Rome: Christmas is not far!!!!

During this time of the year it is normal to go around and see Christmas decorations in many different cities of Italy and this happen even in Rome, where usually the Christmas tree is on in PiazzaVenezia.....and just yesterday afternoon my parents stopped in Piazza Venezia, where they found the tree already in position, but without decorations due to the rain and so... 

Piazza Venezia (photo by Giorgio Albanese)

when my dad has returned home he has virtually decorated the tree and sent a photo to me!!

Tree virtually decorated by my dad!!

....nevertheless rain or not both of them, with the umbrella on, have decided to have a walk around and enjoy the exhibition in Palazzo Venezia.....but this time I wasn't there!!

My dad

My mum

......I was out with my children!!!

Do you want to study Italian in Italy?

Brisbane by Giorgio Albanese

If you have intention to leave sunny Brisbane to study Italian language and culture in an Italian University, this is a list of Italian institutions recognized by the Italian Government:

• Università per stranieri di Perugia
• Università per stranieri di Siena
• Università Politecnica delle Marche
• Università degli studi di Bergamo
• Università degli studi di Bologna – Cilta
• Università degli studi di Bologna – Cliro  
• Università degli studi di Firenze - Centro di cultura per stranieri
• Università degli studi de l'Aquila
• Università degli studi di Lecce 
• Università degli studi di Milano
• Università degli studi di Parma
• Università degli studi di Roma Tre
  1. Corsi CLA (con certificazione)
  2. Italiano L2 (con certificazione)
• Università degli studi di Trento
• Università degli studi di Urbino
• Università degli studi "Ca' Foscari" di Venezia
• Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Centro Studi Città di Orvieto 
• Università degli studi di Cagliari - Centro linguistico d'ateneo 

There are many to chose from....many different cities with lots to offer and see....

Time for a coffee and some Italian!!!

On the Gold Coast with my dad and Scott in 2009

It's always time for a coffee....especially if it is good!! For an Italian coffee is in the blood!!! I like to enjoy this with people I love and want to share this with me... and like last year, when my dad was here in Brisbane we had a nice coffee and a chat in Italian while around the Gold Coast....but...I like to teach and converse in Italian during the summer in front of a coffee or a fresh drink....

This is a wonderful way to keep up the language...so why not try in the heart of Brisbane!!!

Just get in touch!!

Museums and music in Rome

To promote the culture and bring more people to appreciate art, the Museums of Rome have been opened for free to the public bringing music on November 20th. 


This was a wonderful event!!

The art of cooking!!!

Cooking is a passion and an art!!! My son Lorenzo loves cakes as most of the children, therefore here experiment with his dad!!!

A passion for cooking - my son Lorenzo

Baking a chocolate cake with papa'

almost time to cook....quick quick...

I can clean the spoon now...all for me!!!

My cake is ready...I can it that now!!!

Lorenzo has achieved his goal and he is only five....and he was happy with the result...especially when he shared the following day at school with his friends!!!

Cappella degli Scrovegni

Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto

This is a must see place if you go on holiday in the Veneto region, in Italy.
All the information are on the link below:
Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padua

This is one of the first documented work by Giotto, who is really famous for the decoration of the Church of Saint Francis in Assisi.

Claudio Baglioni's concert

Claudio Baglioni at the State Theatre by Simona Albanese

Claudio Baglioni is on tour around the world.... Last night he has performed at the State Theatre of Sydney after Perth and Melbourne....Sydney was his last stop over in Australia.

This was is first concert on this part of the world!!

The concert was in a beautiful art-deco building in the centre of Sydney, so that made this event even more spectacular. Claudio has been really amazing and I have really enjoyed my evening there!!...plus I have had a fantastic afternoon in Sydney...

His tour will continue around the world to conclude in Rome on the night of the 31st of December.

Claudio Baglioni: from Rome to Australia

A loved Italian singer on the stage in Australia. I will go to the concert in Sydney tomorrow to listen him on live...on this other side of the world!!

A Venice Collection in Perth

This is an exhibition to not be missed!!!

Botticelli in Milan

Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Sandro Botticelli.

From today at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum there is an exhibition on Sandro Botticelli. The exhibition celebrates the 500th anniversary of the death of the great master Botticelli presenting works belonging to pubblic collections from Lombardy and Milan.

For more information have a look to the museum site:

Museo Poldi Pezzoli

Madonna and Child by Jacopo Sansovino

Madonna and Child by Sansovino © Copyright ANSA

For the art lovers this is a wonderful thing happened in Florence in the last few days! Medical technology has helped restore to life a terracotta Madonna and Child by Renaissance sculptor Jacopo Sansovino.
Florence art critics said they did not know exactly when the artwork had been broken and who was responsible for a series of restorations, which ruined it, altering the shape and colour of the piece. 


The work was presented to the media in Florence before its return to the Civic Museum of Vicenza.

Madonna and Child by Sansovino© Copyright ANSA

Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (1486-1570) was a sculptor and architect, and best known for his works around St Mark's square in Venice.

Povera Pompeii!!!!!

Pompeii...history...art....one of the most significant proofs of Roman civilization.....

The city has re-emerged from the darkness of centuries precisely as it would have been when it was unexpectedly buried in the thick layer of ash and lava which poured down from the devastating eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. 

