Juan Pablo II

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Monumento a Juan Pablo II by Juan Manuel Miñarro, 2012
Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, Casco Antiguo
Seville, September 2022

“The monument to John Paul II is a bronze statue on a pedestal located in the Plaza Virgen de los Reyes in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. The monument represents a gesture from the city to John Paul II, who visited Seville in 1982, for the beatification of Angela de la Cruz, and in 1993, when he closed the XLV International Eucharistic Congress. The monument was designed in 2006 by the Association for the Promotion of John Paul II. It was built and displayed at the Cajasol Center in Plaza San Francisco. Various locations were considered for its placement: Plaza de la Contratación, Puerta de Jerez, and Adolfo Rodríguez Jurado Street. Finally, it was agreed to place it in Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, near Seville Cathedral and opposite the Archbishop's Palace. The statue stands on a marble pedestal with a plaque. It was inaugurated in 2012 in the presence of the mayor, Juan Ignacio Zoido, and the archbishop, Juan José Asenjo.” (Monumento a Juan Pablo II, Wikipedia)

Palazzo Sesso Zen

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Palazzo Sesso Zen
Contra' Zanella
Vicenza, May 2025

“Palazzo Sesso Zen is a 13th-century noble palace located in Vicenza, in contrà Giacomo Zanella nº 1, built in Venetian Gothic style. The building is classified as a work of art of real estate type, architecture A. Initially owned by the Lanzade family, the palace had a tower, signs of which are still evident today. It was brought as a dowry by Chiara di Lanzè, who married Palmiero Sesso, podestà of Vicenza in 1341. The palace bears traces of past constructions dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The main door does not date back to before 1460, while the construction differences between the second floor and the other two are evident. In fact, the walls of the second floor were built in local stone, while for the other two the warm red marble of Verona was used. Also on the second floor, a marked lack of construction can be noted from the mouldings of the capitals. It is probable that the latter had never been built for residential use and that it was constructed no earlier than the 17th century.” (Palazzo Sesso Zen, Wikipedia)

Francisco Pizarro

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Francisco Pizarro by Pío Mollar Franch, 1930
Plaza de Manises
Valencia, September 2022

“An ornamental element located within the current plaza and created in homage to the Spanish people. A small fenced garden defines the quadrangular setting, which houses a recent stone pedestal from which emerges a slender Doric column (from the former Provincial Hospital). At the end of this rises a bronze statue (carved by Pío Mollar Franch ) representing the conquistador Francisco Pizarro. The complex, designed by municipal architect Emilio Rieta, was inaugurated on July 14, 1969.” (Plaza de Manises, Wikipedia)

Church of the Zitelle Gasparine

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Church of the Zitelle Gasparine
Via Ospedale Civile
Padua, May 2025

“In 1598, the Paduan nobleman Francesco Gasparini, together with his wife Giuliana and daughter Virginia, willed a place ‘in the style of a monastery’ to house poor girls. It was called the Zitelle Gasparine, to distinguish it from the Zitelle del Vescovo, an institution with a similar purpose established by the Bishop of Padua Marco Cornaro in the same years. The building was constructed in the Pozzo della Vacca district (which would later become the Zitelle district, from the name of the institution), on Gasparini's property. A church dedicated to the Holy Trinity was annexed to it, on the façade of which is a plaque commemorating the founder. Currently, the church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, known as ‘delle Zitelle Gasparine’, is all that remains of the ancient complex: owned by the Padua University Hospital, this deconsecrated church has a rectangular plan with a single nave and a low barrel vault. The now bare polychrome marble altar is original from the period, as are the painted images.” (Chiesa delle Zitelle Gasparine, ArtBonus)

Noria de Safont

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Noria de Safont
Parque de Safont
Toledo, September 2022

“Juanelo's hydraulic mechanism was capable of raising water 90 meters, enough to supply the Tagus to the Alcázar and the city. Two water wheels powered the device. The simplest was a simple waterwheel like the one reproduced; the second was complex. There are descriptions but no plans. Two designs compete today: the rocker arm and Valturro's scissors. Sitting in Safont Park—next to the bus station—we can see the useless imitation of a wheel that weeps for the true jewels that once were, and that only our nostalgic imagination can reconstruct and dream about.” (La noria del parque Safont en Toledo, Turismo matemático)

Portrait from Al Fayyum

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Portrait from Al Fayyum
National Archaeological Museum
Piazza Santissima Annunziata
Florence, January 2025

“While commonly believed to depict Greek settlers in Egypt, the Faiyum portraits instead reflect the complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the elite Greek minority in the city. According to Walker, the early Ptolemaic Greek colonists married local women and adopted Egyptian religious beliefs, and by Roman times, their descendants were viewed as Egyptians by the Roman rulers, despite their own self-perception of being Greek. The portraits are said to represent both descendants of ancient Greek mercenaries, who had fought for Alexander the Great, settled in Egypt and married local women, as well as native Egyptians who were the majority, many of whom had adopted Greek or Latin names, then seen as ‘status symbols’.” (Fayum mummy portraits, Wikipedia)

Puerta de Toledo

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Puerta de Toledo (Toledo Gate)
Glorieta de la Puerta de Toledo
Madrid, September 2022

“The Puerta de Toledo (Toledo Gate) was one of the access gates to the city of Madrid. There were previously three other gates called Toledo in the vicinity, the current one dates from the first third of the 19th century and was designed by the Spanish architect Antonio Aguado , which is located in the middle of the Glorieta de la Puerta de Toledo acting as a roundabout. It was erected as a triumphal arch in honor of King Ferdinand VII as a commemoration of the Spanish War of Independence after the French occupation. It was the last monumental gate erected in the old city of Madrid. It was built between 1813 and 1827 and was restored by Madrid City Council in 1995. Its location in the city provided access from the city center via calle de Toledo to the roads south of Madrid (Camino Real de Andalucía), after crossing the Manzanares River via the Toledo Bridge and the Carabancheles mountains.” (Puerta de Toledo, Wikipedia)