Michelangelo Buonarroti
Sculptor, Painter, Poet, and Architect of the Italian Renaissance
I fell in love with Michelangelo’s work long before my first trip to Italy. But when I stood in the Sistine Chapel for the first time… utterly astonished by the drama and majesty soaring above my head, I knew that his work was intertwined with mine forever. I spent several years researching the book which ultimately became A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome — part biography and part travel guide. Retelling the stories of his greatest works — the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, his sculpture of Moses for Pope Julius II’s tomb, the Risen Christ, the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica — I came to know Michelangelo the artist as well as the man. His family was complicated. His father was demanding. His friendships were fierce. He wrote letters and poems. He illustrated grocery lists. And he was the first artist to become a true celebrity in the era of the printing press — invented just 25 years before his birth.
Here I have shared a few of my favorite stories about Michelangelo and his work. I hope they will whet your appetite for more which can easily be found in A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome. And perhaps you’ll be inspired to take a trip to Italy, too. You never know what passions will be ignited as you travel.
