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Spice Up Your Bedroom with Italian Imports

Would you like add a little spice to your bedroom? Is the thought of a more sensual experience in your bedroom something you have been looking for? Here is something you should consider trying: Accent your bedroom with Italian imports.

Italian imports bring a rustic, Old-World charm to any room of the house. Often used in the kitchen and other parts of the house, Italian imports can also add a special, relaxing, and soothing touch to your boudoir while adding a dash of spiciness to your room.

People spend a full third of their life in their bedroom sleeping or sharing private time with their partner. You want that room of your life to be the most comfortable and inviting as possible. Adding Italian imports to the décor of your sleeping chambers helps you to temporarily forget problems of the world outside but also add class and spice to your bedroom.

When one thinks of Italian imports, you cannot help but think of the quality and style they behold. The timeless treasures can add class and appeal to any room through imported Italian vases, ceramic plates, jars and so much more. One thing Italy will always be credited for is their fine ceramic pieces.

If you already have an Italian theme going in your bedroom, consider adding some authenticity to it with some finely crafted Majolica or Italian Maiolica tin glazed pottery dating from the Renaissance. Italian Ceramics are world renowned because of their master artisanship and durability. Well-known names of majolica you will want to look for in pieces areFranco mari, Eugenio Ricciarelli, and Mastro Giorgio Gubbio. A large Italian imported jar sitting on an elegant display table will be a fine accent to a sitting area in any bedroom. Add more accents with some Italian imported hand painted vases on the nightstand to bring the Italian them full circle.

If you are just beginning to design your bedroom in an Italian theme, a single Italian imported vase can begin a completely new flare to the room. Compliment the walls with a paint that brings the warm richness of Italy to your room. Warm earth tones work nicely with this theme. Use rich warm colors for accents such as deep dark reds with a slight brown undertone. You can accomplish this with either paint or decorative accents such as in art pieces, accent pillows, throw rugs, or stringing some ceramic chilies in an accent corner set off by a decorative table with an Italian imported vase. Your bedrooms will being to transform before your eyes adding the spice of Italy to not just your bedroom but your bedroom life as well.

Do not forget about lighting. Dimmer switches, soft light low wattage light bulbs, and deep rich colored shades on lamps will add that extra spice you are looking for. With a small amount of planning and some well-chosen Italian imports, your bedroom can become the love nest of the Gods themselves.

You will always look so good when you bring some Italian gifts like some Italian Mosaics, Ceramic Plate, Ceramic Tile, Ceramics jar etc; because their beauty is no compared with other Italian Decor, it is very known for their fine figures hand painted, which it make it different than the other kind of ceramics therefore you will have a treasure at home.

About the Author

Villaggio ceramics is a proud importer of Italian hand painted decorative ceramics. Our goal is to maintain a clientele with taste and a fond appreciation for Italian Majolica (also known as Maiolica); Italian Mosaics; Italian dinnerware handsomely hand painted; unique decorative accessories, Italian gifts and much more.

Mischief in Tuscany – Running Wild in a Famous Italian Painting $10 by N. Shroyer Howard "That morning. on a hill far away. the day had begun far from evil. for Cinta. He had managed to fill his tummy beautiful black bruised apples fourteen. twenty-six soft figs. ten sprouted potatoes. beans and sweet two pomegranates … " Mischief in Tuscany. or the incursions of a pig in a famous Sienese fresco: the age is that of fairy tales. and like a fairy tale. the pig will be in our greatest adventure of his life. the journey into town. But Cinta is not a piglet any: he was born seven hundred years ago by the brush of a great painter. Ambrogio Lorenzetti. who represents it in the magnificent frescoes in one of the most famous of Siena. Palazzo Pubblico. Not only that his descendants are equally famous. though for other reasons. The fact is that his race of the Cinta Senese. as evidenced by his black coat adorned with a white band that runs around the back. a breed that needs no introduction. and who the Sienese boast one of the best in the world …Greedy and lazy. but carefree and curious. Cinta launches into an endless series of pranks between the colorful characters who crowd the city fourteenth century. only to re-evaluate the magnificent Tuscan countryside. which its creator painted around him.Nancy Shroyer Howard has worked as an educational preparation for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and The Museums at Stony Brook in New York. Author of children’s books devoted to art. to play Mandragora published in Florence (2000). a city guide for families and Exploring Tuscany’s Chianti Countryside (2003). four routes through the Tuscan countryside illustrated by paintings and watercolors’ s artist Richard Mello. Nancy and Richard share their life between Chianti and Colorado.

