NB! · Architecture · Observations · Rome

The second Roman clepsydra is hidden in the courtyard of the private Palazzo Berardi, out of sight of passers-by, and is built as a frontal fountain with caryatids and a shell-shaped basin in which an otter sits

The second Roman clepsydra is hidden in the courtyard of the private Palazzo Berardi, out of sight of passers-by, and is built as a frontal fountain with caryatids and a shell-shaped basin in which an otter sits. The clock works faithfully and chimes

Architecture · The East · Science · Rome

The history of water clocks and two hydrochronometers by the monk Embriaco in Rome

Time's up! The expression comes from the water clocks so popular in antiquity. Devices for measuring time, based on the properties of water and vessels, were much in vogue both in Ancient Rome and in the East. But in the Dark Ages the European art of building clepsydras

Architecture · Faith · Museums · People

Russian hermit Timofey Prokhorov built a church on a Munich dump from war rubble

A temple to the union of East and West, built by the Russian hermit Timofey Prokhorov) (1894-2004) on a Munich rubbish tip from the wreckage left by the war. In 1943 Timofey Vasilyevich was carried off by the Germans from the town of Shakhty, after which the Mother of

NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage · Saint Petersburg

Russia's First Interior Finished in Artificial Marble: The Rooms of the Chinese Palace at Oranienbaum

Russia's first interior finished in artificial marble: the rooms of the Chinese Palace at Oranienbaum. Of genuine marble here there are only the fireplace surrounds. The idea of such a scheme of decoration belonged to Catherine the Great

Gilded tower clock with Roman numerals and a sun at the centre of the dial, flanked by two statues, on a blue background with golden fleurs-de-lis.

NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Science · Paris

Charles V installed the first city clock of Paris on a palace tower in 1370

The first public clock of Paris was installed at the will of Charles V in 1370. The clock tower was not merely a palace fortification: the clock the king set up showed that the control of time lay in his hands.

Architecture · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Osborne Cottage, home of Princess Beatrice, goes on sale in England for £625,000

I know that among my readers there are corrupt officials of poor imagination who cannot think where to spend their pilfered money. I advise them to consider the following lot. In England, Osborne Cottage is up for sale, part of the estate built as a place of seclusion for Queen

A marble lion with an open mouth stands over a prone knight figure, with a column resting on its back.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Art · Humour

Lion over a fallen knight at the base of a presbytery column in Modena Cathedral

The lion "vanquishes" the knight. Though, judging by the expression on its face, it has already won. The sculpted base of a presbytery column in Modena Cathedral (the Duomo). Incidentally, another dramatic lion has triumphed over a knight's horse

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Paris

An exhibition of models of the great churches of France and Europe is under way in the Parisian church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois

An exhibition of models of the great churches of France and Europe is under way in the Parisian church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois. For some reason I do not yet see the famous Solberet Cathedral 🧐

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Humour

Let's Help the GRU Men Find Salisbury Cathedral

NB! · Architecture · Art · Books · Heritage

The archivolt of the north portal of Modena Cathedral may contain the earliest depiction of a scene from the life of King Arthur, dating to 1120–1130

Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage · Paris

Church of Saint-Roch in Paris, linked to Anne of Austria, in poor condition

Found the famous Parisian church of Saint-Roch in a sorry state. A church founded in the sixteenth century and rebuilt in the seventeenth under royal patronage. Anne of Austria herself appeared with the infant Louis XIV at the laying of the foundation stone of the new building. Here, in

Architecture · London · Heritage · Mores

Lenin's London House on Percy Circus and the Fate of Its Memorial Plaque

In 1841-53 London's Percy Circus was laid out on the circus plan: 27 curved houses were built wall to wall around the square. The residential complex was conceived as good property for the lower stratum of the middle class, and local history records show that it housed