Saturday, November 30, 2019

Vivant Denon

Grave of Vivant Denon, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Grave of Vivant Denon (1747-1825)
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, (Père Lachaise Cemetery)
Quartier du Père-Lachaise, 20th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

“Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (4 January 1747 – 27 April 1825) was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. He was appointed as the first Director of the Louvre museum by Napoleon after the Egyptian campaign of 1798–1801, and is commemorated in the Denon Wing of the modern museum and in the Dominique-Vivant Denon Research Center. His two-volume Voyage dans la basse et la haute Egypte (Journey in Lower and Upper Egypt), 1802, was foundational for modern Egyptology.” (Vivant Denon, Wikipedia)

Friday, November 29, 2019

Tomb of Pope Gregory XIII

Tomb of Pope Gregory XIII by Camillo Rusconi, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome

Tomb of Pope Gregory XIII by Camillo Rusconi, 1723
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
Rome, June 2019

“Pope Gregory XIII is best known for his commissioning of the calendar after being initially authored by the doctor/astronomer Aloysius Lilius and with the aid of Jesuit priest/astronomer Christopher Clavius who made the final modifications. The reason for the reform was that the average length of the year in the Julian calendar was too long – as it treated each year as 365 days, 6 hours in length, whereas calculations showed that the actual mean length of a year is slightly less (365 days, 5 hours and 49 minutes). As a result, the date of the vernal equinox had slowly (over the course of 13 centuries) slipped to 10 March, while the computus (calculation) of the date of Easter still followed the traditional date of 21 March. This was verified by the observations of Clavius, and the new calendar was instituted when Gregory decreed, by the papal bull Inter gravissimas of 24 February 1582, that the day after Thursday, 4 October 1582 would be not Friday, 5 October, but Friday, 15 October 1582. The new calendar duly replaced the Julian calendar, in use since 45 BC, and has since come into nearly universal use. Because of Gregory's involvement, the reformed Julian calendar came to be known as the Gregorian calendar. The switchover was bitterly opposed by much of the populace, who feared it was an attempt by landlords to cheat them out of a week and a half's rent. However, the Catholic countries of Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Italy complied. France, some states of the Dutch Republic and various Catholic states in Germany and Switzerland (both countries were religiously split) followed suit within a year or two, Austria and Hungary followed in 1587.” (Pope Gregory XIII, Wikipedia)

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Ler Devagar bookstore

Ler Devagar bookstore, LX Factory, Rua Rodrigues de Faria, Lisbon

Ler Devagar bookstore
LX Factory
Rua Rodrigues de Faria
Lisbon, April 2019

“In 2008, Ler Devagar was invited to take up home in the then ‘Alcântara Cultural Industries Pole – Lx Factory’. On the 23rd April 2009, doors were opened on that which would come to be considered one of the 20 most beautiful bookshops in the world (or of the top 10 if the selection is limited to bookshops in restored buildings).That same year, Ler Devagar decided to close its ZDB and Cinemateca bookshops, and to temporarily abandon the FBP bookshop, concentrating its main activity in the LX Factory Ler Devagar.The LX Factory Ler Devagar occupies a large space, with nearly 600m2 of floorspace, 4 levels and a 14-metre high ceiling. It has a collection of over 40,000 new titles and nearly 10,000 used.The arrival of Ler Devagar proved to greatly help in placing the LX Factory on the cultural and tourist map of Lisbon. Different media, from within Portugal and abroad, from newspapers to magazines, guidebooks, books, radio, television, websites, etc. have made reference to the bookshop as one of city’s, and indeed country’s, best cultural projects of recent years.” (History, Ler Devagar)

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Absintherie Bar and Museum

Absintherie Bar and Museum, Jilská, Old Town, Prague

Absintherie Bar and Museum
Jilská
Staré Město (Old Town)
Prague, September 2017

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

La pentolina

La pentolina food truck, Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence

“La pentolina” food truck
Piazzale Michelangelo
Florence, December 2017

Monday, November 25, 2019

Old New York Evening Post Building

Old New York Evening Post Building, Vesey Street, Lower Manhattan, New York

Old New York Evening Post Building
Vesey Street
Lower Manhattan
New York, September 2007

