Iglesia de San Ignacio de Loyola

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Iglesia de San Ignacio de Loyola
Plaza Teniente Arévalo
Ávila, September 2025

“It dates back to 1623 with the acquisition by Archbishop Diego de Guzmán of some medieval buildings renovated in the 16th century, within the Dávila palace complex and adjoining the southern section of the wall within the walls. On the northern façade, a series of elements remain (a massive defensive tower, twin windows, and a large voussoired doorway) that denote its civil origin. The Jesuits settled there, adapting the acquired buildings to serve as a church, school, and hospice. After the expulsion of the Society of Jesus—decreed by Charles III in 1775—the premises became the Episcopal Palace (a function it still performs today), and the church was renamed Santo Tomé el Nuevo. It has three naves, each topped by its own apse (which, surprisingly, faces west), with no transept and a dome on pendentives; the side apses are unremarkable on the exterior. Inside, a high gallery, like a tribune and an exceptional case in the city of Ávila, runs along the side naves, serving as the Episcopal Archive. The different chapels house an interesting collection of Baroque and Churrigueresque altarpieces.” (San Ignacio de Loyola, ÁvilaTurismo)

Palazzo Chiericati

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Palazzo Chiericati
Piazza Matteotti
Vicenza, May 2025

“The Palazzo Chiericati is a Renaissance palace in Vicenza (northern Italy), designed by Andrea Palladio. Palladio was asked to design and build the palazzo by Count Girolamo Chiericati. The architect started building the palace in 1550, and some further work was completed under the patronage of Chiericati's son, Valerio. However, the palazzo was not fully finished until about 1680, possibly by Carlo Borella. Palladio also designed a country home, the Villa Chiericati, for the family. The palazzo was built in an area called ‘piazza dell'Isola’ (island square, currently Piazza Matteotti), which housed the wood and cattle market. At that time, it was an islet surrounded by the Retrone and Bacchiglione streams, and to protect the structure from the frequent floods, Palladio designed it on an elevated position: the entrance could be accessed by a triple Classic-style staircase.” (Palazzo Chiericati, Wikipedia)

Centro de Ciberseguridad de Andalucía

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Centro de Ciberseguridad de Andalucía
Palmeral de las Sorpresas
Paseo del Muelle Uno
Málaga, March 2025

“Located in the Palmeral de las Sorpresas, on Muelle 2 of the Port of Malaga, the Andalusian Cybersecurity Center is a cutting-edge institution destined to become the most important in Southern Europe. A benchmark center created with the mission of coordinating the Andalusian Cybersecurity Strategy 2022-2025. The building features modern facilities and houses the Andalusian Regional Government's Security Operations Center (SOC), as well as separate spaces designed to offer specific services to citizens, private companies, and public institutions within the Andalusian digital ecosystem.” (Centro de Ciberseguridad de Andalucía, Junta de Andalucía)

Palazzo della Ragione

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Palazzo della Ragione
Piazza delle Erbe
Padua, May 2025

“The Palazzo della Ragione is a medieval market hall, town hall and palace of justice building in Padua, in the Veneto region of Italy. The upper floor was dedicated to the town and justice administration; while the ground floor still hosts the historical covered market of the city. The palace separates the two market squares of Piazza delle Erbe from Piazza dei Frutti. It is popularly called il Salone (the big hall). It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed as ‘Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles’ in 2021. The building, with its great hall on the upper floor is believed to be one of the largest medieval halls still extant. The hall is nearly rectangular, its length 81.5m, its breadth 27m, and its height 24 m; the walls are covered with allegorical frescoes. The building stands on arches, and the upper storey is flanked by an open loggia, not unlike that which surrounds the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, that was indeed inspired by Padua's Palazzo della Ragione.” (Palazzo della Ragione,Wikipedia)

Monumento a Calvo Sotelo

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Monumento a Calvo Sotelo by Carlos Ferreira de la Torre, 1960
Paseo de la Castellana
Madrid, September 2025

“The Monument to Calvo Sotelo (Spanish: Monumento a Calvo Sotelo) is an instance of public art located in Madrid, Spain. Erected on the south of the Plaza de Castilla, it is dedicated to José Calvo Sotelo, who was assassinated shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The monument was an initiative of the ‘National Junta’ for the homage to the Glorious Proto-Martyr of the Crusade Don José Calvo Sotelo, an entity reanimated in 1954 by the Francoist dictatorship in order to resume earlier Burgos government's projects dating back to 1938 intending to commemorate the aforementioned politician and delayed by the then ongoing state of war. The location of the monument was decided in 1958. Commissioned to Manuel Manzano-Monís (architect) and Carlos Ferreira de la Torre (sculptor), the monument fuses the aesthetics of Italian fascism with the Spanish vanguard of the time. Made of reinforced concrete, the single written inscription on the material reads ‘España a Calvo Sotelo’ (Spain to Calvo Sotelo). It was unveiled on 13 July 1960. It was slightly relocated in 1992 during the works of reform of the Plaza de Castilla and put on a raised platform in the south end of the plaza. Its frontal perspective generates an axis of symmetry with the Puerta de Europa twin towers.” (Monument to Calvo Sotelo, Wikipedia)

Hercules and the Lion

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“Ercole e il Leone” (Hercules and the Lion) by Romano Romanelli, 1935
Piazza Ognissanti
Florence, January 2025

“At the centre of the square there is currently a bronze group by Romano Romanelli depicting ‘Hercules and the Lion’, created in 1935 and placed here in 1937, replacing a previous monument depicting Daniele Manin (work by Urbano Nono from 1890) moved to Piazzale Galileo along Viale dei Colli, in the Arcetri area.” (Piazza Ognissanti, Wikipedia)

Casa de las Cadenas

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Casa de las Cadenas
Plaza del Conde de Cheste
Segovia, September 2025

