Rick Steves' Europe

Culture Series / 11 Seasons

Catch Rick Steves' latest one-hour special on Iceland. Explore Reykjavík, with endearing sights and thermal pools, plus a side-trip to the Golden Circle's gorges, geysers, and waterfalls.

25m / TV-G

Art Bites 136: Relics and Reliquaries

2m

Holy relics — often bits of bones or possessions of saints — were the “ruby slippers” of medieval Europe and they were contained in dazzling jeweled vessels. Called reliquaries, these were often masterpieces of art.

Art Bites 135: Sculpture, Pulpits, Altarpieces, and Relics

7m 8s

The greatest art of the Middle Ages was Gothic church art: jewel-filled treasuries, statues of saints with the symbols of their martyrdom, Virgin Marys radiant on their heavenly thrones, and frightening images of hell.

Art Bites 134: Gothic Stained Glass: Sainte-Chapelle, Chartres, and York’s Minster

3m 21s

Visiting three great Gothic churches (Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, Chartres’ Cathedral, and the York Minster), we see how 800-year-old stained-glass windows were, perhaps, the artistic highlight of the Middle Ages.

Art Bites 133: Super-sized Art and Architecture of Ancient Rome

3m 19s

In ancient Rome, more than the Colosseum was colossal. Grand statues decorated imposing buildings that stoked massive imperial egos. With bricks, concrete, round arches, cheap or free labor, and emperors who loved to build, Rome built very big.

Art Bites 132: Caesar and the Pax Romana

3m 52s

Rome’s empire was fueled by plunder from its conquests and held together in part by art that functioned as propaganda. The Altar of Peace in Rome and the Trophy of the Alps in France are two fine examples.

Art Bites 131: Carving Marble: Visiting a Sculptor’s Studio

1m 18s

Whether in ancient times or in modern times, sculpting with marble is essentially the same process, as demonstrated in this visit with sculptor Raffaello Romanelli in his Florentine Galleria Romanelli.

Art Bites 130: Ancient Rome’s Respect for Greek Art and Architecture

3m 58s

While Rome may have conquered Greece militarily, in many ways it was conquered in return by Greek culture. That’s clear in the impact Greece had on Roman art and architecture and how a Roman forte was copying Greek originals.

Art Bites 129: Ancient Roman Roads, Theaters, Arenas, and Aqueducts

5m 2s

Much of the “art and architecture” of ancient Rome could be found in its infrastructure and engineering. It was a society of builders, and its vast empire was held together with no-nonsense infrastructure (always solid, useful, and beautiful) and its propaganda.

Art Bites 128: The Ancient Roman Forum

5m 21s

The birthplace of Roman greatness was in the original Roman market or Forum. Local guide Francesca Caruso brings this common ground between the iconic “seven hills of ancient Rome” to life with her vivid description.

Art Bites 127: Ancient Rome’s Etruscan Roots

3m 23s

Centuries before Rome, a mysterious Etruscan civilization ruled northern Italy. What we know about it we learned from art found in its tombs. In 509 BC the Romans threw out their Etruscan king and the rest is history.

Art Bites 125: Christianity and Its Art in Ancient Rome

5m 12s

Ancient Rome was Christian for over a century. Tombs, catacombs, and early Christian art tell the story. When Rome finally fell, the Roman basilica became the design of medieval churches and saints literally replaced emperors atop great Roman monuments.

Art Bites 124: Ancient Roman Mosaics Pave the Villa Romana del Casale

1m 40s

This villa in Sicily is paved extravagantly with fine mosaics that give an intimate peek into the lives of Rome’s rich and powerful as well as a look at what might be on the menu tonight.

Art Bites 123: The Fall of Rome

4m 20s

Rome declined for centuries after its peak and art tells the story. Emperors — some good and many bad — left monuments to both their greatness (like Marcus Aurelius on a horse) and their corruption (like Commodus dressed as Hercules and ready to go “clubbing”).

Art Bites 122: Ancient Ephesus

2m 7s

The ancient city of Ephesus (on the west coast of today’s Turkey) offers a fascinating walk through a great city with splendid temples, a towering library, and one of the most impressive theaters of the ancient world.

Art Bites 120: The Ruins of Pompeii and Its Art

5m 19s

The rich port of Pompeii was buried with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The excavated site gives a revealing look at a great Roman city and the National Archaeological Museum in Naples holds its countless art treasures.

Art Bites 119: Ancient Roman Sculpture, Portrait Busts, and Realism

3m 11s

While Roman sculptors famously copied idealized Greek originals and dramatic scenes of myths, they specialized in ultra-realistic, warts-and-all portrait busts.

Art Bites 118: Ancient Roman Mosaics and Frescoes

3m 1s

While Roman buildings were solid, no-nonsense designs, they were also beautifully decorated. Mosaics were a Roman forte and a favorite art form, and frescoes give a delightful and often intimate peek at Roman lives.

Art Bites 117: Ancient Rome’s Pantheon

2m 23s

The Pantheon is the best-preserved building from ancient Rome, giving us a feel for the magnificence and the splendor of Rome at its zenith. It’s a great example of Roman engineering and aesthetics.

Art Bites 116: Minoan Art and Architecture

1m 51s

The Minoans thrived on the Greek isle of Crete from 2000 to 1100 BC. The remains of their palace and the joyful frescoes that once decorated it are a testament to the sophistication of that early culture.

Art Bites 115: Temples of Ancient Egypt

3m 33s

The great temples of ancient Egypt are where, 4,000 years ago, priests and pharaohs huddled privately with the gods. At the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, with its towering pillars and obelisks, fine carved reliefs, and aura of mystery, you get an appreciation of the sophistication of that ancient kingdom.

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