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Hirmentaz is a mountain culminating at 1,607 metres in the Chablais massif (France), which offers a panorama from Mont Billiat (1,894 m) to the Roc d'Enfer (2,244 m) and then on to the whole Mont-Blanc massif (4,809 m), a real pleasure !
Hirmentaz est une montagne culminant à 1 607 mètres d'altitude dans le massif du Chablais (France), qui offre un panorama du Mont Billiat (1 894 m) jusqu'au Roc d'Enfer (2 244 m) puis sur tout le massif du Mont-Blanc (4 809 m) un réel bonheur !!
Hirmentaz is a mountain culminating at 1,607 metres in the Chablais massif (France), which offers a panorama from Mont Billiat (1,894 m) to the Roc d'Enfer (2,244 m) and then on to the whole Mont-Blanc massif (4,809 m), a real pleasure !
Hirmentaz est une montagne culminant à 1 607 mètres d'altitude dans le massif du Chablais (France), qui offre un panorama du Mont Billiat (1 894 m) jusqu'au Roc d'Enfer (2 244 m) puis sur tout le massif du Mont-Blanc (4 809 m) un réel bonheur !!
solitary road along Snaefellsnes peninsula in wintery Iceland. This journey is unforgettable, especially in winter. We did it twice, once in summer and once in winter and I found the winter journey even more impressive along this mountain range that forms the backbone of the long-stretched Snaefellsnes peninsula culminating in Snaefellsjokull volcano at the tip of it.
The Great Ocean Road is famous for its winding, cliff-hugging drive culminating in the spectacular and rugged The Twelve Apostles Marine National Park was established in 2002. In total, 75 km square, covering 17km of the Victorian coastline. The spectacular formations are not just found above the waterline. Incredible underwater scenery with arches, fissures, and reefs make up much of the spectacular environment beneath the Southern Ocean. of the Port Campbell National Park, home of the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, Gibson’s Steps, and even more stunning natural attractionsThe 12 Apostles are an Australian icon. The Ocean Road drive is likened to the coastal road of California and often ‘declared’ the best road trip in the world, rather overstated perhaps, is there any such thing as ‘the best road trip’ in the world? It is fabulous, it is dramatic and it is worth visiting though.
Limestone pillars, once connected to the cliffs of the Port Campbell National Park, rise out of the sea. Carved out over many thousands of years through the natural forces of nature, firstly as caves, then into arches and eventually becoming the limestone stacks we see today.
Office tower built in 1974 by architect Albert De Doncker, culminating at 107 meters high with 33 floors.
Completely redesigned and optimized in 2016, the Astro Tower is the fifth tallest building in Brussels and the tallest passive building in Belgium.
Photo shot in 2012 from the top of the Brusilia Residence.
Azimuth 205.5°, 1.71 km away (1.06 mi), height 107 m (351 ft).
Address: avenue de l'Astronomie 14, 1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (Brussels)
FR : Tour Astro
Tour de bureaux construite en 1974 par l'architecte Albert De Doncker, culminant à 107 mètres de haut avec 33 étages.
Entièrement redessinée et optimisée en 2016, l'Astro Tower est le cinquième plus haut bâtiment de Bruxelles et le plus haut bâtiment passif de Belgique.
Photo prise en 2012 du haut de la Résidence Brusilia.
Azimut 205.5°, distance 1.71 km, hauteur 107 m.
Adresse : avenue de l'Astronomie 14, 1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (Brussels)
NL: Astrotoren
Kantoortoren gebouwd in 1974 door architect Albert De Doncker, met een hoogte van 107 meter en 33 verdiepingen.
De Astrotoren, die in 2016 volledig werd hertekend en geoptimaliseerd, is het op vier na hoogste gebouw in Brussel en het hoogste passiefgebouw in België.
Foto genomen in 2012 vanaf de top van de Brusilia Residentie.
Azimut 205.5°, 1.71 km ver, 107 m hoog.
Adres: avenue de l'Astronomie 14, 1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (Brussels)
Copyright © Jacques de Selliers 2022 – All rights reserved.
Reproduction prohibited without my written consent.
Reproduction interdite sans mon accord écrit.
Reproductie verboden zonder mijn schriftelijke toestemming.
Ref.: 120515-m1
ET 2307 p15 1470
Sur la route du volcan du piton de la fournaise au petit matin quel plaisir de découvrir cette mer de nuage. Ce volcan culmine à 2 632 mètres d'altitude, volcan actif de l'île de La Réunion.
On the road to the Piton de la Fournaise volcano in the early morning, what a pleasure to discover this sea of clouds. This volcano culminates at 2,632 meters, an active volcano on the island of Reunion.
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Canon EOD 7D
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Like most ancient villages in Italy that are off the tourist trail you are greeted with the authentic Italy nothing is done for tourism but just for the sense of pride in keeping your little spot beautiful all melding together to form a harmonious presentation to the outside observer. Sasso is a village for all seasons with its stone houses framed by the greenery of summer, the golden wheat of fall or a mantle of snow during winter, wandering through its narrow back streets you find as many stunning views as you do corners to venture around.
There has been a settlement here since Roman times when the Via Herculea ran nearby officially though it was not recorded as a village until around 1068. The village has gone by several names over the passing of time starting with Saxo Forte in its early days, Sasso during the Norman period and Petra Castalda during the middle ages, finally becoming Sasso di Castalda in 1863 during the unification of Italy.
This shot captures I hope a little of the beauty of the back streets of the town framing the church of San Rocco the towns patron saint and protector with its much cherished 19th century bell tower. Every 16th of August there is the feast of San Rocco where the statue of the saint is paraded through the village and culminates a display of fireworks. San Rocco is a popular saint in Basilicata and a lot of towns are under his protection he is credited with keeping the plagues out of the territories throughout the centuries.
I took this on Sept 25, 2018 with my D750 and Nikon 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 Lens at 70mm 1/80s f`11 ISO 100 processed in LR, PS +Lumenzia, Topaz , and DXO
Disclaimer: My style is a study of romantic realism as well as a work in progress
A December walk through Wollaton Park culminating with some great views of the Hall bathed in winter sun
The territorial expansion towards Chinchaysuyo (now Ecuador) took place towards the middle of the 15th century and culminated in the first decades of the 16th. It was initiated by the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, son of Pachacuti Inca, the "renovator of the universe" and true builder of the Tahuantinsuyo or Empire of the Incas. The example of the great Tupac Yupanqui was followed by his son Huayna Cápac, until he submitted under his power the entire "universe" then known, with more than 6,000 kilometers of North-South extension and fundamentally affecting the people of the Sierra, since they felt no interest in the low plains of the West Coast and in the endless Amazon rainforests of the East. This empire included on the one hand the widest diversity of peoples, cultures, languages, cults and technologies, and on the other an extraordinary variety of ecological resources; factors with which thanks to an administrative, economic and theocratic system imposed by the Cuzqueños, the largest civilization that has existed in Andean History was structured.
The Incas had no major difficulty in dominating the Cañaris and Puruháes (in Ecuador) with whom they applied a very common strategy in them: the friendly system of reciprocity with the heads of the groups until they achieved their subordination; This method had given them rapid and successful results in Bolivia and Peru; while in the northern villages they had to apply the severe military conquest due to the stubborn resistance they encountered. Testimony of those fierce battles was precisely that of Yahuarcocha (lake of blood) whose waters were dyed red with the blood of the brave Caranquis who succumbed to Huayna Cápac himself.
The invaders captured from the conquered the long tradition and knowledge they had about agriculture, metallurgy, production of luxury products, extraction of the Spondylus shell, salt, coca, etc. Here they found a prodigal nature, with humid rainforest, mangroves and coastline on the coast; wide valleys, grasslands and fertile mountains in the Sierra. This geography counteracted with the ecological systems of the puna, reduced fertile spaces, or the extensive coastal deserts that predominate in the Central and Southern Andes, characteristic of present-day Peru.
I never made it to Bond Falls during my eight years living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Recently, while visiting friends there, I had the opportunity to see them for the first time.
The falls is a set of several cascades, culminating in a main drop about 50 feet high. Here we see one of the upper cascades, where fall has almost passed, but has left behind some color splashes on the rocks.
A long day of frustration finally culminated in a shot I didn't think I would get on this trip. I was up at 0230, on the road shortly after 3, and arrived in Holly around 0530 prepared for the normal morning northbound. Instead, storms the previous night had the signal system screwed up, along with no delivery from CSX, so the 127 crew cabbed to Flint and spent most of the day building this train. They made it to Holly and after getting a crew change the train is back on the move splitting the searchlights at South Holly just over 12 hours after I first arrived.
Great happy success, it is now sleep time.
Here is another shot of the Wood Warbler I found this week. I managed to catch it briefly in the sunshine which shows off its primrose throat and silky white breast. Wood Warbler was separated from Willow Warbler by Gilbert White in 1768. In a letter to Thomas Pennant he described how by listening to their songs, he had found there are three species of Willow-Wren. He called Wood Warbler the Large Shivering Willow Wren. This perfectly describes the trilling song which culminates with the bird vigorously shivering its body. Here is a recording of the trilling song of this very bird by my friend David Pennington: xeno-canto.org/799672 Towards the end you also hear it give the very different teu-teu-teu-teu call. Its scientific name is Phylloscopus sibilatrix; Phylloscopus means leaf-gleaner, while sibilatrix is a whistler, from the song.
Il simbolo di Comacchio (Ferrara) è il complesso architettonico dei Trepponti, costruito nel 1634, costituito da cinque ampie scalinate (tre anteriori e due posteriori), culminanti in un piano in pietra d'Istria e corredato di due torri.
Il complesso si trova su due canali che si intersecano alla principale via d’acqua di accesso alla cittadina.
Durante le festività di fine anno i Trepponti vengono illuminati da giochi di luce, creando suggestivi effetti.
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The symbol of Comacchio town (Italy) is the architectural complex of the Trepponti, built in 1634, consisting of five large staircases (three front and two back), culminating in a floor in Istrian stone and equipped with two towers.
The complex is located on two canals that intersect with the main waterway accessing the town.
During the end-of-year festivities the Trepponti are illuminated by plays of light, creating suggestive effects.
History of Karlštejn Castle
Karlštejn Castle was founded in 1348 by the Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor as his private residence and a place of safekeeping royal treasures, especially his collections of holy relics and the Imperial Crown Jewels. In 1355 Charles IV stayed here for the first time, overseeing the construction and decoration work, especially in chapels. The construction was completed in 1365 when the Chapel of the Holy Cross in the Great Tower was consecrated.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross was the place of safekeeping the imperial crown jewels until 1420 when the Hussite wars (religious civil war) began, and they had not ever returned to Karlštejn Castle. After the wars in 1436, the Bohemian crown jewels were taken to the Chapel of the Holy Cross where they remained till 1619.
The castle was a representative residence of Charles IV and his son Wenceslas IV only, i.e. till 1419. As a fortress, Karlštejn Castle protected the crown jewels, holy relics, and royal archives till the 17th century.
Over the centuries the castle has always been in hands of the king or a state institution, never in private hands. Nowadays it is owned by the state.
After 1480 the castle was rebuilt in the late Gothic style, in the last quarter of the 16th century in the Renaissance style. During the last reconstruction that took place at the end of the 19th century (by architect Josef Mocker) in the spirit of purism, the castle gained its present appearance.
Very impressive is the preserved original stair-arrangement of individual castle buildings. The lower section with a small courtyard by the Well Tower and the Burgrave´s House continue through the majestic five-storey Imperial Palace and the Marian Tower. At the highest point, the construction of the castle culminates in a monumental, 60-meter-high Great Tower and its massive fortifications.
Castle Attractions
A unique original 14th-century wall decoration, a set of 129 paintings created by Master Theodoric in the Chapel of the Holy Cross (the largest in the world), the largest portrait gallery of kings of Bohemia in the Czech Republic, a replica of the royal Crown of Bohemia, a unique castle well. The castle is also famous as a set to a comedy play Night at Karlštejn Castle by Czech poet Jaroslav Vrchlický.
It was a great deal of fun working along side this log to create an image. As each wave came to shore it would move the log and sometimes result in a splash. The size of the wave gave rise to the effect it had on the log.
After multiple shots, this one turned out best in this experiment with waves. The power of water can never be taken for granted. Its motion resulted in this transference of power that culminated in a huge splash.
Il simbolo di Comacchio (Ferrara) è il complesso architettonico dei Trepponti.
Creato nel 1634 dall'architetto Luca Danesi, è costituito da cinque ampie scalinate (tre anteriori e due posteriori), culminanti in un piano in pietra d'Istria e corredato di due torri.
Il complesso si trova su due canali che si intersecano alla principale via d’acqua di accesso alla cittadina.
Durante le festività di fine anno 2023 i Trepponti erano illuminati da luci che cambiavano colore rapidamente, creando suggestivi effetti.
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The symbol of Comacchio (a small town in northern Italy also called “the little Venice”) is the architectonic complex named Trepponti, built in 1634 by the architect Luca Danesi.
It is formed by five wide stairs (due in the rear part, three in the frontal part) which culminate in a plain made with Istrian stone and with two towers on the sides.
The whole complex is located in correspondence of two canals which intersect with the main canal of the town.
During the 2023 end-of-year holidays, the Trepponti were illuminated by lights that changed color rapidly, creating suggestive effects.
These are the last of the Michael McWilliams paintings I will show, and it culminates on the same day the exhibition at the QVMAG in Launceston ends.
I hope you have enjoyed the work by this significant Australian painter, and will continue to support his work. You can even purchase his paintings via links on his personal web site. There are three major galleries that represent his work:
michaelmcwilliams.squarespace.com/contact
Rainforest dancer, 2015
Acrylic on linen
120 x 150 cm
This painting is my personal favourite. Rough night out, 2012 is a more dramatic and arguably better painting, but look closely at this forest scene. In this primordial setting a lone Pademelon (Thylogale) dances on the forest floor (where the little nothofagus leaves look like confetti) with no seeming threat for this little creature. It's like the Garden of Eden (without Adam and Eve). But that's not to say that people don't belong here, for thousands of years the indigenous Palawa people lived in relative harmony with the native fauna. Apart from hunting for food, the few thousand indigenous people who populated Tasmania at any one time, meant the animals were never hunted to extinction.
When the colonisers arrived at the turn of the 19th century the numbers of Palawa people were estimated to be no more than 4000 to 5000. As these people were literally driven off their land and the surviving few harboured on Flinders Island, the human population in the colony rose substantially. And with it came the land clearances, the forest felling, the introduction of exotic species, and the destruction of a whole host of native flora and fauna. Life in the forest was never to be the same again.
So dance on little Pademelon, for you remind us of how things once were. And if we are to take proper stewardship of this land, then perhaps we can restore a little of the natural harmony that once was in this sacred place.
Please see it LARGE ON BLACK.
This is a part of my recent set of images of the Salisbury cathedral. No HDR effects, a genuine reflection in the baptismal font of the Salisbury cathedral, England. This marvelous font has been designed by William Pye, Britain’s most distinguished water sculptor; he spent 10 years creating it. The font was finished very recently, in 2008, culminating 750 years of the architectural development of the Salisbury cathedral. When looking into it, one can see the cathedral reflected there, as if two worlds, the upper and the lower, magically coexisted with each other.
Millau Viaduct
Millau Viaduct holds the world record for the tallest bridge, culminating at 343 metres (higher than the Eiffel tower), 2460 metres long and touching the bottom of the Tarn valley in only 9 places.
Conceived by the French engineer Michel Virlogeux and designed by the English architect Lord Norman Foster, it fits perfectly into the naturally intact and grandiose landscape: a very thin slightly curved steel roadway supported by stays gives it the appearance of a huge yacht and the ensemble rests on 7 very slender pillars.
The architectural theme in these three photographs today culminates in this impressive University of Tasmania apartment block. It sits right alongside the community gardens I have mentioned in my previous photographs. The university describes the unique process of construction employed by local architect and building firms:
"The Inveresk apartments are Tasmania's first prefabricated timber-framed multi-storey residential development, combining prefabricated, lightweight timber framing with structural cross-laminated timber (CLT) in favour of traditional concrete and steel. The building was designed by local firms Morrison and Breytenbach and Circa Morris-Nunn Architects, with technical expertise from the University's Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood and the team's structural engineers."
www.utas.edu.au/infrastructure-services-development/build...
