This is the first of our lecture series that will explore the history and greatness of the civilization that was Rome. In the Roman Forum, we step back in time to the days of Romulus, Julius Caesar, Titus, and Constantine, weaving our way past the ruins of their great culture and through the tale...

Join me for this video lecture where we shall analyze the architecture and reconstruct the engineering marvels of the mother of all amphitheaters – the Colosseum. We shall also discuss the jaw-dropping spectacles and bloody contests that took place during the most decadent period of ancient Roman...

This video lecture will examine two of the greatest architectural marvels of Imperial Rome. The Pantheon is an ancient Roman temple that has been described as the most perfectly designed architectural monument in history, while the Arch of Constantine marked the beginning of the rise of Christian...

Join me for this video lecture which will explore the fascinating history of Ravenna, Italy. A history that shaped the city’s most recognizable artistic marvels, its glorious mosaics. No medium better embodies the glory and mystery of the Byzantine Empire than does this painstaking technique of i...

This video lecture will explore the art, architecture, and history of one of the most celebrated Romanesque churches of medieval Europe. The one-thousand-year-old church of San Miniato al Monte in Florence, Italy, houses an exotic mix of artistic styles inside of a distinctly mysterious atmospher...

Measuring 152 meters in length and requiring nearly six generations to complete, Florence Cathedral was the largest church in Christendom for more than two centuries. No monument better reflects the creative ambitions and unflinching determination of Renaissance Florence than does its great cathe...

Join me for this video lecture that will explore the history and architecture of the most important monument in Florence, Italy. Nearly a millennium old, the Romanesque building has always been the heart of Florentine society and tradition. We will also examine the breathtaking mosaics that decor...

Join me for this video lecture webinar on the great architectural monuments in the Campo dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy. From its majestic marble cathedral, to its elegant circular baptistry, Pisa is home to some of the greatest architecture of the Middle Ages, including that most iconic of architec...

The cathedral of Siena is one of the most successful and beautiful expressions of Gothic architecture in all of Italy. Requiring more than a century to complete, the dazzlingly decorated church is not only a reflection of the city’s dedication to the Virgin Mary, but also a symbol of its civic pr...

Join us for this video lecture where we will examine the great Dominican church and convent of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy. From the Gothic-style architecture of the church and convent, to its early Renaissance façade, the great basilica reflects the changing artistic, religious, and s...

At the turn of the 13th and 14th Centuries, a man named Francis from Assisi changed the world. Not only did he begin to reform the Catholic Church by living the example of Christ in taking a vow of poverty, but he also changed the way that medieval Christians saw the natural world. To honor St. F...

Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture where we will visit the largest Franciscan church in the world - Santa Croce. The founder of this order, St. Francis of Assisi, changed the way people saw the world in the Middle Ages and his love and celebration of nature may have been the spark that ignited...

Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture to understand why no complex in Rome better expresses the historical complexity of the city than San Clemente. The present Medieval church stands above an Early Christian one, which in turn was built atop of an ancient Roman palace and apartment building. But...

Known as "the city of beautiful towers", the Tuscan hill town of San Gimignano boasts 13 preserved medieval tower houses, rising above the picturesque Elsa Valley. The beautiful cathedral of San Gimignano, known as the Collegiata, instead houses one of the most sinister fresco cycles of the Midd...

Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture where we will examine two of the most extraordinary sculptures of the Middle Ages. Nicola Pisano revolutionized sculpture in the 13th century by introducing emotion, movement, naturalism, and drama. Pisano's pulpits in Pisa and Siena are his two most importan...

Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture where he will explore the art, architecture, and history of one of the world's most famous buildings! From the Guelphs, to the "Bonfires of Vanities", to Michelangelo and the Medici, Palazzo Vecchio has served as Florence's city hall for the last 700 years an...

Why does Dante have two tombs? Join Dr. Rocky Ruggiero for this video lecture and find out as he explores the great poet's love/hate relationship with his native city of Florence. From his early days in the city, to his exile and eventual death in a foreign city, we shall examine the extraordinar...