Who Is Francesco Petrarch? Born in 1304 in what is now the region of Tuscany, Italy, Francesco Petrarca, known simply in English as Petrarch, was a poet and one of the founders of Renaissance humanism. Renaissance humanism was a movement that blossomed out of the “dark ages” (a concept which Petrarch actually developed) and was…
The 1952 Neorealist film Umberto D. directed by Vittorio De Sica is not the film you’d want to watch if you’re trying to brighten your day. In fact, it might be just the film to watch if you want to make your day thoroughly depressed. This is not to say that the film should not…
This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. The Wandering Antiquarian may earn a commission from purchases made through these links. What is Italian Neorealism? Consider Italy immediately after the end of World War II. Fascism and its harsh censorship on the media was dead along with Mussolini. Bombs no longer fell on the grand cities…
There are more types of ceramic than you might expect. People have been making pottery for thousands of years. Even today, we are still uncovering fragments of ancient bowls and vases from Greece, Italy, and other areas of the world. The art of pottery has remained relatively unchanged after all these years. But what are…
Kintsugi pottery is an ancient Japanese art form that involves the repair of pottery and ceramics with gold or other precious metals. While it used to be a relatively niche practice in Japan, Vietnam, and China, today it is much more well-known thanks to the beautiful results that it can produce. But what is kintsugi…
Did you know that the Teatro San Carlo is the oldest opera house and theater in the world that has been in continuous use since its construction? While opera, ballet, and theater, in general, are not as popular as they once were, this theater in the beautiful city of Naples, Italy, is a perfect example…
The art of flower arrangement is very old with some of the earliest arrangements dating back to the ancient Egyptians thousands of years ago (around 2,500 BCE, to be precise). Other cultures around the world have also created their own arts of flower arranging such as in Japan. While ikebana is the Japanese art of…
What is jazz? When people think of jazz, they might think of a group of men playing the saxophone in a smoky Parisian nightclub, or perhaps of a man with a trumpet in the streets of New York. However, what is jazz and where did it come from? What makes jazz unique from other genres…
What is raku pottery? In one of my previous posts, I discussed the Japanese tea ceremony. In that post, I mentioned the different types of pottery that were used in the ceremonies hundreds of years ago. However, I failed to mention another important type of Japanese pottery: Raku pottery or ware. You might be wondering,…
I have recently become slightly obsessed with the history of pottery, particularly a type known as maiolica, ever since I started reading the book, World Ceramics by Robert J. Charleston. I started reading this book because of a general interest I had in pottery, but as I explored the long history of ceramics, I realized…