Stucco decorations have traditionally been studied considering their formal and artistic qualities. Although much research and numerous publications have explored the works of stucco artists and their cultural context, little attention has been paid to their professional role in relation to the other actors involved in the decorative process (architects, painters, sculptors, patrons), the technical skills of these artists, and how their know-how contributed to the great professional success they enjoyed. From the 16th to the 18th century, many of the stucco decorations in churches and palaces throughout Europe were made by masters from the border area between what is now Canton Ticino and Lombardy. This collection of essays aims to examine how these artists worked from Spain to Poland, from Denmark to Italy, via the Netherlands, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Austria, adapting to the realities of the different contexts. The authors examine these issues with an interdisciplinary approach, considering art history and social history, the history of artistic techniques, and the science of materials. 

Text in English and Italian.

A collaboration with the world’s most powerful NGOs, including UNESCO’s GEM Report, Mother Nature in the Bardo explores the impact between art, culture, and the environment. The book illuminates the innate connections between creativity and nature and inspires crucial conversations about humanity’s relationship with nature, sustainability and climate change. Bringing together historical and contemporary artworks from over 100 renowned international artists, galleries, institutions, estates and foundations, Mother Nature in the Bardo speaks to the most critical global dialogues of our time.

“A jewel of Baroque architecture, the Castelluccio Palace is the spotlight of a beautiful book retracing its history, its long restoration and its precious ornaments. These photographs reflect the Sicilian Golden Age.” —Fanny Guenon des Mesnards, AD France

“This monograph is an invitation to visit the Palazzo Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio.”—Italian Vogue

“A Palace in Sicily: A Masterpiece Restored doesn’t just pull back the curtain on the finished palace, it details the four-year-long process through an elaborate array of photos…” —Architectural Digest, and Yahoo

With its sun-drenched sands and Mediterranean waters, Sicily has been a favored destination of travelers for centuries. History is alive on this island, from ancient accounts of the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans; to the journals of wealthy young European men embarking on the Grand Tour. This book captures the sun-steeped aesthetic of the island, while detailing the restoration of one of its finest attractions: the Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio palace.

Marquis de Castelluccio was one of the last “servals” or “leopards” of Sicily – wealthy aristocrats who flooded the island with luxury. Following his death, his home fell to ruin. A half-century later, Jean-Louis Remilleux fell in love with this dilapidated 18th-century palace and made it his mission to restore it. Unveiled for the first time in this beautifully illustrated book, the Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio palazzo is one of the finest testaments to Sicilian architecture and art.

Today, lush green palm trees welcome you to the palace’s imposing front façade. Frescoes, arabesques, masks, imitation marble, ceilings and wainscoting have all restored to their former glory, over decades of elaborate work. This book charts the restoration process and celebrates the astonishing end results. It contains an album’s worth of photographs that capture the beauty of this palace beneath the Mediterranean sun.

“These photos are stunning, bittersweet visions of a past shared by all of us.” – Tom Hanks.

“Brian Hamill is best known as a still photographer and a photojournalist. But I’ve always regarded him – first and foremost – as a master portraitist. And this book bears that out – capturing as it does, the many-faceted phenomenon that was John and Yoko – artists, lovers, cultural comrades and – most elusively – business partners. Behind his camera, Hamill is something of a phenomenon himself.” – Richard Price

John Lennon’s life, death and music shaped the world. His reputation as a philanthropist, political activist and pacifist influenced millions worldwide. If Elvis was King, Lennon was his rightful successor – and fittingly, several images in this collection of both classic and unseen photos show him wearing a diamond-studded ‘Elvis’ pin over his heart, in homage to his forefather on the throne of Rock ‘n’ Roll. John Lennon is seen here in several sessions in New York, performing on stage, relaxed at home and walking on the street with Yoko Ono.

