MEET STEVE McCURRY IN SIENA

Steve McCurry at the press conference of his exhibition in Siena

For a change in front of the lens: Steve McCurry in Siena

Meet the man who made a photo go around the world. Tomorrow, Saturday 15th of June, Siena's Santa Maria della Scala museum opens the doors for Steve McCurry's Viaggio Intorno al Mondo.

Maybe National Geographic's best known photographer, Steve McCurry is in town for the opening of the show. His masterclass at Siena University was attended by 700 students from all over Italy.

You'll be able to meet McCurry at the museum for questions and book signing from 11 am to noon and from 4 pm to 5 pm.

The exhibition in the stunning setting of the medieval SMS museum complex concentrates on Steve McCurry's portrait work. Also part of the exhibition are the photo of the green-eyed Afghan girl and a short film by National Geographic, which documents McCurry's quest to find his famous model nearly two decades later. Which indeed he did.

The green eyed Afghan girl met again as a woman

Old friends: Steve Mc Curry's voyage to find the Afghan girl

Steve McCurry exhibition at Siena's SMS museum

A fabulous museum setting: The medieval tufa rock rooms of the SMS museum in Siena

Portrait of a minery worker by Steve McCurry

Portraits from Afghanistan by Steve McCurry at Siena's SMS museum

VIAGGIO INTORNO ALL'UOMO (TRIP AROUND MANKIND)

SIENA'S SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA MUSEUM, piazza del Duomo, 1

15th of June to 3rd of November 2013

Opening times: every day from 10.30 am to 7pm,

Tickets: 10 Euro (incluscive audioguide), kids up to 11 years for free

The show has been prolonged till the 6th of January. Check detailed opening times on the SMS website.

Ambrogio Lorenzetti's frescoes and paintings

From toddlers to octogenarians, when in Siena I schlepp everybody to see Ambrogio Lorenzetti's 'Buon Governo'. The long title of the painting is 'The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the City and the Countryside' and it is exactly that - namely an accurate depiction of daily life in medieval Siena. The detailed and elegant fresco cycle is a rarity not just in regard to Lorenzetti's style and technique, but mainly due to its subject matter. In the 14th century, paintings and frescoes focus on stories and characters from the old and new testament and not on the day-to-day tasks of builders and farmers. Medieval Siena depicted on one of the walls of Ambrogio Lorenzetti's fresco cycle in the Palazzo Pubblico (©Wikipedia) And this is exactly why it's so much fun to spend some time in front of the fresco cycle in the civic museum in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico. Whether its kids - or meat lovers - looking for the famous Cinta Senese pig ...

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EMIGRATION VS. IMMIGRATION: A MEMORY OF ITALY IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Understand a bit of Italian? This is the night to figure out how much regarding a topic that seems a bit removed but actually isn't at all. Italy entered the first world war exactly a hundred years ago on the 24th of May 1915. 600'000 Italian soldiers died during the war. Many of them were 'Italians' born in Brasil or Argentina who traveled to Europe as young men to fight for a country they had never put foot on before. 150'000 of Italy's soldiers in the first world war had been born in Brazil, Argentina and other countries their parents had had to migrate to for a better future abroad. An important fact to consider when we read the daily headlines regarding todays incessantly growing immigration to Italy and Europe via Lybia. 'La storia quasi vera del milite ignoto' is told by Emilio Franzina, the writer of the book with the same title, which tells the story of a young soldier born in Brasil to Italian parents of Venetian heritage. ...

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MATERA IS ITALY'S EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2019

Matera has won the title of European Capital of Culture and even though we're disappointed in Tuscany, this is a well deserved victory. From the start of the competition Matera has been an eye-catcher. The bottom-up approach of its bid was impressive and once the city council married the idea of Matera's candidature (it had initially been born by a private group of people), the committee was swift in connecting the young and creative local scene to European and international forces. Hang on there, this party isn't over yet! #Siena2019 In regard to digital involvement Matera was the benchmark for the other Italian candidate cities with its great website and busy interaction on every possible social media channel from day one of the competition. But what must have been most important to the jury, Matera put together a soundproof bid book called 'Open Future/Open City', which has already started to infuse the people of the Basilicata (once mainly known as Ita...

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