London, February 1892 - the wheels of a carriage roll along a damp street, illuminated by gaslights. A woman’s laugh sounds out at the back entrance to the Saint James Theatre - it is the actress Lillie Langtry, “Europe’s most beautiful woman” according the very demanding Oscar Wilde. Jersey Lily - that’s what they call her - is ready for a grand evening - the curtain is about to open on Lady Windermere’s Fan. In the centre, the past is always laying in wait - it’s enough to turn a corner down a side-street to be assailed unexpectedly by an old story. To follow the footsteps of the Victorian writer, it’s best to start off at his favourite bookstore, Hatchards Bookshop of Piccadilly, founded long ago in 1797, London’s oldest and still a paradise for book-lovers and collectors. In Mayfair, the right address is that of the Royal Arcade, where the unrepentant dandy would usually purchase his famed green carnations - perhaps a secret symbol of homosexuality - and the highly-priced Turkish cigarettes with their gold-leaf tips. And while we may, in front of the imposing Old Bailey building near Saint Paul’s Cathedral, imagine Wilde taking on the scandal of the “trial of the century”, at the Saint James, we can almost hear the applause for the opening night of The Importance of Being Ernest. Algernon’s house, the protagonist of that work, was inspired by a real home, that of 14 Half Moon Street, the dwelling of one of the writer’s lovers, journalist Robert Ross. 34 Tite Street, in the elegant neighbourhood of Chelsea, is the birthplace of The Portrait of Dorian Gray - Wilde lived here for quite a while with his wife and children, right near the judge who eventually convicted him.
A major exhibition to celebrate the extraordinary creative production of the Golden Age of the Mughal Court during the reigns of its most famous emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan between 1560 and 1660.
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.
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.
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.