Join Dr. Rocky in this special video lecture celebrating Father's Day! Discover the extraordinary works by artists such as Giotto, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio that celebrate fatherhood!

Understanding Italian architecture is understanding Western Civilization. No country has produced such an extraordinary number of iconic architectural monuments over a period of two millennia as has Italy. Join Dr. Rocky for this first of a 5-part video lecture series where he will examine severa...

Join Dr. Rocky for this seasonal video lecture where he will retell “the greatest story ever told” through the creative genius of the great Renaissance masters. Come get into the holiday spirit with artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Giotto, Fra Angelico and Tintoretto a...

Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture where he shall celebrate the extraordinary art, architecture, and history of the "Eternal City" from its ancient origins through to its theatrical Baroque monuments. From Romulus and Remus through to Bernini and Borromini, discover Rome as you never have before.

When Michelangelo was called to Rome in 1506 by the recently elected Pope Julius II, it was to design and carve the mother of all tombs. Intended to stand four stories in height and directly over the tomb of St. Peter, and to accommodate 40 over-life-sized statues, it was a direct reflection of b...

Understanding Italian architecture is understanding Western Civilization. No country has produced such an extraordinary number of iconic architectural monuments over a period of two millennia as has Italy. Join Dr. Rocky for this second of a 5-part free webinar series where he will explore three ...

Understanding Italian architecture is understanding Western Civilization. No country has produced such an extraordinary number of iconic architectural monuments over a period of two millennia as has Italy. Join Dr. Rocky for this third of a 5-part free webinar series where he will analyze two of ...

Twice a year, on July 2 and August 16, the city of Siena transforms its main medieval square into an arena of unbridled fury. Ten bareback horses and their respective jockeys race three laps at breakneck speed around a dirt-covered piazza that is filled with fifty-thousand people! That is the Pal...

The paintings of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua by Giotto, of the Brancacci Chapel in Florence by Masolino and Masaccio, and on the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Rome by Michelangelo respectively represent three extraordinary milestones in the history of painting. Each of these decorative complexes pr...

Although Florence and Rome are usually considered to be the centers of Renaissance art, many cities north of the Apennines were also centers of extraordinary artistic production. Many believe that this was the result of an artistic “contamination”, as many of Florence’s greatest artists, such as ...

Understanding Italian architecture is understanding Western Civilization. No country has produced such an extraordinary number of iconic architectural monuments over a period of two millennia as has Italy. Join Dr. Rocky for this fourth of a 5-part free webinar series where he will examine the ar...

This lecture will explore how great Renaissance masters such as Michelangelo, Giotto, Duccio, Piero della Francesca, Leonardo da Vinci, and Tintoretto depicted the great Christian tale of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their creative genius produced some of history's most moving an...

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s poorly documented trip to Italy in 1841 marked a turning point in the artist’s career. After seeing works by Titian, Raphael and Leonardo first hand, the French artist declared, “I had gone as far as I could with Impressionism and I realized I could neither paint nor draw....

In the second half of the 15th Century, Italian Renaissance artists moved beyond mere stylistic imitation of Greco-Roman Antiquity. With the rediscovery of Classical literature, a whole new world of iconography appeared involving the myths and deities of the ancients. Many of the most iconic work...

On May 29, 1606, Caravaggio stabbed and killed a man on Via della Scrofa in Rome. Wanted for murder, he immediately fled the city and spent the last four years of his life as a fugitive on the run. He went first to Naples, then traveled to Malta, Sicily, and then back to Naples again. While makin...

Seeking to soften the militant and belligerent reputation of the Lombard capital city, Duke Ludovico “the Moor” Sforza sought the services of an extraordinary artist and inventor from Florence by the name of Leonardo da Vinci. The artist’s arrival in Milan in 1481 marked a turning point in Milan’...

Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture where we will explore the extraordinary collection of paintings in southern Italy’s most important museum of art. From Masaccio’s Crucifixion, to Titian’s Portrait of Pope Paul III, to Caravaggio’s moving Flagellation of Christ, Capodimonte is not the most fa...

Discover the beauty and internationally renowned artisan traditions of the rive gauche of Florence, Italy, known as the “Oltrarno.” From the 700-year-old Ponte Vecchio with its gold shops, to the majestic Pitti Palace, to the charm of the church and piazza of Santo Spirito, to the amazing frescoe...

Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture where he shall trace the evolution of Italian sculpture from its origins in ancient Rome to its rebirth in the Renaissance. From ancient masterpieces such as the "Laocoön", to medieval masters such as Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, through the singular genius of...

The political transformation of Florence from an oligarchy into a self-governing republic at the end of the 13th century was accompanied by an extraordinary urban renewal program within the city. This video lecture will examine those monuments that were part of this sweeping building campaign suc...

Decades before Michelangelo climbed up on the nearly 70 feet of scaffolding to adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, a veritable “All-Star Team” of late 15th-century artists had already decorated its walls. Artists such as Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, and Signorelli were sent to Rome by ...

Venice was the longest lasting Republic in history. The city’s privileged position as cultural and economic bridge between the Eastern and Western Christian world contribute to the uniqueness of Venice. The art and architecture in Venice clearly display this combination of Islamic, Byzantine, and...

In the first half of the 14th century, the city of Siena was Florence’s main political, economic and artistic rival. Artists such as Duccio, Simone Martini, Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti were members of one of Europe’s most important schools of painting. Join Dr. Rocky for this video lecture whe...

In 1507, a 24 year-old artist from Urbino named Raphael Sanzio exploded onto the scene when Pope Julius II awarded him the contract to fresco the walls of his personal apartments. The result was some of the most sublime paintings of the Renaissance, including his iconic School of Athens. Join Dr....