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“Origins” Exhibition - "La Caixa" Foundation, Barcelona
· Hyperrealist translucent polyester resin sculptures with modelled hair
· Plasticine model moulded with silicone
· Oil paint and glass eyes
· 23 individuals
Origin of the Chinese and then Japanese character (kanji) for 'power/strength'. Part of the 'Kanji of the day' series on webloginjapan.com. webloginjapan.com/category/learning-japanese/kanji-of-the...
The Vatican Obelisk is an Egyptian obelisk, one of the thirteen ancient obelisks of Rome, located in St. Peter's Square, in Vatican City. It is the only ancient obelisk in Rome that has never fallen.
Made of red granite, it has a height of 25.3 meters and, together with the cross and the base (composed of four bronze lions, by Prospero Antichi), it reaches almost 40 meters.
It is of Egyptian origin, devoid of hieroglyphs and comes, according to Pliny, from the city of Heliopolis; it was originally placed in the Forum Iulii of Alexandria in Egypt and was brought to Rome by Caligula in 40 AD, and placed at the center of the Circus of Nero. It remained in this position after the circus fell into disuse, occupied by a necropolis. In the 16th century it was moved next to the Old St. Peter's Basilica, at the Rotonda di Sant'Andrea.
Having stood in the same location in Rome since c.40 AD, it was moved almost 800 feet at the behest of Pope Sixtus V in a single day on September 10, 1586. The work was carried out under the direction of the architect Domenico Fontana who required thirteen months of preparatory work, 900 men, 75 horses and 40 winches to carry out the work. It was the first of Rome's obelisks to be raised in modern times. In the uplift operations there was a famous cry of a certain sailor Benedetto Bresca: [[🇮🇹Acqua alle funi|Acqua alle funi]] ("Water on the ropes!"), in order to avoid the breakage of the ropes that were about to give in under the great weight of the obelisk.
The idea of moving the obelisk was first raised by Pope Nicholas V. Sixtus V's relocation was considered to be a symbolic act, illustrating the triumph of Christianity over Paganism. Following the successful relocation, Fontana was commissioned to move three smaller obelisks in Rome.
A detailed account of the relocation was published in Della transportatione dell'obelisco Vaticano e delle fabriche di Sisto V (Rome, 1590). The astronomer Ignazio Danti is known to have assisted Fontana in this work.
On the occasion of its relocation, the globe placed on the summit was transferred to the Capitoline Museums, in the first hall of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, in a corner near the large window. According to legend, the ashes of St. Peter or Julius Caesar had been contained in the globe; the Italian aquila for the imperial Roman eagle is similar to the Italian aguglia (needle), initially used only for obelisks.
The granting of a perpetual indulgence of ten years and as many quarantines to those who, in front of the obelisk, venerate the cross of Christ by reciting Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary, made it assumed that Sixtus V had placed in the great bronze cross placed on the obelisk a particle of the True Cross on September 26, 1586, albeit during a later restoration of the cross, no relic was found. However, on April 12, 1740, it was placed and taken from a reliquary of the basilica of St. Peter, already that of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.
Inscriptions
The obelisk and its base contain a number of inscriptions. Two ancient inscriptions at the base of the shaft describe its original dedication in Rome, four inscriptions on the pedestal composed by Cardinal Silvio Antoniano describe its rededication in 1586, and lower down, in smaller script, is an acknowledgement of Domenico Fontana's role in the moving of the obelisk.
Saint Peter's Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Both the square and the basilica are named after Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus whom Catholics consider to be the first Pope.
At the centre of the square is the Vatican obelisk, an ancient Egyptian obelisk erected at the current site in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Doric colonnades, four columns deep, which embrace visitors in "the maternal arms of Mother Church". A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno in 1613.
The open space which lies before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace" Bernini had been working on the interior of St. Peter's for decades; now he gave order to the space with his renowned colonnades, using a simplified Doric order, to avoid competing with the palace-like façade by Carlo Maderno, but he employed it on an unprecedented colossal scale to suit the space and evoke a sense of awe.
There were many constraints from existing structures (illustration, right). The massed accretions of the Vatican Palace crowded the space to the right of the basilica's façade; the structures needed to be masked without obscuring the papal apartments. The Vatican obelisk marked a centre, and a granite fountain by Maderno stood to one side: Bernini made the fountain appear to be one of the foci of the ovato tondo embraced by his colonnades and eventually matched it on the other side, in 1675, just five years before his death. The trapezoidal shape of the piazza, which creates a heightened perspective for a visitor leaving the basilica and has been praised as a masterstroke of Baroque theater (illustration, below right), is largely a product of site constraints.
