Paris1972-Versailles2003

Yes how about Dieppe in Normandy region of my belle France! Well looking over older posts in my blog I realise not written if not all or hardly anything on these monuments! Well I need to bring my blog to full bloom and have recorded more of my wonderful travel memories. Thank you all for following me since November 2010!!

There is the wonderful Church of Saint-Jacques (St James 16C) flamboyant and renaissance style and a great neighborhood we like . The initial Church was started in the 12C and name the parish Church in 1282 by the bishop of Rouen Guillaume de Flavacourt. The Church of St James (St Jacques) built from the 12C to the 16C! is in the Flamboyant and Renaissance styles. The north and south transepts date back to the second half of the 12C. The choir, the nave, and the aisles date from the 13C, except for the vaults and the triforium of the nave which dates from the 14th century. The great portal was also built in the 14C. In the 15C, the tower and chapels were erected on either side of the main nave of the choir, except for two of them which were part of the original plan of the church.

Inside see the Chapelle du trésors (treasury chapel)  , showing the countries and towns discovered by the Dieppois people. At the request of Jehan Ango, patron of the church in the 16C, the artist represented different scenes from the life of the natives: a procession of festivals and dances, warlike episodes, which many archaeologists and scholars came to observe . The Church St James was even visited by Victor Hugo in 1837.

The city of Dieppe on the Church St James (St Jacques) in French: https://www.dieppe.fr/menus/decouvrir-dieppe-2/le-patrimoine-architectural-2/l-eglise-saint-jacques-80

The wonderful Church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours built in 1876 looking down at the city from the cliffs above the rock of Pollet,was a place of pilgrims and later a point to the memory of the marines lost at sea. The is church has on many site the name of Chapelle or Chapel as it started but it is now a church.

The Chapelle (Church) Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours was built in 1876 for sailors who died at sea. It was first a place of pilgrimage before being a parish church. Many ex-votos bear witness to sailors who died at sea. The Dieppe sailors who often ventured into the various seas of the world until the 19C aroused local pride. It is customary among the fishermen of Dieppe to baptize the boats.

The Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours dedicated to the Virgin Mary has the particularity of being filled with votive offerings in the form of miniature boats. The fishermen, before or after the navigation, wish to thank the Virgin or to ensure her protection by offering a model of their boat. This is placed near the Marian statue of the crowned Virgin Mary slaying the dragon after the passage of the Apocalypse according to Saint John the Evangelist.

The stained-glass windows are relatively modest and bear witness to the neo-Gothic style which at the end of the 19C, in the line of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, wanted to recreate a lost Middle Ages. The church has the particularity of being built on top of a cliff, by the sea. A personal pic just by the statue of the Virgin Mary outside the church.

The city of Dieppe on the Chapelle Notre Dame de Bon Secours in French: https://www.dieppe.fr/menus/decouvrir-dieppe-2/le-patrimoine-architectural-2/notre-dame-de-bonsecours-85

Of course, we have stayed there overnight a couple of times to fully enjoy the city! Always at the Hotel de la Plage, blvd Verdun, just across from the beach and near the pool complex ,and castle. Great normandy welcome,friendly, excellent price for a family and great views.

Facing the sea on the Esplanade de Dieppe, The Originals Boutique, Hôtel de la Plage, Dieppe (Inter-Hotel) is just a 10-minute walk from the town’s castle and the pedestrianized streets. It offers a private flowered terrace. parking, animals are accepted, wifi access. Good addresses around: La Cité de la Mer (582 meters), Saint-Jacques Church (245 meters), Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel (195 meters), Le Dieppe Castle-Museum (543 meters). webpage: http://www.plagehotel-dieppe.com/

I left you with the Dieppe tourist office for more info on visiting this town, recommended. And see my several posts on it in my blog! webpage: https://uk.dieppetourisme.com/discover/heritage

There you go folks, another dandy Norman in my belle France, and glad to be there and looking forward for more on Dieppe. Hope you enjoy the brief post to make you come on over!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Again, going over older post have the benefit of finding several sights not mentioned or briefly mentioned in other posts. These were fabolous we love bridges and as in any wonderful city of our world , a river passed thru. This is the case of Rome and the Tiber river. Let me tell you now new text old pics of the bridges of Rome!!!