This was my entry for our Wakering Photography Group December’s 10” X 8” printed challenge, the theme being “Candle/Candles”
My friend Dave Sutton was kind enough to pose for me as Ebenezer Scrooge.
I collected the props I needed with the help of my friend Dave Denby who kindly 3D printed the candle stick holder.
I was really pleased with the outcome, I thought the time effort and location culminated in a realistic scene.
According to local legend, Helfštýn is named after the robber Helfried of Linva, who founded it. The castle was probably built in the last quarter of the 13th century. Around 1320 Vok of Kravař, a member of a prominent Moravian noble family, became the owner of the castle. Helfštýn remained in the possession of the Kravař family for more than a hundred years and underwent far-reaching structural changes during this period. Construction work began on a larger scale in the first half of the 14th century, but the main reconstruction of the castle into a Gothic fortress did not take place until the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. The Kravařs mainly improved the fortifications of Helfštýn. They replaced the makeshift fortification of the old parkland with a thick stone wall with four bastions, built a prismatic tower over the entrance to the castle itself and secured it with a drawbridge, built a fortified forecourt on the south side and cut the ridge of the hill with a moat carved into the rock.
The era of the Pernštejn family
In 1474, William of Pernštejn took over the castle estate and proceeded to its further reconstruction. In the last quarter of the 15th century,
Helfštýn Castle was enlarged with a thoroughly fortified, extensive farm forecourt (completed in 1480) and another forecourt, which formed a new outpost defending the entire enlarged building. At the same time, the fortifications of the old Kravaře castle were improved with bastions and a new system of towers and gates. The castle's ground plan was definitively given an elongated shape, and in its external form the perfect fortification system significantly overlapped all the other architectural elements.
Renaissance reconstruction
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, the inner core of the castle was rebuilt into a Renaissance residence. The old castle palace was demolished, along with part of its original Gothic fortifications, and a magnificent Renaissance palace was built on the vacant space, in sharp contrast to the extensive system of late Gothic fortifications that surrounded it.
The destruction of the castle
In 1656, quite extensive demolition work was carried out, which, although it did not damage the fortifications of Helfštýn too much, definitively deprived it of the character of a manor house. And thus began the long-term destruction of the castle. The destruction was accelerated in the second half of the 18th century by the Ditrichstein family with demolition works. These attempts culminated in 1817, when part of the inner castle was destroyed by artillery fire.
Present day
The present-day character of the castle is that of a fortress with six gates and a series of 18th-century buildings and ramparts. Since the 19th century, the castle has been presented as a tourist and heritage site. Nowadays it has become a natural cultural centre of the region, with various cultural events taking place here throughout the season
Ben Nevis culminates at 1,345 metres above sea level (4,413 ft) and is part of the Grampian Mountains in the Highlands.
Ben Nevis culminant à 1.345 mètres d'altitude (4,413 ft) fait partie des monts Grampians dans les Highlands.
Scotland. UK.
The elegant 1948 Talbot Lago T26 Record Cabriolet, exquisitely restored and detailed to perfection to show off its pre-war Art Deco origins. The shine was blinding.
As part of the backwash from the bankruptcy and break-up of the Anglo-French Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq combine in 1935, the French part of the business was purchased by Tony Lago, an auto-industry entrepreneur and engineer born in Venice, but who had built much of his auto-industry career during the 1920s in England. The registered name of the company Lago now owned was "Automobiles Talbot-Darracq S.A.", but in the English speaking world it is generally known as "Talbot-Lago". The cars themselves were badged in their home market simply as Talbots, using the badge worn by products of the predecessor company since 1922 (when the "-Darracq" suffix had been dropped from the names used for the cars in France). Nevertheless, after 1945, sources even in France frequently used some form the "Talbot-Lago" name combination.
After acquiring the company in 1935, Lago rapidly developed a range of executive and sporting cars with engine sizes ranging from 2.3 to 4.0 litres. The passenger car range was complemented by racing cars and a high profile motor racing programme. The Talbot Lago-Record Type T26 launched in 1946, relatively quickly after the end of the war, closely resembled models from the 1930s such as the Talbot Major and Talbot Baby and benefited from the reputation Talbots had built up in the prewar years, though the economic conditions made it unrealistic to produce the range of standard and special-bodied Talbots that had been a feature of the previous decade. Tony Lago was joined in 1942 by an exceptional engineering talent, Carlo Machetti, and from then the two of them were working on the twin-camshaft 4483 cc six-cylinder unit that would lie at the heart of the Talbot T26.
The French government that came to power in 1945 had a strong belief in political control of the economy. In addition to creating a taxation regime which savagely penalised cars with engine sizes above 2 litres, the government also introduced in January 1946 the so-called Pons Plan, under which different French auto-makers were told by government what car types they might build. Since government also controlled materials supplies – notably steel supplies – the Pons Plan could not be ignored. Talbot were not forbidden to build cars, but they, along with Hotchkiss and Delahaye-Deage were restricted to a class entitled by the bureaucrats "véhicules de classe exceptionnelle" – high-class vehicles. Plan implementation was at its most rigid in 1946, and in that year Talbot received government authorisation for the construction of an initial batch of 125 cars, provided the cars were exported.
The Talbot Lago-Record Type T26 was first presented in public in 1946. In October of 1946, following World War II, Talbot-Lago had a small stand behind Peugeot at the Paris Salon. It was there that they introduced the brand-new T26 Record, offering in four body styles, including a convertible. It used the trademark pre-selector Wilson-type gearbox, had a fully independent front suspension with transverse leaf spring, and a new 4.5-liter six-cylinder twin-cam Hemi engine that Anthony Lago had developed during the War with Carlo Marchetti, his chief engineer. Lago increased the displacement of the engine to 4.5-liters, and added yet another new Hemispherical combustion chamber head, this time with twin camshafts operating the valve gear and positioned near the top of the new seven main bearing block. The long-stroke (93mm bore by 110mm stroke) six gave Talbot-Lago's new grand Prix racer, designated the Type 26 Course or T26C They were, however, immensely powerful machines, which often enjoyed a much better fuel economy than the competition. The combined strategy of precise sports car handling, durability, fuel economy, and power continued to earn the company class and overall victories culminating in the overall win in 1950 of the grueling 24 hours of LeMans!
AS ALWAYS....COMMENTS & INVITATIONS with AWARD BANNERS will be respectfully DELETED!
Christ is described at Chora as "Land of the Living"
[Χώρα των ζώντων]
music:
The famous byzantine Lamentations of the Tomb of Christ, sung during the Matins of Holy and Great Saturday (Holy Friday evening). The official name of the hymns is "Εγκώμια", which is greek and means "Praises". The Praises (although considered being hymns of lament) are chanted in Plagal 1st and 3rd Tones, which are actually used for chants intended for triumphant occasions. On this performance parts of all three Staseis of the Praise are chanted. Note that in the beginning of each part, the second verse is chanted in arabic.
Title: "Εγκώμια - Α' Στάσις / Β' Στάσις / Γ' Στάσις" (Praises - 1st / 2nd / 3rd Stasis)
Service: Holy and Great Saturday Matins
Performers: Greek Byzantine Choir
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photo:
Parekklesion [funerary chapel] of the
Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, Istanbul
www.columbia.edu/cu/wallach/exhibitions/Byzantium/html/bu...
Chora Museum, Chora Monastery (Contantinople)
Μονή της Χώρας, Μουσείο Χώρας, Κωνσταντινούπολη
Ἐκκλησία του Ἅγιου Σωτῆρος ἐν τῃ Χώρᾳ
The Church of the Holy Redeemer in the Fields
Church of the Holy Saviour in the Country
Kariye Müzesi, Kariye Camii, Kariye Kilisesi, Istanbul, Turkey
"The funerary chapel contains prefigurations of the Virgin and Themes of Resurrection and Judgment. Like the narthexes, the program of the parekklesion is divided between the Virgin and Christ. Here, however, the overriding theme is Salvation, befitting a funeral chapel. The western domed bay is devoted to the Virgin; the upper walls represent Old Testament prefigurations of the Virgin, emphasizing her role in Salvation. The eastern bay is devoted to the Last Judgment. The complex program of the chapel culminates in the conch of the apse, where the Anastasis (Harrowing of Hell) is represented, flanked by scenes of resurrection. Unlike the narthexes and the naos, the parekkelsion is decorated with frescoes."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chora_Church
www.columbia.edu/cu/wallach/exhibitions/Byzantium/
www.byzantium1200.com/chora.html
www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-st-savior-in-...
www.doaks.org/library-archives/icfa/moving-image-collecti...
In the Alhambra, Granada, Spain, the Palace of the Lions marks the culminating moment of its architecture. As a synthesis and symbol of its decorative wealth and at the same time of the significance of the complex's hydraulic system, its famous fountain has been preserved.
♥ Thank you very much for your visits, faves, and kind comments ♥
At sunset, after a very hot day, which culminated with a heavy thunderstorm, SM30-801 of JSW Logistics is waiting for a white signal to proceed shunting back towards the signal box at the Budryk coal mine located in Ornontowice.
The title is very unimaginative, perhaps even clickbaity but I really have to emphasise how unique this picture is.
Most locomotives in Poland are photographed very regularly and have tens or hundreds of pictures taken of them each year. Some however, are mostly unused or hidden deep inside industrial facilities, or military bases. A simmilar case is with this locomotive, as from the basic research I did on the internet, I could only find... 3 publushed pictures of the locomotive, ever to be taken.
The history of the SM30-801 is not very clear, however from the pictures on the internet I could find out that it had been most likely brought to the Budryk coal mine in 2017.
From what the locals told me, the locomotive is usually unused and is stood at the signal box of the Budryk mine. Occasionally it does shunting work with empty wagons or loads up carts with mining waste headed to the spoil tip. It is most likely the only locomotive in the JSW fleet to posess their paint scheme, maybe even the only SM30 there.
Photo by Piotrek/Toprus
At the risk of falling flat on my face, I've held back with posting this photo, personally regarding it as a 'gift' from Nature, & not a sight you could ever hope to repeat exactly the same way ever again.
Upon reaching Creise's northern top, this incredible outlook nearly knocked me over. I immediately knew I'd stumbled across a phenomenal sight that could be arranged into a gem of a composition*: intersecting 'snow triangles', & the stunning backdrop of snow-plastered Lochaber, lit in the gentle hues of a considerate, dawn sun, all culminating in something quite special.
*Nothing is perfect, of course.
One slight annoyance to me is the presence of the 'Ben Nevis Problem': being too high & therefore looking DOWN upon a mountain landscape - which rarely does it favours, & seriously diminishes impact. The fact that Stob Dearg fails to break the horizon, here, is a niggle, I have to admit. Achieving this by dropping height (& - crucially - losing time) would have lost Stob a' Ghlais Choire's vital role in the bottom right. You can't always get what you want.
Halnaker Windmill is a tower mill which stands on Halnaker Hill, northeast of Chichester, Sussex, England. The Mill is reached by this public footpath from the north end of Halnaker, where a track follows the line of Stane Street before turning west to the hilltop. There is no machinery in the brick tower which can be used for shelter..
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Halnaker Mill was first mentioned in 1540 as belonging to the manor of "Halfnaked". It was built for the Duke of Richmond as the feudal mill of the Goodwood Estate. The surviving mill is thought to date from the 1740s and is known to have been standing c.1780. Halnaker Mill was working until struck by lightning in 1905, damaging the sails and windshaft. The derelict mill was restored in 1934 by Neve's, the Heathfield millwrights as a memorial to the wife of Sir William Bird. Further repair work was done in 1954 by E Hole and Sons, The Burgess Hill millwrights. The mill was again restored in 2004. The mill is owned by West Sussex County Council..
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Halnaker Mill is a four storey tower mill with a sixteen sided beehive cap. The mill was originally hand winded, and later fitted with a fantail, which was not replicated when the mill was restored. The four common sails were originally carried on a wooden windshaft, which was damaged by the 1905 lightning strike. A cast iron windshaft and wooden brake wheel from a wind sawmill at Punnetts Town were fitted. The windshaft is cast in two pieces, bolted together and was too short for Halnaker Mill. Neve's inserted a spacer to lengthen it. The mill worked two pairs of overdrift millstones. The mill is currently undergoing restoration work. .
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Halnaker Windmill stands on 128 metre high Halnaker Hill, a southern outpost of the South Downs. The hill is just within the southern boundary of the South Downs National Park which is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers not only the chalk ridge of the South Downs, with its celebrated chalk downland landscape that culminates in the iconic chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head, but also a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park. .
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Halnaker is a hamlet which lies on the A285 road 3.5 miles (5.6km) northeast of Chichester, where it follows the line of the Roman road to London called Stane Street. There is a traditional pub, The Anglesey Arms and a blacksmiths shop. Goodwood House is southwest of the village. .
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Halnaker is mentioned in the Domesday Book under Sussex in the lands belonging to Earl Roger. The book which was written in 1086 said:.
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The same William holds Halnaker of the Earl. Alweard held it TRE and then as now it was assessed at nine hildes. There is land for five ploughs. In demesne (a piece of land attached to a manor and retained by the owner for their own use) there are two ploughs and seventeen villans with twelve cottars with two ploughs. There are eight acres of meadow and woodland for 9 pigs. In Chichester are three burgesses paying 5 shillings. TRE it was woth four pounds now 100 shillings..
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Schweiz / Tessin - Verzascatal
The Valle Verzasca is a valley in the Locarno district of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It comprises the municipalities of Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione, Gerra, Frasco, and Sonogno. As of 2004, the total population is 3,200. It is the most central valley of Ticino, and none of the passes out of the valley cross cantonal or national borders. The valley is formed by the river Verzasca and is situated between the Leventina and the Maggia and culminates at Pizzo Barone.
Geography
Located between the Leventina and the Valle Maggia valleys, Valle Verzasca extends over a length of 25 kilometres (16 mi) in north–south direction and is situated in the north of the Lago Maggiore. The valley floor is at about 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 900 metres (2,953 ft) above sea level. The surrounding mountain passes respectively have an average altitude of 2,400 metres (7,874 ft). The valley is crossed by the Verzasca which is dammed at the southernly outlet of the valley, forming the Lago di Vogorno, before it flows in the Magadino plain in the vicinity of the Ticino in the Lago Maggiore.
The Valle Verzasca includes the geographical centre of Ticino, which is located at Mergoscia, near the lower end of the valley.
Climate
Due to the different altitudes, all climate zones are combined in the Valle Verzasca. Tenero-contra and Gordola include the insubric climate region thanks to the deep-sea level, close to the Lago Maggiore and protected by the mountains from the north winds. Vineyards and Mediterranean vegetation benefit from the mildest climate area of Switzerland, nebulae are rare and rainfall of short duration. With increasing altitude, the hills and mountain climate goes over to regions dominated by the Alpine climate (over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft)).
Flora and fauna
The diversity benefits among other things, the cultivation of vines, and it flourish chestnut forests and palm trees thrive. Due to differences in soil type and amounts, almost all flora occurring in the Ticino and fauna of the various environmental zones are found in the Verzasca Valley.
The Romans introduced and comparable to the tropical wood species, Castanea sativa is in the southern part of the valley, below 1,000 metres (3,281 ft), the dominant species. It is no longer actively cultivated, but favors the further diffusion, and studies suggest taking advantage of the valuable wood of chestnut as a valuable wood.
In the Valle Verzasca the endemic Nera Verzasca goat has been preserved, which looks very much like the ancient Roman goat. This medieval durable goat has short hair, because it's not stuck in the snow.
Culture
Due to its isolated location, the Verzasca Valley is claimed as one of the valleys that could best keep its originality. The secluded geographical location made it unattractive for conquerors since the Roman period, and even before. The first traces of settlement in the area are from the early 2nd millennium BC, in its southern part. In Berzona, a locality (frazione) of Vogorno, a carved rock known as a Sass di Striöi (literally: witches stone) is situated on a hiking trail. The shell rock most likely dates from around 600–700 BC; there are about 90 such carved rocks in the Verzasca Valley. Although initially free farmers, the valley was alternately ruled by the Swiss Confederacy, Savoy, Leventia and the Rusca family from about 1410 onwards. In the European Middle Ages, the population were mainly farmers, and since the early 17th century, many residents had to leave for seasonal labour outside their home valley. Often unemployed young men were recruited as mercenaries for foreign armies. In two quarries granite is mined by local workers.
