Still Life

During two fairly demanding weeks of travel in Greece last fall, we managed to visit an astonishing number of ancient sites. I can still recall the buzz - excitement, crowds, demanding pace, challenging terrain and the sheer awe at standing before, or in, places I'd studied for years, and dreamed of visiting for longer. Three of those ancient places - the Acropolis of Athens, Olympia and Delphi - are endowed with splendid modern archeological museums. Recalling our visits to each of those impressive modern museums, I recall the same excitement, but even more enduring is the memory of stillness. August silence, reverent stillness. A moment to stand in the presence of something ancient and important. Just us.

Here are a few moments of awe, starting with Olympia. 

The Archeological Museum of Olympia, dedicated to Zeus and home to the hugely important pan-Hellenic games every four years, is a short walk from the actual site. Still in 'culture shock' from several hours of tour and wandering the site, we entered the silence of the museum. Nothing can be as still and silent as something carved in the first and second centuries AD.

I've included this statue, which is probably of Poppaea Sabina, second wife of the Emperor Nero, I'm told. 

Just contemplate the artistry of the drapery, try to remember this is 20 century old marble. And the hair. The face. The naturalistic contraposto stance. I'm sure she's pleased with the lighting.

And then I come upon Nike of Paionios. Nike "was the winged goddess of triumph in battle and contests, who symbolizes success, speed and strength." Thanks, AI. 

Nothing about stinky trainers here. 

I was at my most impressed when I got to meet Hermes and the infant Dionysus - yes, that Dionysus - in person. See his little arm reaching out for the grapes Hermes is holding in his right hand? This realistic (but for missing bits) duo was discovered on the site in 1877, in the ruins of the temple of Hera, which I've written about recently. 

It's the work of the celebrated sculptor Praxiteles. 

Our brilliant guide Dionysus with my man Hadrian, sculpture dating to the 2nd century AD. The detail in the armour is phenomenal. 

Of course, not everyone experiences these places in the same way. With her permission, I add this photo of my mischievous and irreverent travelling companion and her moment with a full-size bull sculpture hailing from the 2nd century AD. 

Ospedale degli Innocenti

Ospedale degli Innocenti

After a short walk down Via del Servi from the Duomo, Brunelleschi's miraculous red tiled dome always in view over my shoulder, I arrived in the Renaissance Piazza della Santissima Annunziata in Florence. 

And yes, the most venerated Marian shrine in Florence, SS Annunziata (begun 1298) with its cloister of important religious works was on the agenda. I got shooed out of the opulent church (Baroque, so no worries) as Mass was about to begin. I spent a long time with the Marian frescoes in the portico.

But what I came for was this, the incomparable Ospedale degli Innocenti, the 1419 Foundling Hospital, designed by Brunelleschi, which cared for orphans in this location from 1445 (as Florence's first) to 1875. Despite the hearts that broke here over the centuries of its mission, the Ospedale degli Innocenti was for me the most serene of places. I'd longed to visit since I first learned of this Renaissance icon in an architecture history class. And here it was, a short rainy walk from my lodging next door to the Duomo! Such a difference in mood. The crowds thinned and stillness prevailed.

Confraternity of the Servants of Maria (1525)

Indulge me a moment as I turn a 360 degree circle taking in all the early Renaissance buildings on Piazza SS Annunziata. Alas I lingered too long and my video's too large to load. Here's a little Streetview link should anyone wish to wander about, rather than read.

SS Annunziata Church

The equestrian statue of Grand Duke Ferdinando d'Medici didn't get much attention, and that was only partly due to the on and off rain showers. Likewise, the  piazza's celebrated sea monster fountains; they tended to lose their appeal in the rain.

A couple of red Renaissance palazzi complete the square. On the right in this photo is the Palazzo Bufoni Badini Gattai (begun 1561) with a glorious cloistered garden, where legend says a window shutter is always left open, to remember a young bride waiting for her lover to return from the war.   

Of even greater interest to me, I read that it's the only exposed red brick building in Florence. Coming from a red brick Ontario town, that kind of thing catches my attention.

The structure to the left has less illustrious origins, but at least the builders painted the stucco and added some age-appropriate detailing.

Basilica della Santissima Annunziata

The facades of the other two arcaded buildings on the square were redesigned at some point to echo the symmetrical portico of the Ospedale.

Loggia dei Servi de Maria

Ospedele degli Innocenti

The serenity of the square, the austere quiet of these buildings! Not the upward thrust and rusticated stone masses of medieval towers but something new, a light horizontal orientation, perfect symmetry and geometrical regularity. The harmonious principles of Classical architecture. The Ospedale's the first purely Renaissance building.

The design principles making an entrance were first outlined in De Architectura, a work by Vitruvius, a Roman architect and military engineer in the first century BC.   Leon Battista Alberti based his Ten Books on Architecture on Vitruvius' work (published 1485, perhaps on the newly introduced printing press.) Lots more detail here. 

