Mythology
Its town square is home to Baccio Bandinelli’s Neptune, Cellini’s Perseus, Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Woman, Donatello’s Judith with the Head of Holofernes—and originally, Michelangelo’s David.
FLORENCE (Piazza della Signoria)
Leonardo Da Vinci designed a statue of this animal with only two feet on the ground.
Two maidservants rummage frantically in a trunk in the background to find some clothes for this lady.
VENUS of URBINO
The bones of St. Peter are buried in this church.
He’s holding a set of keys in Perugino’s painting.
St. PETER
He rides a chariot pulled by leopards in a painting by Titian.
BACCHUS (Dionysus)
He did individual watercolor studies of an owl, a deer, and a hare.
Albrecht DÜRER
In Raphael’s The Punishment of Heliodorus, the high priest Eleazar wears a hat appropriate for this office.
It’s located in Ravenna, and has mosaics of Justinian and Theodora in it.
Basilica of SAN VITALE
ST. JEROME
Little satyrs are sneaking off with a lance, while these two deities recline, one of them asleep, in another Botticelli painting.
VENUS and MARS
These birds are symbols of the Ummayad Caliphate and are depicted on the pyxis of Al-Mughira.
FALCONS
The robes of this terracotta deity are adorned with elegant lines and zigzags. It was sculpted by Vulca, an Etruscan artist.
APOLLO (APLU) of VEII
Its classical facade of pilasters and entablatures was inspired by the Colosseum, and it was designed by Alberti for a Florentine banker family.
PALAZZO RUCELLAI
Along with Mary, he’s the saint depicted in the Deesis mosaic.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
On the right side of this painting, Zephyr is chasing the nymph Chloris, who has flowers coming out of her mouth.
LA PRIMAVERA (Botticelli)
It is a sort of ferocious monster rhinoceros-wolf with a huge horn on its head, slain by an Ilkanid ruler of Persia.
KARG
He painted the Man with a Quilted Sleeve.
TITIAN
Located in a courtyard within the church of San Pietro in Montorio, this small martyr tomb in Rome was commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and designed by Bramante. Its name means “little temple.”
The TEMPIETTO
This saint from Agen was tortured to death with a red-hot brazier under Diocletian, and the center of her veneration is in Conques, France.
ST. FOY (FAITH)
Botticelli painted the allegory of Calumny or slander, based on an ancient painting by this Greek artist.
APELLES
Also in the Shahnameh, the first king Gayumars and his court wear clothing made of the skins of these great cats.
LEOPARDS
An awesome top hat and a velour green dress feature prominently in this painting by Jan van Eyck.
The ARNOLFINI Wedding
The vestibule of the Laurentian Library in Florence includes a staircase designed by this Italian artist.
MICHELANGELO
She’s holding a spiked wheel on which she was martyred in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment.
ST. CATHERINE