Canaletto and Guardi are probably the two most famous artists associated with the Vedutismo movement. Vedutismo spread in the Eighteenth century and it was strictly connected to the improvement of the camera obscura and the rising of the industrial bourgeoisie. Listen to this episode and you’ll find out that the vedutista artiworks are not that different from the pictures that we now take with your mobile phones.

Caravaggio is one of the most famous Italian painters, have you ever wondered why?

In broad lines, for three reasons: the first is for his troubled life, consisting of violence, death penalty and escapes. Second reason: his artistic gift, characterised by the absent background and especially by the attention to light, transparencies and reflexes. Third reason: the thin line between sacred and profane in Caravaggio artworks, which is the reason for lots of scandals.

Listen to this episode if you want to know more about his troubled life, art style and the scandals it raised.

Links of the artworks mentioned in the episode:

Canestra di frutta

Bacco

Vocazione di San Matteo

Morte della Vergine

The Kiss is a very famous painting in the Italian art history, however few people really know the true meaning of it. The Kiss, painted by Francesco Hayez in 1859, represents a passionate kiss between two lovers but it hides historical references that allows delving into the Italian Risorgimento.

Il Bacio è un dipinto molto famoso nella storia dell’arte italiana, eppure pochi ne conoscono il vero significato. Il bacio, dipinto da Francesco Hayez nel 1859, raffigura un bacio appassionato tra due innamorati ma nasconde, in realtà, riferimenti storici che ci consentono di approfondire il Risorgimento italiano.

If you have a bad habit that you can’t quit or if you keep procrastinating a good intention, you’ll find easy to empathise with Zeno Cosini, the main character of a famous novel written by Italo Svevo – Zeno’s Conscience. Find out more about this interesting character and his worse quality: ineptitude.

If you’re interested in reading Zeno’s Conscience by Italo Svevo, here’s some useful links:

Italian version of the book

English version of the book  

Simplified Italian version of the book (this version is meant for Italian mother tongue teenagers, so it’s simpler than the original novel but without tips for people who are learning the language)

These are affiliate links, which means that if you click the link and subsequently make a purchase, Italian Art Pods will earn a commission. You pay nothing extra – any commission Italian Art Pods' earn comes at no additional cost to you. It is a small and appreciated help to support the work Italian Art Pods offers to the audience. The recommendation is based on knowing the products and believing in their quality.

Dante Alighieri between approximately 1304 and 1321. In this episode, you will find out what kind of love, according to Dante and the medieval culture, will lead you to paradise and which one to hell. You will hear about Paolo and Francesca’s lustful souls and of the pure soul of Beatrice, Dante’s muse.

This is the link to the video mentioned in the episode:

Italian actor Roberto Benigni commenting Canto V https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTgefCBMAos&t=26s

Unfortunately, the video is not easy to understand for those who are learning Italian – get in touch if you need some help!

The poet Niccolò Ugo Foscolo wrote Dei Sepolcri in 1806. This work includes the poet’s opinions on the importance of graveyards and it could help us to reflect on some interesting questions: Do you consider it important that your body or your ashes are cherished in some places, or not? But above all…why?

Il poeta Foscolo scrisse nel 1806 l’opera Dei Sepolcri. L’opera racchiude le opinioni del poeta sull’importanza dei cimiteri e può aiutarci a riflettere sulle domande interessanti: considerate importante che il vostro corpo o le vostre ceneri siano conservate in un qualche luogo, oppure no? Ma soprattutto, perché?

Burri and Fontana are two artists who lived during the same period, developing with their artworks the same artistic movement called Informale. Nonetheless, their life were different and this is why their works have a quite different style and can tell very different stories of the same historical time.

Burri e Fontana sono due artisti che vissero nello stesso periodo, sviluppando con la loro opere lo stesso movimento artistico chiamato Informale. Nonostante ciò, le loro vite furono diverse ed è per questo che le loro opere hanno un stile piuttosto diverso, come diverse sono le storie che raccontano dello stesso periodo storico.

Luigi Pirandello is one of the most famous authors in Italian Literature. One, No One and a Hundred Thousand makes us reflect on who we really are and if there exists only one version of ourselves or as many as the people we interact with. Pirandello was a fascinating character who was interested in themes like relative reality and madness. He won the Nobel Prize in 1934.

If you’re interested in reading One, No One and a Hundred Thousand here’s some useful links:

Link to the original Italian version of the book

Link to the English version of the book

Link to a simplified Italian version of the book  This version is meant for Italian mother tongue teenagers, so it’s simpler than the original novel but don't expect tips for people who are learning the language

 IMPORTANT MESSAGE:

These are affiliate links, which means that if you click the link and subsequently make a purchase, Italian Art Pods will earn a commission. You pay nothing extra – any commission Italian Art Pods' earn comes at no additional cost to you. It is a small and appreciated help to support the work Italian Art Pods offers to the audience. The recommendation is based on knowing the products and believing in their quality.

Italian Art Pods is a podcast channel run by Erika and Beatrice – two Italian native speakers who are passionate about Italian art and literature.

The aim of this podcast is to bring Italian art and literature to you using the beautiful Italian language. There’s no better way to spread the culture of a country than to use its own language, its nuances and melody.

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