San Fermo Maggiore

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San Fermo Maggiore
Via Dogana
Verona, May 2025

“San Fermo Maggiore is a Romanesque and Gothic church in central Verona. It is dedicated to Saints Firmus and Rusticus, brothers who are local martyrs from the 3rd century. The exterior has a roofline with pinnacles, and the church once held the tomb of a member of the Scaligers. The interior has many medieval frescos, as well as later decoration, including the Brenzoni Monument (discussed below), an altarpiece of St Francis of Assisi by Giovanni Battista Belloti, whilst Veronese's Bevilacqua-Lazise Altarpiece was originally painted for a funerary chapel in the church. A crucifixion on the counter-façade is one of Turone's most significant works. A church at this site may has been traced to the 8th century, and by the 11th century a second story and belltower was added by the Benedictine order. There is a ‘lower church’ (chiesa inferiore) below the main church. The campanile was not completed until the 13th century, it contains six bells in F cast in 1755 and rung with the Veronese bellringing art. The presbytery hosts relics of the saints Fermo and Rustico.” (San Fermo Maggiore, Wikipedia)

Iglesia de San Pedro

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Iglesia de San Pedro
Plaza de Santa Teresa
Ávila, September 2025

“The Church of San Pedro is a Romanesque temple located in the Spanish city of Ávila. The church is located opposite the gate of the Alcázar in the walls of Ávila, next to the Benedictine monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Antigua. The first reference to it is found in a document from 1103, appearing in the ‘Chronicle of the Population of Ávila’ (1173). The building has a Latin cross plan, with three naves ending in three apses, the central nave being higher than the side ones. The three entrance doors are Romanesque; the one on the western side or at the foot features a large rose window above the façade. The complex is surrounded by a landscaped and paved area. It overlooks the Plaza de Santa Teresa, also known as the ‘Plaza del Mercado Grande’. Inside, it features, among other works of art, carvings of Saint Catherine and Saint Paul.” (Iglesia de San Pedro, Wikipedia)

Cinema Odeon

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Cinema Odeon
Corso Palladio
Vicenza, May 2025

“The Odeon cinema is a historic cinema in Vicenza, still in operation. It began its activity on 18 May 1907 as the ‘San Faustino cinema’, taking its name from the deconsecrated church of Saints Faustino and Giovita inside which it is located. The architectural structure and decorations of the church are substantially intact. The church had been redesigned in Baroque style in the eighteenth century. The Odeon cinema in Vicenza has been cited as the longest-running cinema in Italy for continuous programming activity, having never stopped screening films since 1907 (not even during the two world wars), except during the summer closure periods and during renovation works over the years.” (Cinema Odeon, Wikipedia)

Casa Colón Casa Cultural

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Casa Colón Casa Cultural
Plaza San Miguel
Torremolinos, March 2025

1508-2008 Padova per Andrea Palladio

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1508-2008 Padova per Andrea Palladio by Elio Armano, 2008
Riviera Tiso da Camposampiero
Padua, May 2025

“To mark the five hundredth anniversary of Andrea Palladio's birth, the Morseletto Workshop created a sculpture by Elio Armano in Vicenza stone, a ‘Palladian fragment’ inspired by the motif on the façade of Villa Pojana. The work was placed in Padua's Borgo della Paglia, where Palladio was born and spent his youth before becoming the most celebrated architect of the Renaissance.” (2008 Padua for Andrea Palladio, Laboratorio Morseletto)

Tío Pepe

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Close-up of the “Tío Pepe” sign
Puerta del Sol
Madrid, September 2025

“Tío Pepe (Uncle Pepe, named after one of the founders' uncles) is a brand of Sherry. It is best known for its fino style of dry sherry made from the palomino grape. The Tío Pepe brand is owned by the González Byass Sherry house. Tío Pepe has based its success on promoting itself as a very dry white wine to be served with food, in doing so aiming to differentiate itself from poor quality sherries and their downmarket reputation. The Tío Pepe soleras were established in 1844 and have run uninterrupted since that time.” (Tío Pepe, Wikipedia)

Cappella Pazzi

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Cappella Pazzi (Pazzi Chapel)
Largo Piero Bargellini
Florence, January 2025

“The Pazzi Chapel (Italian: Cappella dei Pazzi) is a chapel located in the ‘first cloister’ on the southern flank of the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. Commonly credited to Filippo Brunelleschi, it is considered to be one of the masterpieces of Renaissance architecture. Though funds for the chapel were assembled in 1429 by Andrea Pazzi, head of the Pazzi family, whose wealth was second only to the Medici, construction did not begin until about 1442. The chapel was completed in 1478. The building is considered to be an Early Renaissance masterpiece. Formerly considered a work of Filippo Brunelleschi (d. 1446), it is now thought that he was responsible for the plan, which is based on simple geometrical forms, the square and the circle, but not for the building's execution and detailing. The most common argument for crediting Brunelleschi is the chapel's clear similarity to the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo; others argue that his style had developed in the twenty-year interim and that the Pazzi Chapel would represent a retrograde step. The first written mention of Brunelleschi as the architect was written by an anonymous author in the 1490s. Scholars now consider the chapel as possibly the work of Giuliano da Maiano or Michelozzo. A façade thought to have been begun by Brunelleschi, of which only the lower register can be seen, was partially obscured by the addition of a porch. The main inspiration for this piece was the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria Novella, also located in Florence.” (Pazzi Chapel, Wikipedia)