Saturday, December 31, 2016

Colors in Cannaregio

Venice

Colors in Cannaregio
Venice, September 2013

Friday, December 30, 2016

Boxing gloves

Boxing gloves, Portobello Road Market, Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London

Boxing gloves
Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road, Notting Hill
London, January 2005

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Fontana dei Dioscuri

Fontana dei Dioscuri by by Raffaele Stern, Piazza del Quirinale, Rome,

Fontana dei Dioscuri by by Raffaele Stern, 1818
Piazza del Quirinale
Rome, April 2013

“The Fontana dei Dioscuri is the fountain set opposite the Palazzo del Quirinale, the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic in the Piazza del Quirinale. The original fountain, which no longer exists, commissioned by Pope Sixtus V in 1588, had the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux statues, from Constantine I of Rome's Baths, moved to the piazza, from the site, thought to have been nearby, flanking it. In the late 1780s by Antinori, was commissioned by Pope Pius VI, to make a better layout for the piazza and had the fountain and the Dioscuri moved, and included the large Obelisk which had been moved from the Campus Martius in the design. Some time between, that original fountain was lost, and, in 1818 a new one, which can be seen today, was commissioned by Pope Pius VII and was designed by Raffaele Stern using an ancient granite Roman shell that had been found in the 16th century supported on top of a large basin. It was sited in front of the two statues with the obelisk between them.” (Fontana dei Dioscuri, Wikipedia)

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Building Battersea

Battersea Power Station, seen from Battersea Park Road, Nine Elms, Battersea, Wandsworth, London

Works at the Battersea Power Station
Seen from Battersea Park Road
Nine Elms, Battersea, Wandsworth
London, September 2016

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

The Flame

Monument to the Carabineers by Luciano Minguzzi, Piazza Diaz, Milan

Monumento ai Carabinieri (Monument to the Carabineers) by Luciano Minguzzi, 1980
Piazza Armando Diaz
Milan, November 2016

Monday, December 26, 2016

Office National des Forets

Headquarter of the Office national des forêts (National Forests Office), Avenue de Saint-Mandé, Paris

Headquarter of the Office national des forêts (National Forests Office)
Avenue de Saint-Mandé / Rue de Picpus
Quartier de Picpus, 12th arrondissement
Paris, July 2005

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Giuditta Varni

Tomb of Giuditta Varni by Santo Varni, Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno, Genoa

Tomb of Giuditta Varni by Santo Varni, 1875
Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno
Genoa, April 2016

Saturday, December 24, 2016

South Transept

Detail of the South transept, St Paul's Cathedral by Christopher Wren, Ludgate Hill, City of London

Detail of the South transept
St Paul's Cathedral by Christopher Wren, 1711
Ludgate Hill, City of London
London, September 2016

Friday, December 23, 2016

Bust of Dante

Bust of Dante Alighieri by Augusto Rivalta, Dante's House Museum, Via Santa Margherita, Florence

Bust of Dante Alighieri> by Augusto Rivalta
Dante's House Museum
Via Santa Margherita
Florence, April 2015

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Marine One

Marine One, Downtown Manhattan Heliport, New York

Marine One
Downtown Manhattan Heliport
Pier 6, East River
New York, September 2008

“Much of the heliport's traffic is generated by Wall Street and the lower Manhattan financial district; top business executives and time-sensitive document deliveries often use the heliport. The heliport is also the normal landing spot for the President of the United States on visits to New York.” (Downtown Manhattan Heliport, Wikipedia)

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Via Belfiore

Wrought iron balcony, Via Belfiore, Bologna

Wrought iron balcony
Via Belfiore
Bologna, June 2016

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Dog and Pot

Dog and Pot sculpture by Mike Painter, Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London

Dog and Pot sculpture by Mike Painter, 2013
Union Street / Blackfriars Road, Southwark
London, September 2016

“A new sculpture was officially unveiled yesterday at the corner of Union Street and Blackfriars Road, on the last day of the Charles Dickens bicentenary. As a 12 year old boy, Dickens used to walk past a statue of a dog and pot over a shop as he went to work (yes, work), vowing to one day go back to school and make something of himself.” (Charles Dickens Dog and Pot Sculpture Unveiled in Southwark, Londonist)

Monday, December 19, 2016

Burano

A row of colorful houses, Burano, Venetian Lagoon, Venice

A row of colorful houses
Burano, Venetian Lagoon
Venice, September 2012

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Mau Mau Bar

Mau Mau Bar, Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London

Mau Mau Bar
Portobello Road, Notting Hill
London, January 2005

“London club Mau Mau Bar has closed its doors. Located in Notting Hill on Portobello Road, the venue was a vital force within the city’s independent music scene, largely thanks to jazz:refreshed and its weekly Thursday night events. Hundreds of bands and musicians graced the jazz:refreshed stage, including Dele Sosimi, Kokoroko and Nubya Garcia. jazz:refreshed will continue its residency elsewhere, though a brief hiatus will occur whilst it finds a new home. Label activities and special events will proceed as normal.” (London club Mau Mau Bar has closed, The Vinyl Factory)