“The Casa de las Cadenas (House of Chains) is a building in the Spanish city of Segovia. It has the status of a Site of Cultural Interest. It is a defensive building with origins as old as the walls to which it is attached. The building was part of one of the abutments of the now-disappeared San Juan Gate that served as an entrance to the city, as a defensive bastion that protected the northeastern flank of the city. It is located at number 6, Plaza del Conde de Cheste.” (Casa de las Cadenas, Wikipedia)

San Bernardino

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Church of San Bernardino
Stradone Antonio Provolo
Verona, May 2025

“San Bernardino is a church in Verona, northern Italy. The church, in Gothic style, was built from 1451 to 1466. The church's origin are connected to the presence of San Bernardino in the city from 1422, during which he founded a convent of nuns for the order of the Minor Friars and, later, another one for monks. He was canonized in 1450, six years after his death, and in 1451-1452 his successor Giovanni da Capestrano, with the bishop of Verona, Francesco Condulmerio, started the construction of a large complex for the order in Verona, with the support of the Venetian doge Francesco Foscari. This was consecrated in 1453, though the nave and its ceiling were completed only in 1466. Later a smaller aisle was added. The six bells in E are rung with Veronese bellringing art.” (San Bernardino, Wikipedia)

Catedral Vieja de Santa María

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Catedral Vieja de Santa María
(Old Cathedral of Santa María)
Plaza Juan XXIII
Salamanca, September 2025

“The Cathedral of Santa María (Spanish: Catedral Vieja de Santa María), known as the Old Cathedral, is one of the two cathedrals in Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. Founded by Bishop Jerome of Périgord, its construction began in the first third of the 12th century and was finished at the end of the 14th century, in Romanesque and Gothic style. It was finished thanks to the impulse given to the works by Bishop Alfonso Barasaque. It is dedicated to Saint Mary of the See (Santa María de la Sede). It began to be built on the initiative of its first bishop, Jerome of Périgord (died in 1120) after the restoration of the diocese of Salamanca by King Alfonso VI of León, and after the repopulation of the city carried out by his son-in-law Raymond of Burgundy. This was a period in which Romanesque was giving way to Gothic, something that can be seen in the difference between the pillars and the starts of the ribbed vaults, since there is no constructive continuity between them, as the former were designed to support a barrel vault, and the cathedral was completed in 1236.” (Old Cathedral of Salamanca, Wikipedia)

Cloister of San Lorenzo

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Cloister
Church of San Lorenzo
Piazza San Lorenzo
Vicenza, May 2025

“The original cloister, built in the first half of the fourteenth century, was lost and replaced by the current one at the end of the fifteenth century, in elegant classical-Renaissance forms. In the centre of the courtyard, a Gothic wellhead from the second half of the fourteenth century was placed in the last century, which bears the coat of arms of the Loschi family on its four sides. On the northern side, under the portico surmounted by the convent cells, the chapter house opens up, flanked by two beautiful late thirteenth-century mullioned windows with elegant white marble columns, inserted into pointed Gothic arches. Also under the portico, on the eastern and western sides, numerous tombstones, statues and funerary urns belonging to different centuries, collected when, in the nineteenth century, it was decided to make San Lorenzo the city temple.” (Church of San Lorenzo, Wikipedia)

Palacio de Valderrábanos

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Palacio de Valderrábanos
Plaza de la Catedral
Ávila, September 2025

“The Palacio de Valderrábanos, also known as the house of Gonzálo Dávila , is a 14th- century building located in the cathedral square of Ávila. On the main façade, from its initial construction, a relief is preserved above the entrance, supported by a maiden under a trefoil arch. This relief shows the helmet with a plume and a Moorish banner with a half-moon. It is surrounded by a ribbon with the following inscription in Latin: ‘Non nobis Domine, non nobis. Sed nomini tuo da gloriam’ (Not to us, Lord, not to us; but glory to your name). It comes from Psalm 113:9 that Saint Bernard of Clairvaux imposed on the Order of the Knights Templar as a motto. On the right side, there is a large tower built of brick and adobe. The façade also still retains its mullioned windows, some of them twinned. It belonged to Gonzalo Dávila de Ágreda, a knight who was master of the Catholic Monarchs, governor of the Maestrazgo de Calatrava and mayor of Jerez. The palace was renovated and is currently used as a hotel. The wooden ceilings and coffered ceiling of the former Valderrábanos palace are on display in the Ávila Museum. The first client of the remodeled Palacio de Valderrábanos, converted into a hotel, was Adolfo Suárez, who stayed in room 126 in 1971.” (Palacio de Valderrábanos, Wikipedia)

Tomba di Antenore

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Tomba di Antenore (Tomb of Antenor)
Piazza Antenore
Padua, May 2025

“The Tomb of Antenor, also called the Sepulchre of Antenore, is a 13th-century monument created to honor an unearthed ancient sarcophagus, claimed to be that of the Trojan warrior and counselor Antenor, the legendary founder of Padua; it is located in Piazza Antenore, in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. In 1274, during the construction of an orphanage in Padua, an ancient marble sarcophagus was uncovered. A local scholar, Lovato dei Lovati, said to have found inscriptions on a bronze plaque attached to the inner wooden coffin, stating the burial contained the body of Antenor.” (Tomb of Antenor, Wikipedia)

Federico García Lorca

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Statue of Federico García Lorca
Café Chinitas
Pasaje Chinitas
Málaga, March 2025

“The Café Chinitas, known to its regulars as Café El Chinitas or Café de Chinitas, was a small theatre or café singer that began its journey in the mid- 19th century in the Spanish city of Málaga (Andalusia) between 1857 and its final closure in 1937 by the Málaga municipal authorities during the Civil War. The establishment opened to the Málaga public as a theatre called Salón Royal until it was changed; on the posters advertising its shows, it was advertised as ‘Salón-Teatro Chinitas’. The name comes from a dramatic actor named Chinitas. On September 30, 2024, it reopened its doors after 87 years, in its same location, maintaining the essence of what it once was. In the renovated Café Chinitas, we can see a life-size statue of Lorca, leaning on the bar that welcomes visitors, a reminder of the poet's intimate connection with this place.” (Café Chinitas, Wikipedia)

