Excavating the secrets, scandals, and untold stories hiding below the surface of life, and giving voice to the characters who make or made those hiStories happen.
This week, Sarah was featured on the ever-popular Florence culture blog, ArtTrav, which dishes up regular tasty morsels on all things Art, Travel & Life in Italy to a devoted following of Italianophiles. And who isn't, really?
We thought you might like to give it a read...
Six Things You Might Not Know about Michelangelo
There are many ways to engage with Florence – from the whirlwind tour of the first-time visitor to the microscopic examination of the repeat visitor intent on peeling back history’s layers to peek below the surface. Take Michelangelo. Everybody knows who he is. His David has drawn tourists to Florence for centuries. But understanding the context in which Michelangelo sculpted the iconic Florence landmark will introduce you to a vibrant society of rivals, teachers, friends, and foes – all of whom helped to shape Michelangelo’s life and art and are certain to enliven your next trip there. Here are six lesser-known Michelangelo facts and how to learn more about them when exploring Florence.
It’s been a tumultuous last few weeks here in the UK.
From attacks targeting kids and Saturday night revelers to a political about-face and rebuff of Prime Minister May’s political party to a tragedy based on nothing more than human negligence and greed – we felt history being made. Yet, typically, history is viewed as something that exists in the distance, far away from the here and now, separate from the events of everyday life.
So when does history begin? Is there a clear line between past events and current affairs, even when those affairs are of obvious historic significance?
It all started back on April Fools’ Day. That’s when we initiated our 21-day campaign to engage the TTT&T community in the build-up to the unveiling, on 21 April, of Buried Alive: the Secret Michelangelo Took to His Grave. We appealed to all of you then to snap a selfie while holding the name of your #HistoryHero on a piece of paper and lots of you did!
Well, three unanticipated things happened off the back of that initiative that touched the hearts of my team members and me, and got our collective creative imagination flowing…
You can tell a lot about someone by whom they admire, by whom they call out as their #HistoryHero.
Since April, my team and I have been asking folks to shout out the name of their favorite #HistoryHero since April. It’s been fun and a very positive experience. So much so that we’re now turning their stories into a blog series. We've met fascinating figures we never knew before and learning as much about our heroes as about the people recommending them:
There comes a time in the life cycle of any creative endeavor, whether it be a book, film, or interactive tourism app/digital book, when it must be allowed to venture forth and take on an existence beyond its creator.
Ironically, this often coincides with the point when the creator can’t bear to live with it anymore.
She has birthed, nurtured, examined, revised, tested, corrected, and tweaked the project until she can no longer see it clearly. Still, she carries on polishing and buffing the stone, fretting over the flaws in the marble. She questions this color choice, that turn of phrase, and every navigational decision in between.
But there are deadlines to meet and promises to keep, so ready or not, out it goes. With a deep breath, a kiss, and a silent prayer, she pushes “send” on the submission. Then, she suddenly, desperately wishes she hadn't.
