Paris1972-Versailles2003

Well this does it read all about it folks. I had these pictures of a long time trip to Rome and could not figure it out what it was ! Finally, looking again online was able to identify it. This is the opportunity to tell you all about the Galleria Sciarra of Rome! Hope you enjoy the find as I !!!

The Gallery Sciarra is a covered passageway in Rome, in the Trevi district.  The Galleria Sciarra is located in via Minghetti, a side street of via del Corso, and is located in the center of the building complex which starts from Banco di Roma and ends with the Quirino theater on via delle Vergini.  The building was built between 1885 and 1888, originally as a courtyard at the end of the Palazzo Sciarra Colonna di Carbognano, as part of the restructuring and modernization of services in the center of Rome, linked to the construction of the new capital city.

The central part is filled with architectural elements and painted by Giuseppe Cellini, in the Art Nouveau style, developing the iconographic theme of the “Glorification of Woman”, illustrating the models of female virtue (Modesty, Sobriety, Strength, Humility, Prudence, Patience, Kindness, Wife, Faithfulness, Friendliness, Mercy). There are also scenes of the daily life of the bourgeoisie. The vault is made of iron and glass.  During the restoration carried out in the late 1970s, the building was completely gutted from the inside, and rebuilt in reinforced concrete. However, the paintings and decorations, as well as the iron structures, have been saved.

The Rome tourist office on the Galleria Sciarra: https://www.turismoroma.it/en/node/1895 

Goog things always comes along; have several unknown pictures in my vault that with time will eventually find them. For now we all will enjoy the Galleria Sciarra of Rome! And of course, in a wonderful district of Trevi! Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

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

A while back after many trips solo to Italy decided to take the family to Rome as a starting point for Italy. It was a long two weeks memorable vacation which we all enjoy and now many souvenirs of that trip. Already with several posts in my blog, let me tell you about something briefly mentioned but needs a post of its own me think. Therefore,let me tell you about the Palatine Hill or Monte Palatino of Rome/Roma.

The Palatine Hill area, great for walking along ancient monuments,It contains the old Emperor residences, arches, temples and thermae. The legend says that Rome had its origins on this hill and, indeed, recent excavations have shown that people were living in the Palatine since 1000 BC. According to Roman tradition, the Palatine was the place where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that nursed them keeping them alive in the “Cave of the Lupercale”, probably found in recent excavations, and for this reason on this hill was celebrated every year the festival of Lupercalia.

The Palatine Hill or Monte Palatino is one of the seven hills of Rome. It occupies a central position in ancient Rome of which it is one of the oldest parts. It overlooks the Roman Forum (see post) to the north and the Circus Maximus (see post) to the south. Under the Empire, the Palatine is occupied by imposing mansions built for the emperors, which gave rise to the word “palace”. Their ruins still occupy much of the hill today..  The hill takes the form of an irregular quadrilateral about two km in circumference and an altitude of about 50 meters. Originally, the Palatine consisted of two separate peaks: the Germal in the west which rises to 51 meters and the Palatual in the east which rises talso o 51 meters. The Palatine is not entirely isolated since it is connected with the Esquiline by a small hill, the Velia, whose highest point is the Arch of Titus.(see post).

The Romans piously preserve on the Germal a hut, called “house of Romulus” or “house of Faustulus”, which is still mentioned in the 4C in the inventory of the Curiosum. In the Germal sector, near the site of Livia’s house, three hut bottoms carved into the volcanic tuff of the hill were identified in 1907 and unearthed in 1948. They are dated to the 8C BC. Also nearby are two cisterns from the 7C BC. excavated in the tuff and partially covered with a dome, In the last centuries of the Roman Republic, the Palatine was covered with the residences of the wealthiest patricians and knights ,The emperors of Rome built their palaces one after another on the Palatine Hill, The abandonment of Rome as a habitual residence from Diocletian marks the beginning of the Palatine’s slow decline, even though it officially remains one of the imperial residences, Christianity devotes a few buildings of worship around the edge of the hill while the central part is abandoned, By the 11C, the Palatine was reduced to rubble as aristocratic Roman families vied for control of the city region by region.

The Palatine hill came back to life in the 16C during the Renaissance, wealthy families planted vineyards and ornamental gardens there, The fall of Napoleon in 1870 and the annexation of the Church States to the Kingdom of Italy transferred the ownership of the center of the Palatine to the Italian State.

The Rome tourist office on the Palatine: https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/roman-forum-and-palatine

The Rome tourist office on the district including Palatine: https://www.turismoroma.it/en/quartieri/colosseo-palatino-campidoglio

The Archeological park of the Colosseum on the Palatine: https://parcocolosseo.it/en/area/the-palatine/

There you go folks, another wonderful monument of Rome. The Palatine Hill is a large area but worth the walk indeed. Hope you enjoy the brief introduction and do visit; we will be back!

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

I like to update this older post and come back to my favorite city in Germany, Trier. Maybe for sentimental reasons it was my first in 1991- 1992 , and had visited often even staying in wine country house just south of it. Of course, I have written several posts on it in my blog.  However, would like to be more precise on some of the sights to see there,and one of them is a plethora of small historical churches that are just wonderful for my historical and architectural mindset. I like to tell you a bit more on some of the Other churches of Trier! Hope you enjoy it as I.