The so-called Rustici (Italian for farm house) in grey stone, with white borders on the windows and heavy stone roofs, are typical houses in the valley. Wood rafters are used to support the heavy stone roof, Castanea sativa wood. Many chapels along the way bear witness to the deep faith of the inhabitants of the valley. Valle Vercasza was the origin of many of the region's so-called Spazzacamini (literally: chimney sweep children).
Tourism
With the connection to the public transport, tourism developed from the end of the 19th century, but the majority of young people from the Valley still look for income opportunities in wealthier regions of Switzerland or northern Italy. Currently the majority of locals are active in the tourism trade. The conversion of the old Rustici houses into holiday houses created jobs, increased tourism revenues and ensured that the old houses and the characteristic image of the Verzasca Valley are preserved.
The mountaintop with views of the Valais, Bernese, Glarus and Grisons Alps, as well as the many transitions in the side and neighbouring valleys are popular to mountain hikers, and around a dozen mountain huts provide accommodation and meals. The Verzasca is popular to canoeists and divers, but considered to be dangerous and difficult. The Verzasca Dam is also well known for its 220 m height jump, which is one of the highest jumps in the world and also the most famous bungy jump, as it was used in the James Bond film GoldenEye.
Transportation
The only valley access for road traffic and the Postauto buses are bounded from Tenero or Gordola. The starting on the left side of the valley road (built from 1866 to 1871) crosses Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco and ends in Sonogno; a short road leads to Corippo. On the right side of the valley, the road and post road trips from Locarno ends in Mergoscia.
(Wikipedia)
Das Verzascatal (italienisch Valle Verzasca) ist ein Tal im Schweizer Kanton Tessin, das zum Bezirk Locarno gehört. Im Verzascatal liegen die Ortschaften Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und Sonogno. Ausser Mergoscia, das als eigene Gemeinde zum Kreis Navegna gehört, sind heute alle zur Gemeinde Verzasca zusammengeschlossen, die identisch mit dem Kreis Verzasca ist.
Lage
Das Verzascatal ist ein wildes Tal mit steilen Hängen und unzähligen Wasserfällen. Die Verzascahäuser (Rustici) aus grauem Stein mit weissen Umrandungen an den Fenstern und schweren Steinplattendächern sind typisch für das Tal. Die Kapellen entlang der Wege zeugen vom religiösen Glauben der Talbewohner.
Das Verzascatal ist mit Mergoscia das geometrische Zentrum des Tessins. Es ist das einzige Tal, das nur an Tessiner Täler grenzt. Es liegt zwischen der Leventina und dem Maggiatal und erstreckt sich über eine Länge von 25 km in Süd-Nord-Richtung nördlich des Lago Maggiore. Der Talboden liegt auf 500 bis 900 m ü. M. Die Berge, die das ganze Tal umrahmen, haben eine durchschnittliche Höhe von 2400 m ü. M. Das Tal wird vom Fluss Verzasca durchflossen, der am Talausgang gestaut wird und den Lago di Vogorno bildet, bevor er in der Magadinoebene in der Nähe des Ticino in den Lago Maggiore fliesst.
Die Seitentäler des Valle Verzasca sind von folgenden Dörfern aus erreichbar: Auf der rechten Talseite: das Val Resa und Valle di Mergoscia von Mergoscia; das Val di Corippo von Corippo; das Val d’Orgnana und Valle del Cansgell von Lavertezzo; das Val d’Osura von Brione; das Val Redòrta und Val Vegornèss von Sonogno. Auf der linken Talseite: das Val della Porta von Vogorno; das Val Carecchio, Val Pincascia und Val d’Agro von Lavertezzo; das Val Mött von Gerra; das Val d’Efra von Frasco.
Klima, Flora und Fauna
Aufgrund der unterschiedlichen Höhenlagen sind in der Valle Verzasca viele Klimazonen vereint. Tenero-Contra und Gordola gehören dank tiefer Meereshöhe, Seenähe und dem Schutz der Berge des Verzascatales vor den Nordwinden zur insubrischen Klimaregion. Weinberge und mediterrane Vegetation profitieren hier vom mildesten Klima der Schweiz, Nebel sind selten und Regenfälle von kurzer Dauer. Dieses Klima zieht sich weit in das Tal hinein, in dem Reben, Kastanienwälder und Palmen gedeihen. Es geht dann mit zunehmender Höhe über das Hügel- und Bergklima bis in die Regionen mit alpinem Klima (über 2000 m ü. M.). Wegen der Unterschiede in der Bodenbeschaffenheit und der Höhe können im Verzascatal fast alle im Tessin vorkommenden Pflanzen- und Tierarten der verschiedenen Umweltzonen angetroffen werden.
Die von den Römern eingeführte Edelkastanie (Castanea sativa) ist im südlichen Teil des Tales, unterhalb 1000 m, die dominierende Baumart. Ihr Holz hat ähnliche Eigenschaften wie die Tropenhölzer. Die Kastanienwälder werden seit den 1950er-Jahren nicht mehr bewirtschaftet, da es sich meist um Niederwälder handelt. Im Verzasca können in der Nähe von Dörfern und Maiensässen (monti) «auf den Stock gesetzte» Kastanienbäume, etwa auf Mannshöhe abgesägte Baumstümpfe, gefunden werden. Da die Kastanie die Fähigkeit hat, aus dem abgesägten Baumstumpf wieder auszutreiben (Stockausschlag), musste solange gewartet werden (etwa zehn Jahre), bis die Triebe den gewünschten Umfang erreichten, um zum Beispiel als Balken für die tonnenschweren Steindächer eingesetzt werden zu können. Im Jahre 2005 publizierte Studien über Versuchsanlagen schlagen vor, das wertvolle Kastanienholz wieder als Wertholz – zum Beispiel für Parkettböden – zu nutzen.
Im Verzascatal hat sich die alte Ziegenrasse Nera-Verzasca-Ziege erhalten, die der römischen Ziege sehr ähnlich sieht, wie aufgrund von Hornfunden in Augusta Raurica nachgewiesen werden konnte. Diese mittelalterliche Robustziege hat kurzes Haar, an dem Schnee nicht haftet.
Wirtschaft
Früher betrieb die Bevölkerung hauptsächlich Landwirtschaft, das heisst vor allem Weidewirtschaft. Ab dem 14. Jahrhundert überwinterten Einwohner mit ihrem Vieh in der Magadinoebene. Seit dem 17. Jahrhundert fand eine saisonale Auswanderung zur Erwerbstätigkeit statt. Arbeitslose und abenteuerlustige Männer liessen sich als Söldner für fremde Kriegsdienste anwerben. Piccoli spazzacamini (italienisch für kleine Schornsteinfeger) nannte man im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert in Italien und im Tessin die Buben, die vor allem in den Städten Norditaliens als Kaminfegerkinder arbeiten mussten.
Seit 1873 wird in zwei Steinbrüchen von einheimischen Arbeitern Granit abgebaut. Mit dem Anschluss an den öffentlichen Verkehr entwickelte sich ab Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts der Tourismus. Im späteren 19. Jahrhundert, nach dem kalifornischen Goldrausch, begann auch im Verzascatal die Tradition der Kalifornienwanderung, die teilweise als Ersatz für die abgebrochene ältere europäische Auswanderungstradition angesehen werden kann.
Während der Krise der 1930er-Jahre breitete sich die Arbeitslosigkeit auch im Verzasca aus, und da auch Amerika die Grenzen geschlossen hatte, war auch die Auswanderung nicht mehr möglich.
Um der arbeitslosen Bevölkerung zu helfen, wurde das «Komitee für die Tätigkeiten in Heimarbeit» («Comitato per i lavori casalinghi a domicilio») gegründet. Die Talbewohner wurden mit typischen handwerklichen Tätigkeiten beschäftigt: Wollfärbung mit natürlichen Farben (Blättern, Wurzeln und Früchten, die vor Ort vorhanden sind), Handspinnerei, Strickerei und Holzarbeiten, um ihre finanzielle Not zu lindern. Daraus entwickelte sich 1933 die «Pro Verzasca», eine örtliche Vereinigung zur Wahrung der moralischen und materiellen Interessen der Region und ihrer besten Eigenschaften.
Der Umbau der alten Verzascahäuser (Rustici) in Ferienhäuser schafft Arbeitsplätze, erhöht die Tourismuseinnahmen und sorgt dafür, dass die alten Häuser und das charakteristische Ortsbild erhalten bleiben.
Im Jahre 1990 waren nur noch 20 Prozent der Beschäftigten im Landwirtschaftssektor tätig.
Verkehr
Der einzige Talzugang für den Autoverkehr und das Postauto ist im Süden ab Tenero oder Gordola. Die auf der linken Talseite beginnende Kantonsstrasse führt über Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und endet in Sonogno. Sie wurde erst in den Jahren 1866 bis 1871 gebaut. Eine kurze Stichstrasse führt nach Corippo.
Auf der rechten Talseite endet die Strasse und Postautostrecke ab Locarno bereits in Mergoscia.
Tourismus
Die vielen Gipfel mit Sicht auf die Walliser-, Berner und Glarner- und Bündneralpen sowie die zahlreichen Übergänge in die Seiten- und Nachbartäler machen das Valle Verzasca zu einem Anziehungspunkt für Bergwanderer. Die Berghütten Cornavosa, Barone, Cognora, Efra, Osola, Fümegna und Borgna bieten Unterkunft.
Der Sentierone Valle Verzasca ist ein rot-weiss markierter Wanderweg (Bergweg), der von Tenero aus oberhalb des Lago di Vogorno oder via Mergoscia und später entlang der Verzasca in mehreren Etappen bis nach Sonogno führt.
Die Via Alta della Verzasca (VAV) gilt als eine der wildesten Bergwanderungen der Schweiz (SAC-Wanderskala = T6). Sie führt über verlassene Alpen, schroffe Gräben und schwer zugängliche Seitentäler und verbindet fünf Hütten miteinander. Die Route ist blau-weiss markiert und die schwierigsten Stellen sind mit Sicherungen (Drahtseile, Metallbügel) versehen. Die VAV führt oft durch sehr ausgesetztes Gelände mit Kletterstellen, so dass sie nur für erfahrene Berggänger zu empfehlen ist.
Die Bergwanderung Trekking 700 von Mesocco (GR) nach Formazza (I) führt durch das Valle Verzasca: die 4. Etappe: Biasca – Capanna Efra, die 5. Etappe: Capanna Efra – Sonogno und die 6. Etappe: Sonogno – Prato-Sornico.
Der Verzasca-Fluss ist unter Kanuten und Tauchern beliebt, gilt aber als schwierig bis gefährlich.
Über Geschichte und Gegenwart des Tales informiert das Museo di Val Verzasca in Sonogno.
Geschichte
Wegen seiner schweren Erreichbarkeit gilt das Verzascatal als eines der Täler, das am besten seine Ursprünglichkeit bewahren konnte. Die abgelegene geographische Lage machte es für die Eroberer uninteressant.
Zeugen einer sehr frühen Besiedlung der Verzasca-Region fanden sich an der Mündung der Verzasca. Dort wurden Steinarten aus der jüngeren Steinzeit (1800 v. Chr.) gefunden. In Berzona, einem Ortsteil (frazione) von Vogorno, liegt am Wanderweg ein grosser Schalenstein, der Sass di Striöi (Hexenstein), der vermutlich um 600 bis 700 v. Chr. bearbeitet wurde. Insgesamt gibt es im Verzascatal rund neunzig derartig eingemeisselte Felsen. In Tenero wurde 1880 eine bedeutende römische Nekropole aus dem 1. und 2. Jahr. n. Chr. entdeckt. Die Funde (Bronzen, Amphoren, Münzen) befinden sich im archäologischen Museum des Castello dei Visconti in Locarno.
Vermutlich um 1000 n. Chr. gründeten die Talbewohner eine Gemeinschaft (comunità) bestehend aus den vier Dorfgenossenschaften (vicinie): Vogorno (mit Corippo), Lavertezzo, Brione (mit Gerra) und Frasco (mit Sonogno). Die Gemeinschaft gehörte zum Pieve von Locarno, gegen den sie sich 1398 auflehnte. Zwischen 1410 und 1500 geriet das Tal abwechselnd unter die Herrschaft der Eidgenossen, Savoyer, Leventiner und der Rusca. Nach 1686 konnte sich die Gemeinschaft von den Marcacci Vögten befreien. 1803 wurde das Verzascatal ein Kreis (circolo) mit dem Hauptort Lavertezzo. In religiöser Hinsicht gehörte das Verzascatal bis zum 13. Jahrhundert zur Pfarrei San Vittore di Locarno.
Geologie
Einzigartig für die Region ist der spektakulär gefärbte Gneis. Es handelt sich um einen Oligoklasgneis, der unter dem Handelsnamen Serizzo bekannt ist. Die Farben verlaufen zwischen Braun, Schwarz, Grau und Weiss. Die Gesteine des benachbarten Valle Maggia sind dagegen meist rein grau.
(Wikipedia)
Train touristique le plus haut d'Europe au coeur de la Vallée d'Ossau dans les Pyrénées Atlantiques
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The Petit train d'Artouste is a narrow gauge tourist railway situated in the French Pyrenees close to the Spanish border, some 55 km south of the town of Pau, and within the commune of Laruns. The line runs high above the headwaters of the Gave d'Ossau, and provides access to the Lac d'Artouste, a semi-artificial lake in the mountains at an altitude of over 2,000 m.
The line was originally constructed for the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Midi (CFM), the then main line railway operator in the area to the north of the Pyrenees. As part of a program of electrifying these lines, the CFM constructed a series of hydro-electric power stations in the valley of the Ossau between the years 1920 and 1932. Significant civil engineering works were required in order to provide access to these works, and included the line now used by the petit train. Once this work was finished, the CFM recognised the tourist potential of the line, and the first tourist trains were run.
Today the petit train is reached by a télécabine from a lower station at Artouste-Fabrèges, on the Lac de Fabrèges in the valley of the Gave du Brousset. This lower station is at an altitude of 1,240 m and accessible by road. The télécabine climbs to an upper station (known as Ossau2000) at an altitude of 1,920 m, where passengers change to the petit train.
After leaving Ossau2000, the line runs through a 315 m tunnel, crossing under the ridge to reach a point high above the valley of the Gave de Soussouéou, another of the Gave d'Ossau's tributaries. From here the line runs along a twisting and vertiginous ledge above that valley until it reaches the dam of the Lac d'Artouste. The culminating point of the railway is approximately 1,940 m.
Laruns, Fabrèges, Hautes-Pyrénées, France
A rare nice June day culminated in this magical encounter with this wonderful sow and her triplets, two of whom are in frame....
If you wish to purchase prints of these photos, you can do so here, chris-sarno.smugmug.com/
It is an adventure just to even witness the lava flow. But it is all the more intriguing and intimate to follow the lava from the crater to the ocean entry. They make the way thru lava tubes and eventually culminate at the ocean. The lava flow, when it happens, is mostly over multiple days. To get this shot, I planned for the morning twilight, when there is enough light to capture the surrounding and the sun is not yet out, so the lava can be captured in its beauty. Sleeping in the car at the parking lot, helped, but still had to plan for the time to actually get to the spot. Personally for me, it was such a intimate experience, shooting from the water and witnessing the raw beauty of earth being created.
For some reason this reminded me of Robert Frost. And also kindled me to scribble my own (in no way to be compared to that of Frost !!!)
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
- Robert Frost
Every end is a new beginning
Weather it is fire or ice,
it does not matter -
All that matters
Is finding that end, and beginning new
It is in realizing that you are far beyond
both the fire and the ice -
the beginning and the end.
