Rebuilding The Renaissance

Episode 28: Florence – Florence Cathedral

This episode will examine the architecture and explore the epic construction history of one of the largest and most beautiful churches in the world.

Episode 27: Siena – Palio

This episode will explore the thrilling horserace known as the Palio that takes place in the central medieval square of Siena twice a year. Winning the race is the most important objective of every Sienese person, and we shall examine just how far the Sienese will go in order to obtain victory!

Episode 26: Siena – The Allegory of Good and Bad Government

This episode will examine one of the most timeless and politically enlightening works of art of all time - Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government - which clearly reveals that the governing principles of an effective democracy transcend time!

Episode 25: Siena – The Day the Virgin Mary Got into Politics (Simone Martini's Maestà)

This episode will examine Simone Martini's mural of the Maestà in the Hall of the Great Council in Siena's town hall, known as the Palazzo Pubblico. The painting represents a milestone moment in the history of art where a religious subject is inserted into a civic setting for the first time.

Episode 24: Siena – The Palazzo Pubblico and Piazza del Campo

This episode will analyse the history and architecture of the medieval town hall of Siena known as the Palazzo Pubblico, which was one of the seminal civic structures in Europe. We shall also examine what has been described as the most beautiful urban space in all of Italy - the Piazza del Campo.

Episode 23: Siena – City of the Virgin Mary (Battle of Montaperti/Duccio's Maestà)

This episode examines the very special relationship that Siena has with the Virgin Mary and how this privileged relationship came about. We shall also discuss one of the most important paintings in the history of art - Duccio's great Maestà.

Episode 22: Siena - The Building of Siena Cathedral

This podcast will recount the extraordinary construction history and examine the striking architecture of one of the world's most beautiful churches - the cathedral of Siena. 

Episode 21: Siena - The Foundation Myth

This episode recounts the foundation myth of the great Tuscan city of Siena and how 14th-century Sienese government officials claimed to have discovered a document that traced Siena's ancestry all the way back to Ancient Rome - but not to Rome's great founder Romulus, but instead to his defunct brother Remus. 

Episode 20: Theory - Put it in a Box - Defining the Periods in Western Art History

In this episode, I lay out the terms and dates of the major western historical and art historical periods, and various works of art and architecture with which they can be identified.

[email protected]

Episode 19: Theory - Stick it on a Wall - The Art of Fresco Painting

This podcast will explain the technique of fresco painting, the various advantages and disadvantages of this millennia-old method, as well as famous examples of this medium from the Renaissance.

Episode 18: Florence - Giotto's Frescoes in Santa Croce

This episode will analyze Giotto's frescoes of "The Life of St. Francis" in the Bardi Chapel in Santa Croce. Giotto's introduction of  naturalism, psychology, movement, emotion, and drama into his paintings was a groundbreaking innovation for medieval painting.

Episode 17: Florence - Celebrity Tombs in Santa Croce

This episode explores and examines what is arguably the world's most impressive collection of celebrity tombs that is housed in the great Franciscan basilica, including the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli.

Episode 16: Florence - The Basilica of Santa Croce

This episode explores the history and architecture of this great church in Florence, Italy and how the social and economic forces of medieval Florence contributed to making it the largest Franciscan church in the world.

Episode 15: Assisi - The Day the Earth Shook

This very personal podcast recounts my harrowing experience inside of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi when a severe earthquake struck the town in 1997 causing several vaults to collapse inside the Upper Basilica and killing four people.

Episode 14: Assisi - The Basilica of San Francesco

This episode examines the history, architecture and decoration of great shrine to St. Francis in Assisi that was decorated by a veritable all-star team of late-13th/early-14th-century artists such as Cimabue, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti and perhaps even Giotto. It also discusses the phenomenon of pilgrimage and the importance of relics in the spiritual life of medieval Christians.

Episode 13: Assisi - St. Francis of Assisi - How A Little Man Changed The World

This episode will examine the extraordinary life of one of the greatest revolutionaries in Western history: St. Francis of Assisi. It will also discuss how St. Francis' revolutionary natural philosophy may have sparked the historical movement known as the Renaissance.  

Episode 12: Florence - Speaking Statues in Piazza della Signoria

This episode will examine the extraordinary collection of sculptures in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. From Donatello's "Judith and Holofernes' to Michelangelo's "David" to Cellini's "Perseus and Medusa", each sculpture represents a chapter in the extraordinary story that is the history of the great Renaissance city.

Episode 11: Florence - Palazzo Vecchio

This episode will analyze the architecture of the building that was the seat of political power in medieval Florence - the Palazzo Vecchio - and the historical circumstances that led to its construction.

Episode 10: Florence - Out of Darkness

This episode will trace the historical evolution of Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire through Charlemagne and the creation of the Holy Roman Empire and finally to the rise of medieval city-states in Italy with particular emphasis given to the role of Florence. 

Episode 9: Florence - Historical Origins

This podcast will examine the ancient Roman origins of the city of Florence and trace its urban development from its foundation in 59 B.C. to the modern city that we see today. 

Episode 8: Ravenna - The Byzantine Empire Strikes Back

This podcast will examine the transformation of a provincial Italian town named Ravenna into an Imperial capital and how the Byzantine Emperor Justinian sought to recapture the western half of his empire. 

Episode 7: Rome - Constantine and Christianity

This episode will address the rise of Christianity in the Roman world and the critical role that Emperor Constantine played in its success and changing the world forever. 

Episode 6: Rome - The Pantheon

In this episode, we examine and analyze the ancient Roman temple that has been described as the most perfectly designed architectural monument in history. 

Episode 5: Rome - Bread and Circus

This episode examines that most decadent period in ancient Roman history when emperors provided both lavish foods and spectacular entertainment to the citizens of Rome.

Episode 4: Rome - Blood Sport

In this podcast we examine the jaw-dropping spectacles and bloody contests that took place inside of the Colosseum. 

Episode 3: Rome - The Colosseum

This podcast analyzes the architecture and reconstructs the engineering marvels of the mother of all amphitheaters.

Episode 2: Rome - Julius Caesar and the Dawn of Empire

This episode recounts and analyzes the rise to power of Julius Caesar and the transformation of the Roman Republic into an Empire.

Episode 1: Rome - The Foundation Myth

This episode examines the foundation myth of Ancient Rome and how it reflects those critical historical and social factors that contributed to making Rome the most absolute empire in history.