Faith · Pop Culture · Rome · Humour
On Friday a bishop in mischievous socks bearing the image of a kissing, waving Pope was spotted at Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica. The Catholic community is seething like holy water in films about exorcism: the jaunty bishop, whose name remains a mystery to many, is called an
Faith · Museums · Science · Rome
The Mother of All Churches, the Lateran Basilica in Rome, where the Pope celebrates Mass and sits enthroned, keeps a veritable collection of Christian relics. In a small museum, tucked away between the chapels, lies this fragment of the tunic of Saint Francis of Assisi, which is tied to one
Faith · Art · Observations
In the photograph with Iphigenia, the Ethiopian king's daughter from the Martyrdom of St Matthew, there are two young saints: Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, a Carmelite nun of the 16th and 17th centuries who recorded in her diary mystical apparitions of the Mother of God and of
NB! · Books · Society · Society Pages
Art · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
And who is this pockmarked fellow with the playful ringlets? Charles IV, King of Spain, deposed in 1808, bears a resemblance to Trump, especially, as you can see, from behind. Why the Spaniard Juan Boisil painted such a portrait is unclear. Still, given the year of its creation, 1818, one
In the Press · Observations · Humour
Some would call it a chore, but to me it is a rather entertaining pastime: getting to know my readers and studying the search queries that lead to my Yandex.Zen. What I mean to say is that it is very pleasant to bring together people who would like to
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Architecture · Books · Observations
How about a gondola full of books? Just such a gondola may be seen in one of the most unusual bookshops in the world, Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice. Here the books await their buyers not only inside gondolas but in other kinds of boats too, even canoes. The shop
NB! · London · Palaeontology · Humour
At last, the native inhabitants of the planet will be shown the respect they deserve. British dinosaurs are to appear on the currency of the empire grrrrrr
Archaeology · Faith · Art · Humour
Anyone spending Valentine's Day alone will be under the patronage of the Lion-Headed Goddess, who is also standing alone at this party in the sanctuary of Thinissut, glass in hand, though wrapped in the hem of a sumptuous dress of feathers from some marvellous bird, and is
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Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Paris
The aesthetics of paving every habitable corner of the earth in granite has reached Paris too. The Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris is showing a project to reconstruct the Champs-Élysées by the architect Philippe Chiambaretta and his agency, painfully reminiscent of Moscow's Muzeon park and