The Library on Display – The Shape of the Book: From Roll to Codex(3rd century BC-19th century AD) $14 edited by F. Arduini – with an essay by G. Cavallo – February 2008 – paperback; 140×200 mm; 96 pp. – 64 colour illustrations -Following the success of Imaginary Creatures. the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana inaugurates “The Shape of the Book: From Roll to Codex” (Florence. Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. 15 February–31 July 2008). the second event of the Library on Display project. a series of theme-based exhibitions of Laurentian manuscripts.Both the exhibition and the catalogue are divided into two sections. the Papyrus Collection and the Manuscript Collection. The first section opens with the famous Sappho ostrakon first published by Medea Norsa (PSI XIII 1300). a potsherd on which a pupil from the 2nd century BC wrote some strophes of an ode possibly dedicated to Aphrodite. and includes waxed wooden tablets. a lead tablet. carbonized papyri. papyrus fragments (of particular interest are several documents from the Zenon Archive. 3rd century BC). and papyrus and parchment rolls and codices.Differing markedly in terms of format. production. script and decoration. the rolls and codices included in the second section illustrate significant stages in the evolution of the book form through the ages. Several manuscripts document the activity of notable centres of book production during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. from the imperial scriptorium at Constantinople to monasteries and high-quality workshops in Europe and particularly in 15th-century Florence. The section features a codex in Giovanni Boccaccio’s own hand. one of the models of the so-called “Danti del Cento” (a group of 100 manuscripts of Dante’s Divine Comedy produced in the 14th century) and examples of pocket and giant Bibles. ending with a superbly illuminated Persian manuscript and two Oriental scrolls from China and Japan respectively. unusual sights in Italian conservation libraries.The masterful introductory essay by Guglielmo Cavallo offers an overview of the history of the book from the papyrus roll to the invention of the printing press. a field in which his expertise is virtually unparalleled.Franca Arduini is Director of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (Laurentian Library). Florence.Guglielmo Cavallo is Professor of Greek Palaeography at the Università di Roma “La Sapienza”. He is one of the world’s leading experts on palaeography and the history of writing.

Italy by Rizzi-Zannoni $189 Italy by Rizzi-Zannoni.This beautiful and accurate representation of Italy in 1806, made to a scale of approximately 1:248,000 is the same as the one published four years earlier by the Florentine bookseller Giuseppe Molini, with the only addition of the roads and the post offices. The map was made by the famous geographer A. Rizzi-Zannoni and then engraved on copper under Molini’s direction. The map representation is by Cassini with the Prime Meridian at Paris. The orography is in perspective with oblique light shading. The map includes eight graphic scales with Italian, French and German measurements. Particularly exquisite is the artistic cartouche on the bottom right-hand side. The following is the announcement of the publication of the map on the Gazzetta Universale in1802 which used to be published in Florence twice a week.GAZZETTA UNIVERSALE N° 50 Tuesday 22nd June 1802, page 399ANNOUNCEMENTSGiuseppe Molini notifies the public that at the beginning of the month of July he will publish a beautiful and extremely accurate topographic map of Italy which, at his own expense and sparing no cost, he has had made by the famous geographer of S. M. Siciliana Signore Giov. Antonio Rizzi-Zannoni, and then engraved in two copperplates under his direction, of which a free “Manifesto Ragionato” will be released next week. The price of the map will be of two zucchini and it can be stated with absolute certainty that such a beautiful and accurate map has yet to be seen.Sizes: 37"x49" -93×124 cm