- Sathya
According to local legend, Helfštýn is named after the robber Helfried of Linva, who founded it. The castle was probably built in the last quarter of the 13th century. Around 1320 Vok of Kravař, a member of a prominent Moravian noble family, became the owner of the castle. Helfštýn remained in the possession of the Kravař family for more than a hundred years and underwent far-reaching structural changes during this period. Construction work began on a larger scale in the first half of the 14th century, but the main reconstruction of the castle into a Gothic fortress did not take place until the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. The Kravařs mainly improved the fortifications of Helfštýn. They replaced the makeshift fortification of the old parkland with a thick stone wall with four bastions, built a prismatic tower over the entrance to the castle itself and secured it with a drawbridge, built a fortified forecourt on the south side and cut the ridge of the hill with a moat carved into the rock.
The era of the Pernštejn family
In 1474, William of Pernštejn took over the castle estate and proceeded to its further reconstruction. In the last quarter of the 15th century,
Helfštýn Castle was enlarged with a thoroughly fortified, extensive farm forecourt (completed in 1480) and another forecourt, which formed a new outpost defending the entire enlarged building. At the same time, the fortifications of the old Kravaře castle were improved with bastions and a new system of towers and gates. The castle's ground plan was definitively given an elongated shape, and in its external form the perfect fortification system significantly overlapped all the other architectural elements.
Renaissance reconstruction
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, the inner core of the castle was rebuilt into a Renaissance residence. The old castle palace was demolished, along with part of its original Gothic fortifications, and a magnificent Renaissance palace was built on the vacant space, in sharp contrast to the extensive system of late Gothic fortifications that surrounded it.
The destruction of the castle
In 1656, quite extensive demolition work was carried out, which, although it did not damage the fortifications of Helfštýn too much, definitively deprived it of the character of a manor house. And thus began the long-term destruction of the castle. The destruction was accelerated in the second half of the 18th century by the Ditrichstein family with demolition works. These attempts culminated in 1817, when part of the inner castle was destroyed by artillery fire.
Present day
The present-day character of the castle is that of a fortress with six gates and a series of 18th-century buildings and ramparts. Since the 19th century, the castle has been presented as a tourist and heritage site. Nowadays it has become a natural cultural centre of the region, with various cultural events taking place here throughout the season
Schweiz / Tessin - Verzascatal
The Valle Verzasca is a valley in the Locarno district of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It comprises the municipalities of Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione, Gerra, Frasco, and Sonogno. As of 2004, the total population is 3,200. It is the most central valley of Ticino, and none of the passes out of the valley cross cantonal or national borders. The valley is formed by the river Verzasca and is situated between the Leventina and the Maggia and culminates at Pizzo Barone.
Geography
Located between the Leventina and the Valle Maggia valleys, Valle Verzasca extends over a length of 25 kilometres (16 mi) in north–south direction and is situated in the north of the Lago Maggiore. The valley floor is at about 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 900 metres (2,953 ft) above sea level. The surrounding mountain passes respectively have an average altitude of 2,400 metres (7,874 ft). The valley is crossed by the Verzasca which is dammed at the southernly outlet of the valley, forming the Lago di Vogorno, before it flows in the Magadino plain in the vicinity of the Ticino in the Lago Maggiore.
The Valle Verzasca includes the geographical centre of Ticino, which is located at Mergoscia, near the lower end of the valley.
Climate
Due to the different altitudes, all climate zones are combined in the Valle Verzasca. Tenero-contra and Gordola include the insubric climate region thanks to the deep-sea level, close to the Lago Maggiore and protected by the mountains from the north winds. Vineyards and Mediterranean vegetation benefit from the mildest climate area of Switzerland, nebulae are rare and rainfall of short duration. With increasing altitude, the hills and mountain climate goes over to regions dominated by the Alpine climate (over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft)).
Flora and fauna
The diversity benefits among other things, the cultivation of vines, and it flourish chestnut forests and palm trees thrive. Due to differences in soil type and amounts, almost all flora occurring in the Ticino and fauna of the various environmental zones are found in the Verzasca Valley.
The Romans introduced and comparable to the tropical wood species, Castanea sativa is in the southern part of the valley, below 1,000 metres (3,281 ft), the dominant species. It is no longer actively cultivated, but favors the further diffusion, and studies suggest taking advantage of the valuable wood of chestnut as a valuable wood.
In the Valle Verzasca the endemic Nera Verzasca goat has been preserved, which looks very much like the ancient Roman goat. This medieval durable goat has short hair, because it's not stuck in the snow.
Culture
Due to its isolated location, the Verzasca Valley is claimed as one of the valleys that could best keep its originality. The secluded geographical location made it unattractive for conquerors since the Roman period, and even before. The first traces of settlement in the area are from the early 2nd millennium BC, in its southern part. In Berzona, a locality (frazione) of Vogorno, a carved rock known as a Sass di Striöi (literally: witches stone) is situated on a hiking trail. The shell rock most likely dates from around 600–700 BC; there are about 90 such carved rocks in the Verzasca Valley. Although initially free farmers, the valley was alternately ruled by the Swiss Confederacy, Savoy, Leventia and the Rusca family from about 1410 onwards. In the European Middle Ages, the population were mainly farmers, and since the early 17th century, many residents had to leave for seasonal labour outside their home valley. Often unemployed young men were recruited as mercenaries for foreign armies. In two quarries granite is mined by local workers.
The so-called Rustici (Italian for farm house) in grey stone, with white borders on the windows and heavy stone roofs, are typical houses in the valley. Wood rafters are used to support the heavy stone roof, Castanea sativa wood. Many chapels along the way bear witness to the deep faith of the inhabitants of the valley. Valle Vercasza was the origin of many of the region's so-called Spazzacamini (literally: chimney sweep children).
Tourism
With the connection to the public transport, tourism developed from the end of the 19th century, but the majority of young people from the Valley still look for income opportunities in wealthier regions of Switzerland or northern Italy. Currently the majority of locals are active in the tourism trade. The conversion of the old Rustici houses into holiday houses created jobs, increased tourism revenues and ensured that the old houses and the characteristic image of the Verzasca Valley are preserved.
The mountaintop with views of the Valais, Bernese, Glarus and Grisons Alps, as well as the many transitions in the side and neighbouring valleys are popular to mountain hikers, and around a dozen mountain huts provide accommodation and meals. The Verzasca is popular to canoeists and divers, but considered to be dangerous and difficult. The Verzasca Dam is also well known for its 220 m height jump, which is one of the highest jumps in the world and also the most famous bungy jump, as it was used in the James Bond film GoldenEye.
Transportation
The only valley access for road traffic and the Postauto buses are bounded from Tenero or Gordola. The starting on the left side of the valley road (built from 1866 to 1871) crosses Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco and ends in Sonogno; a short road leads to Corippo. On the right side of the valley, the road and post road trips from Locarno ends in Mergoscia.
(Wikipedia)
Das Verzascatal (italienisch Valle Verzasca) ist ein Tal im Schweizer Kanton Tessin, das zum Bezirk Locarno gehört. Im Verzascatal liegen die Ortschaften Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und Sonogno. Ausser Mergoscia, das als eigene Gemeinde zum Kreis Navegna gehört, sind heute alle zur Gemeinde Verzasca zusammengeschlossen, die identisch mit dem Kreis Verzasca ist.
Lage
Das Verzascatal ist ein wildes Tal mit steilen Hängen und unzähligen Wasserfällen. Die Verzascahäuser (Rustici) aus grauem Stein mit weissen Umrandungen an den Fenstern und schweren Steinplattendächern sind typisch für das Tal. Die Kapellen entlang der Wege zeugen vom religiösen Glauben der Talbewohner.
Das Verzascatal ist mit Mergoscia das geometrische Zentrum des Tessins. Es ist das einzige Tal, das nur an Tessiner Täler grenzt. Es liegt zwischen der Leventina und dem Maggiatal und erstreckt sich über eine Länge von 25 km in Süd-Nord-Richtung nördlich des Lago Maggiore. Der Talboden liegt auf 500 bis 900 m ü. M. Die Berge, die das ganze Tal umrahmen, haben eine durchschnittliche Höhe von 2400 m ü. M. Das Tal wird vom Fluss Verzasca durchflossen, der am Talausgang gestaut wird und den Lago di Vogorno bildet, bevor er in der Magadinoebene in der Nähe des Ticino in den Lago Maggiore fliesst.
Die Seitentäler des Valle Verzasca sind von folgenden Dörfern aus erreichbar: Auf der rechten Talseite: das Val Resa und Valle di Mergoscia von Mergoscia; das Val di Corippo von Corippo; das Val d’Orgnana und Valle del Cansgell von Lavertezzo; das Val d’Osura von Brione; das Val Redòrta und Val Vegornèss von Sonogno. Auf der linken Talseite: das Val della Porta von Vogorno; das Val Carecchio, Val Pincascia und Val d’Agro von Lavertezzo; das Val Mött von Gerra; das Val d’Efra von Frasco.
Klima, Flora und Fauna
Aufgrund der unterschiedlichen Höhenlagen sind in der Valle Verzasca viele Klimazonen vereint. Tenero-Contra und Gordola gehören dank tiefer Meereshöhe, Seenähe und dem Schutz der Berge des Verzascatales vor den Nordwinden zur insubrischen Klimaregion. Weinberge und mediterrane Vegetation profitieren hier vom mildesten Klima der Schweiz, Nebel sind selten und Regenfälle von kurzer Dauer. Dieses Klima zieht sich weit in das Tal hinein, in dem Reben, Kastanienwälder und Palmen gedeihen. Es geht dann mit zunehmender Höhe über das Hügel- und Bergklima bis in die Regionen mit alpinem Klima (über 2000 m ü. M.). Wegen der Unterschiede in der Bodenbeschaffenheit und der Höhe können im Verzascatal fast alle im Tessin vorkommenden Pflanzen- und Tierarten der verschiedenen Umweltzonen angetroffen werden.
Die von den Römern eingeführte Edelkastanie (Castanea sativa) ist im südlichen Teil des Tales, unterhalb 1000 m, die dominierende Baumart. Ihr Holz hat ähnliche Eigenschaften wie die Tropenhölzer. Die Kastanienwälder werden seit den 1950er-Jahren nicht mehr bewirtschaftet, da es sich meist um Niederwälder handelt. Im Verzasca können in der Nähe von Dörfern und Maiensässen (monti) «auf den Stock gesetzte» Kastanienbäume, etwa auf Mannshöhe abgesägte Baumstümpfe, gefunden werden. Da die Kastanie die Fähigkeit hat, aus dem abgesägten Baumstumpf wieder auszutreiben (Stockausschlag), musste solange gewartet werden (etwa zehn Jahre), bis die Triebe den gewünschten Umfang erreichten, um zum Beispiel als Balken für die tonnenschweren Steindächer eingesetzt werden zu können. Im Jahre 2005 publizierte Studien über Versuchsanlagen schlagen vor, das wertvolle Kastanienholz wieder als Wertholz – zum Beispiel für Parkettböden – zu nutzen.
Im Verzascatal hat sich die alte Ziegenrasse Nera-Verzasca-Ziege erhalten, die der römischen Ziege sehr ähnlich sieht, wie aufgrund von Hornfunden in Augusta Raurica nachgewiesen werden konnte. Diese mittelalterliche Robustziege hat kurzes Haar, an dem Schnee nicht haftet.
Wirtschaft
Früher betrieb die Bevölkerung hauptsächlich Landwirtschaft, das heisst vor allem Weidewirtschaft. Ab dem 14. Jahrhundert überwinterten Einwohner mit ihrem Vieh in der Magadinoebene. Seit dem 17. Jahrhundert fand eine saisonale Auswanderung zur Erwerbstätigkeit statt. Arbeitslose und abenteuerlustige Männer liessen sich als Söldner für fremde Kriegsdienste anwerben. Piccoli spazzacamini (italienisch für kleine Schornsteinfeger) nannte man im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert in Italien und im Tessin die Buben, die vor allem in den Städten Norditaliens als Kaminfegerkinder arbeiten mussten.
Seit 1873 wird in zwei Steinbrüchen von einheimischen Arbeitern Granit abgebaut. Mit dem Anschluss an den öffentlichen Verkehr entwickelte sich ab Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts der Tourismus. Im späteren 19. Jahrhundert, nach dem kalifornischen Goldrausch, begann auch im Verzascatal die Tradition der Kalifornienwanderung, die teilweise als Ersatz für die abgebrochene ältere europäische Auswanderungstradition angesehen werden kann.
Während der Krise der 1930er-Jahre breitete sich die Arbeitslosigkeit auch im Verzasca aus, und da auch Amerika die Grenzen geschlossen hatte, war auch die Auswanderung nicht mehr möglich.
Um der arbeitslosen Bevölkerung zu helfen, wurde das «Komitee für die Tätigkeiten in Heimarbeit» («Comitato per i lavori casalinghi a domicilio») gegründet. Die Talbewohner wurden mit typischen handwerklichen Tätigkeiten beschäftigt: Wollfärbung mit natürlichen Farben (Blättern, Wurzeln und Früchten, die vor Ort vorhanden sind), Handspinnerei, Strickerei und Holzarbeiten, um ihre finanzielle Not zu lindern. Daraus entwickelte sich 1933 die «Pro Verzasca», eine örtliche Vereinigung zur Wahrung der moralischen und materiellen Interessen der Region und ihrer besten Eigenschaften.
Der Umbau der alten Verzascahäuser (Rustici) in Ferienhäuser schafft Arbeitsplätze, erhöht die Tourismuseinnahmen und sorgt dafür, dass die alten Häuser und das charakteristische Ortsbild erhalten bleiben.
Im Jahre 1990 waren nur noch 20 Prozent der Beschäftigten im Landwirtschaftssektor tätig.
Verkehr
Der einzige Talzugang für den Autoverkehr und das Postauto ist im Süden ab Tenero oder Gordola. Die auf der linken Talseite beginnende Kantonsstrasse führt über Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und endet in Sonogno. Sie wurde erst in den Jahren 1866 bis 1871 gebaut. Eine kurze Stichstrasse führt nach Corippo.
Auf der rechten Talseite endet die Strasse und Postautostrecke ab Locarno bereits in Mergoscia.
Tourismus
Die vielen Gipfel mit Sicht auf die Walliser-, Berner und Glarner- und Bündneralpen sowie die zahlreichen Übergänge in die Seiten- und Nachbartäler machen das Valle Verzasca zu einem Anziehungspunkt für Bergwanderer. Die Berghütten Cornavosa, Barone, Cognora, Efra, Osola, Fümegna und Borgna bieten Unterkunft.
Der Sentierone Valle Verzasca ist ein rot-weiss markierter Wanderweg (Bergweg), der von Tenero aus oberhalb des Lago di Vogorno oder via Mergoscia und später entlang der Verzasca in mehreren Etappen bis nach Sonogno führt.
Die Via Alta della Verzasca (VAV) gilt als eine der wildesten Bergwanderungen der Schweiz (SAC-Wanderskala = T6). Sie führt über verlassene Alpen, schroffe Gräben und schwer zugängliche Seitentäler und verbindet fünf Hütten miteinander. Die Route ist blau-weiss markiert und die schwierigsten Stellen sind mit Sicherungen (Drahtseile, Metallbügel) versehen. Die VAV führt oft durch sehr ausgesetztes Gelände mit Kletterstellen, so dass sie nur für erfahrene Berggänger zu empfehlen ist.
Die Bergwanderung Trekking 700 von Mesocco (GR) nach Formazza (I) führt durch das Valle Verzasca: die 4. Etappe: Biasca – Capanna Efra, die 5. Etappe: Capanna Efra – Sonogno und die 6. Etappe: Sonogno – Prato-Sornico.
Der Verzasca-Fluss ist unter Kanuten und Tauchern beliebt, gilt aber als schwierig bis gefährlich.
Über Geschichte und Gegenwart des Tales informiert das Museo di Val Verzasca in Sonogno.
Geschichte
Wegen seiner schweren Erreichbarkeit gilt das Verzascatal als eines der Täler, das am besten seine Ursprünglichkeit bewahren konnte. Die abgelegene geographische Lage machte es für die Eroberer uninteressant.
