LESSON SEVEN: The Italian Job

FEEL SOME PITY: Pietà means pity and is a general artistic term for the scene of the Virgin Mary supporting the body of Jesus after the crucifixion. The form first began in Germany and there are pietas by other artists and even several by Michelangelo. But there is only one The Pietà. Find out more here from the series titled Spencer’s Painting of the Week and see the statue in its home at St. Peter’s courtesy of a virtual tour. 

St. Peter's Basilica - Pieta

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MAKE GUNS OR BUTTER: The classic example of tradeoffs used since the early twentieth century is the mythical country deciding on how many guns or how much butter to produce. Arm to the teeth? Or use your teeth to eat something slathered in soft, creamy butter? This clip might help you make an informed decision. 

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GO RETRO: MyAbandonware.com has the global game of guns and butter domination available for free down- load. The game is from 1990 and ran on an operating system called DOS. So, things have changed a bit in the last thirty-odd years. The technology has changed (see previous lesson) but your choices are still between cannons and dairy products. Download at: http://www. myabandonware.com/game/the-global-dilemma-guns- or-butter-wk. 

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Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database

Web Gallery of Art, image collection, virtual museum and searchable database of European fine arts (painting, sculpture, illumination) of the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism periods (1000-1900), containing over 31.100 reproductions. Biographies, commentaries, guided tours, free postcard service, mobile version are provided.

GO THROUGH THE GALLERY: Check out all things Michelangelo including a biography and links to all his works in one place. There is nothing like it for il Gobbo of Milan, so take that, pilgrim. 

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GO PUBLIC: Public Broadcasting delves into the lives of the most famous family in Tuscany in Medici, Godfathers of the Renaissance. Fortunes rise and fall, sometimes just as violently as in those other Godfather movies. Episode two features the relationship between Michelangelo and his benefactors, but check out the premier as well to revisit the building of the Dome in Florence, which the Medici also bankrolled. Originally aired in 2004, check the PBS website or your favorite streaming service for reruns. 

Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance . Show . Part 1 | PBS

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Demolishing Michelangelo's mountain

When Roman emperors, Michelangelo and Mussolini needed the finest marble they all knew where to go - Carrara in Tuscany. But some are worried about the future of the quarries that have been used for thousands of years, writes Antonia Quirke. I'm standing on a mountain watching a river of cream snake its way past my feet.

LOSE YOUR MARBLES: Apparently marble quarries don’t last forever. After centuries of harvesting marble from the tip of western Tuscany, demand for toilets and fixtures in China and Dubai may be outpacing supply. Read Demolishing Michelangelo’s Mountain in BBC Magazine.