The Threepenny Gallery

For centuries, stories like that of Ariadne (first in Crete, later in Naxos), have provided the inspiration for stunning figurative works.

Laughter and jests, perhaps disguised as something else, might be the true subject of a work of art – especially if the artist is Jan Steen.

This time, in his feature on the shapes of art, Mariotti reflects on the spiral, which takes centre stage in a work by Léon Spilliaert.

Milo Manara’s exhibition at the Labirinto della Masone offers the chance to think about several topics dear to this artist with his comics and drawings.

The Accademia dei Facchini della Val Di Blenio represents one of the lesser-known yet most fascinating chapters of Renaissance art history and school of thought.

The many-coloured and inventive world of the Portuguese ceramics master Bordalo Pinheiro.

Contemporary etcher Érik Desmazières offers a surprising reworking of the Wunderkammer and Cabinet de Curiosités subjects.

The English landscape garden at the Royal Palace of Caserta hides many more secrets than its cool shadows let on.