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NB! · Archive · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage
Château de Dordon, bought for Marie de' Medici by Louis XIII, is currently under renovation
The Château de Dordon, bought for Marie de' Medici by Louis XIII, is currently under renovation. In one of the rooms, beneath the plaster, workmen found nineteenth-century fabric wallpaper, and beneath it a copy of Le constitutionnel dated 13 September 1855
Architecture · Art · Observations · Humour
Which of the squirrels from the stained-glass window of the Renaissance château of Azay-le-Rideau are you today? anonymous poll
The Insatiable one, with two nuts – 77 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 55% The Nimble one, with one nut – 64 👍👍👍👍👍👍 45% 👥 141 people voted so far.
NB! · Architecture · Art · Monarchies · Observations
The interiors of the château bear the initials of the owner couple and the emblems of Francis I and his wife
The interiors of the château bear the initials of the owner couple and the emblems of Francis I and his wife. I cannot believe that a mistress so witty and attentive to detail would not have endowed the greedy squirrels at the martyr's feet with some special meaning
NB! · Architecture · Art · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
A stained-glass window at the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, built by Gilles Berthelot, treasurer to Francis I, or rather by his wife Philippa
A stained-glass window at the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, built by Gilles Berthelot, treasurer to Francis I, or rather by his wife Philippa. Look at the spiteful squirrels below: it looks like a dig at King Francis and Queen Claude
NB! · Architecture · Art · Museums · Saint Petersburg
The walls of the White Dining Room in the Grand Palace at Peterhof are decorated only with bas-reliefs of mythological subjects: no paintings, no bronze
NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Paris
Versailles in the Evening
NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Rome
The Galleon Fountain at the Casina of Pius IV in the Vatican is covered in ice
The frozen Galleon Fountain in the courtyard of the Casina of Pius IV in the Vatican usually fires water, "extinguishing the fire of war", in the phrase of Pope Urban VIII. But these days the galleon is sheathed in a crust of ice, which is more allegorical still
NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Heritage
Of the Chapultepec aqueduct, which ran from Montezuma's residence to Tenochtitlan (3 km) and supplied the whole city with water, only 14 arches remain today
Of the Chapultepec aqueduct, which ran from Montezuma's residence to Tenochtitlan (3 km) and supplied the whole city with water, only 14 arches remain today. The Spaniards' seizure of the aqueduct proved decisive in the capture of the Aztec capital
Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage
There is much to tell about this château; it really is an interesting and very rich one
There is much to tell about this château; it really is an interesting and very rich one. During the reign of Louis XII, the palace-château of Blois was in effect the capital of France. But in the centuries that followed, a good deal of interest happened here too. Blois
NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage
Everywhere at Blois are carved the crowned porcupine and the two royal monograms, of Louis and Anne
Everywhere at Blois are carved the crowned porcupine and the two royal monograms, of Louis and Anne. The porcupine is the emblem of the House of Orléans and the personal symbol of King Louis. The motto of the house: Cominus et eminus, At a distance and at close quarters
NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage
Château de Blois, residence of Louis XII and Francis I, where Anne of Brittany died
Built in the fifteenth century, the Château de Blois, ancestral seat of the Dukes of Orléans, was the residence of Louis XII and later of his son-in-law Francis I. Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, died here