Published on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 by Kathy McCabe To combat Islamophobia and celebrate ancient Middle Eastern culture, two Florence museums have teamed up to stage an exhibit on Islamic art and the reciprocal relationship between Florence and Islam. The exhibit, titled “Islamic Art and Florence from the Medici to the 20th Century,” runs through Sept. 23 at the Uffizi Gallery and the Bargello Museum, showcasing 25...

Published on Sunday, June 10, 2018 by Kathy McCabe Earlier this month, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence debuted its “Raphael and Michelangelo Room” as part of a larger rearrangement of the museum. Housed in Room 41 of the building, the Raphael and Michelangelo Room – as one might expect – contains paintings from the two Renaissance masters. Two paintings by Raphael dating to 1404-05 – portraits of a Floren...

Published on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 by Kathy McCabe They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and if two rare 16th-century Italian sketches could talk, their words would be “Thank goodness we’re home!” Florence’s Uffizi Galleries recently acquired the sketches, the work of Giovan Francesco Rustici and Giovanni Catesi, at an Uffizi Galleries auction at Christie’s in New York City. Both artists created t...

Published on Monday, June 23, 2014 by Kathy McCabe   As of July 1st, new rules will apply to visits of Italy's state museums, such as the Uffizi in Florence. One significant change is that on the every first Sunday of the month state museums will be free for everyone as part of the initiative “Sunday at the Museum.“ While this is fantastic news in making museums accessible to all, expect the museums ...

Published on Thursday, January 23, 2014 by Kathy McCabe The city of Milan finally has a permanent children's museum. MUBA or Museo dei Bambini di Milano opends Friday in Rotonda di via Besana, an historic Baroque building not far from Milan's center.  While the museum was actually founded in 1995,  it has been running programs without a permanent home, until now. The museum expects to run three exhibitions per year ...

Published on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 by Kathy McCabe If you're in Italy on May 18th, you might want to plan to stay up until the wee hours of the morning - not drinking or dancing, but taking in culture at a museum. It is all part of the Night of the Museums or La Notte Dei Musei - an event throughout Europe, including Italy, with free admission to museums as well as very extended hours. The Night of the Museums starts ...