“The Old New York Evening Post Building is the former office and printing plant of the New York Evening Post newspaper located at 20 Vesey Street between Church Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1906-07 and was designed by architect Robert D. Kohn for Oswald Garrison Villard, who owned the Post at the time, and is considered to be "one of the few outstanding Art nouveau buildings" ever constructed in the United States. The fourteen-story, stone-veneer building is "reminiscent of the buildings that line the boulevards of Paris", and was not copied from an existing building. It features three tall bays of cast-iron framed bow windows, separated by pale limestone piers. There is an elaborate copper-covered mansard roof, two stories high and four elaborate sculpted figures. The statues depict the Four Periods of Publicity; two are by Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore, and two by the architect's wife, Estelle Rumbold Kohn. The New York Evening Post occupied the building until moving to the New York Evening Post Building in 1926. The building, which was later called the Garrison Building, was designated a New York City landmark in 1965, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The New York Landmarks Preservation Commission was headquartered in the building from 1980 to 1987.” (Old New York Evening Post Building, Wikipedia)

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Sundial

Sundial, Gamča, Gymnázium by Ödön Lechner, Grösslingová, Bratislava

Sundial
Gamča (Gymnázium), by Ödön Lechner, 1908
Grösslingová
Bratislava, September 2017

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Largo di Torre Argentina

Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome

Largo di Torre Argentina
Rome, June 2019

“Largo di Torre Argentina is a square in Rome, Italy, with four Roman Republican temples and the remains of Pompey's Theatre. It is in the ancient Campus Martius. The name of the square comes from the Torre Argentina, which takes its name from the city of Strasbourg whose Latin name was Argentoratum. In 1503, the Papal Master of Ceremonies Johannes Burckardt, who came from Strasbourg and was known as ‘Argentinus’, built in via del Sudario a palace (now at number 44), called Casa del Burcardo, to which the tower is annexed.
The Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary is located in Temple D of the Largo di Torre Argentina. The cat shelter was founded in 1993, and offers sterilization and adoption programs that house an estimated 350 cats. The shelter operates as a no-kill shelter under Law no. 281, enacted by the Italian Parliament in 1991. These laws introduced: (i) the cats’ rights to live free and safe, (ii) institutionalization of cat caretakers. The shelter remains active, despite archaeologists protests to dismantle the shelter in favor of protecting the excavation.” (Largo di Torre Argentina, Wikipedia)

Friday, November 22, 2019

Rio Maravilha

Rio Maravilha, LX Factory, Rua Rodrigues de Faria, Lisbon

Rio Maravilha
LX Factory
Rua Rodrigues de Faria
Lisbon, April 2019

“Rio Maravilha based in the LX factory is an amazing rooftop bar with outstanding and breathtaking views of the river Tagus and the 25th April bridge. The bar boasts a massive terrace, with a retro cool design and a female statue mirroring Christ the Redeemer on the opposite side of the river. During the summer months the terrace is a hot spot in Lisbon and often holds rooftop parties until 2am. The bar inside is equally as trendy, with a Brazilian theme prevailing. The bar tenders are fitted out in retro summer shirts and making tasty and refreshing cocktails.” (Rio Maravilha, Activities in Portugal)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Pestsäule

Pestsäule, Plague Column, Graben, Vienna

Pestsäule (Plague Column), 1693
Graben
Vienna, September 2017

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

I Love Sebach

Sebach portable WCs, Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence

Sebach portable WCs
Piazzale Michelangelo
Florence, December 2017

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

South Cove

Raised metal tower, South Cove, Battery Park City, New York

Raised metal tower
South Cove
Battery Park City
New York, September 2007

“South Cove is an unusual, meditative recess along the waterfront. Considered one of the country’s most significant public artworks, the work is the result of a unique collaboration between environmental artist Mary Miss, architect Stanton Eckstut and landscape architect Susan Child. South Cove encompasses everything from carefully sited rocks, natural plantings, and atmospheric blue lights along the Esplanade to the water-racked pilings and the large, arching wooden jetty at the southern corner of the cove that extends into the Hudson like a pier. The jetty gently curves inward, back toward shore, as if in mediation of the city from which it springs. Overlooking the view is a raised metal tower recalling the prow of a boat or the crown of the Statue of Liberty visible beyond. At once dramatic and serene, South Cove is a place where land and water, nature and metropolis, past and present, gently coalesce.” (South Cove, Battery Park City Authority)