Saturday, December 17, 2016

San Nicola da Tolentino

San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani, Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in the Gardens of Sallust, Via di San Nicola da Tolentino, Rome

San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani
(Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in the Gardens of Sallust)
Via di San Nicola da Tolentino,
Rome, April 2013

“San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani (Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in the Gardens of Sallust) is a church in Rome. It is one of the two national churches of Armenia. The church was built for the Discalced Augustinians in 1599, and originally dedicated to the 13th century Augustinian monk, St. Nicholas of Tolentino (also called San Niccolò or Nicolò da Tolentino). The interior was rebuilt 1614–1620 by Carlo Buti and Martino Longhi, supported by patronage by the Pamphilj family. The Milanese architect Francesco Buzio was also involved in the redesign. Starting in 1654, it was rebuilt by Giovanni Maria Baratta, one of the main pupils of Alessandro Algardi. In 1883, the church was given to the Pontifical Armenian College by Pope Leo XIII. The Armenian Catholic Church is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.” (San Nicola da Tolentino, Wikipedia)

Friday, December 16, 2016

Floating Dreams

Floating Dreams by Ik-Joong Kang, River Thames by Millennium Bridge, London

“Floating Dreams” by Ik-Joong Kang, 2016
River Thames by Millennium Bridge
London, September 2016

“A major installation by Ik-Joong Kang, one of South Korea’s most renowned and celebrated multimedia artists, Floating Dreams is a compelling, large-scale installation situated in the centre of the River Thames by Millennium Bridge. Constructed from 500 drawings and illuminated from within, the three-storey-high lantern structure acts as a memorial to the millions displaced and divided during the Korean War (1950-53), and a poignant symbol of hope for the reunification of North and South Korea.” (Floating Dreams by Ik-Joong Kang, Totally Thames)

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Torre Velasca

Torre Velasca, Velasca Tower by BBPR, Piazza Velasca, Milano

Torre Velasca (Velasca Tower) by BBPR, 1958
Piazza Velasca
Milan, November 2016

“The Velasca Tower is part of the first generation of Italian modern architecture, while still being part of the Milanese context in which it was born, to which also belongs the Milan Cathedral and the Sforza Castle. The tower, approximately 100 metres tall, has a peculiar and characteristic mushroom-like shape. It stands out in the city skyline, made of domes, buildings and other towers. Its structure recalls the Lombard tradition, made of medieval fortresses and towers, each having a massive profile. In such fortresses, the lower parts were always narrower, while the higher parts propped up by wooden boards or stone beams. As a consequence, the shape of this building is the result of a modern interpretation of the typical Italian medieval castle.[citation needed] At the same time, BBPR in this building satisfied the functional needs of space: narrower surfaces on the ground, wider and more spacious ones on the top floors. The town planning laws, then, imposed specific volumes (depending on the buildings' purpose); in this tower, the latter being the mixed functions of residential and commercial use.” (Torre Velasca, Wikipedia)

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Place des Grès

Fontaine de la place des Grès by Daniel Milhaud, rue Vitruve, square des Grès, place des Grès, Quartier de Charonne, Paris

Fontaine de la place des Grès by Daniel Milhaud, 1983
Rue Vitruve / square des Grès, place des Grès
Quartier de Charonne, 20th arrondissement
Paris, July 2006

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Boccadasse

The narrow bay and the cape of Santa Chiara, Boccadasse, Genoa

The narrow bay and the cape of Santa Chiara
Boccadasse
Genoa, April 2016

“Boccadasse (Bocadâze in Genoese) is an old mariners' neighbourhood of the Italian city of Genoa. It lies at the eastern side of the Corso Italia stroll, the main sea front stroll of the city of Genoa, at the feet of Via Aurora, a typical Ligurian narrow street (‘crêuza’).” (Boccadasse, Wikipedia)

Monday, December 12, 2016

Tortoise

Detail of Tortoises with Triangle and Time by Wendy Taylor, Holland Park, Abbotsbury Road, London

Detail of “Tortoises with Triangle and Time” by Wendy Taylor, 2000
Holland Park, Abbotsbury Road side
London, September 2016

“‘Tortoises with Triangle and Time’ by Wendy Taylor, which is on loan to Holland Park and still to be seen on the D lawn: The gnomon is designed for the latitude of Holland Park, but due to the elliptical passage of the earth round the sun, the real time shadowed on the sundial does not correspond exactly with Big Ben! Of the millennium sculptures, this is perhaps my favourite. The ridged shells of the tortoises invite you to touch them and their shape encourages children to climb over them.”. (The Friends of Holland Park)

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Palazzo Gondi

Palazzo Gondi, Piazza San Firenze, Florence

Palazzo Gondi by Giuliano da Sangallo, 1490
Piazza San Firenze
Florence, April 2015

