Fuente de la Diosa Pomona

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Fuente de la Diosa Pomona by Juan Bautista Bado, 1864
Plaza de San Francisco
Málaga, March 2025

“The Plaza de San Francisco emerged in the mid-19th century as a result of the urban reforms brought about by the Mendizábal confiscation. The disappearance of the Franciscan convent of San Luis el Real allowed its square to become a public square. Several cultural institutions, such as the Lyceum and the Philharmonic Society, were built in parts of the former monastery, giving the square a cultured and romantic atmosphere as a meeting place for writers, musicians, and artists. It was precisely at this time that a classically inspired fountain was installed in the center of the square's triangular space, crowned by a sculpture of the Etruscan-Roman goddess Pomona, protector of flowers and fruits. This fountain, initially acquired for installation at Porta Nuova, was made of Carrara marble by the sculptor Juan Bautista Bado in the Italian city of Savona. The fountain's pillar rises from a circular marble basin, with a pedestal-like column shaft bearing the date of its execution (1864). The upper half of this shaft is fluted, while the lower half is decorated with four masks (from whose mouths water flows), connected by garlands. The goddess appears dressed in Roman style, wrapped in heavy draperies, and carries a basket of flowers and fruit in her left hand, symbolizing her protection of fruit trees.” (Fountain of the Goddess Pomona, Fuentes de Málaga)

Bartolomeo Montagna

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Bartolomeo Cincani ‘il Montagna’
Giardini Salvi
Corso SS. Felice e Fortunato
Vicenza, May 2025

“Bartolomeo (or Bartolommeo) Montagna (1450?– 11 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter who mainly worked in Vicenza. He also produced works in Venice, Verona, and Padua. He is most famous for his many Madonnas and his works are known for their soft figures and depiction of eccentric marble architecture. He is considered to be heavily influenced by Giovanni Bellini, in whose workshop he might have worked around 1470. Benedetto Montagna, a productive engraver, was his son and pupil and active until about 1540. He was mentioned in Vasari's Lives as a student of Andrea Mantegna but this is widely contested by art historians.” (Bartolomeo Montagna, Wikipedia)

Canal de Isabel II

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Elevated reservoir of the Canal de Isabel II
Calle Santa Engracia, Chamberí
Madrid, September 2025

“Canal de Isabel II (CYII) is the company that manages the bulk of water supplies for the Community of Madrid. It is primarily owned by the regional administration through the so-called Ente Público Canal de Isabel II, with a minor stake owned by local governments. The Y in the abbreviated form of the company's name is from the old spelling Ysabel for Queen Isabel II, during whose reign a modern water supply was provided for Madrid. A canal was constructed to provide water from the catchment of the river Lozoya. The water entered the city through its northern suburbs using gravity.” (Canal de Isabel II, Wikipedia)

Tobiolo

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Tobiolo by Amleto Sartori, 1958
Piazzetta Garzeria
Padua, May 2025

“The sculpture ‘Tobias’ represents an emblematic moment in Sartori's artistic maturity, steeped in biblical and mythological imagery that reflects his passion for literature and the human condition. Made in 1958 as a full-relief bronze sculpture (approximately 1 meter tall), it depicts Tobias (or Tobiolo), the young protagonist of the Old Testament Book of Tobit, captured in the dynamic gesture of clutching a fish in his arms. This episode alludes to the miracle in which Tobias, guided by the Archangel Raphael, catches a fish in the Tigris River: from its entrails he will extract the gall that will cure his father Tobit's blindness. The figure is rendered with elegance and vitality: the boy's slender, athletic body, twisted, conveys muscular tension and a sense of imminent movement, as if the fish could escape at any moment. Sartori infuses the sculpture with a grace ‘possessed by the material’, where the bronze seems to come alive with an emotional storm – formal perfection combined with a playful cunning, echoing his theatrical masks. The work is part of a series of ‘heroic and mythological’ sculptures that Sartori produced in the postwar period, often in cast bronze, influenced by his exploration of form and gesture. Displayed in retrospective exhibitions (such as the 2015 one at the Galleria Cavour in Padua for the centenary of his birth), ‘Tobiolo’ is praised for its ability to ‘come alive in an instant’, symbolizing themes of salvation, youth, and divine intervention.” (Tobiolo, Grok)

Alcázar de Segovia

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Alcázar de Segovia
Plaza Reina Victoria Eugenia
Segovia, September 2025

“The Alcázar of Segovia is a medieval castle located in the city of Segovia, in Castile and León, Spain. It has existed since at least the 12th century, and is one of the most renowned medieval castles globally and one of the most visited landmarks in Spain. The fortress stands on a rocky crag at the western end of Segovia's Old City, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, above the confluence of the rivers Eresma and Clamores. Since its declaration as a National Archive by a Royal Decree in 1998, it has been used as a museum and a military archive. It has also been used as a state prison, a Royal Artillery College, and a military academy. The Alcázar served both as a royal palace and a fortress for the Castilian monarchs. Its history begins in the 12th or early 13th century when the royal family of Castile had quarters in the Alcázar, known as the "major palace". In the Homage tower, the treasure of the Crown of Castile was stored, from which funds were secured to finance Christopher Columbus's first voyage. In 1437, the books of the royal administration were moved to the Alcázar, establishing one of the first royal archives of Castile and laying one of the foundations for the current General Archive of Simancas. Additionally, the Alcázar housed the royal armory, which served as the basis for the one now exhibited in the Royal Armoury of Madrid.” (Alcázar of Segovia, Wikipedia)

Church of San Giuseppe

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Church of San Giuseppe
Via San Giuseppe
Florence, December 2024

“San Giuseppe is a Baroque architecture, Roman Catholic church building located on Via San Giuseppe, near Piazza Santa Croce, in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy, and is one of two churches and an oratory in the city dedicated to Saint Joseph. The church was built on a site that once held the oratory of the Confraternity of St. Joseph, and the present church was designed by Baccio d'Agnolo. In 1583, the complex was deeded to the Minims of Saint Francis of Paola. A new façade was completed in 1759. When the Minim order was suppressed in 1784, the convent was put to new uses.” (Church of San Giuseppe, Wikipedia)

Palacio de la Salina

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Palacio de la Salina
Calle San Pablo
Salamanca, September 2025

“The Palacio de la Salina in Salamanca is a Plateresque-style building with Italian elements, constructed in 1538. It features a graceful façade and a courtyard with arches, capitals, and corbels of great interest. The architect was Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. The palace was built by Rodrigo de Messía Carrillo (or Mejía), married to Doña Mayor de Fonseca y Toledo, lords of La Guardia, which is why it is also known as the Palace of Don Rodrigo de Messía or Fonseca. The firstborn of the marriage, Gonzalo Messía Carrillo, inherited most of the family assets on August 17, 1549, but the mother wanted to bequeath to her second son, Juan Alonso de Fonseca, some assets she had brought to the marriage and, among them, the palace (and it is quite possible that the son adopted his mother's family name for this reason). For this reason, the Fonseca coat of arms appears on the façade and the palace is known as the Palace of Fonseca. It owes its name (La Salina) to having been the headquarters of the salt monopoly (until 1870) and its layout, open to the street, shows that it is a building constructed from the beginning to be public and not intended as a residence, so it can be stated that said Juan Alonso de Fonseca, was the concessionaire of the salt monopoly in the city. And also that the legend that links the palace to Archbishop Fonseca is not true either. It has been the headquarters of the Provincial Council since 1884. The institution purchased it in 1881.” (Palacio de la Salina, Wikipedia)