Waiting for Tourists

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Gondola with lavish seats and a gondolier's hat
Canal Grande (Grand Canal)
Venice, October 2012

“As much a symbol of Venice as the winged lion, the gondola is one of Europe's great traditions, incredibly and inexplicably expensive but truly as romantic as it looks (detractors who write it off as too touristy have most likely never tried it). Though it's often quoted in print at differing official rates, expect to pay 80€ for a 40-minute tour (100€ 7pm-8am), with up to six passengers, and 40€ for every additional 20 minutes (50€ at night). That's not a typo: 150€ an hour for an evening cruise. (Cruising the Canals, Frommer's Venice)

Testa Addormentata

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“Testa Addormentata” (Sleeping Head) by Igor Mitoraj, 1983
Jubilee Place, Canary Wharf
London, January 2005

“Igor Mitoraj's works combine the surreal with the antiquity of Ancient Greece and Rome. His beautifully crafted sculptures are both thoughtful and monumental. At Canary Wharf are three of his works, representing some of the themes that occupy him: here is the bandaged face of Testa Addormentata. Mitoraj divides his time between his studios in Paris, France and Pietrasanta in Italy.” (Testa Addormentata, Canary Wharf Group)

See also: Tindaro - Centauro - Tindaro Screpolato - Colosse - Ikaria - Bronze Doors - Le Grand Toscano

Le Tigre

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Statue of Georges Clemenceau by François Cogné, 1932
Place Clemenceau
Quartier des Champs-Élysées, 8th arrondissement
Paris, July 2011

“His courage, combativeness, and intransigence earned him the nickname the Tiger.” (Who is G. Clemenceau?, Musée Clemenceau)

Saint Lawrence outside the Walls

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Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura
(Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls)
Via del Verano
Rome, April 2013

See also: San Lorenzo fuori le Mura

Allegory of Poetry

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“Allegorie der lyrischen Dichtkunst” (Allegory of Poetry) by Reinhold Begas
Schiller Memorial, Gendarmenmarkt
Berlin, September 2011

See also: Schiller-Denkmal - Allegory of History - Allegory of Philosophy - Allegory of Tragedy

Ghostbusters Headquarters

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FDNY Hook & Ladder No. 8 Firehouse, 14 North Moore Street
Between Broadway and Hudson Street, TriBeCa
New York, September 2008

Lions de Nubie

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Fontaine aux Lions de Nubie, former Fontaine du Château d'Eau by Pierre-Simon Girard, 1811
Place de la Fontaine-aux-Lions, Parc de la Villette
Quartier du Pont-de-Flandre, 19th arrondissement
Paris, July 2011

The Dome of San Carlino

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San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Saint Charles at the Four Fountains)
Also called San Carlino, by Francesco Borromini
Via del Quirinale
Rome, May 2012

“Or so it seems. Walk into San Carlino and you find yourself in an oval space above which soars a vast and elaborate dome. Surging from what looks like an oval coronet of stylized strawberry leaves, its surface is decorated all over by circles, ovals, hexagons and crosses in high relief. There is nothing here but geometric figures; but because they fit so intricately into one another, they are more sumptuous than the most lavish sculptures. Of course, after a while, it becomes clear that this impossible dome is in fact placed within the oval base of the layer-cake pavilion: but that does not rob it of its magic.” (Borromini's Rome, The New York Times)

Gran Teatro La Fenice

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Sign of the Teatro La Fenice (The Phoenix)
Campo San Fantin, San Marco
Venice, September 2012

“Gloriously resurrected by craftsmen specialised in baroque decorative techniques working alongside high tech engineers, the glittering premises will stage operas and ballet in the imminent season. True to its name - La Fenice means the Phoenix - it has risen from the ashes in triumph after a disastrous fire that broke out during renovation work, leaving it gutted on 29 January 1996, a night remembered by all Venetians with despondency.” (La Fenice Reopens on 12 November, Opera Today)

More London Area

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Model of City Hall and More London area
The Queen's Walk, Southwark
London, October 2009

See also: City Hall - Inside City Hall - City Hall Round Table - More... More London - The Scoop - HMS Belfast - Tower Bridge - Open Bridge

The Kiss

Le Baiser (The Kiss) by Auguste Rodin, 1890
(1934 cast of the marble original)
Terrasse de l'Orangerie
Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden)
Quartier Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, 1st arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“The nudity and frank sensuality of The Kiss drew scorn from many critics when the sculpture was first unveiled in 1889. The poet Paul Claudel, a religious conservative, wrote:

the man is so to speak attablé [sitting down to dine] at the woman. He is sitting down in order to make the most of his opportunity. He uses both his hands, and she does her best, as the Americans say, to ‘deliver the goods.’