Arno and its Valley

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‘Arno and its Valley’ by Italo Griselli, 1935
Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella
Via Valfonda
Florence, January 2025

“On the side facing via Valfonda, the Palazzina is preceded by an exedra originally intended for the manoeuvring of vehicles in front of the entrance portico, surrounded by a wall punctuated by pilasters. In this space there is a long basin covered in blue tiles and bordered in marble, in which the white statuary group of the ‘Arno and its Valley’, the work of Italo Griselli, is reflected, leaning against the ‘full’ sector of the portico of honour. The fountain is composed of a male and a female figure in a seated position, typical of the representation of rivers, in front of a large basin-pool.” (Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella, Wikipedia)

Torre Cepsa

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Torre Cepsa by Norman Foster, 2008
Paseo de la Castellana
Madrid, September 2025

“The Torre Moeve (Moeve Tower) is a skyscraper located in the Cuatro Torres Business Area in Madrid, Spain. With a height of 248.3 m (815 ft) and 45 floors, it is the second tallest of the four buildings in the Cuatro Torres Business Area complex, surpassed by Torre de Cristal by less than a metre. It is the second tallest building in Spain and the 5th tallest building in the European Union. It was successively named the Torre Repsol, the Torre Caja Madrid, the Torre Bankia, the Torre Cepsa between 2014 and 2024, and currently the Torre Moeve, depending on which major Spanish company had the lease. Designed by Lord Foster — and this also colloquially referred to as the Torre Foster, — it was built by a joint venture of Dragados and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas. The tower was initially known as Torre Repsol and would have served as headquarters for Repsol YPF oil and gas company. During the construction of the tower, Repsol decided to change the location of its future headquarters and the financial institution Caja Madrid purchased the building for €815 million in August 2007. In 2016 it was bought by Amancio Ortega, Europe's richest man and founder of global fashion group and Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), for €490 million euros through his property investment arm, Pontegadea Inmobiliaria, one of the biggest property companies in Spain. He purchased the tower from Abu Dhabi tycoon Khadem al-Qubaisi, whose fund had exercised a last-minute purchase option from Spanish lender Bankia (BKIA.MC), its previous owner. The current name of the tower refers to the energy company Moeve, previously known as Cepsa, headquartered in the building. It is likely to change its name once again if Moeve goes ahead with the plan to move its HQ to another part of Madrid.” (Torre Cepsa, Wikipedia)

Basilica of San Zeno

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Basilica of San Zeno
Piazza San Zeno
Verona, May 2025

“The Basilica di San Zeno (also known as San Zeno Maggiore or San Zenone) is a minor basilica of Verona, northern Italy constructed between 967 and 1398 AD. Its fame rests partly on its Romanesque architecture and partly upon the tradition that its crypt was the place of the marriage of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. St. Zeno died around 371–380. According to legend, at a site above his tomb along the Via Gallica, the first small church was erected by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Erection of the present basilica and associated monastery began in the 9th century, when Bishop Ratoldus and King Pepin of Italy attended the translation of the saint's relics into the new church. This edifice was damaged or destroyed by a Magyar invasion in the early 10th-century, at which time Zeno's body was moved to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Matricolare: on May 21, 921, it was returned to its original site in the crypt of the present church. In 967, a new Romanesque edifice was built by Bishop Raterius, with the patronage of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. On January 3, 1117, the church, along with most of the city, was damaged by an earthquake; the church was restored and enlarged in 1138. Work was completed in 1398 with the reconstruction of the roof and of the Gothic-style apse.” (Basilica of San Zeno, Wikipedia)

Roman aqueduct

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Roman aqueduct
Plaza del Azoguejo
Segovia, September 2025

“The Aqueduct of Segovia (Spanish: Acueducto de Segovia) is a Roman aqueduct in Spain, built around the first century AD to channel water from springs in the mountains 17 kilometres (11 mi) to Segovia's fountains, public baths and private houses, in use until 1973. Its elevated section, with its complete arcade of 167 arches, is one of the best-preserved Roman aqueduct bridges and the foremost symbol of Segovia, as evidenced by its presence on the city's coat of arms. The Old Town of Segovia and the aqueduct were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.” (Aqueduct of Segovia, Wikipedia)

Church of San Lorenzo

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Church of San Lorenzo
Piazza San Lorenzo
Vicenza, May 2025

“The church of San Lorenzo is a Catholic place of worship in Vicenza, built at the end of the 13th century in Gothic style, in its Lombard-Padanian version of the 13th century. It is located in the central Piazza San Lorenzo, along Corso Fogazzaro, and was officiated by the Conventual Franciscans until 2017. The presence of the Franciscans in Vicenza dates back, most likely, to the time when their founder was still alive: perhaps 1216; his passage through the city, however, is not documented. It seems that in 1222 they officiated at the church of San Salvatore, the location of which is not clear, whether in contrà Carpagnon or in the contrà later renamed San Francesco Vecchio near the bishop's palace, where in 1232 they renovated or built their own church. It is certain, however, that in 1280 they exchanged this last church for the chapel of San Lorenzo in Portanova - built 40 years earlier close to the early medieval walls - and for an adjacent piece of land.” (Church of San Lorenzo, Wikipedia)

Palacio de Anaya

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Palacio de Anaya
Plaza de Anaya
Salamanca, September 2025

