All posts tagged: fresco

Outdoor garden furniture trends for al fresco living

Outdoor garden furniture trends for al fresco living

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more When it comes to good vibes and that happy, carefree feeling when relaxing under a blue sky, there’s nothing quite like pulling up a chair in your own private sanctuary. Whether it’s a garden escape, bijou balcony or pukka patio, there’s a growing trend for transforming outdoor spaces into immersive, restorative retreats. Indeed, think a wellness garden where you can recline, a dedicated area for relaxation, and focus on al fresco slow living; where thoughtful design and furnishings take centre stage. Here’s how to create this season’s most coveted destination, without leaving home… “As summer approaches, we naturally start seeking ways to capture that holiday feeling… longer days remind us that a getaway doesn’t always require a plane ticket,” highlights Daniel Smith, founder of …

Rome Fresco Altered After Complaints Over Giorgia Meloni Likeness

Rome Fresco Altered After Complaints Over Giorgia Meloni Likeness

Published by José Betancourt

The face of an angel who appeared to resemble Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has been removed from a fresco in a Rome church after complaints from Vatican officials. The image appeared in a chapel of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina, where artist Bruno Valentinetti restored a fresco he originally painted in 2000. Valentinetti initially denied that the angel bore any resemblance to Meloni. He said the recent intervention was a necessary conservation effort after water damage, a claim echoed by the parish priest, Monsignor Daniele Michelett, in comments to the BBC. Related Articles The likeness was first reported earlier this month by La Repubblica, which noted that the angel, depicted holding a map of Italy, had previously featured a more generic cherubic face. Speaking to the newspaper on February 5, Valentinetti later acknowledged the resemblance, saying, “Okay, it was Meloni, but along the lines of the painting that was there before.” The angel’s face was erased last week after Italy’s culture ministry and the diocese of Rome opened an inquiry into …

Michelangelo’s ‘The Last Judgment’ Fresco Undergoes 3-Month Cleaning at Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo’s ‘The Last Judgment’ Fresco Undergoes 3-Month Cleaning at Sistine Chapel

Published by Sam Flores

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment,” the imposing fresco of heaven and hell which dominates the Sistine Chapel, is undergoing its first major restoration in three decades, the Vatican said Monday. The Sistine Chapel will remain open to visitors during the three-month cleaning, albeit with scaffolding partially obstructing the view of the fresco, the Vatican Museums said in a statement. The cleaning, the first major restoration since 1994, will remove microparticle buildup on the plaster from so many people visiting each day. The museum called the film a “widespread whitish haze, produced by the deposition of microparticles of foreign substances carried by air movements.” More than 6 million people visit the Vatican Museums each year, with the Sistine Chapel a top destination. With so many people in such a small place, the Vatican is constantly monitoring humidity and temperature levels in the chapel and taking proactive measures to protect it. The chapel is named after Pope Sixtus IV, an art patron who oversaw the construction of the main papal chapel in the 15th …

Early Christian fresco depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd discovered in Turkey

Early Christian fresco depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd discovered in Turkey

Published by Sam Flores

A fresco depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd on the wall of a third-century tomb in the Hisardere necropolis, in Iznik, Turkey, December 12, 2025. KHALIL HAMRA/AP The dust had barely settled in Iznik, Turkey, where Pope Leo XIV had chosen to travel at the end of November for his first apostolic journey, when new winds began to blow. Accompanied by a cohort of journalists, the Roman pontiff had come to this small, peaceful town, once called Nicaea, before the ruins of a basilica discovered in 2014. One thousand and seven hundred years earlier, the Roman emperor Constantine had gathered bishops there in a council to define the Nicene Creed: the foundations of belief for Christianity, which had emerged less than three centuries before. It was the year 325, a turbulent time and region. The Roman Empire was in crisis and Byzantium, located two days’ walk away, was not yet a capital, but was already a remarkable crossroads of peoples and civilizations between Asia and Europe. You have 90.94% of this article left to read. …