Zeugen einer sehr frühen Besiedlung der Verzasca-Region fanden sich an der Mündung der Verzasca. Dort wurden Steinarten aus der jüngeren Steinzeit (1800 v. Chr.) gefunden. In Berzona, einem Ortsteil (frazione) von Vogorno, liegt am Wanderweg ein grosser Schalenstein, der Sass di Striöi (Hexenstein), der vermutlich um 600 bis 700 v. Chr. bearbeitet wurde. Insgesamt gibt es im Verzascatal rund neunzig derartig eingemeisselte Felsen. In Tenero wurde 1880 eine bedeutende römische Nekropole aus dem 1. und 2. Jahr. n. Chr. entdeckt. Die Funde (Bronzen, Amphoren, Münzen) befinden sich im archäologischen Museum des Castello dei Visconti in Locarno.
Vermutlich um 1000 n. Chr. gründeten die Talbewohner eine Gemeinschaft (comunità) bestehend aus den vier Dorfgenossenschaften (vicinie): Vogorno (mit Corippo), Lavertezzo, Brione (mit Gerra) und Frasco (mit Sonogno). Die Gemeinschaft gehörte zum Pieve von Locarno, gegen den sie sich 1398 auflehnte. Zwischen 1410 und 1500 geriet das Tal abwechselnd unter die Herrschaft der Eidgenossen, Savoyer, Leventiner und der Rusca. Nach 1686 konnte sich die Gemeinschaft von den Marcacci Vögten befreien. 1803 wurde das Verzascatal ein Kreis (circolo) mit dem Hauptort Lavertezzo. In religiöser Hinsicht gehörte das Verzascatal bis zum 13. Jahrhundert zur Pfarrei San Vittore di Locarno.
Geologie
Einzigartig für die Region ist der spektakulär gefärbte Gneis. Es handelt sich um einen Oligoklasgneis, der unter dem Handelsnamen Serizzo bekannt ist. Die Farben verlaufen zwischen Braun, Schwarz, Grau und Weiss. Die Gesteine des benachbarten Valle Maggia sind dagegen meist rein grau.
(Wikipedia)
Isalo is one of Madagascar's most beautiful parks. It contains sculpted buttes, vertical rock walls and, best of all, deep canyon floors shot through with streams, lush vegetation and pools for swimming. All of this changes with the light, culminating in extraordinary sunsets beneath a big sky. Add all this to easy access off the RN7 and you understand why this is Madagascar’s most visited park.
At more than 800 sq km, it’s also a large park, so if you want to go off on your own there is plenty of room for exploration, with everything from two-hour to week-long hikes. There's also an excellent chance of spotting ring-tailed lemurs and Verreaux's sifaka around the Nemaza campsite.
www.lonelyplanet.com/madagascar/the-desert/attractions/pa...
Isalo es uno de los parques más bellos de Madagascar. Contiene colinas esculpidas, paredes de roca verticales y, lo mejor de todo, profundos fondos de cañones atravesados por arroyos, exuberante vegetación y piscinas para nadar. Todo esto cambia con la luz, culminando en extraordinarios atardeceres bajo un gran cielo. Agregue todo esto al fácil acceso desde la RN7 y comprenderá por qué este es el parque más visitado de Madagascar.
Con más de 800 kilómetros cuadrados, también es un parque grande, por lo que si quieres ir por tu cuenta, hay mucho espacio para explorar, con todo tipo de caminatas, desde dos horas hasta una semana de duración. También existe una gran posibilidad de observar lémures de cola anillada y sifaka de Verreaux en los alrededores del camping de Nemaza.
L'Isalo est l'un des plus beaux parcs de Madagascar. Il contient des buttes sculptées, des parois rocheuses verticales et, mieux encore, de profonds fonds de canyons traversés de ruisseaux, d'une végétation luxuriante et de bassins pour la baignade. Tout cela change au gré de la lumière, pour aboutir à des couchers de soleil extraordinaires sous un ciel immense. Ajoutez à tout cela un accès facile depuis la RN7 et vous comprenez pourquoi c'est le parc le plus visité de Madagascar.
Avec plus de 800 km², c'est aussi un grand parc, donc si vous souhaitez partir seul, il y a beaucoup de place pour l'exploration, avec des randonnées allant de deux heures à une semaine. Il y a également de fortes chances d'apercevoir des lémuriens catta et des propithèques de Verreaux autour du camping Nemaza.
Le Relais de la Reine
lerelaisdelareine.com/hotel-madagascar-isalo-spa/?lang=es
lerelaisdelareine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Relais-d...
Rovinj, Croatia, culminates in the 60 m-high Venetian-style bell tower of the Church of St. Euphemia.
Schweiz / Tessin - Verzascatal
Sonogno
The Valle Verzasca is a valley in the Locarno district of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It comprises the municipalities of Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione, Gerra, Frasco, and Sonogno. As of 2004, the total population is 3,200. It is the most central valley of Ticino, and none of the passes out of the valley cross cantonal or national borders. The valley is formed by the river Verzasca and is situated between the Leventina and the Maggia and culminates at Pizzo Barone.
Geography
Located between the Leventina and the Valle Maggia valleys, Valle Verzasca extends over a length of 25 kilometres (16 mi) in north–south direction and is situated in the north of the Lago Maggiore. The valley floor is at about 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 900 metres (2,953 ft) above sea level. The surrounding mountain passes respectively have an average altitude of 2,400 metres (7,874 ft). The valley is crossed by the Verzasca which is dammed at the southernly outlet of the valley, forming the Lago di Vogorno, before it flows in the Magadino plain in the vicinity of the Ticino in the Lago Maggiore.
The Valle Verzasca includes the geographical centre of Ticino, which is located at Mergoscia, near the lower end of the valley.
Climate
Due to the different altitudes, all climate zones are combined in the Valle Verzasca. Tenero-contra and Gordola include the insubric climate region thanks to the deep-sea level, close to the Lago Maggiore and protected by the mountains from the north winds. Vineyards and Mediterranean vegetation benefit from the mildest climate area of Switzerland, nebulae are rare and rainfall of short duration. With increasing altitude, the hills and mountain climate goes over to regions dominated by the Alpine climate (over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft)).
Flora and fauna
The diversity benefits among other things, the cultivation of vines, and it flourish chestnut forests and palm trees thrive. Due to differences in soil type and amounts, almost all flora occurring in the Ticino and fauna of the various environmental zones are found in the Verzasca Valley.
The Romans introduced and comparable to the tropical wood species, Castanea sativa is in the southern part of the valley, below 1,000 metres (3,281 ft), the dominant species. It is no longer actively cultivated, but favors the further diffusion, and studies suggest taking advantage of the valuable wood of chestnut as a valuable wood.
In the Valle Verzasca the endemic Nera Verzasca goat has been preserved, which looks very much like the ancient Roman goat. This medieval durable goat has short hair, because it's not stuck in the snow.
Culture
Due to its isolated location, the Verzasca Valley is claimed as one of the valleys that could best keep its originality. The secluded geographical location made it unattractive for conquerors since the Roman period, and even before. The first traces of settlement in the area are from the early 2nd millennium BC, in its southern part. In Berzona, a locality (frazione) of Vogorno, a carved rock known as a Sass di Striöi (literally: witches stone) is situated on a hiking trail. The shell rock most likely dates from around 600–700 BC; there are about 90 such carved rocks in the Verzasca Valley. Although initially free farmers, the valley was alternately ruled by the Swiss Confederacy, Savoy, Leventia and the Rusca family from about 1410 onwards. In the European Middle Ages, the population were mainly farmers, and since the early 17th century, many residents had to leave for seasonal labour outside their home valley. Often unemployed young men were recruited as mercenaries for foreign armies. In two quarries granite is mined by local workers.
The so-called Rustici (Italian for farm house) in grey stone, with white borders on the windows and heavy stone roofs, are typical houses in the valley. Wood rafters are used to support the heavy stone roof, Castanea sativa wood. Many chapels along the way bear witness to the deep faith of the inhabitants of the valley. Valle Vercasza was the origin of many of the region's so-called Spazzacamini (literally: chimney sweep children).
Tourism
With the connection to the public transport, tourism developed from the end of the 19th century, but the majority of young people from the Valley still look for income opportunities in wealthier regions of Switzerland or northern Italy. Currently the majority of locals are active in the tourism trade. The conversion of the old Rustici houses into holiday houses created jobs, increased tourism revenues and ensured that the old houses and the characteristic image of the Verzasca Valley are preserved.
The mountaintop with views of the Valais, Bernese, Glarus and Grisons Alps, as well as the many transitions in the side and neighbouring valleys are popular to mountain hikers, and around a dozen mountain huts provide accommodation and meals. The Verzasca is popular to canoeists and divers, but considered to be dangerous and difficult. The Verzasca Dam is also well known for its 220 m height jump, which is one of the highest jumps in the world and also the most famous bungy jump, as it was used in the James Bond film GoldenEye.
Transportation
The only valley access for road traffic and the Postauto buses are bounded from Tenero or Gordola. The starting on the left side of the valley road (built from 1866 to 1871) crosses Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco and ends in Sonogno; a short road leads to Corippo. On the right side of the valley, the road and post road trips from Locarno ends in Mergoscia.
(Wikipedia)
Sonogno is a village and former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located in Valle Verzasca. On 17 October 2020 the former municipalities of Vogorno, Sonogno, Corippo, Brione (Verzasca) and Frasco merged to form the new municipality of Verzasca.
History
Sonogno is first mentioned in 1200 as Sornono. In 1417 it was mentioned as Senognio. During the Middle Ages, Sonogno was part of the Vicinanza of Verzasca and shared the fate of the valley. From 1395 to 1843, it formed a single community with Frasco.
It was part of the parish of Vogorno until 1519, when it formed a parish with Frasco. It formed an independent parish in 1734. The parish church of St. Maria Loreto, is first documented in 1519. It was rebuilt in 1854 and decorated with paintings by Cherubino Patà.
The local economy was based mostly on grazing. During the summer, the cattle grazed in the high alpine pastures, in the winter the cows were moved to their winter pastures in the Magadino. Due to limited jobs, many of the residents emigrated and after about 1850, many went overseas. Decedents of residents of Sonogno can be found in nearly 40 different countries. The more recent exodus to urban centers, combined with emigration have caused a steady decline of population since the mid-nineteenth century. The Museum of Verzasca was built in Sonogno in 1974. In 2005 the agricultural sector still offered 47% of jobs in the municipality.
Geography
Sonogno had an area, as of 1997, of 37.52 square kilometers (14.49 sq mi). Of this area, 0.42 km2 (0.16 sq mi) or 1.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 10.29 km2 (3.97 sq mi) or 27.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.13 km2 (32 acres) or 0.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.74 km2 (0.29 sq mi) or 2.0% is either rivers or lakes and 19.7 km2 (7.6 sq mi) or 52.5% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.0%. Out of the forested land, 11.7% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 12.2% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 3.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.8% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 1.8% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 24.6% is unproductive vegetation and 27.9% is too rocky for vegetation.
The village is located in the Locarno district, Sonogno is the last village on the paved road through the Valley Verzasca. All motor vehicles are required to park at the entrance to the village. It is located at an elevation of 918 m (3,012 ft) about 30 km (19 mi) from Locarno.
Sights
The entire village of Sonogno is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
In popular culture
In Pedro Almodóvar's movie Julieta, Julieta's daughter Antía lives in Sonogno.
The events of the German novel, The Black Brothers, and the anime based on it (Romeo's Blue Skies), follow a young boy from Sonogno village who sold himself to work as a chimney sweep in Milan, Italy. It was inspired by a real event where a ferry carrying chimney sweeps sunk in a storm.
(Wikipedia)
Das Verzascatal (italienisch Valle Verzasca) ist ein Tal im Schweizer Kanton Tessin, das zum Bezirk Locarno gehört. Im Verzascatal liegen die Ortschaften Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und Sonogno. Ausser Mergoscia, das als eigene Gemeinde zum Kreis Navegna gehört, sind heute alle zur Gemeinde Verzasca zusammengeschlossen, die identisch mit dem Kreis Verzasca ist.
Lage
Das Verzascatal ist ein wildes Tal mit steilen Hängen und unzähligen Wasserfällen. Die Verzascahäuser (Rustici) aus grauem Stein mit weissen Umrandungen an den Fenstern und schweren Steinplattendächern sind typisch für das Tal. Die Kapellen entlang der Wege zeugen vom religiösen Glauben der Talbewohner.
Das Verzascatal ist mit Mergoscia das geometrische Zentrum des Tessins. Es ist das einzige Tal, das nur an Tessiner Täler grenzt. Es liegt zwischen der Leventina und dem Maggiatal und erstreckt sich über eine Länge von 25 km in Süd-Nord-Richtung nördlich des Lago Maggiore. Der Talboden liegt auf 500 bis 900 m ü. M. Die Berge, die das ganze Tal umrahmen, haben eine durchschnittliche Höhe von 2400 m ü. M. Das Tal wird vom Fluss Verzasca durchflossen, der am Talausgang gestaut wird und den Lago di Vogorno bildet, bevor er in der Magadinoebene in der Nähe des Ticino in den Lago Maggiore fliesst.
Die Seitentäler des Valle Verzasca sind von folgenden Dörfern aus erreichbar: Auf der rechten Talseite: das Val Resa und Valle di Mergoscia von Mergoscia; das Val di Corippo von Corippo; das Val d’Orgnana und Valle del Cansgell von Lavertezzo; das Val d’Osura von Brione; das Val Redòrta und Val Vegornèss von Sonogno. Auf der linken Talseite: das Val della Porta von Vogorno; das Val Carecchio, Val Pincascia und Val d’Agro von Lavertezzo; das Val Mött von Gerra; das Val d’Efra von Frasco.
Klima, Flora und Fauna
Aufgrund der unterschiedlichen Höhenlagen sind in der Valle Verzasca viele Klimazonen vereint. Tenero-Contra und Gordola gehören dank tiefer Meereshöhe, Seenähe und dem Schutz der Berge des Verzascatales vor den Nordwinden zur insubrischen Klimaregion. Weinberge und mediterrane Vegetation profitieren hier vom mildesten Klima der Schweiz, Nebel sind selten und Regenfälle von kurzer Dauer. Dieses Klima zieht sich weit in das Tal hinein, in dem Reben, Kastanienwälder und Palmen gedeihen. Es geht dann mit zunehmender Höhe über das Hügel- und Bergklima bis in die Regionen mit alpinem Klima (über 2000 m ü. M.). Wegen der Unterschiede in der Bodenbeschaffenheit und der Höhe können im Verzascatal fast alle im Tessin vorkommenden Pflanzen- und Tierarten der verschiedenen Umweltzonen angetroffen werden.
Die von den Römern eingeführte Edelkastanie (Castanea sativa) ist im südlichen Teil des Tales, unterhalb 1000 m, die dominierende Baumart. Ihr Holz hat ähnliche Eigenschaften wie die Tropenhölzer. Die Kastanienwälder werden seit den 1950er-Jahren nicht mehr bewirtschaftet, da es sich meist um Niederwälder handelt. Im Verzasca können in der Nähe von Dörfern und Maiensässen (monti) «auf den Stock gesetzte» Kastanienbäume, etwa auf Mannshöhe abgesägte Baumstümpfe, gefunden werden. Da die Kastanie die Fähigkeit hat, aus dem abgesägten Baumstumpf wieder auszutreiben (Stockausschlag), musste solange gewartet werden (etwa zehn Jahre), bis die Triebe den gewünschten Umfang erreichten, um zum Beispiel als Balken für die tonnenschweren Steindächer eingesetzt werden zu können. Im Jahre 2005 publizierte Studien über Versuchsanlagen schlagen vor, das wertvolle Kastanienholz wieder als Wertholz – zum Beispiel für Parkettböden – zu nutzen.
Im Verzascatal hat sich die alte Ziegenrasse Nera-Verzasca-Ziege erhalten, die der römischen Ziege sehr ähnlich sieht, wie aufgrund von Hornfunden in Augusta Raurica nachgewiesen werden konnte. Diese mittelalterliche Robustziege hat kurzes Haar, an dem Schnee nicht haftet.
Wirtschaft
Früher betrieb die Bevölkerung hauptsächlich Landwirtschaft, das heisst vor allem Weidewirtschaft. Ab dem 14. Jahrhundert überwinterten Einwohner mit ihrem Vieh in der Magadinoebene. Seit dem 17. Jahrhundert fand eine saisonale Auswanderung zur Erwerbstätigkeit statt. Arbeitslose und abenteuerlustige Männer liessen sich als Söldner für fremde Kriegsdienste anwerben. Piccoli spazzacamini (italienisch für kleine Schornsteinfeger) nannte man im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert in Italien und im Tessin die Buben, die vor allem in den Städten Norditaliens als Kaminfegerkinder arbeiten mussten.
