Ancient art

Monza Cathedral: Work Begins on the Project to Secure the Roof and Restore the Frescoes

On October 1, the Monza Cathedral Foundation was presented to the community. This philanthropic fund was established on February 26, 2025, within the Monza and Brianza Community Foundation with the goal of supporting the restoration, maintenance, and...
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Socrates' Mirror: Francesco Ruschi's Rediscovered Masterpiece

A young man intently observes his own reflection in a mirror. A young classmate of his carefully holds up the mirror, while behind them stands the solemn and austere figure of Socrates, wrapped in an imposing gray cloak and distinguished by a wavy, s...
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Canova and the Rediscovered Magdalene: The Work the Sculptor Created to Right a Wrong

In February 1798, while French troops were occupying Rome, proclaiming the Roman Republic, and arresting Pope Pius VI, the Jacobin authorities summoned Antonio Canova ( Possagno, 1757 – Venice, 1822) to appear before the Section of the Arts of ...
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A Rediscovered Giambattista Tiepolo: A Previously Unseen "Saint Roch" Unveiled at the BIAF

A beam of intensely warm light, golden-yellow like the sun filtering through the fog of the Venetian lagoon, envelops the solitary figure of a pilgrim who has stopped atop a rocky outcrop: he has long, flowing hair that falls over his shoulders, his ...
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A "Madonna of Humility" by Zanino di Pietro Resurfaces: Giorgio Baratti Exhibits It at the BIAF

A Madonna of Humility of great interest—and previously unseen—is the one painted by Zanino di Pietro, which the Giorgio Baratti antique gallery is presenting at the 34th edition of the Florence International Antiques Biennale ( the asking price is 19...
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Annibale Carracci’s landscape, which caused quite a stir, was sold at the BIAF

Annibale Carracci’s *River Landscape with Boatmen* (Bologna, 1560–1609), perhaps the work that generated the most buzz during the 34th edition of the Florence International Antiques Biennale, which runs through October 4 at Palazzo Corsin...
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Thorvaldsen's "Victorious Venus" is on display again after years in storage and is being exhibited at a hotel

For years, it remained in the storeroomsof the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, hidden from public view. Now, Bertel Thorvaldsen’s (Copenhagen, 1770–1844) *Venus Victorious* is once again on display in Rome following restoration, though n...
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Cosimo III as a Roman Emperor: Lorenzo Merlini’s Rediscovered Masterpiece at the BIAF

There was a visual contrast of great scenic and narrative impact that greeted anyone who, in the final years of the 17th century, crossed the threshold of the main hall of Villa Rondinelli-Vitelli in Fiesole: Awaiting visitors inside the hilltop resi...
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The enigmatic Renaissance Madonna of Magdala, removed in the 20th century from the hermitage of Cascio in Garfagnana, is now on the market

There is no trace of the composed reassurance found in much Renaissance art in the gaunt face of the Penitent Mary Magdalene that once stoodin the hermitage of Santa Maria Maddalena in Cascio, in Garfagnana. In this glazed terracotta sculpture, the s...
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A "Amorino" by Perin del Vaga Resurfaces: It Is a Fragment of a Major Achievement for Andrea Doria

An extraordinary and rare drawing on paper by Perin del Vaga ( Piero di Giovanni Bonaccorsi; Florence, 1501 – Rome, 1547) has resurfaced on the market, brought to the Florence International Antiques Biennale by the Genoa-based gallery Goldfi...
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The Silver Cross of 1501 Is Restored: Gian Francesco dalle Croci’s Masterpiece Returns to Brescia After Restoration

After a year of restoration work in the workshops of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, the precious processional cross—created in 1501 by Gian Francesco dalle Croci for the Church of San Francesco—has returned to Brescia. The work, which ar...
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The scandal surrounding Prince Poniatowski’s “antique” gems resurfaces at the BIAF

When, in 1832, the Polish prince Stanisław Poniatowski, grandson of the last king of Poland, published the second volume of the catalog raisonné of his vast collection of engraved stones in Florence, he included in the introductory pages a sta...
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Pozzuoli: Bradyseismic activity threatens church structures; safety measures are underway

Since August, the churches in Pozzuoli that were declared uninhabitable followingthe bradyseismic emergency have been undergoing safety measures to protect the works of art housed within them. This was announced by the Superintendence of Archaeology,...
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Venice: The first three canvases by Bellini and Carpaccio from the "Miracles of the True Cross" cycle have been restored

After six years of restoration work, three masterpieces of the Venetian Renaissance are once again on view to the public at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice. The restoration of the first three paintings belonging to the monumental Cycle of...
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Florence: Two Extremely Rare Medici Porcelain Pieces Join the Collections of the San Marco Museum

Two vases made in Florence during the second half of the sixteenth century bring to the forefront one of the most remarkable undertakings of the court of Francesco I de’ Medici: the attempt to produce in Europe the porcelain that had been impor...
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A rare 13th-century painted cross from Corso di Buono at the BIAF: it’s worth 1.2 million

A Madonna covering her mouth with her hand, a Saint John bent over in grief, and three tiny angels collecting the blood flowing from Christ’s wounds in large cups. And, at the bottom, Saint Peter warming himself by a fire while a maidservant po...
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