Claudel’s contempt probably had something to do with the fact that his sister, the sculptor Camille Claudel, was Rodin’s lover at the time the work was completed.” (The Story Behind Rodin’s ‘The Kiss’, Open Culture)

Torquato Tasso

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Monument to Torquato Tasso by Giuseppe Fabris, 1857
Chiesa Sant'Onofrio (Church of Saint Onuphrius)
Piazza di Sant'Onofrio, Gianicolo
Rome, April 2013

The sacred armies, and the godly knight,
That the great sepulchre of Christ did free,
I sing; much wrought his valor and foresight,
And in that glorious war much suffered he;
In vain 'gainst him did Hell oppose her might,
In vain the Turks and Morians armed be:
His soldiers wild, to brawls and mutinies prest,
Reduced he to peace, so Heaven him blest.

(translated by Edward Fairfax in 1600)

“Today Torquato Tasso and his poem La Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) are almost forgotten, but until the beginning of the XIXth century they were very popular: the hero of the poem is Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the First Crusade. Tasso died in 1595 in S. Onofrio when he was about to be crowned with a laurel wreath in Campidoglio. In 1857, at a time of great difficulty for the Papal State, Pope Pius IX dedicated a chapel of S. Onofrio to him.” (Chiostro di S. Onofrio, A Rome Art Lover's Web Page)

Feast of Sparrows

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Feast of sparrows in and around a trash bin
Askanischer Platz, Kreuzberg
Berlin, September 2011

MetLife

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MetLife Building and entrance of Grand Central Terminal
Seen from East 42th Street
New York, September 2007

Paparazzi

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“Paparazzi” restaurant - pizzeria
Square de l'Opéra-Louis-Jouvet
Quartier de la Chaussée-d'Antin, 9th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

Angelo Brunetti

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Plaque honoring Angelo Brunetti, known as Ciceruacchio
Via di Ripetta at Via Angelo Brunetti
Rome, May 2011

“One of the first plaques was dedicated in 1871 to Angelo Brunetti, known as Ciceruacchio (meaning slightly fat in Roman dialect). He had a well known inn in Piazza del Popolo and in 1846 he took the lead in asking the newly elected pope (Pope Pius IX) for political reforms. He took part into the defence of the Roman Republic and when the city fell he tried to reach Venice, to which the Austrians had laid siege. He was arrested by them and he was executed with his two sons, one of whom was just thirteen.” (Plaques in Historical Rome, A Rome Art Lover's Web Page)

Palazzo Querini Dubois

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Palazzo Grimani Marcello, Palazzo Querini Dubois, Palazzo Bernardo
Seen from the Canal Grande (Grand Canal)
San Polo
Venice, September 2012

Aldo

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Aldo Outlet, shoes and accessories
Camden High Street, Camden
London, October 2009

L'Homme aux semelles devant

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“L'Homme aux semelles devant” by Jean-Robert Ipoustéguy, 1984
Monument to Arthur Rimbaud
Place du Père-Teilhard-de-Chardin
Quartier de l'Arsenal, 4th arrondissement
Paris, July 2011

“A commission carried out by late Jean-Robert Ipoustéguy, this sculpture from mid-1980 parodically depicted the poet Arthur Rimbaud. A restless soul who travelled constantly, Rimbaud had earned himself the nickname l’Homme aux semelles de vent (‘man with soles of wind’). Cleverly playing with the homophonic title l’Homme aux semelles devant (‘man with soles in front [of him]’), Ipoustéguy had Rimbaud resting upon someone’s soles, perhaps his own, as the body was split in two and time-wrapped in a peculiar machine.” (L’Homme aux semelles devant, Lil & Destinations…)

