supper. Photo from Wikicommons<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>For an extensive guide on how to see da Vinci\u2019s Last Supper check out our <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/milan\/last-supper-tickets\">blog post<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The enormous painting\u00a0(it\u2019s 15 feet by 29 feet) depicts\u00a0the moment right after Jesus declares to his twelve apostles that one of them will betray him \u2013 right down to the individual expressions on each apostle\u2019s face! Though a Renaissance masterpiece, we have to be honest, the Last Supper\u00a0<em>technically\u00a0<\/em>isn&#8217;t a fresco. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Da Vinci&#8217;s notoriously slow painting methods didn&#8217;t pair well with the fresco style of painting on wet plaster \u2013 he couldn&#8217;t finish before the plaster dried! To account for this, Da Vinci painted directly on drywall,\u00a0effectively inventing a new painting technique called\u00a0<em>fresco secco<\/em>, or dry fresco. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Though it allowed him to paint within his own time limits, it also meant that the painting began deteriorating almost as soon as it was painted. Still, there&#8217;s no doubt that this &#8220;non-fresco&#8221; is one of the most admired, celebrated &#8220;frescoes&#8221; in all of Italy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">No trip to Milan is complete without visiting <a href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/milan-tours\/best-of-milan-tour-last-supper-tickets\">Leonardo Da Vinci\u2019s Last Supper<\/a>. This masterpiece draws thousands of visitors each year to see the jaw-dropping detail of this masterpiece\u00a0in person.\u00a0Admiring this masterpiece is a unique experience\u2026but it\u2019s not something you can do last-minute!\u00a0The easiest and more informative way to see it is with\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/milan-tours\/best-of-milan-tour-last-supper-tickets\">our small-group tours led by an expert guide<\/a>.Thousands of visitors each year come to see in person the jaw-dropping detail of this masterpiece.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Read more:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/leonardo-da-vinci-last-supper-restoration\">A Fine Line: Restoring Leonardo da Vinci&#8217;s The Last Supper<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Basilica_of_San_Francesco_Assisi\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Built in honor of St. Francis in the 1220s, the Basilica of San Francesco is one of the most beautiful, and important, churches in Italy. The basilica was, like the Sistine Chapel 260 years later, designed to be simple, architecturally-speaking &#8211; all the better for covering with frescoes. And that&#8217;s exactly what happened.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_965\" style=\"width: 461px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/interior.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-965\" class=\"wp-image-965\" title=\"The Upper Church of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi\" src=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/interior.jpg\" alt=\"Interior of the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi\" width=\"451\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/interior.jpg 817w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/interior-768x1022.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-965\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">It&#8217;s hard to grasp the scale of just how big the Basilica of St. Francis is &#8212; until you look at the size of the pews!<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the upper part of the two-level basilica, the walls are covered in vibrant frescoes from floor to soaring ceiling. Everywhere you look, you see color, light, and space &#8212; an extraordinary feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Like all the best Renaissance frescoes, though, each of these have a story to tell. The 32 scenes running along the top of each side of the nave depict stories from the Old and New Testaments; it&#8217;s thought that the famed Roman master Pietro Cavallini may have been involved. Below, 28 different panels show scenes from St. Francis&#8217; life (don&#8217;t miss him speaking with the birds!), often attributed, although controversially, to Giotto.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_966\" style=\"width: 522px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/renunciation.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-966\" class=\"size-full wp-image-966 \" title=\"Giotto's Renunciation of Worldly Goods in the Basilica of St. Francis\" src=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/renunciation.jpg\" alt=\"Fresco by Giotto in the basilica of San Francesco of Assisi\" width=\"512\" height=\"577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/renunciation.jpg 890w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/renunciation-768x864.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-966\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">The Upper Church&#8217;s fresco of the Renunciation of Worldly Goods, likely by Giotto, shows the space, three-dimensionality, and movement that Giotto was so famous for<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The frescoes in the apse and transept are by Cimabue, another of Italy&#8217;s most important early Renaissance painters. Perhaps the most striking is also the most mysterious: Cimabue&#8217;s <em>Crucifixion <\/em>panel has, over time, turned into a negative of itself, with the light colors becoming dark and dark becoming light, through chemical processes that remain unexplained.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_967\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/crucifix.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-967\" class=\"wp-image-967\" title=\"Cimabue's Crucifixion in the Basilica of St. Francis\" src=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/crucifix.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/crucifix.jpg 992w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/crucifix-768x536.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Over time, Cimabue&#8217;s Crucifixion, painted in about 1280, became a negative of itself!<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Lower Basilica is just as stunning, although completely different. It&#8217;s lined with a series of dimly-lit, ornately-decorated chapels. The ceiling above the high altar is covered in gold-laden frescoes, including allegories of <em>Obedience, Poverty <\/em>and <em>Chastity <\/em>by one of Giotto&#8217;s pupils. On the transept wall is Cimabue&#8217;s most famous masterpiece, <em>Our Lady Enthroned and St. Francis, <\/em>in 1280; Giotto and his workshop did the frescoes of Christ&#8217;s childhood in the right transept.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then, of course, there&#8217;s the tomb of St. Francis himself, another level below in an eerie crypt, usually filled with pilgrims praying as they perambulate around his tomb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/visit-assisi-italy-attractions\">Assisi,<\/a> a gorgeous town and worth visiting in its own right (believe it or not, it boasts even more than the Basilica!), is a two-hour train ride from either Rome or Florence.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s nothing like Michelangelo&#8217;s world-famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. But as special as the Sistine Chapel is, it isn&#8217;t the only architectural space in Italy where you can find jaw-droppingly vibrant, detailed, and beautiful, not to mention art-history-changing, frescoes. Here are some of our favorite spaces in Italy to add to your list (some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[68,80,64,18],"ppma_author":[195],"class_list":["post-964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-culture","tag-art","tag-churches","tag-florence","tag-rome"],"authors":[{"term_id":195,"user_id":87,"is_guest":0,"slug":"matteom","display_name":"Matteo M.","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Matteo-Marino.png","url2x":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Matteo-Marino.png"},"user_url":"","last_name":"M.","first_name":"Matteo","job_title":"","description":"When Matteo, a native of Milan, isn't savoring the rich flavors of homemade pasta or engaging in lively debates about Italian politics, you can find him exploring the hidden gems of Italian cities, unearthing the stories behind ancient ruins, and getting lost in the vibrant maze of local markets in whatever city he finds himself in. Matteo considers himself to be the go-to source for tips, tidbits and recommendations for all things Italy. When he's not working, you can find him enjoying a pisolino or a gelato."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=964"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22157,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions\/22157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=964"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}