Incidentally, Alberti was architect of two other buildings I now know and love, the Ruccellai palace and Santa Maria Novella, in Florence.

It's mind-boggling how these ideas from classical culture reappeared in the Renaissance. Not long ago I read a fascinating account by Ross King, of the 'rediscovered' Greek and Roman texts that fuelled humanism and the Renaissance. The book is based on the detailed journals of the manuscript dealer and humanist scholar Vespasiano d'Bisticci. The Bookseller of Florence brought the world of Renaissance manuscripts to life for me. The book recounts the 1416 discovery by humanist Poggio Bracciolini of Vitruvius' De architectura in a Swiss monastery. I highly recommend it. Reads like fiction  - with footnotes.

 Fascinating bits of this story surface everywhere. Just the other night, I  heard the book referenced in a documentary about the Silk Road (tmi, maybe?)

But back to the object of my affections, the Ospedale degli Innocenti. The most eyecatching decorative feature are the roundels symetrically placed in the spandrels of the nine semicircular arches, featuring a white infant on a blue background. 

These are (copies) of  glazed terra cotta tondi by Andrea Della Robbia, who pioneered the art in 1490.  The originals are on view in the museum.

 A babe wrapped in swaddling clothes

Not surprisingly, this famous historical building is now a beautiful museum, with some other occupants. I enjoyed the hubbub of daycare pickups in one of the cloisters at the end of my afternoon visit. How appropriate.

The museum follows the orphan story, as well as housing an art gallery of works donated to the Silk Guild which built and operated the orphanage. 

Here you can see a grilled window at the end of the loggia of the orphanage, the location of a device called the foundling wheel, where newborns, the only little humans small enough to fit through the grill, were placed anonymously on a cushion inside and passed over to the care of the nuns. 

The fine museum tells many sad stories, but the one that did me in was the tokens, carefully stored in drawers with the child's name and date of surrender.  Mothers would pin a tiny item, such as half of a coin or saint's medal to the infant's clothing, and retain the other piece, in hopes of better times ahead when they might be able to return and claim their own. 

I'm attaching a link to a fine video hosted by Kate Bolton-Porciatta. She is associated with a travel company; might look them up. The video provides a good tour of  the art, architecture and social history of the place. 

There is a fine collection of Marian art, items donated to the orphanage over time by wealthy patrons.

And the ubiquitous museum roof-top cafe where I enjoyed, as only a famished tourist can do, an uninspired sandwich and a welcome glass of wine, watching yet another squall come in over the city.

And if you haven't had enough (unlikely) this VisitFlorence link contains additional information and photos (in the sun!)

I spent a solo week in Florence (with a second in Rome) in October 2024. And despite several trips since, this one stays with me. I made up my mind to "make this jump without a net" after a day trip to Rome the previous year, on a group tour of the hill towns of Florence and Umbria, with a day trip to Rome. 

My Den always promised we'd get to Rome, but life had other plans. And when our group, shuffling past familiar spots, buffeted by ridiculous crowds, herded by a belligerent guide, passed right by the doors of the Pantheon with scarcely a nod, I made up my mind I'd book myself a tiny room in the 'centro storico' of  Rome and Florence, book every tour and admission ticket I could fit into 7 days in each city, and just go. And I did. And it went without mishap. And I want to do it again. "We'll see..." as Dad used to say.

Joining Bernie's Set

What can a UNESCO world heritage town on the Adriatic have in common with Formula 1 Auto Racing? Well, in the case of Trogir, Croatia, quite a bit. But that was just to get you reading, Byron. 

I'm going through the photos I took on a too-short visit to the island town last spring, identifying the fascinating bits of historical architecture and tracking our passage on YouTube along streets following the original Roman layout, squeezing through lanes and alleys inside the 13th/14th century city walls and just being a damn nuisance as we gaggles of tourists must be. I'm  sharing the enthusiasm of countless other visitors who have posted video walks on YouTube, checking my travel journal entry for April 28th and researching each of the astonishing historic structures I snapped.

Our charming and well-informed guide Vanja, native of nearby Split, told us a story about Bernie Ecclestone, director of F1 Racing for decades,  and a link to one of the splendid Venetian Gothic buildings on the seafront. Seems Eccelstone's first wife hailed from Trogir, so the secret was out, and it was only a matter of time before the international yachting set tied up along the Old Town waterfront.

According to Vanja, this structure was once eyed as the possible location for a posh club, and local opposition did what it does. The building persists as the distinguished home of an elementary school.

Appropriately, the day we visited there was a car show underway on the waterfront. But my attention was on the fifteenth century Venetian Kamerlengo Castle looming above it, so I have no details. Uncanny this. The fellow in pink shirt admiring the red Alfa Romeo could be my late love - this image brings back our agreed-upon divided attentions in such situations.

 

As we turn away from the waterfront promenade and breech the encircling walls the Old Town yields up its secrets.

Trogir Old Town, little impacted by modern development,  is well-known for several ancient buildings, so let's start with St. Lawrence Cathedral. It was built over several centuries as were many of the great churches we visit, so it shows the evolutuion of  styles from Romanesque to Gothic. 