Leonardo – Pictorial biography $18 M. Capati – April 2009 – paperback; cm 17×24. pp. 176 – 118 color illustrations -"There is no solution of continuity between the preparatory drawing for an altarpiece. the invention of a working tool. the project of a church or a fortress. Drew floor plans. measuring buildings. design weapons and mechanical appliances. are plagued with questions about the geology. hydraulics. optics. astronomy. mathematics. And the order of its chaotic codes found a formula expressive congenial to his personality. his perfect counterpoint to painting. "Engineer. scientist. philosopher. architect and painter. Leonardo da Vinci is the figure who best represents the ideal. the Renaissance and beyond. the universal genius. But. paradoxically. the versatility of his interests has come to play down to modern eyes the greatness of his art. often viewed only in the light of his extraordinary creative vitality.This essay retraces. from historical and biographical data. all the paintings of Leonardo. dall’apprendistato at Verrocchio’s workshop to formal perfection of the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. and ending with the last works attributed to the master or his circle as the mysterious San Giovanni Battista / Bacchus in the Louvre. Massimiliano Capati was born in Viterbo in 1968. Graduate in modern history. and writer with many interests. He is the author. inter alia. Cantimori. Contini. Garin. Crisis of a culture idealistic (1997). The Master abnormal. Benedetto Croce and Italy in the Twentieth Century (2000). pandemonium. A reading of the Italian Novecento (2000). literary history of the 900 Italian (2002). He edited a collection of writings of Cesare Brandi entitled heritage threatened (2001).

The Chapel of the Magi in Palazzo Medici $10 by F. Cardini – Preface by C. Acidini Luchinat – With an essay by L. Ricciardi – publication year: 2001 – paperback. 140×210 mm. 96 pp. – 110 colour illustrations -“The Chapel of the Magi in Palazzo Medici-Riccardi is one of those place in Italy – many. but not too many – in which history and art combine to bear witness to the past in a way that is absolutely exceptional. In this case we are dealing with a period in the past that has been extraordinarily celebrated. studied and loved. so as to achieve an almost mythic status: the age of the Renaissance in Medicean Florence. (…)Nearly ten years have gone by since the conclusion of the restoration and the publication of scholarly studies (both as part of the Laurentian celebrations and independently). and it is now highly opportune that the essence of these writings should have been distilled by Franco Cardini. the author of so many enlightening pages on the Florentine Middle Ages and Renaissance. as well as on the Chapel itself. His synthesis is completed by Lucia Ricciardi’s essay. full of useful information on the heraldic. symbolic and allegorical imagery related to the Medici family. (…)If it is true – as we believe – that every ancient testimony of human creativity bears the marks of its own uniqueness and irreplaceability. then it is all the more certain that the Chapel of the Magi is unique and irreplaceable. where art. faith. culture and power came together in an exceptional combination of circumstances. to give to the world a masterpiece of evocative capacity that is without equal. On the walls of the Chapel. among the precious furnishings that surround them. Benozzo’s paintings link the remote past of the Nativity and the Journey of the Magi with the contemporary world of 15th-century Florence. presenting us with a collective portrait – both fascinating and mysterious – of a dinasty that was primus inter pares in the society of its time: the Medici. at the peak of their influence and riches in the happy year 1456. from the aged Cosimo to his first-born son Piero and his grandsons Lorenzo and Giuliano. with their relatives and associates and distinguished guests. We who are admitted to these memories. still so vivid and expressive after more than five centuries. enjoy a journey back through time. one that thrills and enriches us.”(From the preface by C. Acidini Luchinat. Superintendent of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.)Franco Cardini. internationally known as a historian. is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Florence. He writes for many Italian and foreign journals. publishers and institutions.

Map of Italy by Matteo Greuter (1657) $415 Map of Italy by Matteo Greuter (1657)Matteo Greuter was born in Strasburg in 1556 and worked in Lyons, Avignon and Rome. He distinguished himself for his extremely accurate and elegant technique which found its peak expression in this beautiful map of Italy produced in 12 pages. The map is the largest one ever published. There are three rare versions of the map and the one we propose is the first one published in 1567 in Venice by Stefano Mozzo Scolari. The second version was printed and published in 1675 in Bologna by Pietro Todeschi and the third was published in 1695 in Rome by the printing company of Domenico De Rossi. The map is quite large (1.15x 2.20) and is produced to a scale of approximately 1:540,000. The place names are in Italian and there are allegorical representations of various regions as well as perspective maps of some cities. The three major islands are shown separately. The curious aspect of this map is Greuter’s decision to present it horizontally, and the reasons for this arrangement are explained in the scroll on the map itself.Sizes: 82"x45" – 208x114cm