According to the Lateran Treaty the area of St. Peter's Square is subject to the authority of Italian police for crowd control even though it is a part of the Vatican state.
The colossal Doric colonnades, four columns deep, frame the trapezoidal entrance to the basilica and the massive elliptical area which precedes it. The ovato tondo's long axis, parallel to the basilica's façade, creates a pause in the sequence of forward movements that is characteristic of a Baroque monumental approach. The colonnades define the piazza. The elliptical center of the piazza, which contrasts with the trapezoidal entrance, encloses the visitor with "the maternal arms of Mother Church" in Bernini's expression. On the south side, the colonnades define and formalize the space, with the Barberini Gardens still rising to a skyline of umbrella pines. On the north side, the colonnade masks an assortment of Vatican structures; the upper stories of the Vatican Palace rise above.
At the center of the ovato tondo stands the Vatican obelisk, an uninscribed Egyptian obelisk of red granite, 25.5 m (84 ft) tall, supported on bronze lions and surmounted by the Chigi arms in bronze, in all 41 m (135 ft) to the cross on its top. The obelisk was originally erected in Heliopolis, Egypt, by an unknown pharaoh.
The Emperor Augustus had the obelisk moved to the Julian Forum of Alexandria, where it stood until AD 37, when Caligula ordered the forum demolished and the obelisk transferred to Rome. He had it placed on the spina which ran along the center of the Circus of Nero. It was moved to its current site in 1586 by the engineer-architect Domenico Fontana under the direction of Pope Sixtus V; the engineering feat of re-erecting its vast weight was memorialized in a suite of engravings. The obelisk is the only obelisk in Rome that has not toppled since antiquity. During the Middle Ages, the gilt ball atop the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Fontana later removed the ancient metal ball, now in a Roman museum, and found only dust inside; Christopher Hibbert however writes that the ball was found to be solid. Though Bernini had no influence in the erection of the obelisk, he did use it as the centerpiece of his magnificent piazza, and added the Chigi arms to the top in honor of his patron, Alexander VII.
The paving is varied by radiating lines in travertine, to relieve what might otherwise be a sea of setts. In 1817 circular stones were set to mark the tip of the obelisk's shadow at noon as the sun entered each of the signs of the zodiac, making the obelisk a gigantic sundial's gnomon.
St. Peter's Square today can be reached from the Ponte Sant'Angelo along the grand approach of the Via della Conciliazione (in honor of the Lateran Treaty of 1929). The spina (median with buildings which divided the two roads of Borgo Vecchio and Borgo nuovo) which once occupied this grand avenue leading to the square was demolished ceremonially by Benito Mussolini himself on October 23, 1936, and was completely demolished by October 8, 1937. St. Peter's Basilica was now freely visible from the Castel Sant'Angelo. After the spina, almost all the buildings south of the passetto were demolished between 1937 and 1950, obliterating one of the most important medieval and renaissance quarters of the city. Moreover, the demolition of the spina canceled the characteristic Baroque surprise, nowadays maintained only for visitors coming from Borgo Santo Spirito. The Via della Conciliazione was completed in time for the Great Jubilee of 1950.
Vatican City is a landlocked independent country, city-state, microstate, and enclave within Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains the city-state's temporal power and governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. The Vatican is also a metonym for the Holy See, Pope, and Roman Curia.
With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and as of 2023 a population of about 764, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and by population. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Pope, who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various origins. After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere.
The Holy See dates back to early Christianity and is the principal episcopal see of the Catholic Church, which has approximately 1.329 billion baptised Catholics in the world as of 2018 in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. The independent state of Vatican City, on the other hand, came into existence on 11 February 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of Central Italy.
Vatican City contains religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by donations from the faithful, by the sale of postage stamps and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications. Vatican City has no taxes, and items are duty-free.
The Holy See also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the pope in his role as the Bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome, which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the worldwide Catholic Church and sovereignty over the city-state known as the Vatican City. As the supreme body of government of the Catholic Church, the Holy See enjoys the status of a sovereign juridical entity under international law.
According to Catholic tradition and historical records, it was founded in the first century by Saints Peter and Paul, and by virtue of the doctrines of Petrine and papal primacy, it is the focal point of full communion for Catholic Christians around the world. The Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises "exclusive dominion" over the independent Vatican City State enclave in Rome, of which the Pope is sovereign.