Pompeii's visit (photo by Simona Albanese)

Frescoed decorations inside the villa's by Simona Albanese

Some of the old streets by Simona Albanese

Sign of one of the houses by Simona Albanese

Streets and constructions in Pompeii by Simona Albanese

All these was a few weeks ago and now the House of the Gladiators has fallen......

Why you should learn Italian

Inside the Coliseum by Simona Albanese

You’re planning a trip to Italy...and you think you can go without knowing the language ..... it will be fun but a bit harder....

You’re married to an Italian or someone with an Italian background...like my husband...you need to learn the language... 

You have an Italian background yourself ....well you want to go to Italy...learn the language!!!!

You know that learning Italian unlocks the door to Italy's cultural "ricchezze": the food, the fashion, the movies, the music, the art.... 

You work or do business in Italy or with Italians...you need a mental challenge...

....and then make new friends!!! 


Call me today and we make a deal before Xmas!!


Simona
0414 262 782

1861. I pittori del Risorgimento

1861 marked the Unification of Italy. To celebrate this event a significant exhibition has been organized at the Scuderie del Quirinale between 6th October 2010 and 16th January 2011. 

The exhibition shows how Italian painters depicted the events that led our country to the achievement of independence and national unity between 1859 and 1861. On display works by Francesco Hayez, Giuseppe Molteni, Domenico and Gerolamo Induno, Eleuterio Pagliano, Federico Faruffini, Giovanni Fattori, Silvestro Lega, Odoardo Borrani, Michele Cammarano, Giuseppe Sciuti and others.

On the balcony of the Scuderie del Quirinale

On the night of the opening, 5th October, I went to the Scuderie del Quirinale to see the well presented exhibition. 


The works, the draperies and environments were perfect for this historical exhibition....having the Palazzo del Quirinale, residence of the President of Italy, just on the other side of the square.

For any information:

Where: Scuderie del Quirinale

Info +39.06.39967500

Address: Via XXIV Maggio 16 - Rome

E-mail: info.sdq@palaexpo.it

Web-site: www.scuderiequirinale.it

Florence: Palazzo Pitti

Palazzo Pitti is just over the other side of ponte Vecchio in Florence. On October 19th I spent an intensive day around galleries to see some of the wonderful exhibitions around the city!! 

My first stop with my dad was at Palazzo Pitti to see the exhibition of Caravaggio e i Caravaggeschi

That's before we enter the exhibition: I have got the tickets on my hands!!

That's what we see from the window of the palace...the Boboli garden...

...and a beautiful view of Florence

....and before we get down on the steps....

....towards the exit!!

The Sistine Chapel

St. Peter's facade by Simona Albanese

Aerial view of the Sistine Chapel (center). Image © Google Earth

The Sistine Chapel is one of the most beautiful and perfect work in the art history!!!

Look this wonderful presentation on the Sistine Chapel clicking on the link .....it is amazing!! 

My dad has sent me the link...just because I have a strong passion for art like him!!

Here a brief history of the Chapel:

The Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it derives its name, in 1475. It was designed to be the pope's chapel and the site of papal elections. In 1481 Sixtus IV called to Rome the Florentine painters Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli and the Perugian Pietro Perugino to decorate the walls with frescoes. The fresco project took only 11 months, from July 1481 to May 1482.

Michelangelo was called in a later time, being younger in comparison to the other artists. The Sistine ceiling was originally painted by Piero Matteo d'Amelia, who included a star-spangled sky. But in 1508 Pope Julius II della Rovere commissioned Michelangelo to repaint the ceiling. He worked on the project between 1508 and October 31, 1512, in cramped conditions high on a scaffolding and under continous pressure from the pope to hurry up. 

Michelangelo was later called back to paint The Last Judgment (1535-1541) on the altar wall. The work was commissioned by Pope Clement VII (1523-1534) shortly before his death, and Clement's successor, Pope Paul III Farnese (1534-1549), forced Michelangelo to complete it quickly. 

In recent decades, the Sistine Chapel has been carefully cleaned and restored, beginning with the 15th-century wall frescoes in 1965. The cleaning and restoration of the lunettes, the ceiling and The Last Judgment, a painstaking process using computer analysis, lasted from 1980 to 1994. The restoration included removing several of the "modesty" drapes (called braghettoni)   that were added over some of the nude figures later by Daniele da Volterra.

As a result of the restoration....some are happy ...some are not...you need to go and have a look by yourself and then you come make a judgement!!! 

Happy vision!!

Chiara Corbelletto

A friend and an artist with an Italian background....a new exhibition in Auckland starting on November 10th.

Chiara Corbelletto is an established artist with a strong record of exhibitions, sculptural installations, public commissions and collaboration around New Zealand.

Pier Paolo Pasolini: We are all in danger

                             Pier Paolo Pasolini: We Are All In Danger                                                                   Production still  of Pier Paolo Pasolini on the set of The Gospel According to St Matthew 1964 | Image courtesy: Cineteca Nazionale, Rome

From 3 November to 1 December at the Australian Cinématèque of Brisbane in South Bank there will be a wonderful contribute to the personality of Pier Paolo Pasolini, a film director, poet and writer.


Come and celebrate his success by coming and watching one of his movies at the GoMA!!!




Have a look to the gallery program:
Queensland Art Gallery-GoMA: Pasolini's program