Long to travel to Italy to study its Renaissance Art, but can't afford the travel expenses? Take a trip to the Vatican and see the wonders of the Sistine Chapel - virtually.

Scientists have long puzzled over the acoustic properties of grand churches and performances of late Renaissance music with its elaborate, up-tempo harmonies. Now a physicist and a music technologist believe they have cracked the secret.

The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra will play host to the "first ever exhibition in Australia dedicated to Renaissance paintings." Artdaily.org has a review. Renaissance – 15th & 16th Century Italian Paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo will be open December 9, 2011 - April 9, 2012.

Those interested in Renaissance portraiture and costuming may want to visit the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini December 21, 2011–March 18, 2012.

RenaissanceCostumesClothing.com is a leading online retailer of Renaissance merchandise. The company offers a wide variety of costume sets, as well as authentic clothing items, such as shirts, breeches, skirts, corsets, vests, and chemises. These items are high-quality, designed in-house, and exclusive to the company.

THL Magdalena Lucia Ramberti, known in the modern world as Christa Gordon, recently won acclaim by placing third in the Italian Renaissance Costuming Challenge. Gordon explained her specialty, Italian Renaissance courtesan clothing, to reporter Claire Martin of the Denver Post. (slideshow)

"We live the Giostra in our hearts," said Tilde Carugno about the Giostra Cavalleresca, or medieval jousting, that transports the tiny central Italian town of Sulmona to the Renaisasance for one summer week each year. (photos)

For all your Tudor Garb and Pottery needs.

Professor Jane Everson, from the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Royal Holloway, believes that Italian academics of the Renaissance pre-dated today's Facebook and Twitter users by more than 400 years by using correspondence to debate social issues.

Renaissance Costumes and medieval clothing for those with discriminating taste. Also, buttons, patterns, notions, jewelry, tapestries, toys, swords, panther tents, and more.

Copia Sulam was a true Renaissance woman: poet, linguist, conversationalist and hostess of reknown in Venice at the beginning of the 17th century. Renee Levine Melammed of the Jerusalem Post examines her extraordinary life.

In celebration of its tenth anniversary, the website Realm of Venus is sponsoring The Italian Renaissance Costuming Challenge from April 21 to August 21,  2011.

The vocal music of medieval Spain was showcased recently when the Tallis Scholars performed Tomás Luis de Victoria's works at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Karsten Moran of The New York Times has a review.

In Pulp Fashion:  The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave, the Belgian artist re-creates exquisite life-size historic costumes using paper. The exhibit is currently at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor until June 5, 2011. (photos)

At a recent conference at Edinburgh University, modern experts examined period sources "to increase understanding of the kinds of [beauty] materials that may have been available in renaissance homes and how ideas of beauty have developed over time."

Olde Worlde Colonial Products is a purveyor of medieval and colonial outdoor lighting. Their core product is the Colonial Cressett which is handcrafted in wrought iron and designed to cast a warming glow at reenactment camp sites and homes alike. The Colonial Cressett may be spiked into the ground or used with an optional three legged stand also made of wrought iron.

The website "Chopine, Zoccolo, and Other Raised Heel and High Heel Construction," created by Master Vyncent atte Wodegate (OL), has received a major overhaul recently.

The Mountain Rogues design and craft Faire Lyric Books (a compilation of song lyrics dating back to the 1400's and encased in fabric covers), board games out of fabric, leather and wood (they mill their own lumber), riddle books (over 100 riddles dating to pre civil war), tables, game tables, and decorative items out of lumber, plus other items out of fabric and wood.

On their website, the early music group Piffaro offers a wonderful video demonstration of renaissance wind instruments.

"Our state is less strong because money which should navigate and multiply lies dead, converted into vanities,"  said the rulers of Venice, who enforced laws designed to curb the spending habits of the rich. These sumptuary laws are the subject of an article by Sarah Dunant on the BBC News Magazine blog.

Afficionatos of the work of Leonardo da Vinci will enjoy visiting the website Leonardo3, which offers detailed studies of the artist's paintings. The site is in Italian. (photos)

The Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina will host Imperial Splendor: Renaissance Tapestries from Vienna May 21, 2010 - September 19, 2010. The tapestries are from the collection of the Kunsthistorisches of Vienna.

Timely Treasured Threads is a store dedicated to providing a complete ensemble for you to dress yourself for your favorite period event, no matter the era. From accessories to clothes, "they have you covered."

La Boheme Bijoux offers an elegant collection of vintage-inspired gemstone and crystal jewelry, including a section of designs inspired by the works of William Shakespeare. This site is a resource for the historical costume enthusiast who loves to complete her ensembles by wearing beautiful one-of-a-kind and limited edition handmade jewelry.

An antiquity once owned by Lorenzo de Medici will go on sale at Sotheby's June 11. 'Il Magnifico' laid claim to Three Satrys Fighting a Serpent shortly after its excavation in 1489.

A new exhibit at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusets, focusses on the largely-overlooked field of painted Renaissance terracotta sculptures.

Lady Magdelena Grace Vane reports that she has created an album of photos from "A Late Period, Who Knew?" an event which took place recently in the Kingdom of Drachenwald.

In a podcast for the Classics and Ancient History website, Peter Mack and Maude Vanhalen discuss Renaissance thought and the fact that much of its works, most written in Latin, have been "largely unread and unstudied." (MP3)

It's quiet in the Louvre at night... too quiet. What does Mona Lisa -- she of the enigmatic smile -- do to pass the time? Piffie the Puffin has the answer.

For the third straight year, jousters from around the world will gather for the Tournament of the Phoenix, a weekend-long event to be held October 23-25, 2009 in Poway California. The event is being held in conjunction with the Festival of History, a living history event featuring re-enactors from Roman times to the Renaissance.