In de koffiekamer van de Eerste Kamer aan het Binnenhof in Den Haag hangt sinds 1963 een meer dan twee meter hoog schilderij van een onbekende krijgsman. Ook de schilder van het grote doek is onbekend. We weten niet meer dan dat het waarschijnlijk in de eerste helft van de…
On a wall in the foyer of the Dutch Senate on the Binnenhof in The Hague, we can find a painting of an unknown man-at-arms. The painting is over two metres high and has been there since 1963. The painter is unknown as well. According to art historian Marion Bolten,…
I saw the movie Inferno this weekend. Since it is set in Florence for a large part (as well as in Venice and Istanbul), I think it is appropriate to post my review here. Inferno is the movie adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel of the same name. Story Both the…
Dante Alighieri (ca. 1265-1321) is perhaps the most famous Italian poet ever. He is best known for his Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy), which consists of three parts: Hell (or Inferno), Purgatory and Paradise. Although Dante was born and raised in Florence and can be considered one of the most important…
Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog zijn diverse oorlogsmisdadigers ter dood veroordeeld in het kader van de Bijzondere Rechtspleging. Een aanzienlijk aantal van hen kreeg uiteindelijk gratie, maar veertig oorlogsmisdadigers werden ook daadwerkelijk doodgeschoten. “Wat er zonder twijfel eenenveertig zouden zijn geweest als Dries ‘Al Capone’ Riphagen zich niet tijdig aan strafvervolging…
Wie meer wil weten over Nederlands bekendste zeeheld Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676) kan waarschijnlijk nog altijd het beste terecht bij de mooie biografie die Ronald Prud’homme van Reine in 1996 over hem schreef. Het boek mag dan 20 jaar oud zijn, gedateerd is het zeker niet. Plezierig is vooral dat…
No matter how many times I have seen it, Florence’s cathedral continues to impress me, and for many reasons. The Duomo is simply huge, with a length of some 153 metres and a nave width of 38 metres (90 metres at the crossing). It can accommodate at least 20.000 people.…
An old legend claims that Florence’s beautiful Baptistery of San Giovanni was originally a temple of Mars, the Roman god of war. The Roman emperor Augustus supposedly had it built to celebrate the subjugation of nearby Fiesole (Faesulae in those days) and the early Christians later converted it into a…
Graaf Willem II was tevens Rooms Koning en had Keizer van het Heilige Roomse Rijk kunnen worden als hij niet zo stom was geweest nog eerst even de West-Friezen te willen knechten. Dat liep verkeerd af: de graaf zakte bij Hoogwoud met zijn paard door het ijs en de aanstormende…
“De Heeren hebben mij niet te verzoeken, maar te gebieden, en al wierd mij bevoolen ‘s Lands vlagh op een enkel schip te voeren, ik zou daarmee t’zee gaan en daar de Heeren Staten hunne vlag betrouwen [veilig achten], zal ik mijn leven waagen.” Het zijn veelgeciteerde woorden van de…
The name “Brera” apparently derives from a Germanic word, braida, which means “field of grass”. In this part of the city of Milan, traditionally home to many artists, we find the world-famous Pinacoteca di Brera. It can be found in a palazzo that was built for the Jesuit Order in…
The Castello Sforzesco is a huge castle in the centre of Milan, measuring some 190 by 190 metres. Behind it is the Parco Sempione, one of the largest public parks of the city. The Castello houses a handful of museums that together are called the Musei Civici. You can visit…
Although it was still early in the morning, quite a few people had already assembled in the Piazza Pio XI. This was not entirely surprising, as the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, which would open its doors at ten o’clock, is among the most popular art museums in Milan. As it turned out,…
What a wonderful museum! We had not planned to visit the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, but ended up there by chance. Originally we wanted to go and see the famous Chiaravalle Abbey on the outskirts of Milan. However, the abbey was quite far away and since it was our last day…
In April of 2016, I saw the “art movie” Florence and the Uffizi Gallery at the cinema. It featured the actor Simon Merrells as Lorenzo “Il Magnifico” de’ Medici and discussed the highlights of Florentine Renaissance art. The movie dedicated quite a few minutes to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the…
The Vallumbrosan Order is a branch of the Benedictines that was founded in the eleventh century by Saint John Gualbert (died 1073). The first church of the Vallumbrosans in Florence was built in either 1077 or 1092 (different dates are mentioned in different sources). At that time it was outside…
This post is about the Brancacci Chapel, a famous chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. Normally, I would write a post about the church and then add a few lines about the chapels. For the Brancacci Chapel, I am going to turn that around. This post…
The Santi Apostoli is one of the oldest churches in Florence, but it is not as old as some Florentines zealously believe it to be. It is located in the Piazza del Limbo. “Limbo” is a slightly denigrating term for someone from the Dutch province of Limburg, so on my…
The best time to visit the Ognissanti church in Florence is on a Monday, Tuesday or Saturday morning. The church is open to the public on other days of the week as well, but only on the days mentioned are visitors allowed to visit the beautiful cloister next door (Chiostro…
The San Salvatore al Monte – sometimes with the addition “alle Croci” – is located on the same hill as the San Miniato. Tourists who make the climb up the hill to go and see the latter church should also pay a brief visit to the former. There are marked…