👑 Bona Sforza - the Italian queen of Poland and her treasures! 🇮🇹

Did you know that a long time ago Poland had a queen from Italy? 🌍 It was Bona Sforza! In 1518, at the age of 22, she married King Sigismund the Old.👴

Italian food in our kitchen 🍅🥕.

Bona brought various Italian customs to Poland. Although she wasn't the one who brought to Poland the Italian dish we know best, pizza 🍕 (you can read about the history of pizza at the bottom of this page), thanks to her Italian vegetables and fruit became popular. Thanks to it, today we have carrots, parsley, leek and celery in soup, the so-called 'Italian vegetables'! 🥣 And tomatoes? We owe their popularity to Bona too! 🍅 She wasn't the first Italian to come to Poland, so these delicious vegetables also made occasional appearances in Poland, but thanks to her they have become a permanent fixture in Polish cuisine.

A queen who loved art and monuments 🏰🎨.

Bona loved art and beautiful buildings. 🏛️ She invited Italian architects, artists and musicians to Poland. 🎵 Thanks to her, many wonderful monuments were created that we can still admire today! 😍

Gian Jacopo Caraglio and the magic cameo 💎

One of the artists that Bona brought to Poland was Gian Jacopo Caraglio (it's from Italian so we read it a little differently more or less - Gian Jacopo Caraglio). 👨‍🎨 He made a beautiful cameo for the Queen. It depicts a portrait of Bona and is a true work of art! 🖼️ The cameo of Bona is unique - it is only 3.1 cm high and 2.2 cm wide, but it amazes with the amount of detail! 🔍

What exactly is a cameo? 🤔

This not-so-popular name is a term for a certain special type of sculpture called a relief (and if you want to find out what a relief is, take a peek at the bottom of the page) that is made in some kind of precious, that is, precious stone. It was often worn as an ornament

Where can it be seen? 🗽

This extraordinary cameo is now in the famous museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York! 🏙️ But sometimes it comes back for special exhibitions, so keep an eye out for museum information! 📰

Why is this important? 🧐

Thanks to such monuments we can better understand the history of Poland and get to know the people who created it. 🕰️ It's like travelling back in time! 🚀

Bona Sforza was not only a queen who brought Italian flavours to Poland 🍝 but also a lover of art, thanks to whom we have today great monuments. If you get the chance, be sure to see a cameo with her portrait! 👀

Learn new words

What is a bas-relief? 🤔

Imagine that you are carving something in a soft mass, for example clay. 👐

A bas-relief is a kind of sculpture, but not one that you can go around. It is not three-dimensional like a statue or a monument. 🗿

Instead, a bas-relief is like a picture carved on a flat surface, such as a wall or a board. 🖼️

The elements of the bas-relief slightly protrude or indent into the background, creating a three-dimensional effect. 🌟

It's like drawing a picture, but instead of using crayons, you use a chisel and create shapes that are slightly convex or concave. ✏️➡️🔨

Where can you see the bas-reliefs?

On buildings that have decorated walls. 🏛️

In museums where there are old stone tablets with carved scenes. 🏺

On monuments and churches where they tell stories with stone images. ⛪

Why are bas-reliefs special?

They allow artists to create beautiful images in stone or wood. 🎨

They are durable and can last for hundreds of years, telling stories of the past. ⏳

So.

Bas-relief is like a picture carved in stone or wood, where the shapes protrude slightly from the background. It is an art combining sculpture and painting! 🖌️🗿

Speaking of pizza, did you know that....

🍕 Where does pizza come from? Here's an amazing story! 🇮🇹 🇬🇷

Did you know that pizza has a very interesting history? 😊

Pizza from Italy! 🇮🇹

When we think of pizza, Italy immediately comes to mind! 🇮🇹 This is where the word 'pizza' first appeared. 📜 We find it in a document from 997! 🗓️

There is a restaurant in Naples called Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, which has been in business since 1780. 🍴 It's the oldest pizzeria in the world that still serves delicious pizza! 🍕

But wait! Greece makes an appearance here too! 🇬🇷

Turns out the origins of pizza go back to Greece! 😲 That's where the first pies called "plangutos" were baked. 🫓

What were "plangutos"?

Thin pastry 🍞

Topped with various toppings such as:

Olives 🫒

Garlic 🧄

Herbs 🌿

Sounds delicious, doesn't it? 🤤

Summary:

Pizza was born in Italy, but its roots go back to Greece. 🇮🇹❤️🇬🇷

The first pizzas were pies with a variety of tasty toppings. 🍅🧀

Today, pizza is loved all over the world! 🌍

Enjoy! 🍽️😋

By Bartłomiej Gutowski