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…
The large church of San Giovanni in Canale can be found near the edge of Piacenza’s city centre. The San Giovanni was the church of the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans. Many Dominican churches are dedicated to Saint Dominicus de Guzmán, the Spanish founder of the order.…
The San Giovanni in Laterano is the most important Roman Catholic church in the world. It is the seat of the Pope as bishop of the diocese of Rome and is therefore the city’s cathedral. It ranks first among Rome’s four major basilicas[1] and five papal basilicas[2]. But more importantly…
The Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the richest churches in Rome. There is so much to see and so much to tell about the history of this church and its treasures, that one could easily write multiple dissertations about it. I will just stick to what I usually…
The description of Tomar in our travel guide was particularly promising: a picturesque town in the shadow of a crusader castle and monastery perched on a hill. Since both the Convento de Christo and the Castelo dos Templários are listed as UNESCO World Heritage, we decided to take the car…