“Construction of the Anaya Palace began in 1760, based on plans by José Hermosilla. The entire building is in the neoclassical style, with highlights including the main façade, with four large Ionic columns topped by a triangular pediment, with wide steps leading up to it. Inside, the patio has a double gallery of 16 Doric columns on the lower floor and 16 Composite-Ionic columns in the upper gallery. The two floors of the building are connected by a magnificent imperial staircase on which there is a bust of Don Miguel de Unamuno. It is also known as the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé. It is currently the Faculty of Philology of the University of Salamanca.” (Anaya Palace, Spain.info)

Oratorio di San Giorgio

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Oratorio di San Giorgio
Piazza del Santo
Padua, May 2025

“The Oratorio di San Giorgio or St George's Oratory is a Gothic-style Roman Catholic chapel or prayer hall in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. It is notable for its frescoed interiors. The oratory is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Padua's fourteenth-century fresco cycles, inscribed in 2021 for its exceptional example of 14th-century monumental painting. The oratory was initially built as a free-standing structure by the Marquis Soragna Raimondino de’ Lupi in 1376 as a family funerary chapel. The Oratory is located on the same plaza as the imposing Basilica di Sant'Antonio di Padova. The interior walls are lined with twenty-two narrative frescoed images, commissioned by Raimondino de’ Lupis, in the form of frescoes that depict scenes from the lives of Saint George, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Lucy, and Jesus Christ. The altar wall displays the Crucifixion, and the barrel-vaulted ceiling is decorated with stars. Largely, this tomb has been lost to time, but it was said to include ten life-sized statues of de’ Lupi and his family, two of which are still standing today. Altichiero da Zevio and his associates, including Jacopo d'Avanzi and Sebeto da Verona completed the fresco cycle in 1384; during the Napoleonic Wars, they were whitewashed over until their rediscovery in 1837. As a result, many of them are damaged.” (Oratory of San Giorgio, Wikipedia)

Murallas

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Murallas (Walls)
Ávila, September 2025

“The Walls of Ávila, completed between the 11th and 14th centuries, are the defensive walls of Ávila, Spain, and its principal historic feature. These medieval fortifications are the most complete and best preserved in all the country. The Old Town of Ávila, including the walls and its extramural churches, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. The work was started in 1090 but most of the defensive wall appears to have been rebuilt in the 12th century. The enclosed area is an irregular rectangle of 31 hectares (77 acres) with a perimeter of some 2,516 metres (8,255 ft), including 88 semicircular towers. The walls have an average width of 3 metres (9.8 ft) and an average height of 12 metres (39 ft). The nine gates were completed over several different periods.” (Walls of Ávila, Wikipedia)

Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella

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Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella, 1935
Via Valfonda
Florence, January 2025

“The building was inaugurated together with the station on 30 October 1935 in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III and Minister Costanzo Ciano. Intended as a temporary residence and rest stop for the King and his court (who no longer had access to the Pitti Palace after it had been opened as a museum), the building, whose ‘style’ architecture appears ‘far from the fluid rationalism of the Fabbricato Viaggiatori’, is characterised by the preciousness of the covering materials, the sophistication of the details and the finishings.” (Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella, Wikipedia)

Café Chinitas

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Café Chinitas
Pasaje Chinitas
Málaga, March 2025

“The Café Chinitas, known to its regulars as Café El Chinitas or Café de Chinitas, was a small theatre or café singer that began its journey in the mid- 19th century in the Spanish city of Málaga (Andalusia) between 1857 and its final closure in 1937 by the Málaga municipal authorities during the Civil War. The establishment opened to the Málaga public as a theatre called Salón Royal until it was changed; on the posters advertising its shows, it was advertised as ‘Salón-Teatro Chinitas’. The name comes from a dramatic actor named Chinitas. On September 30, 2024, it reopened its doors after 87 years, in its same location, maintaining the essence of what it once was. In the renovated Café Chinitas, we can see a life-size statue of Lorca, leaning on the bar that welcomes visitors, a reminder of the poet's intimate connection with this place.” (Café Chinitas, Wikipedia)

Arena di Verona

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Arena di Verona (Verona Arena)
Piazza Bra
Verona, May 2025

“The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic center of Verona, an iconic symbol of the Venetian city alongside the figures of Romeo and Juliet. It stands as one of the grand structures that defined Roman architecture and is among the best-preserved ancient amphitheatres to have survived into the modern era. This remarkable state of preservation is largely due to systematic restoration efforts that began in the 16th century; as a result, despite numerous transformations over time, the Arena allows visitors to easily grasp the design of such buildings. These structures were meticulously engineered for their intended purpose yet possessed an essential, understated beauty. During the summer months, the Arena hosts the renowned Arena di Verona Festival, with opera seasons that have run uninterrupted since 1913, while throughout the rest of the year, it serves as a venue for numerous international singers and musicians.” (Verona Arena, Wikipedia)

Torre de Cristal

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Torre de Cristal (Glass Tower) by Cesar Pelli, 2008
Paseo de la Castellana
Madrid, September 2025

“The Torre de Cristal (Glass Tower) is a skyscraper in the Cuatro Torres Business Area (CTBA) in Madrid, Spain, completed in 2008. With a final height of 249 m (817 ft), it surpassed Torre Emperador as the tallest building in Spain, and is the fifth-tallest in the European Union. It was designed by Cesar Pelli and built by Dragados.” (Torre de Cristal, Wikipedia)

Palazzo Trissino

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Palazzo Trissino
Corso Palladio
Vicenza, May 2025

“Palazzo Trissino al Corso (also known as Trissino Baston) is a building located along Corso Palladio, corner of Contrà Cavour, in Vicenza, designed by the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi. Since 1901 it has been the main seat of the Municipality of Vicenza. The building is characterised by the presence of classical elements in the facade on the Corso and is arranged around the square of the central courtyard. The palace stands a few blocks from other buildings linked to the Trissino family, such as Palazzo Trissino al Duomo in contrà Cesare Battisti, Palazzo Trissino Sperotti in contrà Porti, Palazzo Trissino Lanza in contrà Riale.” (Palazzo Trissino, Wikipedia)