Monday, November 18, 2019

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan statue by Máté István, Szabadság tér, Budapest

Ronald Reagan statue by Máté István, 2011
Szabadság tér
Budapest, September 2017

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Via Condotti

Piazza di Spagna and Via Condotti, Seen from the Spanish Steps, Piazza della Trinità dei Monti, Rome

Piazza di Spagna and Via Condotti
Seen from the Spanish Steps
Piazza della Trinità dei Monti
Rome, June 2019

“Via dei Condotti (named always Via Condotti) is a busy and fashionable street of Rome, Italy. In Roman times it was one of the streets that crossed the ancient Via Flaminia and enabled people who transversed the Tiber to reach the Pincio hill. It begins at the foot of the Spanish steps and is named after conduits or channels which carried water to the Baths of Agrippa. Today, it is the street which contains the greatest number of Rome-based Italian fashion retailers, equivalent to Milan's Via Montenapoleone, Paris' Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Florence's Via de' Tornabuoni or London's Bond Street.” (Via Condotti, Wikipedia)

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Hotel Vila Galé Ópera

Hotel Vila Galé Ópera, Travessa Conde da Ponte, Lisbon

Hotel Vila Galé Ópera
Travessa Conde da Ponte
Lisbon, April 2019

“Right in front of the Tagus River, you will find the hotel Vila Galé Ópera, located near the Lisbon Congress Center and the leisure area of Docas. In just a few minutes, you will reach the monumental area of Belém and the historic center of the Portuguese capital. Designed by the renowned Portuguese architect Manuel Salgado, and renovated in 2014, the decoration of this themed hotel set in Lisbon was inspired by the opera and classical music. Featuring a modern decor, many of its rooms offer an unparalleled view of the Tagus River, an icon of the city.” (Vila Galé Ópera)

Friday, November 15, 2019

Luigi Cherubini

Grave of Luigi Cherubini, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Grave of Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842)
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, (Père Lachaise Cemetery)
Quartier du Père-Lachaise, 20th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

“Luigi Cherubini (8 or 14 September 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries. His operas were heavily praised and interpreted by Rossini.” (Luigi Cherubini, Wikipedia)

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Vintage Necchi

Vintage Necchi sewing machine, Le Nove Botteghe, Via Gioberti, Florence

Vintage Necchi sewing machine
Le Nove Botteghe (The Nine Shops)
Via Gioberti
Florence, December 2017

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Three benches

Three benches, Battery Park City Esplanade, New York

Three benches
Battery Park City Esplanade
New York, September 2007

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Vintage car with surfboard

Vintage car with surfboard, Dušní, Josefov, Prague

Vintage car with surfboard
Dušní, Josefov
Prague, September 2017

Monday, November 11, 2019

Statue of Byron

Statue of Lord Byron, copy of the work by Bertel Thorvaldsen, Viale del Museo Borghese, Villa Borghese gardens, Rome

Statue of Lord Byron
Copy of the work by Bertel Thorvaldsen
Viale del Museo Borghese
Villa Borghese gardens
Rome, May 2019

“The statue of the poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) in the Villa Borghese is a copy of the work by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), which stands in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. Thorvaldsen, who spent most of his professional life in Rome, began work on the statue in 1831 and three years later it was shipped to London. The base is inscribed with lines from Byron's long narrative poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812-18).” (Walks in Rome)

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Museu Coleção Berardo

Museu Coleção Berardo, Berardo Collection Museum, Praça do Império, Belém, Lisbon

Museu Coleção Berardo (Berardo Collection Museum)
Praça do Império, Belém
Lisbon, April 2019

