Gary Radke is passionate about Italy. He first went to Florence as an undergraduate and ended up directing Syracuse University’s renowned Florence Graduate Program in Renaissance Art for 35 years. He invites travelers to join him in thinking about and enjoying Italy’s cultural treasures in new ways, tapping into his decades of experience studying and teaching Italian Renaissance art.

Radke is one of the world’s leading experts on Italian medieval and Renaissance art.  He curated major loan exhibitions throughout the United States on Italian Renaissance sculptors Lorenzo Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, Andrea del Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. His widely distributed college textbook on Italian Renaissance art, co-authored with John Paoletti, has appeared in four editions and in Spanish and Chinese translations. 

Gary is also past president of the Italian Art Society and a fellow of the American Academy in Rome. He currently directs The Caravaggio Illumination Project, an international, multidisciplinary research and exhibition effort devoted to evaluating and reconstructing the original lighting conditions under which the dramatic religious works of renowned Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) were experienced during his lifetime.

In retirement from Syracuse University, Professor Radke and his wife have settled into an historic home in Savannah, Georgia, where Gary advocates for historic preservation and enjoys kayaking along the Georgia coast.

Language spoken : English