Torre Pimentel

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Torre Pimentel
Cuesta del Tajo
Torremolinos, March 2025

“The origin of the town’s name is found in the Torre de los Molinos (Tower of the Mills), later called Torre Pimentel after a soldier who helped Ferdinand and Isabella conquer Malaga at the end of the 15th century. The tower stands between calle San Miguel and Cuesta del Tajo, on the way to Bajondillo beach. The Torre Pimentel was built more than 700 years ago, around the year 1300, and its location in the higher part of an escarpment is no coincidence. It was designed as part of an extensive network of defensive towers erected by the Nasrids along the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It was of vital importance to the Kingdom of Granada, which controlled the province of Malaga from the 13th to the 15th century. The Torre Pimentel is made of rammed earth. It is 12 metres high and has a solid base, two floors, windows and a large terrace from which Nasrid wardens watched for possible intrusions from the sea. You only have to close your eyes to imagine the guards looking out across the Mediterranean day and night.” (Torre Pimentel, Visit Torremolinos)

L'adorazione dei Magi

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‘L'adorazione dei Magi’ by Paolo Veronese
Chapel of St. Joseph, Santa Corona
Contrà Santa Corona
Vicenza, May 2025

“The chapel—the third on the right—was built in the last decade of the 18th century, after demolishing the wall where the urn containing the remains of the blessed Bartholomew of Breganze was embedded, now in the Holy Thorn Chapel. During the mid-19th century restorations, an altar with fluted columns and a triangular pediment, erected around 1570 by artists from the Pedemuro San Biagio workshop, was placed there, along with the Adoration of the Magi from the mature period of Paolo Veronese, a painting of exceptional quality and great evocative power that significantly influenced the Vicentine artistic environment, particularly the development of Francesco Maffei. The composition, with a vertical orientation, features a caravan in the lower register moving from the left, guiding the viewer’s gaze toward the Holy Family on the right, with the Madonna standing out for her beauty against a towering column. In the upper section, a metaphysical burst of light, a tangible sign of the Epiphany, contrasts with a dark sky streaked with blue. The light, as a protagonist, skillfully highlights the architectural structures and the rich garments of the figures.” (Santa Corona, Wikipedia)

Monument to Eloy Gonzalo

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Monument to Eloy Gonzalo by Aniceto Marinas, 1902
Plaza de Cascorro
Madrid, September 2025

“The Monument to Eloy Gonzalo is an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. It is a monument dedicated to Eloy Gonzalo, the so-called Hero of Cascorro. Erected on the plaza de Cascorro, it consists of a bronze statue of the aforementioned Cuban War hero authored by Aniceto Marinas, put on a stone plinth. It is a monument dedicated to Eloy Gonzalo [es] a Spanish soldier in the Cuban War independence who, in September 1896 — during a siege by a party of about 2,500 Cuban mambises equipped with 70 mm battalion guns on a small regiment of Spanish soldiers garrisoned in the small village of Cascorro — reportedly volunteered to his superiors in a nearly suicidal mission to infiltrate the enemy lines and fire the hut used as a warehouse for the weaponry of the enemy. Reportedly equipped with a 10-liter gasoline can, a Mauser rifle, a torch and a rope (to tie himself allowing for the retrieval of his corpse in case he fell in action, as he was certain of) he succeeded against all odds, helping to demoralize the enemy until the lift of the siege by General Adolfo Jiménez Castellanos, only to die of dysentery in Matanzas in June 1897.” (Monument to Eloy Gonzalo, Wikipedia)

Borgo della Paglia

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Borgo della Paglia
Via della Paglia
Padua, May 2025

“Borgo della Paglia is a charming, narrow alleyway tucked away in the historic heart of Padua (Padova), Italy, evoking the city's Renaissance past. It's not a grand monument but a quiet slice of urban history, lined with ancient porticos, modest stone buildings, and glimpses of the Bacchiglione River. This spot is best known as the birthplace of one of Italy's most influential architects, Andrea Palladio (born Andrea di Pietro della Gondola in 1508), who lived here during his early childhood until around 1516, when his family relocated to Vicenza. A commemorative plaque marks his family's former home in nearby Via dei Rogati, part of the same neighborhood. The alley's moniker, meaning ‘Straw District’, stems from its practical origins: in medieval times, boats along the river unloaded bales of straw here to feed horses in the nearby stables of the Castello Carrarese (a 14th-century fortress). Over time, ‘paglia’ (straw) also took on a slang connotation of mockery or derision, perhaps alluding to the area's humble, working-class vibe—home to boatmen, millers, and artisans like Palladio's father, a miller.” (Borgo della Paglia, Grok)

Iglesia del Salvador

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Iglesia del Salvador
Plaza del Salvador
Segovia, September 2025

“The Church of the Savior is a Catholic temple in the Spanish city of Segovia. It is located in the city of Segovia, in the Plaza del Salvador , and is situated in the suburb of the same name. Of the original Romanesque temple, only the portico , which forms an angle with the church, and part of the tower, with closed twin windows, remain. The interior of the church has a single nave, with a Gothic ribbed vault, a transept and a main chapel, with a gilded Plateresque altarpiece, paid for by Diego Tamayo in 1587, which has a painting of the Adoration of the Kings in the center and others on the sides.” (Iglesia del Salvador, Wikipedia)

Monument to George Washington

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Monument to George Washington, 1932
Piazzale Kennedy
Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park)
Florence, January 2025

“The monument was built in 1932 at the behest of the Americans residing in Florence, on the occasion of the second centenary of the birth of the first President of the United States of America. The work is located in piazzale Kennedy, in the central area of the Cascine Park, the largest green area in the city. The restoration was funded by: Florence Lions Club; Lions Club Florence Impruneta San Casciano; Lions Club Florence Cosimo de ' Medici; Giotto Florence Lions Club; Barberino Montelibertas Lions Club; Lions Club Le Signe. George Washington was an American politician and military. He was commander of the army in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and became the first President of the United States of America. It is considered one of the great founding fathers of the American nation. Between the 19th and 20th centuries Florence became one of the favorite places for American artists and writers.” (Monument to George Washington, Art@Site)

Iglesia de San Martín de Tours

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Iglesia de San Martín de Tours
Plaza del Corrillo
Salamanca, September 2025

“The church of San Martín is a Spanish Romanesque church located in the Plaza del Corrillo and next to the southern wing of the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca. The church was built on a hermitage dedicated to Saint Peter in the 12th century, specifically in 1103 at the initiative of Count Martín Fernández, in the Toresanos neighborhood, during the repopulation of the city led by Raimundo de Borgoña by order of King Alfonso VI of León. At that time, in 1173, it was called the church of San Martín del Mercado or San Martín de la Plaza. The church, which currently appears wedged between modern buildings, has undergone numerous restorations throughout its history. Its medieval elements are largely masked by the successive reforms carried out in the temple and the modern buildings in the surroundings.” (Iglesia de San Martín de Tours, Wikipedia)