“In 2006, after 10 years of negotiations, José Berardo signed an agreement with the Portuguese government to loan art from his collection on a long-term basis to the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon. Under the partnership agreement the Portuguese state incurs the costs of displaying Berardo’s collection. The art holdings themselves are owned and managed by a company known as the Berardo Collection Association. The museum was formally initiated as the Foundation of Modern and Contemporary Arton August 9, 2006 (Decree-Law 164/2006). It was inaugurated on June 25, 2007 and is named after Berardo and his collection. At the time, auction house Christie’s valued the exhibited works at around 316 million euros ($425.3 million). While the contract is still in force, however, the Berardo Collection Association may not sell cultural goods. The agreeement was renewed in 2017 giving the Portuguese government the option to purchase works from the collection until the agreements ends in late 2022. Since its opening, the collection has been located at the Exhibition Center of the Centro Cultural de Belém, with over 1,000 works of art on permanent display and temporary exhibitions.” (Berardo Collection Museum, Wikipedia)

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Unborn Children

Monument to Unborn Children, Bezručova, Bratislava

Monument to Unborn Children
Bezručova
Bratislava, September 2017

Friday, November 8, 2019

Migone Confetti

Migone Confetti, Via dei Calzaiuoli, Florence

Migone Confetti
Via dei Calzaiuoli
Florence, December 2017

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Playing guitar

Playing guitar, Battery Park City Esplanade, New York

Playing guitar
Battery Park City Esplanade
New York, September 2007

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Leopold Museum

Leopold Museum, Museumsplatz, Museumsquartier, Vienna

Leopold Museum
Museumsplatz, Museumsquartier
Vienna, September 2017

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Goethe monument

Monument to Goethe by Valentino Casali, Viale Goethe, Villa Borghese gardens, Rome

Monument to Goethe by Valentino Casali
Viale Goethe
Villa Borghese gardens
Rome, May 2019

“On 23 June 1904, in the presence of King Victor Emanuel III, the monument dedicated to the great author and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was inaugurated. Made in Berlin in the studio of the Italian sculptor Valentino Casali, it was donated by the German Emperor Wilhelm II to the Mayor of Rome, Prospero Colonna, as a sign of the friendship between the Italians and Germans and in remembrance of the hospitality the city showed towards the poet. The 3 metre tall statue is flanked by 3 groups of sculptures showing the main fields in which Goethe worked: drama, lyrical and philosophy. Goethe is shown as a young man at the time of arrival in Rome in 1786, with a notebook in his hand to recall the works written at Villa Borghese itself.” (Monument to Goethe, Jubilee Cultural Routes)

Monday, November 4, 2019

Bugio Lighthouse

Bugio Lighthouse, Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, Estuary of the river Tagus, Lisbon

Bugio Lighthouse
Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio
Estuary of the river Tagus
Lisbon, April 2019

“The Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, also known as the fort of São Lourenço da Cabeça Seca (Saint Lawrence of the dry head) or simply Torre do Bugio (Bugio Tower), is located in the middle of the estuary of the river Tagus, near Lisbon in Portugal. With no further need for its military functions, it is presently a lighthouse. The fort’s location is on a sandbank formed by the silting of the river mouth, the result of the meeting of the river’s waters with those of the Atlantic Ocean. Being the only sandbar in the Tagus with its surface above the tide throughout the year, it was given the name ‘dry head’. The derivation of the name ‘Bugio’ (monkey) is uncertain but may be related to the French word for candle, ‘bougie’, due to the similarity of the fort’s structure with a candle on a candlestick.” (Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, Wikipedia)

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Országgyűlési Őrség

Országgyűlési Őrség, Parliamentary Guard, Kossuth Lajos tér, Budapest

Országgyűlési Őrség (Parliamentary Guard)
Kossuth Lajos tér
Budapest, September 2017

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Courtyard of the Academy

Courtyard, Galleria dell'Accademia, Gallery of the Academy, Via Ricasoli, Florence

Courtyard
Galleria dell'Accademia (Gallery of the Academy)
Via Ricasoli
Florence, December 2017

Friday, November 1, 2019

Mano Solo

Grave of Emmanuel Cabut dit Mano Solo, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Grave of Emmanuel Cabut dit Mano Solo (1963-2010)
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, (Père Lachaise Cemetery)
Quartier du Père-Lachaise, 20th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

“Mano Solo (24 April 1963 – 10 January 2010), born Emmanuel Cabut, was a French singer. He was born in Châlons-sur-Marne on 24 April 1963 to the illustrator Cabu and Isabelle Monin, co-founder of the ecology-related magazine, La Gueule ouverte.” (Mano Solo, Wikipedia)