Twenty two views of the Cupola $12 by G. Fanelli – publication year: 2005 – paperback with jacket; 290×205 mm; 48 pp. – 22 b&w illustrations -Following in the footsteps of the painters and engravers who portrayed Florence and its dome. Giovanni Fanelli pays homage to Brunelleschi’s masterpiece with a fine collection of drawings: a tribute to the great Renaissance architect from a scholar who has devoted his life to the study of urban landscape. Giovanni Fanelli is Professor of the History of Architecture at the University of Florence. He is the author of many books and articles on the history of architecture and urban development. the graphic arts and photography. He has curated numerous exhibitions and directs book series for several Italian publishers. He has been Scientific Director of the Fondazione Ragghianti. Lucca. For Mandragora he has published Giovanni Michelucci fotografo (2001). L’anima dei luoghi (2001). Firenze: architettura e città (2002. the reprint of a fundamental work first published in 1973) and Brunelleschi’s Cupola. Past and Present of an Architectural Masterpiece (2004). with Michele Fanelli.

Women in Power: Caterina and Maria de’ MediciThe Return to Florence of Two Queens of France $30 edited by C. Innocenti – Florence. Palazzo Strozzi. 24 October 2008-8 February 2009 -The myth of Artemisia. a celebration of modern two queens: Caterina and Maria de ‘Medici. Florence. regent of France. is told through the images that helped to legitimize their power. The exhibition (Florence. Palazzo Strozzi. 24 October 2008-8 February 2009) is structured through fifteen monumental tapestries. displayed with great success in 2007 in the gallery of the Gobelins in Paris in 2008 in the Castle of Chambord. The series of tapestries originates Histoire de la Royne Arthemisia. composed in the sixties of the sixteenth century by Nicolas Houel with the intent to celebrate the Queen Catherine de ‘Medici. widow to Henry II of France and regent of the kingdom. The complex heroine whose Houel tells the story originated from the merger of the figures of two old queens of Caria. both named Artemisia. The first fought on the side of Xerxes in the fifth century BC and the other. lived in the next century. the widow of King Mausoleum. erected in memory of the famous Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. known as one of the seven wonders of the world. The tapestries were woven. with some changes from the original project. starting in 1607. at the behest of Henry IV in honor of his wife Mary. At the core of the exhibition is accompanied by a survey of the tastes and personalities of the two queens. through paintings and objects related to their history. In addition to precious jewelry. we signal the talisman that belonged to Catherine (Bibliothèque nationale de France. Paris). an autograph letter from Mary with a drawing. a painting portraying Mary and Henry IV in an outdoor banquet (Musée des Beaux – Arts. Nantes). The exhibition closes the section entitled "Returning to the myth of Artemisia." with eight paintings by Italian artists of the seventeenth century. including Francis Curradi. Cesare Dandini and Domenico Fetti.

The Library on Display: Imaginary Creatures $14 March 2007 – paperback; 140×200 mm; 80 pp. – 50 colour illustrations -The first event of the Library on Display project. a series of theme-based exhibitions of Laurentian manuscripts and printed books. Imaginary Creatures opened on April 1st. 2007. at the Laurentian Library (Florence. Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. 1 April–15 July. 2 September–31 December 2007).Nineteen manuscripts (many commissioned. owned and annotated by prominent humanists) and nine printed books were chosen for the astonishing range of imaginary creatures depicted in them: dating from the end of the 12th to the 18th century and picked out from different collections belonging to the Library. they are in Latin. Greek. the Italian vernacular and Persian. and contain extraordinary images of sirens. satyrs. dragons. centaurs. phoenixes. unicorns. basilisks. winged horses. griffins and minotaurs of all shapes and sizes. added to explain or simply decorate the accompanying texts. Different styles and techniques are represented. from simple one- or two-colour drawings to virtuoso exercises by the master illuminators of the 15th century; the selection also includes woodcuts. engravings and colophons found in precious early printed books.With the a preface by Franca Arduini. Director of the Library. the catalogue is divided into two sections. the first devoted to manuscripts and the second to printed books. All folios on display at the exhibition are reproduced. complemented by details and images of other folios that visitors will not be able to see; the images are accompanied by short catalogue entries.

Italian Renaissance Chessmen $3591 Size : King h 4.3″” and base h 1.4″”. Duke Ludovico Maria Sforza, also named “”The Moro”" and his Court in Milan. (approx. late XV century)