Posted on 04/06/2022 12:09:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway
In one of the most famous paintings in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, Federico da Montefeltro gazes at his wife, Battista Sforza, as they stand in front of the landscape over which they ruled. Undulating hills rise to volcano-like peaks on which towns perch. The ragged Apennine mountains stalk the horizon, and what’s thought to be the Metauro river swirls below.
Painted by Piero della Francesca in 1472, it’s one of the iconic artworks of the Renaissance. And yet few international visitors to the Uffizi know the area which gave Piero della Francesca, the artist, his inspiration.
Today, Urbino — a small university city in the Marche region of central Italy — is missed off most tourist itineraries. But back in the 15th century, it was a powerhouse of the Renaissance. The ruler of the area, that same Federico da Montefeltro, was one of the most cultured leaders of Italy.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktvz.com ...
There are, no doubt, real estate developers in Los Angeles who would love to do nothing less than to level Urbino and build strip malls and a basketball arena so they could make a bunch of money and run.
Just as they’ve done to so many American cities.
And fill it up with 3rd world “refugees”
Well, I know from playing Paradox strategy games that Urbino was a vassal of the Papal State, so it’s tricky to conquer it without pissing off the Pope and then getting yourself excommunicated :)
They don’t “dot” the horizon, no, they STALK it.
You can always tell when someone has had a few creative writing courses.
“The Italian city unchanged since the Renaissance”.
Well, I didn’t know that had TV antennas and satellite dishes back then.
bump
Sure they did. The top rated TV show was "I Love Lucrezia (Borgia)," about a ditzy redhead (bastard daughter of the Pope) who was married to a Spanish nightclub performer.
😄 lol
This topic was posted , thanks nickcarraway.
Great photo. Back in its day you would come out of your door and greet 50 people walking a couple of blocks. Now a car picks you up and you talk to no one.
Another city well preserved is Ravenna. For a time it was the capital of Italy, but its harbor silted up and time left it behind. But we have some beautiful buildings and art to appreciate.
Are you hungry or thirsty? Supposedly what the Lord of Milan and complete scoundrel Bernabo Visconti said to the Pope’s messengers on the middle of a bridge. He’d been an on again off again papal supporter and now they were on the outs and this was a tough love message from the sort of a scoundrel himself big guy. He read it and without giving any other reaction asked the question. They said hungry and Bernabo ordered them to eat the scrolls leather straps and all. Apparently if they said thirsty he would have thrown them in the river which they probably wouldn’t have survived. So they chose wisely. I love history.
Time is a fickle *****, my friend.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Ravenna+italy
and its sister city...
https://www.google.com/search?q=Ravenna+MIchigan
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