Renowned celebrity photojournalist Brian Hamill delivers his own insider view of this Beatles icon, through intense, intimate photographic portraits and insightful text. Whether Lennon is dominating the stage, posing on the roof of the Dakota building, or relaxing with Yoko Ono, Hamill’s photography takes this quasi-mythical figure from the world of Rock ‘n’ Roll and shows him as the man he really was.

“Brian looked at the John Lennon who had become an icon and saw instead a familiar face. He saw a working-class hero like those that built the City of New York. And so when John Lennon came to live in New York, Brian captured him as a New Yorker, in the joyous images that you will find in this book.” – Pete Hamill

“Lennon, one of the most famous men in human history, wanted to live as one among many. Of course, he hit it off with Hamill. The guy that flew so high needed some oxygen. Hamill is fresh air. His folio of Lennon images shows Lennon focused, present, but edgy, never relaxed.” – Alec Baldwin

“What is Bangkok like?” asked an American visitor, rhetorically in 1903. Some answer the question by relying on cliches ‘Venice of the east’ or ‘city of places in temples’. Others insisted that its contrasts and contradictions made an easy description impossible.

Bangkok at the turn of the 20th century was a city in transition, mixing as it did east with west and traditions with modernity. Here live the diverse communities which made it what it is today but this collection of writings by a huge variety of visitors to Bangkok captures the city through foreign eyes. 

In Bangkok is a collection of texts which reflect the foreign experience of the city the foreigners in question being both long-term residence and short-term visitors. It draws on a wide range of sources including travel books, memoirs, novels, short stories, verses, inscriptions, newspaper reports, directories and advertisements. It is richly illustrated with contemporary artwork and photographs.

Dalí in 400 Images explores the full range of one of the most significant Surrealist painters of the 20th century. The exhaustive selection of works will reveal key masterpieces by perhaps the most famous of the Surrealists, as well as less familiar works including drawings and objects. Spanning the entire scope of the artist’s career, this volume shows the complexity of the artist’s vision from the early works inspired by Post-Impressionism and his engagement with Cubism in the mid-1920s, his major Surrealist paintings of the 1930s, through the American years (1940s), the artist’s embracing of Classicism in the 1950s, with his return to Spain, and finally his re-engagement with avant-garde experimentation in the 1960s and beyond. The 400 reproductions of Dalí’s work are complemented by a unique selection of historical photographs.

Alive with images and information, this compact gem is a must-have for all art enthusiasts and connoisseurs.

How do you portray sin, evil and foolishness in humans? Religious and political tensions and even the weather – we are talking about the depths of the Little Ice Age – contributed to a boom in representations of the Seven Deadly Sins in the Low Countries and immediate surroundings in the long sixteenth century. In this publication, four accessibly written essays highlight different sides of the pictorial tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, with the renowned print series of the same name designed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder at its center. A fifth, literary essay describes the feverish visions of one of the victims of a true 16th-century series of murders permeated by the deadly sins.

During the German occupation, a Jewish Dutch couple had to sell a painting to go into hiding. Their daughters were placed in a children’s home, but were rounded up in early 1944 and deported to Auschwitz, where they died. The parents survived the war and did not discover their children’s fate until 1946. The search for the painting also remained fruitless for a long time, until Origins Unknown Agency discovered that it had ended up in a German museum. The museum had previously tried unsuccessfully to trace its provenance. Thanks to the Origins Unknown Agency, the heirs of the original owner were found. The German museum and the heirs agreed that the painting, an 1882 work by Camille Pissarro, would remain at the museum. As part of the compensation, the painting will be kept on display from November 2024 to February 2025 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Contemporary Living presents 20 new residential projects – houses and apartments – in the Middle East designed by renowned architects and interior designers. Packed full of inspiration and stunning photography, this coffee table book also includes a profile of each architect and designer, along with a presentation of each photographer specializing in the Middle East whose work is showcased.

