Pious pioneers

Shortly after the queen rose on 10 June 1688, she felt a familiar swell of pain. “Send for the king!” she called, while her ladies helped her back into bed. Maria (Mary) of Modena was in labour. Soon

“Hands of Saint Dominic” by Albrecht Dürer, 1506; ...

SIENA IS ONE OF THE GREAT HISTORIC CITIES – a living vision of the medieval world found now in very few places. Here is the architecture and street plan of a medieval city-state, the oldest bank in th

In her latest novel, Sarah Dunant explores the life of Italian aristocrat Isabella d’Este, the archetypal Renaissance woman

In July 1575, Robert Dudley enlisted mythological figures to convince Elizabeth I to wed him. Exactly 450 years later, artist Lindsey Mendick reveals how and why she reinterpreted their encounter in her installation for Kenilworth Castle

Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, bargained, cajoled and went behind her family’s back to get what she desired. Meet 16th-century Italy’s most formidable collector