Seit 1873 wird in zwei Steinbrüchen von einheimischen Arbeitern Granit abgebaut. Mit dem Anschluss an den öffentlichen Verkehr entwickelte sich ab Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts der Tourismus. Im späteren 19. Jahrhundert, nach dem kalifornischen Goldrausch, begann auch im Verzascatal die Tradition der Kalifornienwanderung, die teilweise als Ersatz für die abgebrochene ältere europäische Auswanderungstradition angesehen werden kann.
Während der Krise der 1930er-Jahre breitete sich die Arbeitslosigkeit auch im Verzasca aus, und da auch Amerika die Grenzen geschlossen hatte, war auch die Auswanderung nicht mehr möglich.
Um der arbeitslosen Bevölkerung zu helfen, wurde das «Komitee für die Tätigkeiten in Heimarbeit» («Comitato per i lavori casalinghi a domicilio») gegründet. Die Talbewohner wurden mit typischen handwerklichen Tätigkeiten beschäftigt: Wollfärbung mit natürlichen Farben (Blättern, Wurzeln und Früchten, die vor Ort vorhanden sind), Handspinnerei, Strickerei und Holzarbeiten, um ihre finanzielle Not zu lindern. Daraus entwickelte sich 1933 die «Pro Verzasca», eine örtliche Vereinigung zur Wahrung der moralischen und materiellen Interessen der Region und ihrer besten Eigenschaften.
Der Umbau der alten Verzascahäuser (Rustici) in Ferienhäuser schafft Arbeitsplätze, erhöht die Tourismuseinnahmen und sorgt dafür, dass die alten Häuser und das charakteristische Ortsbild erhalten bleiben.
Im Jahre 1990 waren nur noch 20 Prozent der Beschäftigten im Landwirtschaftssektor tätig.
Verkehr
Der einzige Talzugang für den Autoverkehr und das Postauto ist im Süden ab Tenero oder Gordola. Die auf der linken Talseite beginnende Kantonsstrasse führt über Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und endet in Sonogno. Sie wurde erst in den Jahren 1866 bis 1871 gebaut. Eine kurze Stichstrasse führt nach Corippo.
Auf der rechten Talseite endet die Strasse und Postautostrecke ab Locarno bereits in Mergoscia.
Tourismus
Die vielen Gipfel mit Sicht auf die Walliser-, Berner und Glarner- und Bündneralpen sowie die zahlreichen Übergänge in die Seiten- und Nachbartäler machen das Valle Verzasca zu einem Anziehungspunkt für Bergwanderer. Die Berghütten Cornavosa, Barone, Cognora, Efra, Osola, Fümegna und Borgna bieten Unterkunft.
Der Sentierone Valle Verzasca ist ein rot-weiss markierter Wanderweg (Bergweg), der von Tenero aus oberhalb des Lago di Vogorno oder via Mergoscia und später entlang der Verzasca in mehreren Etappen bis nach Sonogno führt.
Die Via Alta della Verzasca (VAV) gilt als eine der wildesten Bergwanderungen der Schweiz (SAC-Wanderskala = T6). Sie führt über verlassene Alpen, schroffe Gräben und schwer zugängliche Seitentäler und verbindet fünf Hütten miteinander. Die Route ist blau-weiss markiert und die schwierigsten Stellen sind mit Sicherungen (Drahtseile, Metallbügel) versehen. Die VAV führt oft durch sehr ausgesetztes Gelände mit Kletterstellen, so dass sie nur für erfahrene Berggänger zu empfehlen ist.
Die Bergwanderung Trekking 700 von Mesocco (GR) nach Formazza (I) führt durch das Valle Verzasca: die 4. Etappe: Biasca – Capanna Efra, die 5. Etappe: Capanna Efra – Sonogno und die 6. Etappe: Sonogno – Prato-Sornico.
Der Verzasca-Fluss ist unter Kanuten und Tauchern beliebt, gilt aber als schwierig bis gefährlich.
Über Geschichte und Gegenwart des Tales informiert das Museo di Val Verzasca in Sonogno.
Geschichte
Wegen seiner schweren Erreichbarkeit gilt das Verzascatal als eines der Täler, das am besten seine Ursprünglichkeit bewahren konnte. Die abgelegene geographische Lage machte es für die Eroberer uninteressant.
Zeugen einer sehr frühen Besiedlung der Verzasca-Region fanden sich an der Mündung der Verzasca. Dort wurden Steinarten aus der jüngeren Steinzeit (1800 v. Chr.) gefunden. In Berzona, einem Ortsteil (frazione) von Vogorno, liegt am Wanderweg ein grosser Schalenstein, der Sass di Striöi (Hexenstein), der vermutlich um 600 bis 700 v. Chr. bearbeitet wurde. Insgesamt gibt es im Verzascatal rund neunzig derartig eingemeisselte Felsen. In Tenero wurde 1880 eine bedeutende römische Nekropole aus dem 1. und 2. Jahr. n. Chr. entdeckt. Die Funde (Bronzen, Amphoren, Münzen) befinden sich im archäologischen Museum des Castello dei Visconti in Locarno.
Vermutlich um 1000 n. Chr. gründeten die Talbewohner eine Gemeinschaft (comunità) bestehend aus den vier Dorfgenossenschaften (vicinie): Vogorno (mit Corippo), Lavertezzo, Brione (mit Gerra) und Frasco (mit Sonogno). Die Gemeinschaft gehörte zum Pieve von Locarno, gegen den sie sich 1398 auflehnte. Zwischen 1410 und 1500 geriet das Tal abwechselnd unter die Herrschaft der Eidgenossen, Savoyer, Leventiner und der Rusca. Nach 1686 konnte sich die Gemeinschaft von den Marcacci Vögten befreien. 1803 wurde das Verzascatal ein Kreis (circolo) mit dem Hauptort Lavertezzo. In religiöser Hinsicht gehörte das Verzascatal bis zum 13. Jahrhundert zur Pfarrei San Vittore di Locarno.
Geologie
Einzigartig für die Region ist der spektakulär gefärbte Gneis. Es handelt sich um einen Oligoklasgneis, der unter dem Handelsnamen Serizzo bekannt ist. Die Farben verlaufen zwischen Braun, Schwarz, Grau und Weiss. Die Gesteine des benachbarten Valle Maggia sind dagegen meist rein grau.
(Wikipedia)
Sonogno ist eine Ortschaft in der Gemeinde Verzasca im Schweizer Kanton Tessin. Bis 2020 bildete sie eine eigene Gemeinde.
Geographie
Sonogno ist die hinterste Ortschaft im Verzascatal und liegt in einer Mulde beim Zusammenfluss der Gebirgsbäche aus dem Redorta- und Vegornesstal. Westlich des Ortes liegt der Monte Zucchero (2735 m ü. M.).
Nachbargemeinden im Verzascatal waren Frasco, Cugnasco-Gerra und Brione (Verzasca). Nördlich grenzen die Bezirke Vallemaggia und Leventina an.
Sonogno ist Ausgangspunkt für viele Wanderungen. Im Winter kann man hier Schlittschuh laufen und Skilanglauf betreiben.
Geschichte
Sonogno findet sich um 1200 als Sornono und 1417 als Senognio bezeugt und gehörte im Mittelalter zur Nachbarschaft Verzasca. Von 1395 bis 1843 bildete das Dorf mit dem Nachbarort Frasco eine Gemeinde. Ab 1850 setzte eine Auswanderungswelle nach Übersee und später in die städtischen Zentren ein, die zu einer spürbaren Abnahme der Bevölkerung führte.
1974 wurde in Sonogno das Museum des Verzascatals eröffnet, das Zeugnis gibt vom bäuerlichen Leben des Tales in der Vergangenheit. Es ist auch der Geschichte der Kaminfegerkinder gewidmet, den Buben, die im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert in den Städten Norditaliens als Schornsteinfeger (italienisch spazzacamini) arbeiten mussten.
Am 18. Oktober 2020 fusionierte die damalige Gemeinde Sonogno mit den Gemeinden Brione (Verzasca), Corippo, Cugnasco-Gerra (Gerra Valle), Frasco, Lavertezzo (Lavertezzo Valle) und Vogorno zur neugebildeten Gemeinde Verzasca. Sonogno bildet aber nach wie vor eine eigenständige Bürgergemeinde.
Sehenswürdigkeiten
Das Dorfbild ist im Inventar der schützenswerten Ortsbilder der Schweiz (ISOS) als schützenswertes Ortsbild der Schweiz von nationaler Bedeutung eingestuft.
Das Museo di Val Verzasca, das Zentrum der Wollverarbeitung sowie die Kunsthandwerkgeschäfte
Kirche Santa Maria Lauretana von 1854 mit Schwarzer Madonna
Schalenstein im Ortsteil Al Pianche
Schalensteingruppe im Ortsteil Alpe Cansgel. Ein Stein wird Sass der Stria genannt.
Trivia
In Sonogno beginnt und endet die Handlung des bekannten Kinder- und Jugendbuches Die schwarzen Brüder von Kurt Held und Lisa Tetzner.
(Wikipedia)
morning of house cleaning culminated in chopping down weeds down the drive way, exhausting, hot, so when all this done sitting down on the deck with wine, music and camera at the ready is as much as I can handle, a few shots taken from my post none any good, so Charlie who is hanging around handy for a shot gets to star in today's PaD, what the shot tells me , apart from "Charlie is a handsome fella" is that we really need to wash him :-(
as far as big existential stuff is concerned, as of this morning I decided to no longer care about following the Donald thing. Until now I was griped, mesmerized, submerged , drowned in following every turn of the Donald thing, this is in spite (or maybe because of ?) the fact that from day one I had no questions as to who/what donald is, still what made it compelling to watch was how people react to when they are lied to with straight face, why otherwise seemingly sane people refuse to choose right vs. wrong, why nobody of any notable standing from entourage stood up publicly against ongoing grift (outside of impeachment bunch) ...
I decided after a short deliberation that I have no questions, mystery or suspense left. By by donald , carry on presidenting to your hearts content , and entourage carry on entouraging etc. I'll refocus on reviving my Spanish, that should be fun ...
[EN]
Behind the Morgon peak (culminating at 2324m above sea level) hides the magnificent Morgon circus. In this circus, you will find narrow paths and Lake Morgon which is an ephemeral lake. In fact, when the snow melts, this lake is reborn and disappears again in the fall.
The Morgon Circus is also known for the frequent mysterious disappearances; especially near the abbey of Boscodon.
At the foot of the Morgon peak is the unmissable Serre-Ponçon lake. That night, this artificial lake was draped in a beautiful sea of clouds giving the impression that this summit was floating.
In the photo, the Morgon peak is well lit; it is the light of the moon which was going to set shortly after the shooting. This is also why the sky appears a bluish tint.
We can guess the Milky Way and Sirius, the brightest star visible to the naked eye in the entire northern hemisphere.
With all these elements brought together that nature offers us, we obtain a unique photograph leading to stop time to simply admire each of these elements.
📷 EXIFS 📷
Canon 6D defiltered + Samyang 24mm f / 1.4 lens.
Panorama of 2 photographs.
Each photograph is a single exposure of 13 seconds at ISO 3200 and f / 2.8.
Location of the shooting:
On the heights of Lake Serre-Ponçon (Hautes-Alpes / France).
[FR]
Derrière le pic de Morgon (culminant à 2324m d'altitude) se cache le magnifique cirque de Morgon. Dans ce cirque, vous y trouverez des sentiers étroits et le lac de Morgon qui est un lac éphémère. En effet, lors de la fonte des neiges, ce lac renaît pour disparaître de nouveau vers l'automne.
Le cirque de Morgon est également connu pour les mystériques disparitions fréquentes; notamment à proximité de l'abbaye de Boscodon.
Au pied du pic de Morgon se trouve l'incontournable lac de Serre-Ponçon. Cette nuit-là, ce lac artificiel s'est drapé d'un belle mer de nuages donnant alors l'impression que ce sommet était en train de flotter.
Sur la photo, le pic de Morgon est bien éclairé; il s'agit de la lumière de la Lune qui allait se coucher peu de temps après la prise de vue. C'est d'ailleurs pour cela que le ciel apparaît d'une teinte bleutée.
On y devine la Voie Lactée et Sirius, l'étoile la plus brillante visible à l'œil nu de tout l'hémisphère nord.
Avec tous ces éléments réunis que la nature nous offre, on obtient une photographie unique amenant à arrêter le temps pour simplement admirer chacun de ces éléments.
📷 EXIFS 📷
Canon 6D défiltré + objectif Samyang 24mm f/1.4.
Panorama de 2 photographies.
Chaque photographie est une pose unique de 13 secondes à 3200 ISO et f/2.8.
Lieu de la prise de vue :
Sur les hauteurs du lac de Serre-Ponçon (Hautes-Alpes / France).
This shot was taken on the Summer Solstice Photo Walk - a "through the night" photowalk through the streets of London, culminating in taking pictures of London's Tower Bridge and environs as the Sun rose on the shortest day (21 June 2015).
This event was attended by over 50 members of the London Photo Walk and Photography London photo groups.
12 hours of fun with a wonderful group of friends :-)
Schweiz / Tessin - Verzascatal
Sonogno
The Valle Verzasca is a valley in the Locarno district of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It comprises the municipalities of Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione, Gerra, Frasco, and Sonogno. As of 2004, the total population is 3,200. It is the most central valley of Ticino, and none of the passes out of the valley cross cantonal or national borders. The valley is formed by the river Verzasca and is situated between the Leventina and the Maggia and culminates at Pizzo Barone.
Geography
Located between the Leventina and the Valle Maggia valleys, Valle Verzasca extends over a length of 25 kilometres (16 mi) in north–south direction and is situated in the north of the Lago Maggiore. The valley floor is at about 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 900 metres (2,953 ft) above sea level. The surrounding mountain passes respectively have an average altitude of 2,400 metres (7,874 ft). The valley is crossed by the Verzasca which is dammed at the southernly outlet of the valley, forming the Lago di Vogorno, before it flows in the Magadino plain in the vicinity of the Ticino in the Lago Maggiore.
The Valle Verzasca includes the geographical centre of Ticino, which is located at Mergoscia, near the lower end of the valley.
Climate
Due to the different altitudes, all climate zones are combined in the Valle Verzasca. Tenero-contra and Gordola include the insubric climate region thanks to the deep-sea level, close to the Lago Maggiore and protected by the mountains from the north winds. Vineyards and Mediterranean vegetation benefit from the mildest climate area of Switzerland, nebulae are rare and rainfall of short duration. With increasing altitude, the hills and mountain climate goes over to regions dominated by the Alpine climate (over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft)).
Flora and fauna
The diversity benefits among other things, the cultivation of vines, and it flourish chestnut forests and palm trees thrive. Due to differences in soil type and amounts, almost all flora occurring in the Ticino and fauna of the various environmental zones are found in the Verzasca Valley.
The Romans introduced and comparable to the tropical wood species, Castanea sativa is in the southern part of the valley, below 1,000 metres (3,281 ft), the dominant species. It is no longer actively cultivated, but favors the further diffusion, and studies suggest taking advantage of the valuable wood of chestnut as a valuable wood.
In the Valle Verzasca the endemic Nera Verzasca goat has been preserved, which looks very much like the ancient Roman goat. This medieval durable goat has short hair, because it's not stuck in the snow.
Culture
Due to its isolated location, the Verzasca Valley is claimed as one of the valleys that could best keep its originality. The secluded geographical location made it unattractive for conquerors since the Roman period, and even before. The first traces of settlement in the area are from the early 2nd millennium BC, in its southern part. In Berzona, a locality (frazione) of Vogorno, a carved rock known as a Sass di Striöi (literally: witches stone) is situated on a hiking trail. The shell rock most likely dates from around 600–700 BC; there are about 90 such carved rocks in the Verzasca Valley. Although initially free farmers, the valley was alternately ruled by the Swiss Confederacy, Savoy, Leventia and the Rusca family from about 1410 onwards. In the European Middle Ages, the population were mainly farmers, and since the early 17th century, many residents had to leave for seasonal labour outside their home valley. Often unemployed young men were recruited as mercenaries for foreign armies. In two quarries granite is mined by local workers.
