For generations of English children, Kensington Gardens represent the setting of the book Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie. For others, they are the locus amoenus chosen by William III and Mary II for their London home or where Queen Victoria was born in Kensington Palace itself. Giving these gardens in the heart of London their current luxurious look was Caroline, wife of George II, who, in 1728, designed them to include the Serpentine and Long Water (two sections of the same lake) from the waters of the Westbourne River. For the better part of the XVIII Century, these green lungs were closed to the public, gradually being opened only to those who were dressed respectably enough. In 1860, on the North side of the park, near Lancaster Gate, Queen Victoria commissioned the Italian Gardens. With the central rosette sculpted in Carrara marble and Portland stone, it presents a collection of stone statues of animals and a woman’s head. It is said that the garden was a gift from Prince Albert to his beloved Victoria. The grounds are reminiscent of the garden of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, where the Royal Family spent its holidays. Prince Albert, passionate about gardening, wanted that residence to have an Italian garden with raised terraces, fountains and geometrically shaped flower beds. In 1860, this idea was transplanted in Kensington Gardens.
Samuel Courtauld called it "the most wonderful painting in existence." Flaming June by Frederic Leighton is one of the masterpieces of Victorian art and one of the most valuable paintings in the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico. It returns today to the Royal Academy in London where it was first exhibited in 1895.
The colors of Craig-Martin, master of conceptual art
An exhibition dedicated to Michael Craig-Martin, one of the most influential artists and teachers of his generation and whose works blend pop, minimalism and conceptual art in a riot of colour.
This exhibition focuses on a crucial historical period from 500 to 1000 AD around, revealing how the journeys of people, objects and ideas shaped the cultures and histories of the Silk Roads.
An exhibition dedicated to the great English photographer Roger Mayne and his journey between the 50s and 60s in search of the faces of the young people of the new London.
An Emperor’s Jewel - The Making of the Bvlgari Hotel Roma
A new movie starring Bvlgari Global Brand Ambassador Priyanka Choora Jonas and produced by Atomic Production and directed by Andrea Rovetta, gives viewers an unprecedented view of Bvlgari Hotel Roma, taking them behind the scenes to discover the craftsmanship and culture that inspired the property.