Ciao! I am excited to announce the launch of my new travel vlogs on YouTube! Join me as I explore some of the most beautiful destinations in northern Italy. In my first video, I’ll be sharing the itinerary for my one day in Venice during February of 2022. Coming soon are packing tips for travel … More Italy Travel Videos
10 days in ITALY!! Trip details/cost is here. We will begin in Venice and visit the best vendors, historical sites, and opera/fine dining of the Serenissima for 3 days at the end of Carnevale in February 2024 (because those crowds are meh). Next we will take the train to Ferrara and have a 3-day tour … More Italy with Gigi 2024
A helpful resource for those looking at 14th-century Venice is this post on the Carthago Delenda Est blog, which I’ve reposted below. “First I found images by the painter Giotto. Giotto was a Florentine by birth but ranged all over Italy, including the famous Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, which is part of the Veneto. … More 14th-Century Venetian Clothing?
Fleurtyherald’s Tidbits on Sumptuary Laws The first sumptuary office in Florence, known as the Ufficiali delle donne, was created in 1330 to enforce all of the sumptuary bans adopted that year. By the fifteenth century, secret denunciations made by Florentine citizens and placed in boxes known as tamburi, were a commonplace. The cities of Florence, … More Illegally Fashionable – Sumptuary Laws In Renaissance Florence
A Recipe from Libro di cucina (Anonimo Veneziano, 14th/15th c.) * — This version based on: Ludovico Frati (ed.): Libro di cucina del secolo XIV. Livorno 1899. * — Other edition in: E. Faccioli: Arte della cucina. Milano 1966, Vol. I, 59-105. (useful notes!) Ambroyno Se tu voy fare ambroyno, toy polastri e smenbrali, toy … More A Recipe From the 14th Century Anonimo Veneziano
Here is what I wrote to a friend planning her trip to Italy after my 2006 journey to Verona, Lake Garda, Florence, Venice, and Rome… I hope you guys have a blast in Italy! I went for a few months last year and had the time of my life. Here are some suggestions (I’m not … More More Musings From Italy
For those interested in viewing period heraldry here is a list of Rolls of Arms (with links) containing pre-17th century Italian and Iberian examples: Armorial of the Order of the Annunciation, 1362 and later, Italian http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org/Armoriaux/Annonciade/Amedee_VI.htm Armorial of Cataluña, Castille and Portugal, 15th-16th century, Iberian http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00001370/images/index.html? William Bruges’s Garter Book c.1430 to c.1440 English roll of European … More Italian and Spanish Rolls of Arms and Impresa
My target year for living history persona is 1499. I am completely enamored with all of the northern Italian city-states of that period. Sometimes, I dress for a little bit later (1550 Venetian) and sometimes, I dress for an earlier time period (1412 Florentine). In italy the fashion changed with every decade. This entry will … More Italian Headwear
Ask Giada (and she will give you advice from great Renaissance minds) If a nobleman asks you for a loan: I would sooner give him twenty as a gift than a hundred on loan. I would gladly avoid him altogether so as to have to do neither. —Leon Battista Alberti, The Family in Renaissance Florence … More Renaissance Advice Column: Ask Giada
Inspiration for my garb and accessories comes from paintings and frescos, as well as written documentation (i.e. the inventory of the wardrobe of Caterina Sforza). When you see me at living history events I’m usually wearing something from my studies. Here are a few examples: I love turbans! Turbans are my favorite Italian headdress. The … More Italian Wardrobe Inspiration
La Bella Donna 