The so-called Rustici (Italian for farm house) in grey stone, with white borders on the windows and heavy stone roofs, are typical houses in the valley. Wood rafters are used to support the heavy stone roof, Castanea sativa wood. Many chapels along the way bear witness to the deep faith of the inhabitants of the valley. Valle Vercasza was the origin of many of the region's so-called Spazzacamini (literally: chimney sweep children).
Tourism
With the connection to the public transport, tourism developed from the end of the 19th century, but the majority of young people from the Valley still look for income opportunities in wealthier regions of Switzerland or northern Italy. Currently the majority of locals are active in the tourism trade. The conversion of the old Rustici houses into holiday houses created jobs, increased tourism revenues and ensured that the old houses and the characteristic image of the Verzasca Valley are preserved.
The mountaintop with views of the Valais, Bernese, Glarus and Grisons Alps, as well as the many transitions in the side and neighbouring valleys are popular to mountain hikers, and around a dozen mountain huts provide accommodation and meals. The Verzasca is popular to canoeists and divers, but considered to be dangerous and difficult. The Verzasca Dam is also well known for its 220 m height jump, which is one of the highest jumps in the world and also the most famous bungy jump, as it was used in the James Bond film GoldenEye.
Transportation
The only valley access for road traffic and the Postauto buses are bounded from Tenero or Gordola. The starting on the left side of the valley road (built from 1866 to 1871) crosses Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco and ends in Sonogno; a short road leads to Corippo. On the right side of the valley, the road and post road trips from Locarno ends in Mergoscia.
(Wikipedia)
Sonogno is a village and former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located in Valle Verzasca. On 17 October 2020 the former municipalities of Vogorno, Sonogno, Corippo, Brione (Verzasca) and Frasco merged to form the new municipality of Verzasca.
History
Sonogno is first mentioned in 1200 as Sornono. In 1417 it was mentioned as Senognio. During the Middle Ages, Sonogno was part of the Vicinanza of Verzasca and shared the fate of the valley. From 1395 to 1843, it formed a single community with Frasco.
It was part of the parish of Vogorno until 1519, when it formed a parish with Frasco. It formed an independent parish in 1734. The parish church of St. Maria Loreto, is first documented in 1519. It was rebuilt in 1854 and decorated with paintings by Cherubino Patà.
The local economy was based mostly on grazing. During the summer, the cattle grazed in the high alpine pastures, in the winter the cows were moved to their winter pastures in the Magadino. Due to limited jobs, many of the residents emigrated and after about 1850, many went overseas. Decedents of residents of Sonogno can be found in nearly 40 different countries. The more recent exodus to urban centers, combined with emigration have caused a steady decline of population since the mid-nineteenth century. The Museum of Verzasca was built in Sonogno in 1974. In 2005 the agricultural sector still offered 47% of jobs in the municipality.
Geography
Sonogno had an area, as of 1997, of 37.52 square kilometers (14.49 sq mi). Of this area, 0.42 km2 (0.16 sq mi) or 1.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 10.29 km2 (3.97 sq mi) or 27.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.13 km2 (32 acres) or 0.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.74 km2 (0.29 sq mi) or 2.0% is either rivers or lakes and 19.7 km2 (7.6 sq mi) or 52.5% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.0%. Out of the forested land, 11.7% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 12.2% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 3.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.8% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 1.8% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 24.6% is unproductive vegetation and 27.9% is too rocky for vegetation.
The village is located in the Locarno district, Sonogno is the last village on the paved road through the Valley Verzasca. All motor vehicles are required to park at the entrance to the village. It is located at an elevation of 918 m (3,012 ft) about 30 km (19 mi) from Locarno.
Sights
The entire village of Sonogno is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
In popular culture
In Pedro Almodóvar's movie Julieta, Julieta's daughter Antía lives in Sonogno.
The events of the German novel, The Black Brothers, and the anime based on it (Romeo's Blue Skies), follow a young boy from Sonogno village who sold himself to work as a chimney sweep in Milan, Italy. It was inspired by a real event where a ferry carrying chimney sweeps sunk in a storm.
(Wikipedia)
Das Verzascatal (italienisch Valle Verzasca) ist ein Tal im Schweizer Kanton Tessin, das zum Bezirk Locarno gehört. Im Verzascatal liegen die Ortschaften Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und Sonogno. Ausser Mergoscia, das als eigene Gemeinde zum Kreis Navegna gehört, sind heute alle zur Gemeinde Verzasca zusammengeschlossen, die identisch mit dem Kreis Verzasca ist.
Lage
Das Verzascatal ist ein wildes Tal mit steilen Hängen und unzähligen Wasserfällen. Die Verzascahäuser (Rustici) aus grauem Stein mit weissen Umrandungen an den Fenstern und schweren Steinplattendächern sind typisch für das Tal. Die Kapellen entlang der Wege zeugen vom religiösen Glauben der Talbewohner.
Das Verzascatal ist mit Mergoscia das geometrische Zentrum des Tessins. Es ist das einzige Tal, das nur an Tessiner Täler grenzt. Es liegt zwischen der Leventina und dem Maggiatal und erstreckt sich über eine Länge von 25 km in Süd-Nord-Richtung nördlich des Lago Maggiore. Der Talboden liegt auf 500 bis 900 m ü. M. Die Berge, die das ganze Tal umrahmen, haben eine durchschnittliche Höhe von 2400 m ü. M. Das Tal wird vom Fluss Verzasca durchflossen, der am Talausgang gestaut wird und den Lago di Vogorno bildet, bevor er in der Magadinoebene in der Nähe des Ticino in den Lago Maggiore fliesst.
Die Seitentäler des Valle Verzasca sind von folgenden Dörfern aus erreichbar: Auf der rechten Talseite: das Val Resa und Valle di Mergoscia von Mergoscia; das Val di Corippo von Corippo; das Val d’Orgnana und Valle del Cansgell von Lavertezzo; das Val d’Osura von Brione; das Val Redòrta und Val Vegornèss von Sonogno. Auf der linken Talseite: das Val della Porta von Vogorno; das Val Carecchio, Val Pincascia und Val d’Agro von Lavertezzo; das Val Mött von Gerra; das Val d’Efra von Frasco.
Klima, Flora und Fauna
Aufgrund der unterschiedlichen Höhenlagen sind in der Valle Verzasca viele Klimazonen vereint. Tenero-Contra und Gordola gehören dank tiefer Meereshöhe, Seenähe und dem Schutz der Berge des Verzascatales vor den Nordwinden zur insubrischen Klimaregion. Weinberge und mediterrane Vegetation profitieren hier vom mildesten Klima der Schweiz, Nebel sind selten und Regenfälle von kurzer Dauer. Dieses Klima zieht sich weit in das Tal hinein, in dem Reben, Kastanienwälder und Palmen gedeihen. Es geht dann mit zunehmender Höhe über das Hügel- und Bergklima bis in die Regionen mit alpinem Klima (über 2000 m ü. M.). Wegen der Unterschiede in der Bodenbeschaffenheit und der Höhe können im Verzascatal fast alle im Tessin vorkommenden Pflanzen- und Tierarten der verschiedenen Umweltzonen angetroffen werden.
Die von den Römern eingeführte Edelkastanie (Castanea sativa) ist im südlichen Teil des Tales, unterhalb 1000 m, die dominierende Baumart. Ihr Holz hat ähnliche Eigenschaften wie die Tropenhölzer. Die Kastanienwälder werden seit den 1950er-Jahren nicht mehr bewirtschaftet, da es sich meist um Niederwälder handelt. Im Verzasca können in der Nähe von Dörfern und Maiensässen (monti) «auf den Stock gesetzte» Kastanienbäume, etwa auf Mannshöhe abgesägte Baumstümpfe, gefunden werden. Da die Kastanie die Fähigkeit hat, aus dem abgesägten Baumstumpf wieder auszutreiben (Stockausschlag), musste solange gewartet werden (etwa zehn Jahre), bis die Triebe den gewünschten Umfang erreichten, um zum Beispiel als Balken für die tonnenschweren Steindächer eingesetzt werden zu können. Im Jahre 2005 publizierte Studien über Versuchsanlagen schlagen vor, das wertvolle Kastanienholz wieder als Wertholz – zum Beispiel für Parkettböden – zu nutzen.
Im Verzascatal hat sich die alte Ziegenrasse Nera-Verzasca-Ziege erhalten, die der römischen Ziege sehr ähnlich sieht, wie aufgrund von Hornfunden in Augusta Raurica nachgewiesen werden konnte. Diese mittelalterliche Robustziege hat kurzes Haar, an dem Schnee nicht haftet.
Wirtschaft
Früher betrieb die Bevölkerung hauptsächlich Landwirtschaft, das heisst vor allem Weidewirtschaft. Ab dem 14. Jahrhundert überwinterten Einwohner mit ihrem Vieh in der Magadinoebene. Seit dem 17. Jahrhundert fand eine saisonale Auswanderung zur Erwerbstätigkeit statt. Arbeitslose und abenteuerlustige Männer liessen sich als Söldner für fremde Kriegsdienste anwerben. Piccoli spazzacamini (italienisch für kleine Schornsteinfeger) nannte man im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert in Italien und im Tessin die Buben, die vor allem in den Städten Norditaliens als Kaminfegerkinder arbeiten mussten.
Seit 1873 wird in zwei Steinbrüchen von einheimischen Arbeitern Granit abgebaut. Mit dem Anschluss an den öffentlichen Verkehr entwickelte sich ab Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts der Tourismus. Im späteren 19. Jahrhundert, nach dem kalifornischen Goldrausch, begann auch im Verzascatal die Tradition der Kalifornienwanderung, die teilweise als Ersatz für die abgebrochene ältere europäische Auswanderungstradition angesehen werden kann.
Während der Krise der 1930er-Jahre breitete sich die Arbeitslosigkeit auch im Verzasca aus, und da auch Amerika die Grenzen geschlossen hatte, war auch die Auswanderung nicht mehr möglich.
Um der arbeitslosen Bevölkerung zu helfen, wurde das «Komitee für die Tätigkeiten in Heimarbeit» («Comitato per i lavori casalinghi a domicilio») gegründet. Die Talbewohner wurden mit typischen handwerklichen Tätigkeiten beschäftigt: Wollfärbung mit natürlichen Farben (Blättern, Wurzeln und Früchten, die vor Ort vorhanden sind), Handspinnerei, Strickerei und Holzarbeiten, um ihre finanzielle Not zu lindern. Daraus entwickelte sich 1933 die «Pro Verzasca», eine örtliche Vereinigung zur Wahrung der moralischen und materiellen Interessen der Region und ihrer besten Eigenschaften.
Der Umbau der alten Verzascahäuser (Rustici) in Ferienhäuser schafft Arbeitsplätze, erhöht die Tourismuseinnahmen und sorgt dafür, dass die alten Häuser und das charakteristische Ortsbild erhalten bleiben.
Im Jahre 1990 waren nur noch 20 Prozent der Beschäftigten im Landwirtschaftssektor tätig.
Verkehr
Der einzige Talzugang für den Autoverkehr und das Postauto ist im Süden ab Tenero oder Gordola. Die auf der linken Talseite beginnende Kantonsstrasse führt über Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und endet in Sonogno. Sie wurde erst in den Jahren 1866 bis 1871 gebaut. Eine kurze Stichstrasse führt nach Corippo.
Auf der rechten Talseite endet die Strasse und Postautostrecke ab Locarno bereits in Mergoscia.
Tourismus
Die vielen Gipfel mit Sicht auf die Walliser-, Berner und Glarner- und Bündneralpen sowie die zahlreichen Übergänge in die Seiten- und Nachbartäler machen das Valle Verzasca zu einem Anziehungspunkt für Bergwanderer. Die Berghütten Cornavosa, Barone, Cognora, Efra, Osola, Fümegna und Borgna bieten Unterkunft.
Der Sentierone Valle Verzasca ist ein rot-weiss markierter Wanderweg (Bergweg), der von Tenero aus oberhalb des Lago di Vogorno oder via Mergoscia und später entlang der Verzasca in mehreren Etappen bis nach Sonogno führt.
Die Via Alta della Verzasca (VAV) gilt als eine der wildesten Bergwanderungen der Schweiz (SAC-Wanderskala = T6). Sie führt über verlassene Alpen, schroffe Gräben und schwer zugängliche Seitentäler und verbindet fünf Hütten miteinander. Die Route ist blau-weiss markiert und die schwierigsten Stellen sind mit Sicherungen (Drahtseile, Metallbügel) versehen. Die VAV führt oft durch sehr ausgesetztes Gelände mit Kletterstellen, so dass sie nur für erfahrene Berggänger zu empfehlen ist.
Die Bergwanderung Trekking 700 von Mesocco (GR) nach Formazza (I) führt durch das Valle Verzasca: die 4. Etappe: Biasca – Capanna Efra, die 5. Etappe: Capanna Efra – Sonogno und die 6. Etappe: Sonogno – Prato-Sornico.
Der Verzasca-Fluss ist unter Kanuten und Tauchern beliebt, gilt aber als schwierig bis gefährlich.
Über Geschichte und Gegenwart des Tales informiert das Museo di Val Verzasca in Sonogno.
Geschichte
Wegen seiner schweren Erreichbarkeit gilt das Verzascatal als eines der Täler, das am besten seine Ursprünglichkeit bewahren konnte. Die abgelegene geographische Lage machte es für die Eroberer uninteressant.
Zeugen einer sehr frühen Besiedlung der Verzasca-Region fanden sich an der Mündung der Verzasca. Dort wurden Steinarten aus der jüngeren Steinzeit (1800 v. Chr.) gefunden. In Berzona, einem Ortsteil (frazione) von Vogorno, liegt am Wanderweg ein grosser Schalenstein, der Sass di Striöi (Hexenstein), der vermutlich um 600 bis 700 v. Chr. bearbeitet wurde. Insgesamt gibt es im Verzascatal rund neunzig derartig eingemeisselte Felsen. In Tenero wurde 1880 eine bedeutende römische Nekropole aus dem 1. und 2. Jahr. n. Chr. entdeckt. Die Funde (Bronzen, Amphoren, Münzen) befinden sich im archäologischen Museum des Castello dei Visconti in Locarno.
Vermutlich um 1000 n. Chr. gründeten die Talbewohner eine Gemeinschaft (comunità) bestehend aus den vier Dorfgenossenschaften (vicinie): Vogorno (mit Corippo), Lavertezzo, Brione (mit Gerra) und Frasco (mit Sonogno). Die Gemeinschaft gehörte zum Pieve von Locarno, gegen den sie sich 1398 auflehnte. Zwischen 1410 und 1500 geriet das Tal abwechselnd unter die Herrschaft der Eidgenossen, Savoyer, Leventiner und der Rusca. Nach 1686 konnte sich die Gemeinschaft von den Marcacci Vögten befreien. 1803 wurde das Verzascatal ein Kreis (circolo) mit dem Hauptort Lavertezzo. In religiöser Hinsicht gehörte das Verzascatal bis zum 13. Jahrhundert zur Pfarrei San Vittore di Locarno.
Geologie
Einzigartig für die Region ist der spektakulär gefärbte Gneis. Es handelt sich um einen Oligoklasgneis, der unter dem Handelsnamen Serizzo bekannt ist. Die Farben verlaufen zwischen Braun, Schwarz, Grau und Weiss. Die Gesteine des benachbarten Valle Maggia sind dagegen meist rein grau.
(Wikipedia)
Sonogno ist eine Ortschaft in der Gemeinde Verzasca im Schweizer Kanton Tessin. Bis 2020 bildete sie eine eigene Gemeinde.
Geographie
Sonogno ist die hinterste Ortschaft im Verzascatal und liegt in einer Mulde beim Zusammenfluss der Gebirgsbäche aus dem Redorta- und Vegornesstal. Westlich des Ortes liegt der Monte Zucchero (2735 m ü. M.).
Nachbargemeinden im Verzascatal waren Frasco, Cugnasco-Gerra und Brione (Verzasca). Nördlich grenzen die Bezirke Vallemaggia und Leventina an.