Iglesia de San Clemente

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Iglesia de San Clemente
Avenida del Acueducto
Segovia, September 2025

“The church of San Clemente is a Romanesque-style Catholic church in the Spanish city of Segovia. The church stands between the streets of Marqués de Mondéjar, Gobernador Fernández Jiménez, and Doctor Sancho. Its construction took place in the 17th century and during the 18th century the atrium, the tower and the apse chapel or Chapel of Peace were built. During the War of Independence the tower was destroyed except for the first body, this was rebuilt in 1812, but was destroyed again during the first Carlist war in 1837. The 4 bells that are currently in the tower arrived at the temple between the 17th and 18th centuries. At the beginning of the 20th century, the parish was attached to the parish of San Millán, as it remains today, with the San Millán brotherhood keeping its banners in the apse chapel.” (Iglesia de San Clemente, Wikipedia)

Prato della Valle

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The canal bordered by two rings of statues
Prato della Valle
Padua, May 2025

“Prato della Valle (Prà de ła Vałe in Venetian) is a 90,000-square-meter elliptical square in Padua, Italy. It is the second largest square in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. Today, the square is a large space with a green island at the center, l'Isola Memmia, surrounded by a small canal bordered by two rings of statues. Prior to 1635, the area that would come to be known as the ‘Prato della valle’ was largely a featureless expanse of partially swampy terrain just south of the old city walls of Padova. In 1636, a group of Venetian and Veneto notables financed the construction of a temporary but lavishly appointed theater as a venue for mock battles on horseback. The musical entertainment that served as the prologue to the jousting is considered to be the immediate predecessor of the first public opera performances in Venice, which began the following year.” (Prato della Valle, Wikipedia)

Catedral de la Asunción de la Virgen

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Catedral de la Asunción de la Virgen
Plaza de Anaya
Salamanca, September 2025

“The Catedral de la Asunción de la Virgen (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary), popularly known as New Cathedral (Catedral Nueva) is, together with the Old Cathedral, one of the two cathedrals of Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. It is the seat of the diocese of Salamanca. It was constructed between 1533 and 1733 mixing late Gothic, Plateresque and Baroque styles. It was commissioned by Ferdinand V of Castile. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Spain in size and its bell tower, at 92 meters high, is also one of the tallest.” (New Cathedral of Salamanca, Wikipedia)

Monumento alla pace

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Monumento alla pace (Peace Monument) by Sauro Cavallini, 1979
Giardino di Valfonda
Via Valfonda
Florence, January 2025

“This is the garden of Villa Vittoria, a building designed in 1520 probably by Baccio d'Agnolo. According to historical sources, this green space stretched over a large area extending from Via Valfonda to Fortezza da Basso and Via della Scala, later downsized to make room for the Santa Maria Novella train station.” (Giardino di Valfonda, Florence by Tram)

Monasterio de la Encarnación

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Monasterio de la Encarnación
Paseo la Encarnación
Ávila, September 2025

“The Monastery of the Incarnation was founded in 1478 within the walled city. It was at the beginning of the 16th century when the Carmelite convent was moved to the outskirts of the city, building the monastery on land acquired from the Chapter and which had previously been the Jewish cemetery. On April 4, 1515, the day the saint was baptized, the monastery was inaugurated, although still unfinished. It consists of four naves enclosing a central courtyard, with a two-story cloister. At the end of the 16th century, the cell occupied by Teresa of Jesus was used as an oratory, and a chapel was planned for construction, which was not inaugurated until 1717. The current configuration of the Chapel of the Transverberation is based on four transverse arches and a half-orange dome. In the 18th century, the interior of the original church was transformed in a Baroque style. The floor plan is in the shape of a Latin cross, with a single nave covered by a barrel vault and a dome with pendentives and a lantern. The altars and reredos are also Baroque. The large bell gable, built in 1715, stands out on the southern façade of the monastery. This monastery is one of the key places in the life of Teresa of Ávila, where she remained almost uninterruptedly from 1535 to 1574. When Teresa de Cepeda, without her father's permission, entered the Carmelite Order, the monastery was one of the most populated in the city. It had a very large number of properties, and as in many others, convent life was not rigorous, with very marked social differences among the nuns. At La Encarnación, she received advice from Francisco de Borja, Juan de la Cruz, and Pedro de Alcántara, and it was from here that she prepared the Carmelite Reform.” (Monasterio de La Encarnación, ÁvilaTurismo)

Scala della Ragione

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Scala della Ragione, 1447
Palazzo della Ragione
Cortile del Mercato Vecchio
Verona, May 2025

“The Scala della Ragione is a fifteenth-century work that is part of the monumental complex of the Palazzo della Ragione in Verona. The structure connects the courtyard of the Mercato Vecchio with the large portal that gives access to the main floor of the palace. In 1446 the City Council decided to create a vertical connection in the large space of the courtyard of the Palazzo della Ragione to allow easy access to the main floor, which at the same time could communicate, through its architecture, the institutional prestige that the complex had in the Verona of the time. The following year, the Scala della Ragione was built in the corner of the courtyard near the Lamberti tower, completely in red Verona marble.” (Scala della Ragione, Wikipedia)

Teteria Palacio Nazari

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Teteria Palacio Nazari
Calle Méndez Núñez
Málaga, March 2025

“Within the shadows of the Nasrid Alcazaba, you will find this oriental tea room. From the street it may appear to be just a tea room, or even an ornate kebab take-away, which it is, but its so much more. Its a pandora's box, a great bundle of gorgeous surprises. Its occupies all three floors of the building, and every room is decorated in the Nasrid style you see in the Alhambra palace of Granada. It gives you an idea of what it might have been like to live in the palace above whose decor is not so well preserved as in Granada or Seville.” (Teteria Palacio Nazari, My Guide Málaga)

