Graziani Garzadori Altar

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Graziani Garzadori Altar
Santa Corona
Contrà Santa Corona
Vicenza, May 2025

“Attached to the wall of the fifth bay on the left is the Garzadori Altar, the most sumptuous in the city, built in the early 16th century by the workshop of Tommaso da Lugano and Bernardino da Como, with contributions from Rocco da Vicenza, designed vertically with a mixed order of columns, pilasters, and pillars. Framing the arch are four ringed columns, adorned with garlands at the base; the upper shafts of the two more prominent ones have Corinthian capitals, while the two recessed ones have Ionic capitals spiraling upward. Flanking the arch are two narrow recessed pilasters with the Garzadori crests adorned with an imperial eagle and animal heads in the capitals. At the ends, two wider pillars with sphinges in the capitals support the entablature, above which, aligned with the columns, four small pillars hold a wide lowered arch pediment, with a coffered and rosette-decorated intrados and an extrados enriched with bicaudate Nereids and topped by the Redeemer. Within the tympanum, under a garland of flowers and fruit, is a medallion depicting the Virgin nursing the Child; on either side of the attic, two pairs of facing dolphins hold flaming vases. Throughout are embedded small and large paterae of polychrome marbles brought by Graziani from Palestine, like the black touchstone inserted in the pedestals or those forming a cross adorning the altar frontal of the table. The altar houses Giovanni Bellini's masterpiece, Baptism of Christ, which was painted around 1500–1502.” (Santa Corona, Wikipedia)

Al pueblo del 2 de mayo de 1808

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“Al pueblo del 2 de mayo de 1808” by Aniceto Marinas, 1891
Jardines del General Fanjul, Calle Ferraz
Madrid, September 2025

“‘A los héroes del dos de mayo’ or ‘Al pueblo del dos de mayo de 1808’ is an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. A sculptural work by Aniceto Marinas, the monument is an homage to the role of the Madrilenian people during the 1808 Dos de mayo uprising. Originally sculpted in Rome by Aniceto Marinas in 1891, the sculptural group depicts a winged statue holding a banner that emerges on top of a soldier, a cannon, a small boy and a number of corpses, male and female alike.” (Al pueblo del dos de mayo de 1808, Wikipedia)

Porta Molino

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Porta Molino
Vicolo Ponte Molino
Padua, May 2025

“The Porta Molino or Porta dei Molini was the main of the four royal entrances that opened into the medieval walls of Padua. Facing north, it stands at the end of the Roman Ponte Molino bridge that crosses the branch of the Bacchiglione called the Tronco Maestro. Until 1884, thirty-three wheels of as many mills mounted on boats operated, giving the gate and bridge their name. Nearly 26 meters high, it was built of stone and brick in the 13th century and was intended as a formal entrance to the Stra' Regia or Stra' Maggiore (now Via Dante), Padua's most important street. The tower rises externally on a sort of Romanesque triumphal stone arch (also decorated with a pair of lions), while inside there are two arches (the wider and more evocative one is pointed ) that allowed the defense mechanisms to be operated, including the large doors hinged in stone recesses that are still visible. Of interest is the Baroque access to the upper tower, a 17th-century construction adjacent to the internal façade, on the left. Sections of the municipal walls unravel on the sides, which continue westward along Via del Casin Rosso. The pedestrian access is the result of 19th-century renovations. At the end of the 19th century, the upper part of the gate was used as a storage tank for the city's first drinking water distribution network. The rumor that Galileo Galilei, during his time in Padua, used the gate as an astronomical observatory is probably false (although supported by a plaque by Carlo Leoni).” (Porta Molino, Wikipedia)

Casa de los Picos

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Casa de los Picos
Calle Juan Bravo
Segovia, September 2025

“The Casa de los Picos is a building in the Spanish city of Segovia, home to the Segovia School of Art and Design. It is located on Calle Juan Bravo, in the historic center of Segovia. It was built in the last third of the 15th century as a fortified house by Don Pedro López de Ayala, in order to defend the Puerta de San Martín, demolished in 1883. The house was later acquired by Alonso González de la Hoz, Chief Accountant of the Kingdom, and passed by inheritance to his son Juan de la Hoz, Councilor of Segovia. It is known for its façade, with 617 granite peaks, and its Renaissance courtyard. The heraldry of the de la Hoz family can be seen on the lintels of the five balconies and on the entrance door. The entrance hall and courtyard are decorated with Talavera tiles depicting various Segovia buildings.” (Casa de los Picos, Wikipedia)

Holy Fire Stones

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Reliquary of the Holy Fire Stones
Santi Apostoli
Piazza del Limbo
Florence, January 2025

“The church houses three flints (Pietre del Santo Sepolcro) putatively from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. These were putatively used to light the lamps of the tomb when Jesus was buried. Tradition holds that they were acquired in 1101 by Pazzino dei Pazzi, who was among the first Christians to scale the walls and lead to the capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. From then on, the Pazzi included a flaming cup in their coat of arms. The flints are linked to the ceremony of ‘Lo Scoppio del Carro’ and the lighting of fireworks from the ‘Portafuoco’ after a celebratory mass.” (Santi Apostoli, Wikipedia)

Colegio de Calatrava

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Colegio de Calatrava
Calle Rosario
Salamanca, September 2025

“The Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción de Calatrava, commonly known as Colegio de Calatrava, is the only college founded in Salamanca by the military orders whose building still survives; it belonged to the Order of Calatrava. Instituted as an imperial college in 1552 by Charles V and incorporated into the University of Salamanca in 1554, the construction of this building did not begin until 1717, by Joaquín de Churriguera who directed the works until his death in 1724. In 1750 the works were resumed under the direction of Jerónimo García de Quiñones. He was forced to eliminate the baroque ornaments of the original project due to the neoclassicist ideas prevailing at that time, especially those that Francisco Ibáñez de Corbera, rector of the school when it was consecrated in 1790, wanted to impose. During the War of Independence, the Goya canvases in the altarpieces disappeared. The facade has two bodies and is articulated by pilasters of giant order and topped with a balustrade. The decorative elements that adorn it are mostly of Renaissance inspiration. We notice in the decoration baroque mixtilinear elements around the main doorway, in the doors of the side towers and in the moldings that surround all the windows of the facade. Today it is the seat of the Casa de la Iglesia, an institution that houses the offices of the Diocese of Salamanca.” (Colegio de Calatrava, Wikipedia)

Santi Siro e Libera

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Santi Siro e Libera
Lungadige Rigaste Redentore
Verona, May 2025

“The church of Saints Siro and Libera is a Catholic place of worship located in the Veronetta district of Verona, within the archaeological site which includes the Roman theatre and the museum of the same name; it is part of the diocese of Verona. According to tradition, the first mass in the city of Verona was celebrated in an archway of the Roman theatre, and it was right above this archway that in 913 the church dedicated to San Siro was built by Giovanni, bishop of Cremona and chancellor of the emperor Berengario; the same bishop donated the building to the nearby Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria in Organo in 922. Towards the beginning of the 14th century the dedication to "Santa Libera" was added, in reference to Liberata of Como, however the reasons which led to this double title are unknown. In the same century the building was transformed in Gothic style, but from this construction phase only the entrance portal and the hanging porch which protects it remain, together with the frescoes which adorn it.” (Chiesa dei Santi Siro e Libera, Wikipedia)