Italian action

A handful of bits and pieces relating to Italy have appeared while I’ve been on my recent Italian research trip…

8 Italian masterpieces that barely survived

War after war, occupation followed by revolution, bad luck combined with bad judgment — all have contributed to the destruction of Italy’s art treasures. A fire in the Sala del Scrutinio and the Sala del Maggior Consiglio in Venice’s Doge’s Palace destroyed several Titians as well as work by Bellini, Gentile da Fabriano, and Pisanello. A half-crazed Botticelli tossed several of his own “decadent” works onto the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497.

Italian art has, unfortunately, not been immune from the turbulent influence of the peninsula. But the history of Italian art and architecture isn’t short of happy endings, either. Many works we admire today have dodged a bullet or two during the journey to the 21st century.

It’s not every resort that can keep a variety-hungry skier or boarder happy for a whole week. Pick your spot right, however, and you can ride a different hill every day. The Valle d’Aosta (or Aosta Valley), in Italy‘s far northwest, is perfectly laid out for a multi-center European ski safari. The A5 autostrada that bisects it was recently lengthened to span the valley from France to the border with Piedmont. World-class ski centers are arranged among the high peaks north and south of the highway, and wherever you are, you’re rarely more than 90 minutes from everywhere else.