While Michelangelo’s main focus in art was the male nude form, Raphael painted some of the most beautiful and sensual women in the history of art. Whether in the guise of the Madonna, Olympian goddess, historical heroine or simply in a portrait, few artists demonstrate a sensitivity to feminine b...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will compare the two most important painting cycles of medieval painting – Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel and Duccio’s “Maestà.” Discover the characteristics that defined Europe’s two most important schools of medieval painting in Florence a...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar and get into the holiday spirit as he counts down the 10 most beautiful representations of the Nativity of the Italian Renaissance!

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The Baptistries of Pisa, Florence and Siena are amongst the most richly decorated of the Italian Renaissance. From Nicola Pisano’s amazing pulpit in Pisa, to the breathtaking Ghiberti doors in Florence, to the extraordinary painting and sculptural program of Siena, join Dr. Ro...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he explores legendary miracles attributed to various saints and immortalized in Italian Renaissance masterpieces.

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Much of the history of Renaissance Italy was determined by mercenary commanders (condottieri) who hired out their armies to the highest bidders. Yet, when not occupied by war, condottieri commissioned some of history’s most important works of art. Names like John Hawkwood, Fra...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The massive marble choir lofts carved by Donatello and Luca della Robbia for Florence Cathedral are an explosion of music, dance, movement, freedom, youth, and joy. While Donatello’s is covered in shimmering mosaics, multi-colored enamels, and various stones, Della Robbia’s Ca...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for his first webinar of 2024 and meet the first family of the Renaissance! From modest origins to princely rulers, this family of bankers, political bosses, cardinals, popes, queens, and grand dukes wrote the book on how to succeed!

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore the extraordinary quantity and quality of Italian Renaissance masterpieces in London museums. From the world-class collection at the National Gallery, which includes works by Leonardo, Titian, Raphael, and Michelangelo – ju...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Born in Florence around 1445, Botticelli was apprenticed to the painter Fra Lippo Lippi in the early 1460s. It was from Lippi that Botticelli learned the art of graceful figures and intimate compositions. After leaving Lippi’s workshop, Botticelli may have entered the workshop...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

There is so much to see in the world’s most unique city – Venice! Let Dr. Rocky sort it all out for you in his next free webinar where he counts down the top ten best places to visit when you are in the city on the sea!

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

How did Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, and Caravaggio win fame and commissions during their lifetime? What role did the Renaissance biographer Giorgio Vasari play in perpetuating their posthumous reputations? Why is the Mona Lisa so famous? What role did...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore one of Italy’s most beautiful regions – Puglia. From the natural beauty of its countryside and coast, to the man-made beauty of its architecture, to the beauty of its artisanal and culinary traditions, Puglia is simply asto...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore the portraits of women painted by the great Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci. From his early “Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci” to the famosissima “Mona Lisa,” some of Leonardo’s most beautiful and innovative paintings wer...

A Real Pain in the Neck: Michelangelo and the Art that Inspired the Sistine Chapel
Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

While looking up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling, few people realize that before Michelangelo came along it was not very common to paint ceilings with figurative art. The reason? It was a real pai...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will examine the artistic and historical identities of ten Italian cities that helped shape the course of Western civilization. Much of the extraordinary artistic and architectural production that accompanied each city’s “golden age” st...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Hercules has always been one of the most popular and celebrated figures from Greek mythology. Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore how the demi-god was depicted by Italian Renaissance masters such as Paolo Veronese, Piero dell Francesca, Annibale Caracci, Anto...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Measuring more than 1 ½ football fields in length and requiring nearly 6 generations to build, the Duomo of Florence is one of the world’s greatest churches. Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore the beautiful architecture and dramatic building history of this ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The Uffizi Gallery houses the world’s most important collection of medieval and Renaissance Italian paintings, with major works by artists such as Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Fra Lippo Lippi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravagg...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The “Last Judgment” in Florence Cathedral was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1572 and completed after his death by Federico Zuccari in 1579. The fresco covers some 3,500m2/37,700ft2 – or nearly an acre - of interior dome surface, making it the largest fresco in the world! Join Dr....

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper is one of the world’s most famous works of art. Painted in 1495 in the refectory of a Dominican convent in Milan, Italy, the Last Supper is celebrated as the first work of the High Renaissance. Few people realize that Leonardo’s painting of the ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

In 17th-century Rome, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, assembled one of the greatest art collections in history for his uncle’s villa. His eclectic taste combined works from ancient times through to his own contemporary Baroque artists, such as the tormented ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

While Bernini’s fame is largely due to the sculptures that he produced early in his career for the Borghese family, such as the “Apollo and Daphne” and “Pluto and Persephone,” the works that he produced after the death of Pope Paul V Borghese were equally spectacular. In this ...