We hovered for too-short a time in front of  Master Radovan's miraculous West Portal (completed mostly by himself in 1240.) It's encrusted with impossibly rich Romanesque carving.  Wikipedia (yes, I donate) provides lots more detail and this Christian Iconography site yields details of the features we squinted at from behind the barriers. The carvings provided graphic instruction in worldly perils and the hope of salvation, scriptural lore for the unbooked faithful.

About face and just try to take in the facade detail of the  Venetian Gothic Grand Cipiko Palace opposite. The only sites I find on my search are tour company ads - which attest to its value as a tourist site, but don't give me much information. 

The plaque describes "an ensemble of Romanesque buildings that was remodelled in the early Renaissance around 1457." They skim over the fact that Venice conquered little Trogir (which had long been the object of invader envy since its early days as a Greek trading town established in the 3rd cenury BC) in 1450.

 Not surprisingly, the remodelling was firmly in the Venetian style, and doubtless the previous owners had lost this palace, and everything else, to the invaders. 

I love travel but the arm-chair travel that follows, when I revisit photos, watch documentaries and follow jerky video tours, read and research and put together memories in photos and words is one of the best ways I know to spend winter.

Now I'm going to take a break from all the reading and looking and such with and savour some moments along the lanes and alleys inside this delightful partly walled medieval town.

South Gate

return to the mainland

Giving Prinny ideas - India in the Cotswolds

 

Brighton Pavilion

Anyone who enjoys a story of badly behaved royalty will recall Queen Victoria's son 'Bertie' and his extravagant Regency lifestyle as he waited nearly sixty years until his ascent to the throne as Edward VII in 1901. Perhaps the only good thing to come out of Prinny's profligacy is the astonishing Brighton Pavilion. If you're unfamiliar with the place, or need another wander, there's a virtual tour on the Brighton Museums website.

Nevertheless, this post is not about Brighton Pavilion, which my love and I visited on his final trip  home in 2019. In time, I may revisit the photos and take you there. 

a weathered copper onion dome?

 

This post is about Sezincote, a two-hundred year old neo-Mughal palace in Gloucestershire, north Cotswolds, which I toured with my brother in law in September. It was a visit to Sezincote in 1807 that's said to have given the Prince Regent the IDEA for Brighton Pavilion!

So enough about the Prince Regent, let's meet the fellow who managed to impress him. 

From the Sezincote website:"The house was the whim of Colonel John Cockerell, grandson of the diarist Samuel Pepys, who returned to England having amassed a fortune in the East India Company. John died in 1798, three years after his return, and the estate passed to his youngest brother Charles, who had also worked for the company. He commissioned his brother Samuel, an architect, to design and build an Indian house in the Mogul style of Rajasthan, complete with minarets, peacock-tail windows, jali-work railings and pavilions."

I love that Sezincote is still owned by the family, and run by a brother and sister team. The estate operates 'like a proper farm' featuring mixed farming on 3500 acres (or 2000 - depends on which page of the website you visit. Different ways to categorize the holdings?)

We  politely queued for our guided tour under the watchful eye of a herd of Limousin cattle grazing beyond the ha-ha. The beauty was endless. I am always astounded at the size of English estates in this (to us Canadians) tiny country.

My brother in law knew all about the unique Hindustan Ambassador parked out front, its exquisite interior done up like a local taxi. This rugged little version of a Morris Oxford was built in India from 1957 to 2024.

Today the family endures groups of paid visitors to 'have a look round' some of the principal rooms. I loved the Greek Revival interiors and stories of some of the tresures on display (no photos please) but it was the exotic exterior of the house and outbuildings, and the gardens that transported me. 

The bewitching gardens were designed with input from Sir Henry Repton, the gardener's English landscape gardener. The ravine gardens feature pools and streams, with stone bridges and stepping stones, massive bog-loving plants, exotic trees and always another grotto or temple discover. 

Visitors enter via an Indian bridge adorned with Brahmin bulls and enter a landscape that doesn't feel quite English, despite all the wonderful oak trees (for which the place is named.)

The gardens were designed to evoke Moghul paradise gardens. Now if I  haven't sent you to Monty Don before, he's a BBC presenter, with a gardening show and dozens of documentaries about famed gardens throughout the world, to his credit. Here's a tiny peek. As I write this, his entire series on Paradise Gardens is available on YouTube. Go have a look.

Indian Bridge

Here's the Sezincote website, if my blathering has left you wanting more. It features a link to a half-hour documentary produced by Arte TV, an European culture channel. It's better looked at than listened to in places, where English narration and French dubbing overlap. 

head gardener's cottage/farm buildings

tent room

And if you'd like to read more about England's love affair with the architecture of India, I'll link you to a post on my pretty much dormant blog 'AncestralRoofs', where I stepped off-mandate in 2019 and enthused about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. The Durbar Room celebrated Victoria's role as Empress of India...quite the dining room.