“The construction dragged on, and the building remained incomplete for several centuries. At the end of the 17th century Antonio Maria Ferri worked on the architecture and Matteo Bonechi on the paintings. The building was flanked by an old family house belonging to the Asini family, demolished around 1870 to widen the road along Palazzo Vecchio. On that occasion the building was also expanded with the creation of the third door (the left) and the construction of a new ‘slice’ of the building that increased the number of windows on the facade, creating a similar perspective on Via de' Gondi. Accommodation on the south side had been designed by Giuseppe Poggi, the architect of Piazzale Michelangelo, but was demolished in 1874. Leonardo da Vinci had lived in one of the destroyed houses and is said to have painted the Mona Lisa there. Today the building still belongs to descendants of the family, but on the ground floor are a bar and other businesses.” (Palazzo Gondi, Wikipedia)

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Burnett Memorial Fountain

Burnett Memorial Fountain designed by Aymar Embury II, statues by Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Conservatory Garden, Central Park, New York

Burnett Memorial Fountain designed by Aymar Embury II
Statues by Bessie Potter Vonnoh, 1936
Conservatory Garden, Central Park
New York, September 2008

“This fountain honors children’s book author Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett. Friends of Burnett wanted to memorialize her after her death in 1924 with a storytelling area in Central Park. The Conservatory Garden, which reopened to the public in 1937, was chosen as the perfect site for the memorial. Some refer to the two figures, a reclining boy playing the flute and a young girl holding the bowl, as effigies of Mary and Dickon, the main characters in The Secret Garden. The bowl is a functioning birdbath where small birds drink during three seasons of the year. The sculpture stands on the edge of a small concrete pool that features a variety of water lilies. It was one of the earliest statues restored by Central Park Conservancy in the 1980s.” (Burnett Fountain, Central Park Conservancy)

Friday, December 9, 2016

Porta Castiglione

Porta Castiglione, seen from  Viale Enrico Panzacchi, Bologna

Porta Castiglione, 13th century
Seen from Viale Enrico Panzacchi
Bologna, June 2015

“Porta Castiglione was a portal of the former outer medieval walls of the city of Bologna, Italy. First erected in the second half of the 13th century, and rebuilt in the 15th century. The now isolated tower once was a machiocolated rampart in the city walls. The gate once stood beside the Savena Canal, which crossed the city and whose current fed hydraulic power to the city’s cloth factories.” (Porta Castiglione, Wikipedia)

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Eighty Two

Eighty two Portland Place, Marylebone, London

Eighty two Portland Place
Marylebone
London, September 2016

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Campo San Polo

A water fountain with the church of San Polo in background, Campo San Polo, San Polo, Venice

A water fountain with the church of San Polo in background
Campo San Polo, San Polo
Venice, September 2013

“The Campo San Polo is the largest campo in Venice, Italy, the second largest Venetian public square after the Piazza San Marco. It is located in the Sestiere San Polo. Originally dedicated to grazing and agriculture, in 1493 it was entirely paved, a well (one of the few fountains to be found in Venice) being placed in the middle. It was subsequently used as the scene of many a bullfight, mass sermons and masked balls. After the 17th century the poor's market was moved here from Piazza San Marco. It remains to this day one of the most popular Carnival venues and is also used for open-air concerts and screenings during the Venice Film Festival.” (Campo San Polo, Wikipedia)

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Saint-Luc

Saint-Luc, rue de l'Ourcq, Paris

Saint-Luc by Pierre-Henri Montel and Christian Basset, 1999
Rue de l'Ourcq
Quartier de la Villette, 19th arrondissement
Paris, July 2006

Monday, December 5, 2016

Piazzale Aurelio

Bow window or enclosed balcony, Piazzale Aurelio, Janiculum, Rome

Bow window or enclosed balcony?
Piazzale Aurelio, Gianicolo
Rome, April 2013

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Upside Down

Upside down by the Serpentine, Hyde Park, London

Upside down by the Serpentine
Hyde Park
London, September 2016

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Piazzetta di Brera

Monument to Francesco Hayez by Francesco Barzaghi, Piazzetta di Brera, Milan

Monument to Francesco Hayez by Francesco Barzaghi, 1890
Piazzetta di Brera
Milan, November 2016

Friday, December 2, 2016

Two Knights

The Two Riders on top the Knights Templar pillar, Church Court, Inner Temple, London

The two riders on top the Knights Templar pillar
Church Court, Inner Temple
London, September 2016

“The Templar Seal showing two knights (perhaps Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer) on one horse. There are many interpretations of the symbolism of this seal. Contemporary legend held that the symbol represented the initial poverty of the order; that they could afford only a single horse for every two men. Still, the Rule of the Order from the outset permitted three horses and no more for each knight, as well as no Templars sharing the same horse.” (Knights Templar Seal, Wikipedia)

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Padre Santo

Statue dedicated to Francesco Maria da Camporosso Padre Santo by Guido Galletti, Santuario di Nostra Signora delle Grazie al Molo, Piazza delle Grazie, Genoa

Francesco Maria da Camporosso “Padre Santo” by Guido Galletti, 1962
Santuario di Nostra Signora delle Grazie al Molo
Piazza delle Grazie
Genoa, April 2016