Architecture · Faith · Monarchies · Rome

The Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome and the rain episode as described by Cassius Dio

The Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. Erected in 193 in honour of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius's victory in the Marcomannic War. The marble column itself stands 29.6 m tall, and its pedestal 10 m; the original height of the monument was almost 42 metres, and for

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Paris · Nature

Lightning Strikes the Eiffel Tower, Summer 1902

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations

Still the Best-Loved Door in Moscow

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Museums · Paris

An Architectural Dialogue between the GES-2 House of Culture in Moscow and the Centre Georges Pompidou National Centre for Art and Culture in Paris

Archaeology · Architecture · Geography · Rome

The Karnak obelisk on Rome's Lateran Hill, brought to the city in 357

There are now about thirty genuine ancient Egyptian obelisks standing in the world; Egypt has eight, as many as Rome. The tallest stands on the Lateran Hill before the Basilica of St John the Baptist. It is an obelisk from the temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak, raised in the

NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Rome

A most interesting specimen of Roman plumbing: those very ceramic pipes, walled into what appears to be a lime mortar

Architecture · Art · Museums · Observations · Paris

Mark Rothko retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris: impressions of the show

The Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris has closed its major retrospective of Mark Rothko (1903-1970), the most significant ever devoted to the artist. Since October it has unfailingly drawn formidable queues. They say that the scenography of the exhibition follows the artist's own instructions, but can one

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

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

Aristocracy · Architecture · Rome

Stroll down any street in the centre of Rome and you will almost certainly come upon a fragment of an antique ruin, part of a medieval building, a Renaissance palazzo and a monument of Baroque architecture, not to mention late imitations of the great orig

One of the Baroque pearls of Rome lies hidden behind the façade of the Palazzo Barberini, home to one of the most influential Italian families, a princely dynasty that left its mark on the history of the Papal Church, on the history of Italy, and on the history of art

NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Art · Monarchies

Palazzo Vecchio, the apartments of Francesco I de' Medici (1541-1587), Grand Duke of Tuscany, Florence

Palazzo Vecchio, the apartments of Francesco I de' Medici (1541-1587), Grand Duke of Tuscany, Florence. Allegory of fire in the ceiling paintings and the instruction of the centaur Chiron by Apollo, god of Light

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Rome

In the Basilica of San Clemente one can see the tomb of St Cyril, Equal to the Apostles, the burial place of the relics of St Clement, brought from Crimea to Rome by the brothers Cyril and Methodius, and numerous dedications to the saints from Slavic…