Sociologist, Biologist, Introvert, Foodie, History Buff, Italophile, Herbalist, Ethnographer, Traveler, Thinker, Dreamer...
Alternately titled “wherein we learn the Italian art of how to use a salad recipe to insult both the Germans and the English”. Intro The expressions “throw shade“, “throwing shade“, or simply “shade“, are slang terms for a certain type of insult, often nonverbal. Anna Holmes called shade “the art of the sidelong insult”. Merriam-Webster defines it … More Throwing Shade Renaissance Style
I found an extant gamurra for a pious working class woman in Mantova circa 1496! Apparel of: Osanna Andreasi Date Created: 1496 Here is the information on Osanna and her dress from Google Art & Culture: This garment, that the tradition associates to the person of the Blessed Osanna, was a long dress, tight in the upper part … More The Extant Gamurra of Beata Osanna
One important place for the exchange of ideas was the salon. The word salon first appeared in France in 1664 (from the Italian word salone, itself from sala, the large reception hall of Italian mansions). Italy had had an early tradition of the salon; Giovanna Dandolo became known as a patron and gatherer … More The Salon of Giovanna Dandolo Malipiero
There were many cures for impotency in the pharmacopoeia of the Italian Peninsula during the Renaissance. All manner of elixirs and compounds could be made to restore or enhance the vigor of an aging or infirm nobleman or prince like Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua. Using the Galenic theory of signatures, foods that resembled the … More The Puzzlement of Potency
When Isabella d’Este first arrived in Mantua, she began having a set of rooms (camerini) built to showcase her books, artworks, and musical instruments, and to provide her with spaces for reflection, contemplation, and intimate music-making. Her first camerini were in the Castel San Giorgio in Mantua, adjacent to the Camera degli Sposi, which is decorated with frescoes … More Impresa of Isabella d’Este
Reblogged from MissPen Aristocratic Daughters We think of nuns as living a secluded life, peacefully going about their daily prayers and rituals. However, at the threshold of the Italian Renaissance, the life of a nun offered a creative solution to women who wanted to pursue interests outside of keeping a home and raising children. For … More Phenomenal Women
In this portrait of Lucrezia Tornabuoni (c. 1475) she wears a forest green cioppa (overdress) with long dark blue sleeves, an simple edgeless linen coverciere (scarf/partlet) held in place by two gold pins, a high neckline camicia (chemise), a slice of her bright red gamurra (underdress) shows through the laces of her cioppa which are … More Lucrezia Tornabuoni Portrait
Totae Tabulae (Tavole Reale) Here is my research on a board (or tables) game from 1526 played on the Italian Peninsula. In the instructions written by Cardano* it is played with 15 pieces and 2 dice for each player. Game: Totae Tabulae /Tavole Reale Number of Players: 2 Materials Needed: Tables board (Tavola), 15 … More The (Italian) Mother of Backgammon
The Ca’ d’Oro Salone has found hostesses in An Tir! I, Maestra Giata Magdalena Alberti, have partnered with Maestra Raffaella di Contino and a team of #AnTirItalianPersonae to kick off the Salone season at June Fair. For those who haven’t been to a Salone before here is a brief introduction: The Ca’ d’Oro Salone in … More Ca’ d’Oro Salone in An Tir!
Over the next several months I will be teaching classes on the concepts of equity and inclusion in their relation to living history re-enactment for medievalists in general and for the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) specifically. In our mission statement we declare that SCA is “devoted to the research and recreation of pre-17th-century skills, … More Equity, Inclusion, and Chivalric Virtues
