Very few definitions have stirred controversy as did the term Mannerism. From Giorgio Vasari’s “Manniera moderna” to Bellori, Lanzi and then Shearman, Cropper, Natali and Flaciani, the heated debate as to the validity of the term and its possible use has never ceased. The seminar aims at revaluating the term, examining the new interest in it in the past decade, as well as examining the works of major “mannerist” artists, from (late) Michelangelo, to Cellini, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino and Bronzino.