The Italian Renaissance Podcast

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Ep. 75: Pope Sixtus IV and the Sistine Chapel

July 13, 2026

Before the era of the High Renaissance, Pope Sixtus IV commissioned one of the most ambitious artistic projects of the Roman Quattrocento, the Sistine Chapel. In this episode, we explore the chapel's original decoration and the remarkable group of artists, including Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, Signorelli, and Roselli, who transformed its walls into a monumental visual narrative in line with the symbolic force of the papacy. We begin by examining Pope Sixtus IV, his political ambit...

Ep. 74: Renaissance Rome - The Bessarion Chapel

June 29, 2026

Before the triumphs of Michelangelo and Raphael transformed Rome during the High Renaissance, the foundations of the Roman Humanism were laid by remarkable scholars, patrons, and artists whose stories are often overlooked. In this episode, we explore the extraordinary patronage of Cardinal Basilios Bessarion, the Byzantine humanist whose vision helped bridge the intellectual worlds of East and West following the fall of Constantinople.Through the remarkable frescoes of the Bessarion Chapel, p...

Ep. 73: Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael in Florence

June 15, 2026

Raphael’s years in Florence (c. 1504–1508) placed him at the center of one of the most extraordinary moments in Renaissance art, where he encountered both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo at the height of their powers. Under the Soderini Republic, Florence became a stage for artistic innovation, marked by Michelangelo’s David, Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, and the unrealized battle frescoes commissioned for the Palazzo Vecchio.This episode explores how Raphael absorbed and transformed the lessons o...