Includes the work of Giacuzzo Design Studio – H+A Architects – Neeshay Nouman The Niche Corner – Tristan Du Plessis – HiProjects Melissa Charlier – Studio M Abboud Malak – VSHD – Leila Khalil – XO Atelier with Augustine Wong – ArchiSense – Leila Khalil, JMDA, NAQSH, Hana Hakim.

Building on her experience following a several-week trip to Taliesin West, Kora Bürgi investigates Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and traces his work in the USA and Switzerland. The result of the field research is a presentation of his influence on the Central Swiss architectural landscape – a theme that has not been studied before. That influence ranges from partial copies of elements of Wright’s architecture to own interpretations of his architectural ideas.
This publication analyzes 14 buildings in Central Switzerland – from the Heimbach school and the Villa Schnyder (both in Lucerne) to the residential buildings in Brodhubl (Canton of Obwalden) – including Wright’s influence on various architects, such as Josef Gasser, Lisbeth Sachs and Otto von Deschwanden. The author also sheds light on the distribution of Wright’s urban-planning principles and the future of his architecture in Switzerland.

Text in German.

Where’s the best place to go out on a Saturday night in Barcelona? What off-beat museums can be discovered after Sunday brunch (and where to have it)? Which locations offer the best viewpoints of the Catalan capital? What Gaudí buildings are essential? Where does Barcelona’s modernizm reach its zenith? Where to take the children? What’s the best place to buy wine? And where do the locals hang out?

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Barcelona reveals hundreds of good-to-know addresses, avoiding the touristy places and pointing out the urban details you are likely to miss. Mark Cloostermans, a Belgian journalist living in Barcelona, unlocks the various districts, pointing out historical details in the streets of the old town, taking you from green Montjuïc hill to the beach and back. The best places to eat halal, the must-visits for Barça fans and the various festivals you can plan your visit around: The 500 Hidden Secrets of Barcelona reveals it all.

Edited by Carl Brandon Strehlke and Machtelt Brüggen Israëls, The Bernard and Mary Berenson Collection of European Paintings at I Tatti surveys the 149 works assembled by the Berensons for their home in Florence from the late 1890s through the first decades of the twentieth century at the time that they were making their mark on the world as connoisseurs. The catalogue presents a privileged window on the Berensons’ intellectual interests through the objects they owned. The entries, written by an international team of art historians, take full advantage of the extensive correspondence from the Berensons’ friends, family, and colleagues at I Tatti as well as the couple’s diaries and notations on the backs of their vast gathering of photographs. All the entries are lavishly illustrated with full scholarly and technical accountings of the objects. There are also 17 illustrated reconstructions of the original contexts of panel paintings. The catalogue includes essays on the progress of the Berensons’ collecting, their love for Siena, the Sienese forger Icilio Federico Joni, the critic Roger Fry, and René Piot’s murals at I Tatti, as well as a listing of 94 pictures that were once at I Tatti including donations made to museums in Europe and America.

