When I write new posts for this website, I always try to predict how popular a contribution might become. My predictions are admittedly often way off. For instance, I could never have guessed that so many people would be interested in my post about the tomb of Philip the Bold.…
The owner of the small restaurant in the centre of Lodi thought it was special that a foreigner wanted to have lunch at his place. When that foreigner – your author – had the audacity to describe Lodi as una città divertente (a fun city), the man burst into laughter.…
I was not very lucky that single day that I was in Monza. All the churches were closed, except for the Duomo and the rather uninteresting church of San Gerardo al Corpo. In the local tourist office, the employee on duty told me that the beautiful church of Santa Maria…
Although the Duomo of Monza is often called a cathedral, this is strictly speaking not correct. Monza is part of the archdiocese of Milan and therefore does not have its own bishop. On the other hand, the basilica of San Giovanni Battista, as the Duomo is officially called, does definitely…
Willem Maurits van Nassau-Ouwerkerk (1679-1753) was een afstammeling van prins Maurits van Oranje-Nassau. De prins trouwde nooit, maar had wel kinderen uit meerdere buitenechtelijke relaties. Bij Margaretha van Mechelen verwekte hij Willem van Nassau-Lalecq (1601-1627) en diens broer Lodewijk (1602-1665). Willem was een tamelijk incompetente generaal en admiraal. Op 18…