Ponte San Paolo

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Ponte San Paolo
Contrà Ponte San Paolo
Vicenza, May 2025

“The Ponte San Paolo (or Ponte di San Paolo) is a bridge of Roman origin that crosses the Retrone river in Vicenza. The San Paolo bridge has had various names throughout its history: in the Middle Ages it was called Ponte Bericano, in the second half of the 14th century Ponte delle Beccarie and in modern times it was called Ponte di San Paolo. It was described for the first time by Andrea Palladio who illustrated it with some drawings: it was a three-arched bridge, demolished in 1875 and replaced with a modern bridge with a single arch that maintains the alignment with the ancient one.” (Ponte San Paolo, Wikipedia)

Caleido

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Caleido by Fenwick Iribarren Architects, 2021
Paseo de la Castellana
Madrid, September 2025

“Caleido is a 173-metre-tall (568 ft), 36-story skyscraper located in Madrid. It is popularly known as the Quinta Torre (Fifth Tower), as it stands near the other four skyscrapers of the Cuatro Torres Business Area (CTBA) complex along the Paseo de la Castellana. As of 2021, IE University is the main tenant. Construction began in April 2017 and the tower was formally completed on 19 October 2021. The original completion date was September 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The building occupies the former site of the Centro Internacional de Convenciones de la Ciudad de Madrid. It is the fifth tallest building in Madrid and the seventh tallest in Spain. Caleido was designed by the architectural firms Fenwick Iribarren and Serrano-Suñer Arquitectura. The main contractor was OHL Desarrollos.” (Caleido, Wikipedia)

Caffè Pedrocchi

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Caffè Pedrocchi (Pedrocchi Café)
Via VIII Febbraio
Padua, May 2025

“The Pedrocchi Café (Caffè Pedrocchi in Italian) is a café founded in the 18th century in central Padua, Italy. It has architectural prominence because its rooms were decorated in diverse styles, arranged in an eclectic ensemble by the architect Giuseppe Jappelli. The café has historical prominence because of its role in the 1848 riots against the Habsburg monarchy, as well as for being an attraction for artists over the last century from the French novelist Stendhal to Lord Byron to the Italian writer Dario Fo. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, coffee consumption by the expanding bourgeoisie of Europe at public establishments expanded. In 1772 the Francesco Pedrocchi of Bergamo founded a successful ‘coffee shop’ here, near the University, town hall, markets, post office and the square of the Noli (now Piazza Garibaldi), from where coaches left to nearby cities. The new café was to be ‘the most beautiful one on the Earth’, it opened in 1831 and then joined, in 1836, from Pedrocchino, elegant neo-Gothic building reserved for the pastry.” (Pedrocchi Café, Wikipedia)

Iglesia de San Esteban

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Iglesia de San Esteban
Plaza San Esteban
Segovia, September 2025

“The Church of St Stephen (Spanish: Iglesia de San Esteban) is one of a number of medieval churches in Segovia, Spain. It dates from the 12th century and is noted for its Romanesque bell tower. The tower is designated a Bien de Interés Cultural and has been protected since 1896, when it was declared a National Monument (published in the Madrid Gazette on 13 December 1896). Since 1985 the church has been part of a World Heritage Site: the Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct. In giving this designation to Segovia, UNESCO noted that the outstanding monuments of the city included ‘several Romanesque churches’.” (Church of San Esteban, Wikipedia)

Church of San Giuliano

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Church of San Giuliano
Via Faenza
Florence, January 2025

“The church of San Giuliano is a Catholic place of worship located in Via Faenza in the historic center of Florence. The church belonged to the female monastery of San Giuliano, founded in the 14th century by Bartolo Benvenuti, and was also known as the ‘Monache di Montaione’ monastery. At the beginning of the 16th century the monastery was inhabited by Dominican nuns dependent on Santa Maria Novella who in 1514 left with the permission of Pope Leo X to place themselves under the dependence of the Archbishop of Florence. In those years the monastery, in particular its church, was embellished with notable works of art: on the high altar there was an altarpiece by Mariotto Albertinelli with the Madonna and Child with Saints Giuliano, Domenico, Nicola and Girolamo and on the one on the right another by the same Albertinelli with the Trinity, both dating back to around 1510 and today in the Galleria dell'Accademia.” (Chiesa di San Giuliano, Wikipedia)

La Clerecía

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La Clerecía
Calle de la Compañía
Salamanca, September 2025

“La Clerecía is the name given to the building of the former ‘Real Colegio del Espíritu Santo’ (or Santo Espíritu) of the Society of Jesus, built in Salamanca between the 17th and 18th centuries. It is of baroque style. It differs the college, with an interesting cloister, and the church, with an impressive facade of three bodies. The name of Clerecía is due to an abbreviated denomination of its belonging to the Real Clerecía de San Marcos after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain. Construction began in 1617 under the protection of Margaret of Austria, wife of Philip III, apparently as an act of reparation to the order for the imprisonment suffered by its founder, Ignatius of Loyola, by the Inquisition in the Mocha tower of the old cathedral of Salamanca. It was completed in 1754. The general floor plan of the building is the work of Juan Gómez de Mora. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain, decreed by Charles III by means of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1767, the building was given to the Royal Clergy of San Marcos, with headquarters in the Church of San Marcos. The latter subsequently ceded the building (except for the church) to the Diocese of Salamanca, which installed the Seminary of San Carlos in it. In 1940, the Pontifical University of Salamanca was created and instituted by Pope Pius XII, and the Diocese gave it the building as its headquarters. Although this delivery did not include the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Pontifical University suppressed its worship since September 2012 to be exploited for tourism. Only weddings of alumni and people linked to the Pontifical University are allowed.” (La Clerecía, Wikipedia)

Santa Anastasia

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Basilica of Santa Anastasia
Piazza Santa Anastasia
Verona, May 2025

