Site Updated : 05-Jan-2009
Pablo Picasso. Pot, Wine-Glass and Book. 1908. Oil on canvas. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia. (Image courtesy of Olga's Gallery).

The Libraries

Of Interest~

Library of Cultural Development: Articles and Links

~The Library of Congress maintains this wonderful site -- the Global Gateway to World Culture and Resources. This is a giant virtual library where the researcher can delve deeply, or the middle-school student can skim basic facts about any culture in the world.

~ As an answer to the "Fast Food" culture, the philosophy behind this site cannot be rivaled.  Founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy, The Slow Food Movement has opened chapters all over the world where members meet in local establishments to savor food and wine as it should be enjoyed.  [Slowly.]   Slow Food members believe that "the enjoyment of excellent foods and wines should be combined with efforts to save the countless traditional cheeses, grains, vegetables, fruits, and animal breeds that are disappearing due to the prevalence of convenience food and agribusiness. In a world where the pleasures of taste are not always learned through leisurely meals around a lively table, we must make a conscious effort to explore, question and experiment."   It is no accident that the movement's logo is a snail.

~Browse our favourite online Art Galleries:

Olga's Gallery  From the main page: "We are proud to say we are one of the largest and most comprehensive online collections. On our pages you will find over 10,000 works of art. We are dedicated to bringing you quality information about artists and their artwork from all around the world."

The Web Gallery of Art is "a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture from 12th to mid-19th centuries. It was started in 1996 as a topical site of the Renaissance art, originated in the Italian city-states of the 14th century and spread to other countries in the 15th and 16th centuries. Intending to present Renaissance art as comprehensively as possible, the scope of the collection was later extended to show its Medieval roots as well as its evolution to Baroque and Rococo via Mannerism. More recently the periods of Neoclassicism and Romanticism were also included."

Starving Artists Gallery  In their own words, "Starving Artists Gallery is dedicated to the advancement of the arts and to rewarding artists for their creative contributions and efforts in the arts. Our goal is simple; to re-invest into the artistic community, to support the unique undiscovered artists , and to provide a portal for artists to circumvent traditional thinking by networking with others throughout the world."

Bruce Hedges is a talented artist from South Pasadena, California. Visit his blog to see some examples of his work, or to contact him directly for purchase information.

Articles & Links

'Mushollini': A review of Romano Mussolini's book about his father, Il Duce

Culture on the Web