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Art · Monarchies · Observations · People · Humour
In 1711 Cosimo III of Tuscany commissioned Bartolomeo Bimbi to paint a 53-kilogram pumpkin
Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany is customarily regarded as an unproductive, dull and mediocre ruler. To me, it takes a fine sense of humour to commission the court painter to make portraits of one's own harvest. The tongue simply refuses to call it a still life, this
NB! · Archive · Observations · Humour
A Rather Fine Element for a Ladies' Halloween Costume from the 1920s
Books · Observations · Education
Given that the plot of Donna Tartt's novel "The Secret History" unfolds at a provincial college in Vermont, I immediately wondered how such a remarkable course in Ancient Greek could have crystallised there
Given that the plot of Donna Tartt's novel "The Secret History" unfolds at a provincial college in Vermont, I immediately wondered how such a remarkable course in Ancient Greek could have crystallised there. Immersion in the classical world seemed a privilege of the chosen few, a
Books · Moscow · Observations · Humour
The four component parts of “The Master and Margarita” and their literary sources
On the eve of the day when the dead and other unclean spirits run riot, one cannot but recall the work of Russian literature that is held to be mysterious, full of otherworldly signs and horror, and is invariably linked with mystical signs. Although, on the whole, The Master and
Aristocracy · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
People often ask me what it is like to be the heir to a great dynasty?
People often ask me what it is like to be the heir to a great dynasty? Well, how shall I put it: Eduard Habsburg is obliged not only to pull the burden of Austrian ambassador to the Holy See and the Order of Malta, but also to breakfast on enormous
Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Paris
Commemorative tiles in the paving of Place de la Bastille in Paris and bronze plaques in Moscow's Prechistenka
In Paris, on the Place de la Bastille, such charming and very stylish little tiles have been set into the paving, recalling the historical monuments that once stood on this spot. How do you like French commemorative practices? I rather like them. Incidentally, in Moscow in the Prechistenka district, for
NB! · Observations · Humour
What headphones are those, might you tell me?
NB! · Museums · Observations · Humour
I feel like the cat of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples and cannot help it
Architecture · Faith · London · Observations · Heritage
New Coventry Cathedral of the 1960s beside the ruins of the bombed Cathedral of St Michael
In the 1960s the English decided to build a new cathedral beside St Michael's in Coventry, bombed in 1940, right next to the ruins, so that neither the tragedy nor the grandeur of the former building should be forgotten. The old Coventry cathedral was once the largest and
NB! · Moscow · Museums · Observations
Visitors to the New Tretyakov Gallery are invited to the fourth floor
How can one not love the New Tretyakov Gallery? Do look in on the 4th floor
Books · London · Observations · Mores
The White Lady cocktail, the English legend and Boieldieu's opera after Walter Scott
There is a classic cocktail made from gin, orange liqueur and lemon juice: the White Lady. Its name is usually linked to Ella Fitzgerald, who sang about a white lady. But the cocktail itself was devised in London when Ella was still an infant. And in England the image of