Ancient Baths

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“Bagni nelle antiche terme” by Antonio Peppini, 1826
Borgo Santissimi Apostoli / Piazza del Limbo
Florence, April 2017

“I am now standing opposite the famous Piazza del Limbo, that precious, sunken-in piazza that boasts the Chiesa dei Santi Apostoli. But before I descend, I take in the nineteenth-century building on my side of the street, the Bagni nelle Antiche Terme, which stands on the site of the original Roman baths. Antonio Peppini funded the construction of this building in 1826 (his name adorns the building) to be used once again for the city's public baths. It is now a high-end tailor shop, Bottega delle Antiche Terme di Simone Abbarchi (no. 16).” (Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, The Florentine)

Torre de Collserola

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Torre de Collserola by Norman Foster, 1991
Carretera de Vallvidrera al Tibidabo
Barcelona, March 2017

“Torre de Collserola is a uniquely designed tower located on the Tibidabo hill in the Serra de Collserola, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by the architect Sir Norman Foster and by the Spanish civil engineers Julio Martínez Calzón and Manuel Julià Vilardell. This emblematic tower was built in 1991 by the construction company Cubiertas y MZOV S.A. for the 1992 Summer Olympics. It features a pod for floor space like many towers but uses guy wires for lateral support like a mast. Mainly used as a TV and radio transmitter, this futuristic design provides the highest viewpoint over the city. The top antenna reaches 288.4 m (946 ft) and the top of the pod, which has thirteen floors, reaches 152 m (499 ft). The highest point of this tower is actually the highest place you could be in the city of Barcelona.” (Torre de Collserola, Wikipedia)

St Paul's Within the Walls

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St Paul's Within the Walls by George Edmund Street, 1880
Via Nazionale
Rome, April 2013

“St Paul's Within the Walls, also known as the American Church in Rome, is a church of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe on Via Nazionale in Castro Pretorio, Rome. It was the first Protestant church to be built in Rome. Designed by English architect George Edmund Street in Gothic Revival style, it was built in polychrome brick and stone, and completed in 1880. The church contains mosaics which are the largest works of the English Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones.” (St Paul's Within the Walls, Wikipedia)

Room without a View

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‘Room without a View’ by Antony Gormley, 2014
(That thing above The Garden Café)
Brown Hart Gardens
Off Duke Street, Mayfair
London, September 2016

“Gormley has created his suite – it's called Room – for the Beaumont, a hotel due to open this autumn in Brown Hart Gardens. The hotel is not exactly a Travelodge. It is a swanky place that raises the question of how an artist can, in good faith, make a work that teases the general public with its shiny exterior while in reality be a delight for the rich guests this Mayfair establishment is hoping to attract. No one would tell me the cost for a night in Gormley's Room, though it's said to go for roughly £2,500.” (Antony Gormley's £2,500 Room without a view, The Guardian)

Ai Weiwei. Libero

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“Ai Weiwei. Libero” exhibition
Palazzo Strozzi
Piazza degli Strozzi
Florence, January 2017

Radio City Music Hall

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Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center
Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas)
New York, September 2008

“Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city. Its interior was declared a city landmark in 1978. It is notable as being the headquarters for the precision dance company, the Rockettes.” (Radio City Music Hall, Wikipedia)

Giuseppe Parini

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Statue of Giuseppe Parini by Luca Secchi, 1899
Piazza Cordusio
Milano, November 2016

“He was born in Cremona, but resided during his career mostly in Milan. He was initially a pupil of Pietro Magni, and then of Francesco Barzaghi at the Brera Academy. He worked on statues in bronze and marble. He exhibited in 1883 in Milan, a bronze statue titled: Modello in Riposo. His work Bel mattino was awarded at the 1883 Girotti competition. In 1884, in Turin, he exhibited a model for In Repose. In 1886 in Milan, he exhibited this statue in marble. He was commissioned a number of monuments in and around Milan. These include the Monument to the poet Giuseppe Parini, (1899) at the piazza Cordusio, Milan. The base was completed with Antonio Beltrami and inaugurated on the centenary of the writer's death. One of his masterworks is his monument to Verdi made for town where the composer lived.” (Luca Secchi, Wikipedia)