Italy

The 39-foot-long violin is made out of around 12 different kinds of wood.

Why a String Quartet Set Sail on a Giant Violin in Venice's Grand Canal

Local artist Livio De Marchi views the wooden replica as a symbol of the Italian city's rebirth following Covid-19

The painting is part of a series created by Baroque artist Cesare Dandini around the 1630s.

Cool Finds

Baroque Masterpiece Spent Six Decades Hidden in Plain Sight

Art historian Tom Ruggio was visiting a church in New York when he spotted the long-overlooked religious painting

For the study, researchers analyzed three shoes found in the Renaissance artist's house.

How Tall Was Michelangelo? Surprisingly Short, Study Suggests

New analysis of the artist's (probable) shoes indicates that he stood 5 feet 2 inches tall

Italian officials are imposing new crowd-control regulations in hopes of preserving Venices fragile architecture and ecosystem.

Starting Next Summer, Day-Trippers Will Have to Pay to Enter Venice

To combat overcrowding, the Italian city is set to charge non-overnight visitors an entry fee of €3 to €10

Veteran Martin Adler poses with Bruno (left), Mafalda (right) and Giuliana (center) Naldi. Thanks to social media and a dogged journalist, the 97-year-old reconnected with the three siblings after 77 years.

World War II Veteran Reunites With Italian Children He Almost Shot in 1944

Martin Adler encountered the three siblings, who were hiding in a wicker basket, while he was searching for Nazi soldiers

Adults in ancient Rome were typically cremated, making the well-preserved skeleton an an unusual find.

Cool Finds

Roman Priest's Exceptionally Well-Preserved Remains Found in Pompeii

Marcus Venerius Secundio died in his 60s decades before Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E.

Excavation of a grave at the Roman site in 1992

Traces of Lead Found in 5,000-Year-Old Human Remains

A new study details the link between lead production and the metal's presence in bones buried at a Roman cemetery

This small device flashes red if a visitor gets too close to an artwork or fails to wear their face mask correctly.

Innovation for Good

Italian Museum Uses Cameras to Track How Visitors Engage With Art

A new A.I. system hopes to help curators determine artworks' "attraction value" and optimize gallery layouts

The limestone slab's inscription states that Claudius “extended and redefined the pomerium because he had increased the boundaries of the Roman people.”

Cool Finds

Rare Boundary Stone Dated to Emperor Claudius' Reign Unearthed in Rome

The 2,000-year-old travertine slab marked the sacred outer limits of the ancient city

Researchers used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to capture photographs of the wreck.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Shipwreck Loaded With Wine Amphorae Found Off Sicilian Coast

The vessel dates to the second century B.C.E.

The road appears to have run along a sandy ridge between the northern and southern ends of the lagoon.

Cool Finds

Traces of Submerged Roman Road Found Beneath Venetian Lagoon

New research suggests the Italian city was settled earlier than previously believed

Paolo Veneziano, The Crucifixion, about 1340-1345

Fragments of Gold-Adorned, 14th-Century Triptych Reunited After Decades

An exhibition at the Getty in Los Angeles brings together panels from a stunning altarpiece by Venetian painter Paolo Veneziano

The elaborate construction of the pool, along with artifacts discovered inside of it, points to a ceremonial purpose.

Cool Finds

3,400-Year-Old Artificial Pool in Italy May Have Hosted Religious Rituals

New research dates the wooden basin's construction to a time of immense social change for Bronze Age people

After analyzing the mitochondrial genome, the team discovered that the island-dwelling elephant is the descendant of straight-tusked elephants and was possibly isolated on Sicily between 50,000 and 175,500 years ago.

Ancient Elephants the Size of Shetland Ponies Once Roamed Sicily

The animals' size reduction is comparable to if humans were to shrink down to the size of a rhesus monkey

Officials unveiled the hypogeum—a system of underground tunnels beneath the Colosseum—during a ceremony on Friday.

The Tunnels Beneath Rome's Colosseum Are Open to the Public for the First Time

The chambers are finally on view after a $29.8 million restoration

A proposed government plan will move the A303 highway, pictured here in the distance behind Stonehenge's iconic structures, underground. But Unesco warned in a report Monday that the efforts might endanger the site's OVU, or outstanding universal value.

Unesco Weighs Changes to Stonehenge's Cultural Heritage Status

A new report also cited Venice and the Great Barrier Reef as sites that might be placed on the World Heritage in Danger list

Authorities have returned the illegally transported artifacts to their home country of Italy.

Officials Seize 782 Ancient Artifacts Acquired Illicitly by Single Belgian Collector

The trove of treasures, including a funerary slab, amphorae and pottery dated to pre-Roman times, is worth an estimated $13 million

Bronzino, Eleonora di Toledo and Francesco de’ Medici, c. 1550

Florence's Medici Family Used Portraits as Propaganda

A new exhibition at the Met reveals how the Italian banking dynasty drew on art to cement its power and legacy

Researchers found the charred remains of wooden furniture at the site of the former Astra cinema in Verona.

Cool Finds

'Miniature Pompeii' Found Beneath Abandoned Verona Cinema

In the second century A.D., "a calamitous event, in this case a fire, suddenly marked the end of the complex," notes a statement

JR's newest illusion seemingly opens up a ravine in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Dazzling Illusion Creates Gaping Canyon Beneath the Eiffel Tower

Street artist and photographer JR unveiled his latest large-scale installation last month

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