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.
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.
I woke up this morning, as I have every morning this week, to the pealing of bells from the campanile of Florence’s iconic cathedral complex, Santa Maria del Fiore, popularly known as the Duomo. The heart of this ancient and exquisite city, the Duomo also plays a central role in our new story tour, Buried Alive: The Secret Michelangelo Took to His Grave. I’m here to test the app one last time before we shout its existence out to the world. I'm happy to say that it's working great!
Right now we're pretty consumed with preparations for pitch@palace. But we've got an app to launch!
I know. When it rains it pours, right?
So as we zoom toward the official launch of BURIED ALIVE, by Mary Hoffman and Time Traveler Tours, we're spearheading a campaign certain to #TurnHistoryOn.
It's called My #HistoryHero, and we need to know...
