The East · Art · Monarchies · Museums

The Sword of the Hospodar of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, the First Ruler of United Romania, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza

Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza forwarded arms from Russia to the Serbian government, needed to withstand the West and the Ottoman Empire. Despite the encroachments of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, backed by Austria and England, Cuza did not allow the convoy to be stopped. In recognition of Alexandru Cuza&

NB! · Art

Portrait of Dr Gachet, Vincent van Gogh, 1890

Architecture · Faith · Moscow · Heritage

One of Moscow's most striking churches, acknowledged as a masterpiece of world architecture, the Church of the Ascension at Kolomenskoye, is undergoing repair and restoration work until April 2025

The first stone tented church in Russia, built in the 1530s and attributed to the Italian architect Petrus Fransiscus Annibale, was founded by Vasily III as a prayer for an heir. A church of exquisite beauty! In the second half of the twentieth century, specialists viewed the condition of the

Faith · Observations · Society · People

Pope Francis's address to the World Economic Forum makes no mention of God

I have read the address of Pope Francis I to the participants of the 2024 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. What does Francis mention? International instability, praise for the World Economic Forum, innovative and effective ways of building a better world, the need for social cohesion, an ever more

Faith · Mores · Society · Paris · Ethnography

Mi-Carême in France: the Laundresses' Festival and the Election of Queens until the 1930s

For Catholics, the middle of Lent coincided with the French carnivalesque festival of Mi-Carême, which in Paris and its suburbs was celebrated on a very grand scale, with processions of coal-heavers, water-carriers, washerwomen and students. There were processions, parades, feasts, dances, parties, merry-go-rounds, fireworks and

NB! · Education · Nature · Humour

Monument to Sparky, the Squirrel Who Sought the Light Even in the Darkest of Times

Monument to Sparky, the squirrel who sought the light even in the darkest of times. The memorial was erected by a group of students on the campus of Delaware Valley University in the United States. The students thus expressed their gratitude to the squirrel that gnawed through an electric cable,

NB! · Humour

The Sphinx Who Understood Everything

Architecture · Heritage · Society

Ban on demolishing buildings with the characteristics of a cultural heritage site takes effect on 15 April

In Federal Law No. 73 "On Cultural Heritage Sites (Monuments of History and Culture) of the Peoples of the Russian Federation", the wording "demolition of an identified cultural heritage site is prohibited" has been changed to "demolition of an identified cultural heritage site, as well

Archive · Faith · Rome

Opera: the plural of opus, which in Latin means “work” or “labour”

In the present case we are dealing with an apostolic letter of John Paul II on the transfer of the parishes of the Diocese of Rome to the jurisdiction of the Cardinal Vicar General of Rome, whose residence stands in the Lateran Palace, which is precisely where this document was

NB! · Archive · London · Mores · Humour

A Mockery of Modern Hairstyles, Daily Mirror, 13 July 1931

NB! · Archive · Faith · London · Monarchies

John Paul II, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Art · Museums · Observations · Rome

Marble Vestal Tuccia by Antonio Corradini, 1743, in Palazzo Barberini

This veiled marble maiden is one of the celebrated sculptural series of her day. She was created by Antonio Corradini in 1743. Her maker was, in a manner of speaking, the darling of the European courts: sovereigns and aristocrats alike longed to possess his work. Above all, Corradini specialised in

Alexandr Radayev