Dante in Paris

---

Statue of Dante by Jean-Paul Aubé
Collège de France
Place Marcelin-Berthelot Quartier de la Sorbonne, 5th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“We have just seen erected on the little square of the College de France, rue des Ecoles, a statue representing the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri, the remarkable work by M. Jean-Paul Aubé, purchased by the City of Paris at the Salon of 1880. The statue is in bronze and presents the author of the Divine Comedy in his traditional costume; bits of his laurel wreath emerging from his headdress. A statue of Dante has reason to be in the quartier of the rue des Ecoles, because it is exactly at this point of the left bank of the Seine River that Italy's great exile stayed for some time, in the year 1302, at the time of the memorable battle between the Guelfs and the Ghibelins.” (Images of Dante's exile in 19th-century France, Annali d'Italianistica)

The Arrival of the Bride

---

A bride arriving in a motor boat
Torcello, Venetian Lagoon
Venice, September 2012

“In their flight from barbarians 1,500 years ago, the first Venetians landed here, prospering even after many left to found the city of Venice. As malaria took its toll and the island’s wool manufacturing was priced out of the market, Torcello became a ghost town. In the 16th century there were 10 churches and 20,000 inhabitants; today you’ll be lucky to see one of the island’s 16 permanent residents.” (Fodor's Venice and Northern Italy)

Matthäuskirche

St. Matthäuskirche seen from the Neue Nationalgalerie
“Vater Staat” (Father State) by Thomas Schütte
Berlin, September 2011

“Standing a bit lost and forlorn within the Kulturforum, the Stüler-designed Matthäuskirche (1846) is a beautiful neo-Romanesque confection with alternating bands of red and ochre brick and a light-flooded, modern sanctuary that doubles as a gallery. German resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer was ordained a Lutheran minister here in 1931. A few years later the church was scheduled to be transplanted to Spandau to make room for Albert Speer’s Germania. Fortunately the war – and history – took a different turn. Bonhoeffer, however, was executed by the Nazis on 9 April 1945, just a few days before the end of the war.”(Lonely Planet, Berlin)

See also: Vater Staat

Palazzo della Carovana

---

Palazzo della Carovana (also Palazzo dei Cavalieri)
Piazza dei Cavalieri (Knights’ Square)
Pisa, January 2013

“At the end of February, 1562, Giorgio Vasari presented Cosimo I with the model for Palazzo della Carovana. In accordance with the principle with which the architect had rethought the whole square, the building was to use as fully as possible the older structure called Palazzo degli Anziani, respecting its preexisting spaces while unifying them behind an elegant façade. This solution was as technically difficult as it was financially advantageous: the Palazzo degli Anziani was inhomogeneous, composed of sections which were stylistically and chronologically different. In fact, it was composed of an older part on the right, called ‘palazzo vecchio’, dating from 1286, and a newer part on the left, called ‘palazzo nuovo’, dating from 1327, and these two parts themselves were composed of different structures. But Vasari quickly finished the main structural work and at the same time the new building of the loggia at the back of the building and of the side which now faces Via Consoli del Mare. The Knights could already move into their rooms by 1564, with the Grand Prior, given the importance of his position, occupying an apartment with various rooms.” (Palazzo della Carovana, Scuola Normale Superiore)

See also: Palazzo dell'Orologio

Leitra

---

A Leitra velomobile, or bicycle car
Rue de l'Ave Maria
Quartier Saint-Gervais, 4th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“The first LEITRA was built in 1980. Since 1982 it has successfully participated in many tough rallies in Europe, such as Trondheim - Oslo (1983) and Paris-Brest-Paris (1987). It has proven to be a real practical vehicle for long distance touring. Several million kilometers have been covered without personal injuries.
With its three wheels the LEITRA will not overturn on a slippery road. A low center of gravity (typically 35 cm over the ground) and a wide gauge (90 cm) of the front wheels reduce the risk of overturning. The steering is not affected by extra luggage load, because the luggage is kept low, under the seat. At starts and stops, e.g. at traffic lights, it is not necessary to get on and off the bike. The cyclist can sit relaxed, ready to start.” (Introduction to the Leitra Velomobile, Leitra)

Ponte dei Tre Archi

---

Ponte dei Tre Archi (Bridge of the Three Arches)
Canale di Cannaregio, Cannaregio
Venice, October 2012

“Rio di Cannaregio, the canal connecting Canal Grande and the lagoon, is crossed by only two bridges: the Ponte delle Guglie (‘Bridge of Spires’, so named on account of the four spires at the four corners) and the superb Ponte dei Tre Archi (‘Bridge of the Three Arches’), originally called the Ponte di San Giobbe (‘St. Job’s Bridge’), which is the only three-arched bridge in Venice today. The bridge was built in 1688 by Andrea Tirali. Its unusual design, with three arches of varying sizes, was inspired by an old drawing from the 1500s. Restored in 1794, this is now the favourite bridge for artists.” (Venice ant its Lagoon, World Heritage)

See also: Ponte delle Guglie

Schaffner

---

“Schaffner” (Conductor) by Arminius Hasemann, 1927/38
Eichenstraße, Treptow
Berlin, September 2011