“The church of San Pietro da Verona in Santa Anastasia, better known as the basilica of Santa Anastasia, is an important Catholic place of worship that stands in the heart of the historic center of Verona; it is located at the end of the decumanus maximus of the city in Roman times, near the point where the wide meander of the Adige river is crossed by the Ponte Pietra, where the two main traffic routes of the city, road and river, gravitate. It is the largest, most solemn and representative church in Verona, a reflection of a lively moment in the city's life, when the expansion and consolidation of political and economic institutions allowed the community, in synergy with the Scaliger rule, the Dominican clergy and the Castelbarco family, to make a considerable financial effort to build this important temple, a symbol of their power.” (Santa Anastasia, Wikipedia)

Ermita del Humilladero

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Ermita del Humilladero
Calle Humilladero
Ávila, September 2025

“The Ermita del Humilladero (Humilladero hermitage) is a Catholic temple in the Spanish city of Ávila , whose construction dates back to the 16th century. Located in the city of Ávila, it is also called the ‘humilladero de la Vera Cruz’. It is a hermitage made of Berroqueña ashlar stone whose construction was halted between 1552 and 1594, according to Juan Martín Carramolino. After leveling the road that led from the city to Madrid, the main façade (the south one) was buried up to half of the door. It is located a few meters from the Basilica of San Vicente.” (Ermita del Humilladero, Wikipedia)

Ponte San Michele

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Ponte San Michele
Via Ponte San Michele
Vicenza, May 2025

“The bridge, exclusively for pedestrians, crosses the Retrone River in the south-eastern part of the city. In this ‘alla veneziana’ form with a single arch, it was built in 1621-23, the third reconstruction of a structure originally made of wood (1265) and then of stone (1422). It owes its name to its proximity to the Augustinian church of San Michele, built in the 13th century by the Augustinians, but destroyed in the Napoleonic era; today only part of the convent remains.” (Ponte San Michele, Arte.it)

El Cenachero

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“El Cenachero” by Jaime Fernández Pimentel, 1968
Plaza de la Marina
Málaga, March 2025

“This bronze sculpture created by Málaga artist Jaime Fernández Pimentel in 1968 represents a typical and traditional figure of Málaga, the ‘Cenachero’ or Fish Vendor. El Cenachero sold fish on the streets of the city while maintaining the balance of the two esparto baskets he carried. These basket are called ‘cenachos’ in Spanish, hence his name. The cenachos were handmade of esparto and filled at the beaches where the central fishing net was landed. Generally, Cenacheros sold anchovies, but also traded in mackerel, sardines or whitebait. The sculpture shows how a traditional cenachero dressed: with a sash, the hanging cenachos and a hat to protect him from the heat. In honour of the twinning of the cities of Málaga and Mobile, Alabama, Málaga City Council donated a replica of this sculpture to Mobile, which has been erected in a square of this American city.” (El Cenachero, Ayuntamiento de Málaga)

Palazzo del Bo

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Palazzo del Bo (Bo Palace)
Via VIII Febbraio
Padua, May 2025

“The Bo Palace (Palazzo del Bo) is the historical seat of University of Padua since 1493. It is still home to the Rectorate and the School of Law. It is also home to the oldest anatomical theatre in the world. The University of Padua was founded by an exodus of professors and students from the University of Bologna in 1222. When the University settled in the current location of the Bo, a long time had passed since its foundation and, by then, all its structures had profoundly changed from the initial ones. It was now made illustrious by the value of its students and teachers, furthermore it could materially be considered one of the major European universities, and the most attended by foreign students among the universities of the Italian peninsula. Like many other complexes that have had a long historical life, that of the Bo also presents itself with a rather complex genesis and with events that, over the centuries, have contributed to modifying its physiognomy. Therefore, a historical analysis of the various components of the Palace, starting from the defined sixteenth-century nucleus, and then arriving at the imposing additions that occurred during the twenty years of fascism, implies an understanding of the events that have marked the life of the city and the university over the centuries.” (Palazzo del Bo, Wikipedia)

Simeón Sentado

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Simeón Sentado by Francisco Leiro, 2007
Paseo de la Castellana
Madrid, September 2025

“Simeon wanted to be alone to meditate, but he was so rigorous in his methods that he was expelled from the monastery. To escape the world, he went to the desert and there looked for a dry cistern, but curiosity was aroused, and his fame drew hundreds of people to visit him. He also visited the cave where he later took refuge. Fed up with everything, he had a three-meter-high column built, but it wasn't enough. He asked for another seven-meter one, but that wasn't enough either. Finally, he got one seventeen meters high, which he climbed. According to legend, he spent thirty-seven years there, until he died in 459. He was known as Simon the Stylite, and his memory is commemorated on January 5th. Luis Buñuel made a film about him, Simon of the Desert (1965), a cinema classic. Buñuel didn't let him die on the column, but that's another story. This is ‘Simeón sentado’ (Simon Seated), a bronze sculpture on a granite column by Francisco Leiro, installed in 2007 at the Cuatro Torres in Madrid. Leiro, who has other sculptures in which the biblical and the classical interact with modernity, wanted to see here a distracted attitude in Simeon, evoking the Hellenistic Thorn-Bearer, but also Rodin's thinker. I said distracted, but I could say relaxed: is good old Simeon meditating, or has he been distracted by the flight of a butterfly? No matter how high you climb, the world will always call you back. There, next to it, is the Torre Emperador Castellana, formerly Torre Espacio, with its two hundred and thirty meters of height (the fourth tallest building in Spain) and many people perched on it. Are they meditating? The tower is also famous for the fire that broke out there while it was still under construction, in September 2006. Will Simeon think of this when he sees people staring curiously at him from above?” (Simeón sentado, La Acequia)

Loggia del Consiglio

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Loggia del Consiglio, 1493
Piazza dei Signori
Verona, May 2025