The former abbey church Saint-Maximin is a Benedictine abbey founded in Trier in now Rhineland-Palatinate around the 4C. It was at the origin of a monastic reform which was diffused in the Holy Roman Empire. In 934, the abbey, which had hitherto been the Duke of Lorraine Gilbert as a lay abbot, was reformed under the impetus of the latter as King Henry I of Germania. In 1674 the abbey was completely destroyed by French troops. It was rebuilt between 1680 and 1684 but, unusually for the period, still in a Gothic form.  The abbey was secularised in 1802. The monastic buildings were put to various secular uses such as barracks, prison, school, and were totally destroyed in WWI except for the freestanding gateway. A school stands on the site now. The former church of St. Maximin survived the war, but was de-consecrated, and between 1979 and 1995 converted to secular uses. In 1995 it opened as a concert hall, now well known for its exceptional acoustics.

The Trier tourist office on St Maximin: https://www.trier-info.de/en/places-of-interest/st-maximins-abbey

The former church of St. Irmina is named after Saint Irmina. It was located on what is now Irminenfreihof. In 1802, the monastery was dissolved in the course of secularization. In 1804, after a two-year vacancy, the decision was made to convert the former monastery into a hospital. From 1811, the walls were given to the United Hospitals after the opening of the first convent of the Borromems in Trier. Under Napoleon’s leadership, the buildings were given a new purpose, some hospitals and retirement homes, which persist to this day. At that time, the orphanage of the monastery of St. Afra was moved here. In 1868, the first own chapel ,that of St Catherine was built in the complex. In a bombing raid in December 1944, the monastery was almost completely destroyed, but was rebuilt from 1945. In his role as a hospital and as part of the United Hospitals, it is still used today. Since 1960, the building has mainly been an old people’s and nursing home.

The Trier tourist office on St Irmina: https://www.trier-info.de/en/places-of-interest/st-irminas-church

The Saint Antonius Church is located in the Mitte district on Antoniusstraße near Augustinerhof and belongs to the Catholic parish of Liebfrauen in the Trier diocese. The church with the patronage of the holy hermit Antonius was built between 1458 and 1514, The sacred building of St. Antonius is characterized by the late Gothic style of the construction period, but was later supplemented with rococo elements.

The Diocese of Trier on St Antonius Church: https://www.liebfrauen-trier.de/antonius.htm

The former abbey Saint-Martin is an ancient abbey, probably founded in the 6C. It could come from a church built by Martin de Tours in the 4C. At the latest in the 10C, the abbey was occupied by monks of the Order of St. Benedict, it became one of the largest abbeys of the city and was dissolved in 1802 during the Napoleonic domination.   The west wing of the Abbey building and a new modern building are now used as one of the six student residences in Trier.

According to tradition, Martin de Tours came several times to Trier, the first time in 371. On the site of the Moselle river , which was to remain outside the walls of the city for centuries, St Martin himself would have founded a chapel where Christian burials also took place. Around 587, Bishop Magnéric of Trier built a Church of Martyrs, which later became the abbey.  At the time of the French revolution, Trier was occupied from 1794 by the French revolutionary troops. From 1797 to 1801, the left bank of the Rhine river was part of the French Republic. In 1802, the prefect of the Saarland department, decreed the dissolution of the abbey and confiscation of all property. The six monks are expelled. In 1804 the monastery, the church and buildings, such as the dormitory, are put up for sale at auction. In what remains of the western wing, there was a porcelain manufactory, with the furnace in the crypt. In 1813, the manufacture was abandoned and, after the return of Trier to Prussia in 1815, reopened in 1816, and then closed in 1824. Today only the West wing of the Abbey building in the style of the late Renaissance is preserved.  In 1972, the west wing of the 17C, the Abbey building was fully refurbished after a long period of vacation and turned into a student residence with a new building erected in the same year. The new building is horseshoe-shaped facing the old right building, so that between the buildings there is an inner courtyard that houses a beech tree.

The Student webpage studibu.de has info on the new dormitory  Martinskloster in German (long thread sorry): https://studibu.de/cgi-bin/cms?_SID=117e71081ceacd81f8e1ba2d46ec8138f24c80bd02392076362132&_bereich=artikel&_aktion=detail&idartikel=110125&_template_variant=Martinskloster

The present building of the Diocesan Theological Seminary is located in a large courtyard at the former Jesuit College, between Brotstrasse and Neustrasse. It is a Holy Trinity Church or, simply Jesuit Church, as it is generally known in Trier. The church was initially constructed as the monastery church of the Franciscan order and was used by them from 1228 to 1570. In the following years, however, it was the collegiate church of the Jesuits until 1750. he beginning of the 18C, the Jesuits expanded the choir by adding the side choirs, dedicated to St. Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius Loyala, the two founders of the Society of Jesus. The order was suppressed in 1773; the interior of the church has undergone a complete restoration . As you can read from below :  On 7 December 2018, Bishop Stephan Ackermann banished the Society of Jesus from the city and the bishopric of Trier, ending a long and turbulent history. The Society of Jesus was first called to Trier in 1560 to re-establish Catholicism following the failed (in Trier) attempt at reformation.

The Trier tourist office on the Jesuit Church: https://www.trier-info.de/en/places-of-interest/jesuit-church

There you go some interesting things to see while walking Trier, the best to see and enjoy the wonders we can find in our travels. We love it to walk the cities and do so extensively. Trier has so much to offer been the oldest city in Germany and a huge university town as well. Hope you enjoy the post on the other former churches of Trier, except the last one of course.

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