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

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San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Saint Charles at the Four Fountains)
Also called San Carlino, by Francesco Borromini
Via del Quirinale
Rome, May 2012

“The ground plan of the church is just as fascinating. Basically oval, it is given life and movement by rounded extensions, while the main altar is topped by a half cupola whose dramatically foreshortened coffering makes it loom impressively large, an effect that is repeated on the two side chapels; and all is linked and kept orderly by a procession of giant columns.” (Borromini's Rome, The New York Times)

Allegory of Tragedy

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“Allegorie der Tragödie” (Allegory of Tragedy) by Reinhold Begas
Schiller Memorial, Gendarmenmarkt
Berlin, September 2011

See also: Schiller-Denkmal - Allegory of History - Allegory of Philosophy

Sabrina

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Bronze copy of “Sabrina” by William Calder Marshall
The Octagon, Roosevelt Island
New York, September 2008

“Sabrina is also the patron goddess of Amherst College. A metal casting of her, made by the J.L. Mott Iron Works of New York City, was given to the college by Massachusetts Lieut. Governor Joel Hayden in 1957. The statue was located adjacent to The Octagon building on the Amherst campus until 1885. Roosevelt Island's installation reestablishes the historic setting of Sabrina adjacent to an Octagonal building.” (The Octagon Sabrina, Roosevelt Island 360)

Obélisque de Louxor

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The Obélisque de Louxor (Luxor Obelisk)
Place de la Concorde
Quartier des Champs-Élysées, 8th arrondissement
Paris, July 2011

“The Luxor Obelisk is over 3,000 years old and was originally situated outside of Luxor Temple, where its twin remains to this day. It first arrived in Paris on December 21, 1833, having been shipped from Luxor via Alexandria and Cherbourg, and three years later, on October 25, 1836, was moved to the center of Place de la Concorde by King Louis-Phillipe. It was gifted to France by Muhammad Ali, Ruler of Egypt. In August 1832, the French paddle ship Sphinx sailed to Alexandria to rendezvous there with the barge Louqsor, which was to load the Luxor Obelisk and bring it to Paris. Sphinx then towed Louqsor back to France. The ships departed on 1 April 1833 and reached Toulon on 10 May. The ships arrived at Cherbourg on 12 August 1833.” (Luxor Obelisk, Wikipedia)

President Re-Elected

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Palazzo del Quirinale (Quirinal Palace)
Just after Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected President of Italy
Piazza del Quirinale
Rome, April 2013

“Napolitano was comfortably re-elected, having garnered the support of centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, former Prime Minister and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, and interim PM and centrist Mario Monti. Earlier, Berlusconi and his coalition refused to support the PD's choice of Romano Prodi, claiming he was unacceptable as a compromise candidate. As a result, leaders from all political parties except for Beppe Grillo turned to Napolitano and held discussions with him in order to convince him to run again. Even though he had openly stated his refusal to consider running again in an interview a week before, Napolitano reluctantly agreed, and the party leaders subsequently urged electors to back him as a show of unity. By winning this election, Napolitano became the first Italian president to be elected to a second term.” (Italian presidential election, 2013, Wikipedia)

Santa Maria Formosa

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The north facade of the church of Santa Maria Formosa
Campo di Santa Maria Formosa, San Marco
Venice, October 2012

One Canada Square

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One Canada Square (Canary Wharf Tower) and West Wintergarden
Seen from the South Quay Footbridge
Canary Wharf, West India Docks
London, October 2009

See also: South Quay Footbridge

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre

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Statue of Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre by par Louis Holweck, 1907
With a sculpture of the title characters from “Paul et Virginie”
Jardin des plantes
Quartier du Jardin-des-Plantes, 5th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“Paul et Virginie (or Paul and Virginia) is a novel by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, first published in 1787. The novel's title characters are very good friends since birth who fall in love. The story is set in the island of Mauritius under French rule, then named Île de France, which the author had visited. Written on the eve of the French Revolution, the novel is hailed as Bernardin's finest work. It records the fate of a child of nature corrupted by the false, artificial sentimentality that prevailed at the time among the upper classes of France”. (Paul et Virginie, Wikipedia)