Italian Art and Architecture

Italian art and architecture have made profound statements on the world. Through the periods of Ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy especially, art and architecture flourished, creating and building masterpieces that would become standards for the rest of the world to follow. It was during the renaissance that many Italian artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Raphael emerged. The Mona Lisa, the painted ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel, the Last Supper, and the Birth of Venus are just a few of the priceless art works created by these men. Architecturally, the Vatican is an outstanding example of the wealth of the papacy, a mark that has remained for centuries. Italy is strewn with medieval and renaissance towns full of magnificent cathedrals, palaces, and town halls. Many towns, like Perugia and Assisi of the Umbrian region of Italy, are extremely well preserved, still boasting the architecture of their elegant medieval beginnings. Of course, the ancient city of Pompeii, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the many preserved aqueducts throughout the country, and many more monuments are testament to the architectural grandeur of the Ancient Romans.