Illustrious Company.

Illustrious Company.

Tweet I was delighted to see the handful of words Conde Nast Traveller had asked me for in this month’s edition. Lodged between Rome’s former mayor, Walter Veltroni, and Rome’s only three star Michelin chef, Heinz Beck. Who was in turn just above...
Cosmati Work and the Conservation of Matter.

Cosmati Work and the Conservation of Matter.

Tweet Last Friday afternoon I was pootling around the Capitoline Museums, which is the kind of thing guides do on a free off-season afternoon (in case you wondered), when I stumbled upon a piece I’d entirely forgotten was there. A section of a dismantled pulpit...
My favourite short cut.

My favourite short cut.

Tweet A lazy stone’s throw from the Pantheon, the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva takes its name from its position above an ancient temple dedicated to Minerva. It’s my absolute favourite short cut in Rome, enter on Piazza della Minerva and leave by the back...
Jonah, the lynchpin of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Jonah, the lynchpin of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Tweet 500 years ago today, Michelangelo was finishing work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. One of the most visited, discussed, celebrated, and indeed largest paintings in the history of art. An anniversary is always a good excuse for a blog post, and given that,...
My favourite short cut.

Rickety lifts and hidden frescoes.

Tweet In my post about the Bessarion ChapeI I mentioned my fondness for exploring hidden corners of churches in return for a handful of small change. Well here’s another of my favourites. The church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, with its verdant courtyard,...
The Auditorium of Maecenas.

The Auditorium of Maecenas.

Tweet I was delighted to be asked to lead the first in Context Travel’s Rome series of “Tours in the Public Interest” last month at the Auditorium of Maecenas. It embodies the idea behind Context’s initiave which seeks to draw under-visited sites to public attention....