Reason #5385 to love Rome: The Turtle Fountain

Rome’s Fontana delle tartarughe – the Turtle Fountain – is a beloved landmark in central Rome. Located on Piazza Mattei, in the neighborhood known as the Ghetto (for those of you wondering, this is where the name came from), it was built 1580-1588, during the Renaissance, by the architect/sculptor team of Giacomo della Porta and Taddeo…

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Vienna’s plague column

I’ve already written about Plague art in Vienna in an earlier post, concentrating on the impressive Plague column and the monumental Karlskirche. Both of these monuments were erected to commemorate Vienna’s emergence from tragic outbreaks of the Plague, and both are well-known landmarks of modern-day Vienna. The Plague, otherwise known as Bubonic Plague or ‘Black Death’…

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Reason #5380 to love Rome: Bernini’s home and studio

One of the (many) great things about living in Rome, Italy is keeping your eyes pealed for all the famous authors/composers/sculptors/artists who once called the Eternal City home. Not surprisingly, one such illustrious resident was the Roman sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Although I knew Bernini lived and worked in Rome, I didn’t know where until I…

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