The Arabs didn’t just rule Sicily. They had such an impact on its art and culture that this influence continued to have an effect long after the expulsion of the Muslim masters. This episode tells of what Europe owes to them.
Auction house Gadoury will auction off an extensive collection Casa Savoia originating from the possessions of a gentleman of the royal family. In the first article of the three-part series you will learn more about how the counts of Savoy rose from a minor noble family to being protagonists of European politics.
Why was the human head the motif on coins for centuries, no, for millennia? And why did that change in the last 200 years? John the Baptist paid for his convictions with his head. The Florentines honour his courage on their coinage.
Why was the human head the motif on coins for centuries, no, for millennia? And why did that change in the last 200 years? Find out why the Houses of Anjou and Aragón fought for Sicily and how Ferdinand of Aragón cleverly used coins for propagandistic purposes in this episode.
That reality and depictions of reality are two different things is a lesson we already learnt in the episode on Constantine the Great. On this coin, the image of the Doge in his pompous attire belies a reality in which he hardly holds any power anymore.
Why was the human head the motif on coins for centuries, no, for millennia? And why did that change in the last 200 years? In today’s episode, we’ll tell you the story of an Italian prince who admired Hercules so much that he named his son after him.
From dishwasher to millionaire, or: from mercenary to Duke of Milan. Francesco Sforza did the impossible and founded one of the most influential families in Renaissance Italy.
After the brutal murder of the Duke of Milan, only one question is on the mind of Milan’s aristocracy: who will follow in his office? The seven-year-old son? Quite surprisingly, the succession is settled peacefully. Peaceful, but not uneventful, thanks to the dowager duchess…
Why was the human head the motif on coins for centuries, no, for millennia? And why did that change in the last 200 years? As a generous patron of Leonardo da Vinci, Ludovico Sforza rightfully earned his coin portrait.
In our series “Expeditions into the realm of numismatics”, we are taking you along on an expedition to the treasures of the Basel Coin Cabinet. In the second part, the mystery of a Hercules medal with a particularly high relief often attributed to the Paduan medallist Giovanni da Calvino will be solved.