The Vittorio Emanuele II bridge was built in 1886. Construction was delayed, and it was not inaugurated until 1911. The bridge over the Tiber river connects the historic center of Rome, whose axis of the bridge extends, and from Paoli Square to the bridgehead with the rione Borgo and the Vatican City, near the few vestiges of the Roman era of Pons Neronianus. The bridge, commemorating Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy, consists of three arches spanning a distance of 108 meters. It is decorated at the ends of high plinths supporting statues of winged Victories.

In June 1909, a public competition was held for the sculptural decoration of the piles and headboards where four sculptural groups and four Victories were planned to represent   the virtues of King Vittorio Emanuele II. The judging commission shows several sculpturors to do the bridge. It was the president of the jury, who chose the position of the individual sculptural groups which, due to the delays due to the translation of the plaster models into travertine, were placed on the bridge in the early months of 1912.

A very impressive nice bridge we came by each time and love to walk and eat around this area of Rome. The Rome tourist office on the bridge: https://turismoroma.it/en/node/1497

The Palatino Bridge, also known as Ponte Inglese or the English Bridge, is a bridge that connects Lungotevere Aventino to Lungotevere Ripa in Rome, in the Rioni Ripa and Trastevere. The bridge was built between 1886 and 1890, in place of the destroyed part of the Aemilius Bridge (also called Ponte Rotto, or broken bridge). An arch 2200 years old Roman bridge had been destroyed by a flood in 1598, while another arch was demolished in 1887, to make room for this Palatino Bridge. The Palatino Bridge draws its name of the Palatine Hill or Palatine Hill. The bridge connects the Forum Boarium with Piazza Castellani, opposite the Tiber Island; the English epithet is due to the left-hand traffic which applies on the bridge, as in the United Kingdom. It is composed of five masonry piers, with a metal apron, and is 155 meters long. The Rome tourist office on the bridge: https://www.turismoroma.it/en/node/1491

The Ponte Cestio is an ancient bridge connecting the right bank of the Tiber river with the Tiber Island. In Late Antiquity, the bridge was replaced and renamed the Ponte Gratiani, and it is also known as the Ponte San Bartolomeo or bridge of Saint Bartholomew. .No more than one third of the present stone bridge is of ancient material, as it was entirely rebuilt and extended in the 19C, after numerous earlier restorations. The original bridge of Cestius was built around the 1C BC. In the 4C the Ponte Cestio was replaced by a new structure The bridge was rebuilt using volcanic tuff stone and peperino marble, with a facing of travertine limestone. During the 19C rebuilding ;the ancient bridge, which had two small arches either side of the wide central span, was simply not long enough. The present bridge, with three large arches, was constructed in its stead, with its central arch reusing about two-thirds of the original material After the 19C rebuilding, the bridge was about 80 meters (264 ft) long, with the original central arch flanked by two other arches of equal span. The bridge’s derives its connection with the saint of the New Testament from the church and minor basilica dedicated to Bartholomew the Apostle on Tiber Island. The Rome tourist office on the bridge: https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/ponte-cestio

The Ponte Sant-Angelo connects the two banks of the Tiber facing the Castel Sant’Angelo. It was built in 134 during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. It was/is our favorite bridge in Rome!

The Pons Ælius was built by Hadrian as evidenced by the dedicatory inscriptions found at each end. Richly adorned with victories and trophies, it offers majestic access to the imperial mausoleum built on the Ager Vaticanus, on the right bank of the Tiber river, before the future Castel Sant’Angelo In the Middle Ages, the bridge became the main point of access to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican. Just like Hadrian’s mausoleum, its name is Christianized: it becomes the Ponte Sant-Angelo.

In 1527, the bridge played an important role during the sack of Rome by the lansquenets of Charles V. It was occupied by the imperial armies who besieged the Castel Sant’Angelo where Pope Clement VII was locked up.In 1536, Charles V, reconciled with the Pope, made a triumphal entry into Rome and took the Sant-Angelo bridge, decorated for the occasion with eight temporary statues: on the western parapet are depicted Saint Peter and the four evangelists and, on the oriental side, Saint Paul and four patriarchs of the Old Testament: Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses.