“The Loggia del Consiglio, also known as the Loggia of Fra Giocondo after the humanist friar Giovanni Giocondo, who was long believed to be the designer of the building, is a significant episode in Veronese architecture from the second half of the fifteenth century. The loggia, located in Piazza dei Signori, in the heart of Verona, was a representative building commissioned by the leaders of the Municipality for the sessions of the patriotic Council, and is currently the seat of the offices of the Province of Verona. Starting from 1451 the Municipality of Verona began the search for a suitable place to host its Council until in 1476, finally, it decided to build in Piazza dei Signori a loggia characterized by marble columns, which would replace a crenellated palace. The latter was in poor condition of conservation and, moreover, had a facade advanced towards the square and not aligned with the building that was located to the side; to reconcile the new canons of Renaissance architecture, it was decided to move back the facade of the new loggia, so as to remodel the square in front and give it a regular shape.” (Loggia del Consiglio, Wikipedia)

Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

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Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción y de San Frutos
Calle Marqués del Arco
Segovia, September 2025

“The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and of Saint Fructus is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Spanish city of Segovia. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to Saint Fructus and is the seat of the Diocese of Segovia. It was built in the Flamboyant style, and was dedicated in 1768, constituting one of the latest Gothic cathedrals in Europe. The original cathedral stood adjacent to the Alcazar and was destroyed during the Revolt of the Comuneros. During the Revolt, the city of Segovia murdered their legislator after he voted against their interests during the Cortes of Corunna celebrated on April 22, 1520. Rodrigo Ronquillo was sent to investigate the murder, but the city refused him entry, leading to the blockade of Segovia. The supporters of Charles V barricaded themselves inside the Alcazar, while the Comuneros intended to take the cathedral and use it as a strategic position to siege the Alcazar. After 6 months of constant siege, the Comuneros were defeated in Villalar and the original cathedral laid in ruins. Charles V then ordered a new cathedral to be built, but demanded it to be built in a completely different place to prevent a similar outcome in the case of another siege to the Alcazar. The new cathedral was to be built on top of the Convent of Saint Clare of the Cross and part of the jewish quarter (its actual location). The chosen architect was Juan Gil de Hontañón and the first stone was laid on June 8, 1525. To reduce costs, some of the remains of the previous cathedral were used in its construction, suchs as the cloister.” (Segovia Cathedral, Wikipedia)

Neri Pozza

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Monument to Neri Pozza by Nereo Quagliato, 2012
Contrà Pescaria
Vicenza, May 2025

“Neri Pozza (Vicenza, 5 August 1912 – Vicenza, 6 November 1988) was an Italian partisan, writer and publisher. He was also an artist, engraver and collector of contemporary art. He was born and lived in Vicenza, a city to which he dedicated all his activity. He attended the Pigafetta classical high school in Vicenza, but did not complete his studies; his father was a sculptor and Neri approached sculpture, which he soon abandoned for poetry. Active in the Vicenza Resistance, he wrote the book ‘La prigione’ from this experience in the 1960s. In 1941 he founded the publishing house Il Pellicano, under the banner of a vivifying cultural renewal; an intent made evident in the logo, which features a pelican feeding its dying children with its own blood. After the war period he committed himself to what would be the project of his life: Neri Pozza Editore, for which the first title was published in 1946: ‘Paludi’ by André Gide. In 1950 he published the anthology ‘In quel preciso momento’ by Dino Buzzati. In 1951 he published the first novel by Goffredo Parise (also from Vicenza), ‘Il ragazzo morto e le comete’. The growth path of the publishing house continued with collaborations with Vincenzo Cardarelli, Eugenio Montale, Carlo Emilio Gadda and Mario Luzi.” (Neri Pozza, Wikipedia)

Iglesia de Santiago del Arrabal

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Iglesia de Santiago del Arrabal
Plaza de Santiago
Salamanca, September 2025

“The church of Santiago del Arrabal is a Catholic church located on the banks of the River Tormes in the city of Salamanca. Its construction dates back to the 12th century, making it one of the oldest in Salamanca. It is located near the Roman bridge of Salamanca and the stone verraco (the so-called verraco del puente). It is one of the churches near the Ruta de la Plata before entering the city on the Jacobean pilgrimage. The interior was completely baroque in the 18th century due to the transformations and renovations that were made. The church was important in the celebrations of the festival of Santiago in which the representatives of the city council came on horseback preceded by a herald with a flag. It was founded in 1145 as a Mozarabic church. It was located in the suburb (outside the walls) and had a notable relevance, since every year until it was closed in the 19th century it was visited by members of the City Council on the day and the eve of Santiago. In addition, until 1772 it maintained, exclusively with the cathedral, the right of asylum.” (Iglesia de Santiago del Arrabal, Wikipedia)

Church of the Eremitani

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Church of the Eremitani
Piazza Eremitani
Padua, May 2025

“The Church of the Eremitani (Chiesa degli Eremitani), or Church of the Hermits, is a former-Augustinian, 13th-century Gothic-style church in Padua, region of the Veneto, Italy. It is also now notable for being adjacent to the Cappella Scrovegni with Giotto frescoes and the municipal archeology and art gallery: the Musei Civici agli Eremitani, which is housed in the former Augustinian monastery located to the left of the entrance. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Padua's 14th-century fresco cycles (since 2021). The Augustinian hermit friars, precursors of the present Order of Saint Augustine had arrived in Padua in 1237. Through the patronage of both the wife of the local nobleman Zaccaria dell'Arena and the city, the church was erected between 1260 and 1276 and dedicated to the saints Philip and James. The friars would remain in the administration of the monastery and church until 1806, when the Napoleonic régime suppressed the order and closed the monastery. The church was re-opened to services in 1808, and in 1817 redesignated a parish church. The façade is tall with a rose window. A 15th-century side portal has bas-reliefs depicting the months, completed by Nicolò Baroncelli. The interior has a single nave.” (Church of the Eremitani, Wikipedia)