Sonogno ist Ausgangspunkt für viele Wanderungen. Im Winter kann man hier Schlittschuh laufen und Skilanglauf betreiben.
Geschichte
Sonogno findet sich um 1200 als Sornono und 1417 als Senognio bezeugt und gehörte im Mittelalter zur Nachbarschaft Verzasca. Von 1395 bis 1843 bildete das Dorf mit dem Nachbarort Frasco eine Gemeinde. Ab 1850 setzte eine Auswanderungswelle nach Übersee und später in die städtischen Zentren ein, die zu einer spürbaren Abnahme der Bevölkerung führte.
1974 wurde in Sonogno das Museum des Verzascatals eröffnet, das Zeugnis gibt vom bäuerlichen Leben des Tales in der Vergangenheit. Es ist auch der Geschichte der Kaminfegerkinder gewidmet, den Buben, die im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert in den Städten Norditaliens als Schornsteinfeger (italienisch spazzacamini) arbeiten mussten.
Am 18. Oktober 2020 fusionierte die damalige Gemeinde Sonogno mit den Gemeinden Brione (Verzasca), Corippo, Cugnasco-Gerra (Gerra Valle), Frasco, Lavertezzo (Lavertezzo Valle) und Vogorno zur neugebildeten Gemeinde Verzasca. Sonogno bildet aber nach wie vor eine eigenständige Bürgergemeinde.
Sehenswürdigkeiten
Das Dorfbild ist im Inventar der schützenswerten Ortsbilder der Schweiz (ISOS) als schützenswertes Ortsbild der Schweiz von nationaler Bedeutung eingestuft.
Das Museo di Val Verzasca, das Zentrum der Wollverarbeitung sowie die Kunsthandwerkgeschäfte
Kirche Santa Maria Lauretana von 1854 mit Schwarzer Madonna
Schalenstein im Ortsteil Al Pianche
Schalensteingruppe im Ortsteil Alpe Cansgel. Ein Stein wird Sass der Stria genannt.
Trivia
In Sonogno beginnt und endet die Handlung des bekannten Kinder- und Jugendbuches Die schwarzen Brüder von Kurt Held und Lisa Tetzner.
(Wikipedia)
My final morning on Skye last Saturday culminated in a spectacular fiery sunrise that took place directly over the Island of Raasay. After a week of rain, it was magical to witness the sky looking like fire. I was in my element.
Not long after I left Skye for the rather dryer and snow covered peaks of Glencoe in preparation for my four day workshop which starts this Thursday. Skye for all of its challenges, still offers the most amazing chances to capture on camera something extraordinary and just a fleeting moment of light on a stormy day is all that I need to be content. Moments. It's what we strive to photograph. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Live it.
Canon 5Ds
Canon 16-35mm f4 @ 35mm
f8
1/13 sec
ISO100
LEE 0.6 ND soft edge grad filter
Gitzo GT3542XLS Tripod
Manfrotto 410 Tripod Geared Head
Mindshift Backlight 26L Bag
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Nokalakevi (Georgian: ნოქალაქევი) also known as Archaeopolis (Ancient Greek: Ἀρχαιόπολις, literally meaning ancient town) and Tsikhegoji (in Georgian "Fortress of Kuji") and according to some sources "Djikha Kvinji" in Mingrelian, is a village and archaeological site in the Senaki municipality, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, Georgia.
Located by the river Tekhuri, on the northern edge of the Colchian plain in Samegrelo, western Georgia, lie the ruins of Nokalakevi. Occupying approximately 20ha, the site was known to early Byzantine historians as Archæopolis, and to the neighbouring Georgian (Kartlian) chroniclers as Tsikhegoji, or the fortress of Kuji — a Colchian ruler or eristavi. The fortress is located 15 km from the modern town of Senaki on the Martvili road, and would have commanded an important crossing point of the river Tekhuri, at the junction with a strategic route that still winds through the neighbouring hills to Chkhorotsqu in central Samegrelo. Nokalakevi-Archaeopolis played a part in the major wars fought between the Byzantines and Sasanians in the South Caucasus during the sixth century AD. It was one of the key fortresses guarding Lazika (modern Mingrelia) from Sasanian, Persian and Iberian (East Georgian/Kartlian) attack. During the war of AD 540-562, the Persians' failure to take Nokalakevi-Archaeopolis from the Byzantines and the Laz eventually cost them control of Lazika.
The early Byzantine defensive fortifications of Nokalakevi-Archaeopolis take advantage of the site's position within a loop of the river Tekhuri, which has carved a gorge through the local limestone to the west of the fortress. The steep and rugged terrain to the north of the site made the citadel established there almost unassailable. A wall connected this 'upper town' to the 'lower town' below, where excavations have revealed stone buildings of the fourth to sixth century AD. Beneath these late Roman period layers there is evidence of several earlier phases of occupation and abandonment, from the eighth to second centuries BC.
Modern study of the site began in the decades before the formal Russian annexation of Samegrelo, with a visit by the Swiss philologist Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux in 1833-4. He identified the ruins as the Archaeopolis of Byzantine historians and argued that the site was Aia, the ancient Colchian capital of the Greek Argonaut myth. This stimulated scholarly interest, which culminated in the 1920s with proposals for an archaeological excavation. In the winter of 1930-31, a joint German-Georgian team, led by Dr Alfonse-Maria Schneider of Freiburg University, traced the line of the walls and excavated about 40 survey trenches and one of the towers, as well as what they erroneously believed to be the agora in the 'lower' town. Their findings — including a hoard of gold solidi of the Emperor Maurice (AD 584-602) — confirmed Dubois de Montpéreux's identification of the site with Archaeopolis, without settling the question of Aia. Most scholars [who?] continued (and continue) to prefer the traditional identification of Aia with Kutaisi.
The political upheavals of the 1930s and the onset of war interrupted further archaeological excavation. Nevertheless, interest in Georgia's history continued to grow, prompting various scholarly visits and articles about Nokalakevi from the 1930s to the 1960s (see for a discussion of previous work at Nokalakevi). Finally in 1973 a major state-sponsored expedition was set up, headed by Parmen Zakaraia. This expedition undertook major excavations and conservation work at Nokalakevi until the early 1990s when the collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil disturbances of Georgia's early years of independence brought a halt to funding and serious damage to the expedition's infrastructure.
Large-scale excavations were resumed in 2001 with a collaborative project, headed by Professor David Lomitashvili, of the S. Janashia State History Museum (now the Georgian National Museum) and the newly formed Anglo-Georgian Expedition to Nokalakevi (AGEN) co-directed by Ian Colvin, Dr Paul Everill and Benjamin Neil. The Anglo-Georgian Expedition celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2010 and collaborative work continues at Nokalakevi.
One of Silver Lake's largest estates at 11,743 square feet on a lot of 82,764 square feet. This huge residence has a storied history, culminating in the development of the Hathaway Estates, a planned subdivision within Silver Lake. The house was built in 1923 and has a commanding 360 Degree View atop one of Silver Lake's highest hills. The house is built entirely of reinforced concrete; there is not one stick of wood in its structure. Mr. Hathaway apparently had a great fear of fire, and did not want his house burning down! It was recently (September 2004) on the market for $3,250,000. The house is located at 1809 Apex Avenue in Silver Lake. It is currently owned by Dov Charney, founder and CEO of American Apparel, known for his success as an entrepreneur and passion for simple clothing. His leadership style has drawn extensive praise and criticism. He has earned recognition in the media for management decisions to pay a fair wage and refusing to outsource manufacturing. The Los Angeles Times named him as one of the Top 100 powerful people in Southern California and in 2009, he was nominated as a Time 100 finalist by Time magazine.
If any of our readers know about the development of Hathaway Estates, details about the original owner, architect or builder, please feel free to contact the editor of this column.
NOTES: I recently received an e-mail from Michele Martin informing me that 'the Estate belonged to a Charles Hathaway, a director/studio head from the silent screen era. His great granddaughter, Robin Clarke, was my best friend and neighbor when I lived at 2400 Micheltorena Street.'
Michele Martin
Greenwich Library
SLN Subscriber Ken Puchlik writes: 'From 1950 to 1965 I lived on Redesdale Ave. on the west side of the valley looking east at the Hathaway house on top of the hill. It was always vacant and never a light on. One night, the mansion was ablaze with light and everyone came out to wonder what was going on. It was simply the moon rising behind the home and the light was passing through the windows and out the other side. Obviously, it was devoid of furniture or curtains.
I also remember that there was another large building or home next to it; people said it was another mansion. It apparently was demolished during the construction of the 'tract' homes that I believe were a poor use of the viewscape. Having half the number of lots with higher end-well designed homes, taking better advantage of the pre-existing topography, would have been better use of the land. The developer should have used the axiom of 'less is more' and probably realized more investment return by developing premium lots on what was a rare piece of land. Paradise lost.
Mr. Hathaway had good reason to fear fire. In the early 50's a grass fire at the end of summer burnt up to the edge of the estate. Every local fire unit was on the scene. Dry summer grass was prevalent with all the vacant lots at the time. After that, the fire department started controlled burns of the lots every summer.
Before the hum of the freeways diminished the neighborhood's ambient sound, you could hear the trains switching in the yards off Fletcher Dr. late at night. The greatest chili dogs in the world were sold out of the old Signal Gas station at Effie and Silver Lake Blvd. Across the street, the 7/11 was a Union Oil Gas station with the friendliest guys who took good care of you at 20 cents a gallon of gas. And a kid could walk the 0.75 mile to catch the PE and go to the Ramona and see a 25 cent movie without any concern for safety, even at night.
Craig Collins writes 'When I moved here in 1982, the subdivision was just being built. The land had been bought by CalTrans for continuation of the Glendale Freeway, which was to connect with the Hollywood Freeway (near Vermont...where there's that very wide median), then on to Beverly Hills, which was to be the name of the freeway. As a result of that unfortunate choice of name and alignment, one of the very first successful opposition to a California freeway project was mounted, and the freeway ended at Glendale Boulevard. After many years, CalTrans began selling off the property, and you can pretty much trace the path by much of the newer construction, especially on the south side of Sunset.
I had heard about an effort to create a park on the Hathaway hill, but know nothing further about it. How spectacular that would have been!
Anyway, Peggy Stevenson was City Councilperson at the time, was a fervent supporter of the development community, and she evidently got quick approval of the housing project. After the development was completed, it mysteriously became a gated community. It's worth noting that Stevenson was defeated in a reelection bid by Michael Woo, who shepherded many of the pro-planning and more progressive changes in the city (such as getting a moratorium on the explosive development of mini-malls that was then in full swing). Upon her defeat, Stevenson systematically destroyed all the district constituent and project files in her office, forcing Woo to begin his office with nothing to aid projects and constituent concerns. That was the good old days in the LA City Council!
Well, that's what I know, subject to verification by others who may have a better historical perspective.
Veteran Silver Lake activist Maryann Kuk writes 'My recollection about Hathaway is that it had nothing to do with the #2 freeway. It was before I participated in any community stuff. The Hathaway estate (they are old money LA Athletic club, Riviera Country club, CA yacht club) sold it to a developer who wanted to build 100's of condos. SLRA got heavily involved opposing along with the immediate 'hood and the developer backed down to the 40+ or so [ugly, tract, crappy] houses. He promised to leave all of the mature tress, but the day after he got his permit he cut them all down. The Hathaway family had been collectors of specimens and I'm told it was beautiful.'
The Silver Lake News thanks our readers for their generous contributions of history and insights of Silver Lake!
Update: Without editing the content, I found some new "wrinkles" to our ongoing story, as reported in the popular real estate blog, "Take Sunset", March 28th, 2011:
"The Garbutt House actually has a very interesting history. It’s one of Silver Lake’s largest estates at 11,743 square feet of interior space, 3-stories tall with 20 rooms. It was built by Frank A. Garbutt, a movie pioneer, inventor, industrialist, and “one of the most prominent citizens of Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th Century” according to the Los Angeles Times. In 1923, Garbutt acquired the 37-acre hilltop site overlooking the Silver Lake Reservoir with views of the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica and Verdugo Mountains, and the downtown skyline. He built three houses on the site, which came to be known as the Garbutt-Hathaway Estate. (Garbutt’s son-in-law was Charles F. Hathaway, a shipbuilder and real estate developer.) The structures were built primarily of concrete, and were designed to withstand earthquakes, floods, and fire, which Garbutt was particularly afraid of. (There were also no fireplaces in the home.) He did allow some design touches, however. There were bronze window frames, hand carved teak and marble floors, and the first floor was entirely travertine.
Garbutt lived in the mansion until his death in 1947. In his spare time, he experimented with new inventions, built race cars, (his homemade car appears in the photograph above), invented a soapless detergent, and worked on a superior chewing gum.
Garbutt’s three children and their families lived on the estate after his death in 1947. The estate was eventually sold by his daughter in 1960. According to the LATs, The houses sat dormant for several years as owners battled with the city and preservationists over plans to raze the three houses and build condominiums or a large housing development on the site. In 1978, two of the houses were torn down to make room for a 100-home development, but the Garbutt House was spared. In 1987, the Garbutt House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It’s now part of the gated community Hathaway Hill Estates, and it most recently sold in 2004 for $3,250,000".
Isalo is one of Madagascar's most beautiful parks. It contains sculpted buttes, vertical rock walls and, best of all, deep canyon floors shot through with streams, lush vegetation and pools for swimming. All of this changes with the light, culminating in extraordinary sunsets beneath a big sky. Add all this to easy access off the RN7 and you understand why this is Madagascar’s most visited park.
At more than 800 sq km, it’s also a large park, so if you want to go off on your own there is plenty of room for exploration, with everything from two-hour to week-long hikes. There's also an excellent chance of spotting ring-tailed lemurs and Verreaux's sifaka around the Nemaza campsite.
www.lonelyplanet.com/madagascar/the-desert/attractions/pa...
Isalo es uno de los parques más bellos de Madagascar. Contiene colinas esculpidas, paredes de roca verticales y, lo mejor de todo, profundos fondos de cañones atravesados por arroyos, exuberante vegetación y piscinas para nadar. Todo esto cambia con la luz, culminando en extraordinarios atardeceres bajo un gran cielo. Agregue todo esto al fácil acceso desde la RN7 y comprenderá por qué este es el parque más visitado de Madagascar.
Con más de 800 kilómetros cuadrados, también es un parque grande, por lo que si quieres ir por tu cuenta, hay mucho espacio para explorar, con todo tipo de caminatas, desde dos horas hasta una semana de duración. También existe una gran posibilidad de observar lémures de cola anillada y sifaka de Verreaux en los alrededores del camping de Nemaza.
L'Isalo est l'un des plus beaux parcs de Madagascar. Il contient des buttes sculptées, des parois rocheuses verticales et, mieux encore, de profonds fonds de canyons traversés de ruisseaux, d'une végétation luxuriante et de bassins pour la baignade. Tout cela change au gré de la lumière, pour aboutir à des couchers de soleil extraordinaires sous un ciel immense. Ajoutez à tout cela un accès facile depuis la RN7 et vous comprenez pourquoi c'est le parc le plus visité de Madagascar.
Avec plus de 800 km², c'est aussi un grand parc, donc si vous souhaitez partir seul, il y a beaucoup de place pour l'exploration, avec des randonnées allant de deux heures à une semaine. Il y a également de fortes chances d'apercevoir des lémuriens catta et des propithèques de Verreaux autour du camping Nemaza.
Le Relais de la Reine
lerelaisdelareine.com/hotel-madagascar-isalo-spa/?lang=es
lerelaisdelareine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Relais-d...
Turquoise lakes nestled in dramatic glacial cirques, wildflower-filled alpine meadows ringed by craggy peaks and ridges and a pass with see-forever views makes the Blue Lakes trail a top hike on my “to do list” on every trip to southwest Colorado.
The hike, one of the few in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness, culminates at spectacular Blue Lakes Pass (13,000-ft.) located on a steep ridge extending south from Mt. Sneffels (14,150-ft). Along the way the trail visits three scenic lakes nestled in a beautiful glacial basin set amid rugged ridges and peaks over 13,000-ft.
www.hikingwalking.com/destinations/co/co_sw/ouray/blue_la...