Pope Clément IX began work in 1667, inspired by the Pont Rouge which then linked the Île Saint-Louis to the Île de la Cité in Paris (now replaced by the Pont Saint-Louis) and imposed an open balustrade, hitherto unknown to Rome for the stone bridges, to allow passers-by to enjoy the view of the water. Finally, the bridge was transforms   into a symbolic Stations of the Cross by decorating the parapet with ten statues of angels carrying the instruments of the Passion. The Rome tourist office on the bridge: https://turismoroma.it/en/places/santangelo-bridge

And now I feel better to have told you about these wonderful bridges. They do make any city more romantic me think. Rome has several these are just the ones my memories are stronger walking by them with the family.  See the bridges of Rome and, hope you enjoy them as I do.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

So as said, having a blast updating my older posts in my blog, and at the same finding some gems that sadly have been overloooked! They have been mentioned briefly in other posts but no picture and they deserve a post of their own me think. So, therefore, here are my brief rendition of favorite gates of Rome!!! 

The porta Pia, is a gate built between 1561 and 1565 in the Aurelian wall by order of Pope Pius IV whose name it takes. Located between the Porta Nomentana (now condemned) and the Porta Salaria, it is an extension of the Strada Pia following the route of the ancient Alta Semita and gives access to the via XX Settembre. And we passed by it each time out from our apartment in Nomentana !! Completed in the 19C, it was the place of entry into Rome of the troops of the Risorgimento during the capture of Rome. The Porta Pia houses within its walls the Historical Museum of the Bersaglieri (see post) as well as the tomb of Gino Lucetti, an Italian hero of WWI.

It was built on plans and drawings by Michelangelo, who presented three versions of the gate to the Pope, including the one chosen which was more concerned with designing a theatrical work than a functional gate according to experts. The monument subsequently underwent various changes and arrangements by Michelangelo who wanted to embellish what was his last work. The external facade of the gate was completed in 1869 partly following the plans of Michelangelo. According to the request of Pope Pius IX, the additions include two statues representing Saint Agnes (to the left) and Saint Alexander (to the right), as well as four imposing columns framing it. They symbolize his successful rescue of the  neighboring Saint Agnes Convent during the collapse of the audience chamber on April 12, 1855 from which he survived.

The Rome tourist office on Porta Pia: https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/porta-pia-and-museo-storico-dei-bersaglieri

The porta San Giovanni is a gate of the Aurelian wall in Rome located in the rione of Monti which owes its name to its proximity to the Archibasilica of Saint John in the Lateran (see post). It is located between the porta Maggiore and the porta Asinaria located a hundred meters away. This gate made up of a single arch was ordered by Pope Gregory XIII and was most probably made by Giacomo Del Duca who was Michelangelo’s assistant during the construction of the Porta Pia (see above).

It was ordered to facilitate traffic from and to southern Italy, especially Campania, in the Lateran area, which was being restructured at the time. Its style, due to the period of construction, is closer to a decorative gate than to a defensive work with the absence of a defensive tower or bastion. It was inaugurated in 1574. Porta San Giovanni overlooked via Campana joining via Appia Nuova. The gate is located at the edge of the Appio-Latino district and the Monti rione. It also marks the starting point of via Appia Nuova and via Tuscolana a few meters further on.

The Rome tourist office on porta San Giovanni : https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/porta-san-giovanni

The Porta Maggiore was built in 52 under Emperor Claudius, which supports the Aqua Claudia aqueduct crossing via Praenestina and via Labicana.  The two upper bands correspond to the channels of the aqueducts of Anio Novus and Aqua Claudia, started in 38 under Caligula, completed in 52 under Claudius. This monumental passage was integrated into the Aurelian wall, from 271 of which it became a gate in its own right.  Pope Gregory XVI had it restored in 1838, during the demolition of the stone curtain protecting it from external attacks, the republican tomb of the baker Eurysacès and his wife Atistia appeared.

The two large travertine arches are framed by Corinthian columns in the rustic “unfinished” style in the fashion of Claudius’ time. The attic with three registers contains the canals of the two superimposed aqueducts, clearly visible in section (Aqua Claudia below, Anio Novus above) and bears, from top to bottom, inscriptions repeated on both sides of Claudius (52), Vespasian (71), Titus (81-82) and, on the side, an inscription of Honorius (403) from the Porta Labicana, demolished in 1838.

The Rome tourist office on porta Maggiore: https://turismoroma.it/en/node/1515

So now I feel better to have them in my blog; these are wonderful gates in old Rome. Hope you enjoy the post and do stop by to see them, a wonderful architecture and nice history , of course in Rome.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!