Contents:
Preface Lino Pertile; Acknowledgments – Carl Brandon Strehlke and Machtelt Israëls; Note to the Use of the Catalogue; Abbreviations; Glossary of People in the Berenson Circle Mentioned in the Text; Section I: Introductory Essays and Entries 0 to 111; Essay I: “Bernard and Mary Collect: Pictures Come to I Tatti” – Carl Brandon Strehlke; Essay II: “The Berensons and Siena” (working title) – Machtelt Israëls; Essay III: “Passions Intertwined: Art and Photography at I Tatti” – Giovanni Pagliarulo; Entries: Paintings from the 14th to 18th century – Plates 0 to 111; Section II: Fakes; Essay IV: The Berensons and the Sienese Forger Federico Ioni – Gianni Mazzoni; Entries: Fakes – Plates 112 to 116; Section III: Roger Fry; Essay V: “Roger Fry and Bernard Berenson” – Caroline Elam; Entry: Fry – Plate 117; Section IV: René Piot; Essay VI: “A Failure: René Piot and the Berensons” – Claudio Pizzorusso; Entries: Piot – Plates 118 to 131; Section V: The Berensons, Family and Friends; Entries: Portraits – Plates 132 to 138; Entries: Miscellanea – Plates 139 to 148; Appendix: Paintings Formerly Owned by the Berensons – Carl Brandon Strehlke and Machtelt Israëls; Bibliography; Photo Credits; Index.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.”– The Independent
Discover the city’s best-kept secrets, with this practical guide to Antwerp’s most beautiful, interesting and often unknown places. This book takes you off the beaten track to discover the city’s hidden gardens, small museums and intimate coffee bars. On its pages you will find the 5 best places to eat frites, the 5 most secret courtyards and the 5 best independent record shops in town. It also guides you to some of the more unusual experiences that you can track down in Antwerp. So you can find out where to eat the best dim sum in Chinatown, sample a chocolate flavored with fried bacon, or dance the night away. The aim of this book is not to cover the city from A to Z, but to inspire; it is a guide to the places the author would recommend to a friend who wants to discover the real Antwerp.
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Antwerp offers a practical way to explore Antwerp’s finest places, and Derek Blyth covers all bases to ensure no visitor to the city is ever anything short of captivated. Packed with accessible, easy-to-read information summarized in handy lists, maps, itineraries, sections on food & drink, accommodation, green spaces, museums, galleries and shops; this guide is an essential resource for the inquisitive traveler.

Gertrude Jekyll was perhaps the most important British garden designer of the 20th century. She famously argued that gardening ought to be considered a Fine Art, highlighting that it becomes a point of honor to be always striving for the best. This volume examines Jekyll’s work at Manor House, Upton Grey in Hampshire, offering an insight into her eclectic, imaginative, and inspiring art. Designed between 1908 and 1909, and once maintained by as many as nine gardeners, the garden fell into disrepair by the second half of the twentieth century, before a full and accurate restoration was carried out in the early 1980s. Gertrude Jekyll: Her Art Restored at Upton Grey presents a visual record of the garden’s plants and layout, with original plans and photographs, as well as beautiful images of the garden taken since its restoration. There is also a fascinating chapter about Miss Jekyll’s discovery, admiration and use of Mediterranean plants. The book succeeds in illustrating exactly why Jekyll was so admired in her lifetime and why she continues to inspire and influence gardeners today. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: The Garden from 1902 to the Start of its Restoration in 1984 Chapter 2: The Rose Garden Chapter 3: The Dry-Stone Walls Chapter 4: The Main Herbaceous Borders Chapter 5: The Pergola, the Rose Arbour and Surrounding Garden Chapter 6: Miss Gertrude Jekyll’s mediterranean travels and plant discoveries and their use at Upton Grey Chapter 7: The Wild Garden Chapter 8: The Art Completed Also available: The English Garden Through the Twentieth Century ISBN: 9781870673297

“A collection of glamorous lodgings offering what Scarabeo Camp in Morocco calls “dusty luxury.” — Remodelista

“Celebrates the solitude of the desert and extraordinary places to stay.” — Wallpaper
The desert offers the great benefits of silence, slowness and space. These startling landscapes and awe-inspiring vistas can only be found in a few places in the world. Accompanied by stunning photography, this book bundles together 40 dreamy locations in one volume and shows the most luxurious and special overnight stays the desert has to offer. Get insider tips on travel to the Sahara in Morocco, the salt flats (Salar de Uyuni) in Bolivia or the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, among others.

The best of urban exploration. JONK presents a collection of images showcasing abandoned places reclaimed by nature. Country houses, luxurious mansions, churches, farms, factories, institutions, train stations, planes, cars, tanks, trains, palaces, spaces of work, play, life, and death—all captured in the vivid process of returning to nature. A wide range of architectural styles, from classical to ultra-modern, is depicted under the influence of a wild and resurgent natural world. Poetic, powerful, and fascinating images that provoke reflection.
A leading figure in the world of urban exploration, JONK travels across the globe in search of abandoned places. Over time, his focus has shifted toward what he finds most compelling within this vast theme of abandonment: locations reclaimed by nature. There is something poetic, almost magical, in watching nature take back what was once hers—re-entering through broken windows and cracks into spaces built and then deserted by humans, until they are completely overtaken. This book contains 226 photographs taken in 14 countries.

