I am an art historian who loves to travel, write, garden, cook, shop, dance, practice yoga and much, much more. My entire life I have chased after beauty in all of its forms. The greatest pleasure in life for me is enjoying beautiful things.
I have a Ph.D. in the history of art and, while my area of specialty is American 19th-century paintings and sculpture, that slim area hardly defines my interests! I’ve been privileged to curate in some of America’s finest museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I have also taught art history at the college level.
But my love of all things beautiful goes beyond two and three-dimensional paintings, sculpture, and architecture and my passion runs deeply toward horticulture, travel, literature, dance, yoga and one million other things not least of which is my continual fascination with all things Italian. I’m both a floral designer and garden designer and am a Master Gardener in Colorado.
I live in Florence and before that, while working in America, I traveled to Italy some 20+ times, sometimes on grants for research and other times just for pleasure; what can be better than seeing Michelangelo’s Sistine ceiling on scaffolding or luxuriating on the Amalfi coast? Well, hiking through Provence comes close, as does riding across the Sahara desert on a camel. Watching flamenco in Spain and listening to fado in Portugal were also wonderful, as was traipsing around the UK, Denmark and Japan. I was very fortunate to spend about a month in India.
I’m busy writing a book about my very unlikely life and furthering my studies on all things Italian and venturing in the wide world of French life and culture. After a surprise stay in Berlin and Munich in the summer of 2024, I’ve even added a little bit about Germany to my life.
get back, lauretta! 
Great story. Good luck in your move to la bella Italia!
Thanks so much! I can’t wait and keep pinching myself to be sure it is true!
Pingback: Award-winning kindness… | Lifestyles with Lia
Ciao carissima!
Saluti da NYC and Happy New Year again!
There’s a blogging award called the “Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award” and I’ve nominated you for it!
And if you would like to nominate other blogs, here’s a link to the post.
https://lifestyleswithlia.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/award-winning-kindness/
All my very best and thanks for your great blog! Look forward to reading you soon!
Lia
Hi! Have you ever been to Abruzzo? If you love art and history, you definitely need to check out this little corner of Italy :)
Ciao tea lover! Thank you for writing. I will check out Abruzzo this spring. I must admit it is a section of Italy I’ve never seen. I’m happy you mentioned it! Buon anno!
Yes, Lauretta, sometimes it is indeed “dolce far niente” or in English “sweet to do nothing.” But a little gira-gira around, let’s say, Capri or the Amalfi Coast is also sweet!
Hi, Lauretta! I noticed you mentioned your PhD in history of art, specifically focusing on 19th century American sculpture. As it turns out, I am researching Thomas Crawford’s Boy with Broken Tambourine (the one from Tulane) for a college course on provenance, and I read the portion of your PhD thesis dedicated to this work. I have some further questions that I would love to ask you if you’re available! Apologies for reaching out in the comments of your blog, but I was unable to find any other way to contact you.
Interesting! I’ll email you!