I had previously seen the church of Santa Maria dei Servi from a great distance, i.e. from the Facciatone, the unfinished façade of the uncompleted new nave of the cathedral of Siena. Many years later I got up close and personal with the church. As it turned out, it was…
I have visited the charming town of Siena many times. For all of my previous visits, I either went by car or took the train, but for my most recent visit in January of this year I decided to go by bus. The reason was fairly simple: I did not…
I had already spent two hours in the cathedral of Monreale and felt a bit saturated by all the beautiful art and architecture that I had seen there. Nevertheless, I decided to continue my tour of the complex by visiting the convent next to the cathedral. I had previously admired…
“No one can fail to be impressed by Monreale, ablaze as it is with over an acre and a half of superb mosaics, all completed within five or six years, between 1183 and the end of the decade. It lacks the gemlike perfection of the Palatine Chapel, the Byzantine mystery…
The interior of the cathedral of Monreale is dominated by over 6,000 square metres of mosaics. The dominance of these decorations is so immense that visitors are inclined to think that their visit is all about the mosaics. This is certainly untrue. The cathedral has much more in store for…
In true Sicilian style I travelled to the world-famous cathedral of Monreale: on a rattling bus with no number. The bus departed from the Piazza Indipendenza in Palermo, directly behind the Palazzo dei Normanni. The fact that the bus was unnumbered made me a bit insecure, but the grumpy driver…
Opinions about the cathedral of Palermo are quite divided. Some people think that the building is magnificent, and that the mixture of architectural styles presents us with an intriguing summary of the various phases in Sicilian history. Others, however, believe that the cathedral is simply hideous and lament what later…
On a sunny Friday morning we drove into the centre of the charming town of Casale Monferrato in Piemonte. The name of the town suggests that it was once not much to look at. A casale is a farm or rural settlement. Casale was indeed of little importance for a…
This website has dozens of posts about churches, but this post is the first that has a synagogue as its subject. And a very special synagogue to boot, as the Jewish house of prayer in Casale Monferrato has an incredibly rich Baroque interior. Although the synagogue is still used for…
On a sunny Friday morning we reported for duty at the civic museum of Casale. The museum has found accommodation in the former Augustinian convent of Santa Croce. The church of the convent, with its conspicuous brick façade, is now used as a bar and restaurant. Those who want to…
The Duomo is one of the most eye-catching buildings of Casale Monferrato. It has only been the cathedral of Casale since 1474: it was in that year that the town was granted its first bishop. The history of the Duomo goes back way further though. That also holds true for…
If you want to visit the church of San Domenico in Casale Monferrato, make sure you plan your visit well. The immense and impressive church is unfortunately often closed to the public, but on a Sunday morning between 9:30 and 11:30 the doors should be open. When we arrived at…
In many of the more interesting churches of Palermo visitors have to buy a ticket to enter, and the very interesting church of Santa Maria della Catena is no exception to this rule. The lady who sold me a ticket said that it would get me a discount if I…
The Oratory of the Rosary of San Domenico is situated behind the church of the same name. Starting in 1574, it was built for a lay fraternity, the Compagnia della Madonna del Rosario di San Domenico. The paintings on the side walls are associated with the Mysteries of the Rosary.…
Palermo is known for its many beautiful small oratories, but the Oratory of the Rosary of Santa Cita has got to be the most beautiful of them all. The building, which does not look very appealing on the outside, stands next to the former church of Santa Cita, dedicated to…
The sixteenth-century oratory of Saint Lawrence stands next to the medieval church of San Francesco d’Assisi and is closely associated with it. Starting in 1569 the building served as the meeting place for the Compagnia di San Francesco, a lay fraternity with many merchants from Genoa among its members. One…
The church of San Francesco turned out to be a pleasant surprise. In many churches in Palermo visitors have to buy a ticket. The money you pay is then used for maintenance of the church building. The church of San Francesco d’Assisi, however, does not have an admission charge, which…
The church of Sant’Alvise can be found in the north of the Cannaregio quarter, which is a fairly quiet part of Venice. “Alvise” is the Venetian version of “Luigi” or “Ludovico”, and in this case Sant’Alvise is the Franciscan saint Louis of Toulouse (1274-1297). He was said to have appeared…
The church of San Giobbe can be found in a fairly remote part of Venice and can be reached from the railway station by foot in about fifteen minutes. Our visit to the church started with a minor incident. The church has only one entrance, which has two wooden doors.…
People visiting the Ponte dell’Ammiraglio in Palermo will not immediately take it for a monument that is on the UNESCO list of world heritage. The environs of the bridge are rather shabby. There is a lot of traffic on the busy Corso dei Mille and a lot of trash in…