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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian, writer and guide from Cambridge, England. I am an art historian, writer and guide from Cambridge, England.

Since 2001 I have been living in Italy, where I run personalised tours of Rome. Since 2001 I have been living in Italy, where I run private tours of Florence, Rome and Venice.

25/11/2024

The much-maligned, but much-photographed, Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, better known simply as the Vittoriano, has been given a much-needed makeover in time for the impending Jubilee.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

13/11/2024

"Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris."

In 1956, the Eternal City and the City of Light were declared sister cities. Three years later, a street in the centre of Rome was duly renamed Via Parigi and a monument was erected there to celebrate the twinning of the two capitals.

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The monument takes the form of an antique stone column, which is crowned with a bronze caravel, a ship that is part of the coat of arms of the French capital.

01/11/2024

'Yes, I have finally arrived in the capital of the world.'

So wrote Goethe in his diary on November 1st 1786. There is a grand monument to Germany's greatest writer in Villa Borghese.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

17/10/2024

On October 7th 1895, the American sculptor William Wetmore Story died in Rome.

His sculpture of the Angel of Grief was created for the grave of his wife Emelyn, who had died the year before and was buried in the 'Protestant' Cemetery.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

Story, who had lived and worked in the Eternal City for more than 40 years, was buried with his wife.

04/10/2024

October 4th is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, one of the two patron saints of Italy.

Since 2005, a bronze statue of the saint on horseback has stood in the small Umbrian town of his birth, outside the basilica that bears his name.

01/10/2024

After years of neglect the quirky Fountain of the Satyrs (1929), in the gardens of the Villa Borghese, is once again playing.

The inscription on the fountain, which is also known as the Fountain of Joy, proclaims (in translation): 'The murmur of the fountain sings the praises of life'.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

30/09/2024

Francesco Borromini, the architect who designed one of the most distinctive landmarks on the Roman skyline, was born on September 27th 1599.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

29/09/2024

September 29th is the feast day of St Michael the Archangel.

A beautiful bronze statue of St Michael, the work of the 18th century Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, crowns the Castel Sant' Angelo.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

14/09/2024

On September 14th 1322, the great Florentine poet Dante Aligheri died in Ravenna, where he is buried.

In 1865, to mark the 600th anniversary of his birth, the good citizens of Florence erected a statue to its most famous son in Piazza Santa Croce.

In a curious reversal of fate, its sculptor, Enrico Pazzi, was born in Ravenna and died in Florence!

13/09/2024

Stairway to Heaven.

A monumental flight of steps leads up to the 13th century church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, whose name translates as altar to heaven.

The steps, 124 in total, were built as an act of thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary for saving the citizens of Rome from the Black Death.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

10/09/2024

On September 10th 1586, for the first time in more than a thousand years, an ancient Egyptian obelisk was erected in Rome.

Standing in the centre of St Peter’s Square, the obelisk weighs 330 tons and soars to a height of 25 metres (almost 40 metres with the base and cross).

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

08/09/2024

520 years ago, on September 8th 1504, Michelangelo’s colossal statue of David was unveiled in the Piazza della Signoria.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the 17-foot-high masterpiece was moved indoors to the Galleria dell’ Accademia, which each year attracts millions of visitors.

06/09/2024

Rome is thinking of charging visitors a 2 euro entry fee to visit the world's most famous fountain, in an attempt to address the all too familiar problems of overtourism.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

19/08/2024

On August 19th 14 CE, Rome's first, and longest-reigning, emperor died, just a few weeks short of his seventy-sixth birthday.

Did fate decree that Augustus should die in the month that bears his name (or rather the title that was conferred on him). The month was originally called Sextilis, but in 8 BCE it was renamed in his honour.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

15/08/2024

On August 15th 1483, Pope Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel.

25 years later, the pope's nephew, Julius II (r. 1503-13), commissioned Michelangelo to create what would become the most famous ceiling in the world.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

09/08/2024

On August 9th 1173, work began on what would become the most famous bell tower in the world.

Pisa's campanile took almost 200 years to erect. The bell chamber was finally completed in 1372!

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

05/08/2024

The 17th century church of Sant' Ivo alla Sapienza is one of the most striking designs in Rome.

Its creator Francesco Borrmomini, one of the geniuses of Baroque architecture, died on August 3rd 1667.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

29/07/2024

The Via Appia, the oldest (312 BCE) and most famous ancient Roman road, has finally been declared a World Heritage Site.

The Appian Way, which was known in antiquity as the Regina Viarum (Queen of Roads), brings Italy's total of World Heritage Sites to sixty, the highest of any country.

Walking Tours of Rome: www.walksinrome.com

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My Story

Walking Tours of Rome, Florence & Venice.

I am an art historian, writer and guide from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have been living in Italy, where I run walking tours of Rome, Florence and Venice.