What are the best burger joints in San Francisco? Which local craft breweries are worth visiting? Where should you go to find the coolest surf gear? The 500 Hidden Secrets of San Francisco is the perfect guide for anyone who’s keen to explore the city’s best-kept secrets. It guides the reader to the places not typically included in tourist guides. Like a secret fairy door in Golden Gate Park or the truly steepest hills in the city. At the same time, it also lists fantastic places frequented by San Francisco residents, like where to shop for local goods and antiques, or where to go for a fabulous brunch and the best craft cocktails in the city. Packed with hundreds of places to go, things to do, and good-to-know facts about the city, The 500 Hidden Secrets of San Francisco will help you make the most of your visit to one of the United States’ coolest towns.

Discover the series at the500hiddensecrets.com

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.” – The Independent

Where are the 5 best places to eat like a Portuguese? Which are the 5 best restaurants for Petiscos? Where can you find the nicest salons and barber shops? Which are the 5 best places to see Azulejos? Where will you find the most unique lifts and elevators? The best Lisbon area beaches? The 500 Hidden Secrets of Lisbon reveals these good-to-know places and many more. An affectionate and informed guide to Lisbon, written by a true local.

This is a book for visitors who want to avoid the usual tourist spots and for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

This revised and updated guide is journalist Derek Blyth’s personal ode to the most beautiful and intriguing spots in what he calls “the world’s strangest country”. He shares hundreds of places to go, things to do and interesting facts, presented in original lists such as: art in unexpected places, haunting war cemeteries, roadside fries stands, unique shop interiors, and lovely secret gardens. You’ll discover bizarre but fascinating places like an abandoned car factory and a dreamy castle full of hidden messages, as well as amazing contemporary architecture and the most authentic cafes to drink a Belgian beer. Hidden Belgium is the perfect companion for those who wish to explore Belgium off the beaten track, in all its splendor and quirkiness. Even long-time residents are bound to discover many hidden gems thanks to this one-of-a-kind guide. 

Also available: Hidden Holland, Hidden Scotland, Hidden Brooklyn, Hidden Tenerife, Hidden Malta. Discover the series: the500hiddensecrets.com

Micronesia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Bora Bora, Seychelles, Maldives, Australia – where does the mind go when imagining such places. Drawn from the best travel blogs and Instagram images, this book brings together the most beautiful locations near, on, or under water. From eco resorts to remote, pristine islands; from sailing on ultra-blue oceans to diving in translucent waters; in aerial and underwater photography, the focus is on finding paradise. Whether thinking about a trip or longing for sun and sand, this book is where those daydreams begin.

Hidden Holland is an alternative travel guide with inspiring stories about approximately 380 different and unexpected places all around the country. This guide entreats you to leave the beaten path, pointing you to locations that many people didn’t even know existed. Such as a forest full of miniature waterworks, a cellar with a mummy in a small Frisian church and secret NATO headquarters.

This guide introduces you to the lesser-known charms of the Netherlands through surprising places presented in original lists, such as: 5 artworks in unexpected locations, the 7 most authentic pubs, 5 cool repurposed industrial heritage sites, 6 local specialities you should try, and much more.

This alternative guidebook is travel writer Ellie Walker-Arnott’s personal ode to her stunning and always intriguing home country. She takes you off the beaten track to hundreds of curious and unexpected places and reveals hidden places that tell an interesting story and will make you marvel. The book covers an eclectic range of alluring themes such as seaside secrets, historic spas, modernist architecture, adrenaline adventures, chocolate-box villages, sleepovers in incredible buildings and many more.