For the love of art, Italians will put up railings, barriers, curtains and bullet proof glass to protect it. Art like food is a staple in the Italian lifestyle. Art was propaganda. It was entertainment. It was spectacle and show. It grew an audience to the church, the home or the piazza-it still does. It was a symbol of wealth, power, protection, of love, of strength, of sarcasm and irony. Art is EVERYWHERE in Italy. Art is not just Michelangelo's Pieta sitting quietly guarded by St. Peter's hand but art is present in Italy's pace, its people, its language, and its everyday life. Imagine walking as a child and passing Michelangelo's naked David every day. How would that change you? How would that change your perspective and view about the human body, about strength, about beauty, about art? Imagine walking along and seeing a deep blue and green seascape crashing into a kaleidoscope of mountain browns, reds, greens, yellows and orange-every day new colors. Would that change you? Imagine walking along and hearing the sounds of Vespas, mopeds, Fiats and Fords mixed with the music of language, of hollering with hands, of suits walking cobblestone streets next to old women in black and Milanese fashionistas in heels. Imagine walking along and seeing every day life happenings with a backdrop of an active volcano, or a Bernini fountain or a Byzantine church. Art changes you. Art moves you. Art preserves a time and a place in history. Art is everywhere in Italy.
Click on the button links, read, and learn more about the love of Italian art.
If you are interested in Baroque art, keep an eye out for my upcoming course Travel Italy: Going Baroque When in Rome on Udemy.com
and on teachable.com