Waking Isabella by Melissa Muldoon

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“Waking Isabella” by Melissa Muldoon – Guest post about Giorgio Vasari a famous 15th-century artist from Arezzo



Ciao a tutti! 

I am the author of “Dreaming Sophia” and “Waking Isabella.” I am also the “Studentessa Matta.” In Italian that means “crazy student.” For the past seven years, I have been writing a dual language blog in Italian and English to promote the study of the Italian language and culture. My journey to learn the language has brought me even closer to a country that I have now adopted. The friendships I have made and the experiences I have had of living and traveling in Italy have given me insight into so many wonderful stories, traditions, and cultural ambiguities that many people have never even heard of. It has also given me opportunities I never thought imaginable, like zip lining in the Basilicata, taking part in the jousting festival in Arezzo, attending a friend’s wedding in Naples, even meeting Miss Sophia Loren in person! 



In my books, I strive to weave together a bit of the Italian language as well as art history. I want people to be inspired to learn the language and realize that art can "talk" to you if you listen. My novels are set in modern times, but they also take the reader back into the past to get a feeling for Italian personalities from previous eras. The stories weave together historical and contemporary information, as well as a bit fantasy and time travel as well.



Being an Art Historian I love to talk about Italian painters and paintings. Since my novel “Waking Isabella” is set in the small Tuscan town of Arezzo, today I’d like to share a little bit about someone who the Arentini are quite proud of. His name is Giorgio Vasari and his was a not just a painter, but an architect, writer, a the man who we honor as being the “father” of Art History as he is the author of the first book about his contemporary artists called: “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.”



Vasari was born in Arezzo in 1511, in Tuscany. During my recent stay in Arezzo I walked the very streets that Vasari walked, had breakfast in the loggia that he designed in the Piazza Grande and I visited the house where he lived. Even after several century’s the artist’s house has been preserved and remains unchanged. The rooms, magnificently frescoed by Giorgio Vasari himself, show Biblical and Mythological scenes, sacred and profane allegories as well as scenes of antiquity.

Although he dedicated his life to painting and architecture, the Vasari’s true claim to fame is the little book he wrote about his friends and contemporaries, Michelangelo and Leonardo.

 The book dedicated to Cosimo I de’ Medici is a compilation of biographies of the most important painters of his day and age. As informative and true to many facts as Vasari was, his stories are also sprinkled with funny anecdotes and invented gossip, so the book should be read with eye to this as well.

Vasari enjoyed a long and prestigious career. He spent time in his home town of Arezzo as well as in Florence and Rome. He built the loggia in Arezzo as well as the loggia that graces the Uffizi Gallery. He also was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici to build the corridor that connects Uffizi with the Pitti palace. He also painted the murals in the Palazzo Vecchio’s Salone del Cinquecento, covering up the failed attempts of Leonardo and the initial beginning renderings of Michelangelo!



I will be returning to Arezzo this coming September. If you too would like to work on your Italian and immerse in language and culture, I invite you also to come along with me on my next trip. There are more details on my website “Studentessa Matta,” (studentessamatta.com / melissa@studentessamatta.com) a dual language blog that I write in Italian and English. There are also many tips to help you learn the language!

Alla prossima! Melissa



Here is a link to a video featuring Vasari’s house

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OIIxT99-UI








On the Studentessa Matta language learning site you can find lots of free ways to practice Italian. I write both in Italian and English so you can flex and improve your communication skills - for free. Each week I post about Italian language learning as well as fun and interesting stories about Italian culture. You can find all the videos from this channel on the blog as well, with transcripts and translations.


For those of you who want to dive in a little deeper into Italian language studies in Italy, I also organize small group language immersion programs. This year the programs will be held in Montepulciano and  Arezzo. I invite you to join me! Please visit the Studentessa Matta site for more details: www.StudentessaMatta.com