The Holy See is administered by the Roman Curia (Latin for "Roman Court"), which is the central government of the Catholic Church. The Roman Curia includes various dicasteries, comparable to ministries and executive departments, with the Cardinal Secretary of State as its chief administrator. Papal elections are carried out by part of the College of Cardinals.
Although the Holy See is often metonymically referred to as the "Vatican", the Vatican City State was distinctively established with the Lateran Treaty of 1929, between the Holy See and Italy, to ensure the temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence of the papacy. As such, papal nuncios, who are papal diplomats to states and international organizations, are recognized as representing the Holy See and not the Vatican City State, as prescribed in the Canon law of the Catholic Church. The Holy See is thus viewed as the central government of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, in turn, is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world.
The Holy See maintains bilateral diplomatic relations with 183 sovereign states, signs concordats and treaties, and performs multilateral diplomacy with multiple intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and its agencies, the Council of Europe, the European Communities, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Organization of American States.
According to Catholic tradition, the apostolic see of Diocese of Rome was established in the 1st century by Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The legal status of the Catholic Church and its property was recognised by the Edict of Milan in 313 by Roman emperor Constantine the Great, and it became the state church of the Roman Empire by the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 by Emperor Theodosius I.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the temporal legal jurisdisction of the papal primacy was further recognised as promulgated in Canon law. The Holy See was granted territory in Duchy of Rome by the Donation of Sutri in 728 of King Liutprand of the Lombards, and sovereignty by the Donation of Pepin in 756 by King Pepin of the Franks.
The Papal States thus held extensive territory and armed forces in 756–1870. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor by translatio imperii in 800. The Pope's temporal power peaked around the time of the papal coronations of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire from 858, and the Dictatus papae in 1075, which conversely also described Papal deposing power. Several modern states still trace their own sovereignty to recognition in medieval papal bulls.
The sovereignty of the Holy See was retained despite multiple sacks of Rome during the Early Middle Ages. Yet, relations with the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire were at times strained, reaching from the Diploma Ottonianum and Libellus de imperatoria potestate in urbe Roma regarding the "Patrimony of Saint Peter" in the 10th century, to the Investiture Controversy in 1076–1122, and settled again by the Concordat of Worms in 1122. The exiled Avignon Papacy during 1309–1376 also put a strain on the papacy, which however finally returned to Rome. Pope Innocent X was critical of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 as it weakened the authority of the Holy See throughout much of Europe. Following the French Revolution, the Papal States were briefly occupied as the "Roman Republic" from 1798 to 1799 as a sister republic of the First French Empire under Napoleon, before their territory was reestablished.
Notwithstanding, the Holy See was represented in and identified as a "permanent subject of general customary international law vis-à-vis all states" in the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815). The Papal States were recognised under the rule of the Papacy and largely restored to their former extent. Despite the Capture of Rome in 1870 by the Kingdom of Italy and the Roman Question during the Savoyard era (which made the Pope a "prisoner in the Vatican" from 1870 to 1929), its international legal subject was "constituted by the ongoing reciprocity of diplomatic relationships" that not only were maintained but multiplied.
The Lateran Treaty on 11 February 1929 between the Holy See and Italy recognised Vatican City as an independent city-state, along with extraterritorial properties around the region. Since then, Vatican City is distinct from yet under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes).
The Holy See is one of the last remaining seven absolute monarchies in the world, along with Saudi Arabia, Eswatini, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brunei and Oman. The Pope governs the Catholic Church through the Roman Curia. The Curia consists of a complex of offices that administer church affairs at the highest level, including the Secretariat of State, nine Congregations, three Tribunals, eleven Pontifical Councils, and seven Pontifical Commissions. The Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The incumbent, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is the See's equivalent of a prime minister. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, acts as the Holy See's minister of foreign affairs. Parolin was named in his role by Pope Francis on 31 August 2013.
The Secretariat of State is the only body of the Curia that is situated within Vatican City. The others are in buildings in different parts of Rome that have extraterritorial rights similar to those of embassies.
Among the most active of the major Curial institutions are the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees the Catholic Church's doctrine; the Congregation for Bishops, which coordinates the appointment of bishops worldwide; the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which oversees all missionary activities; and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which deals with international peace and social issues.
Three tribunals exercise judicial power. The Roman Rota handles normal judicial appeals, the most numerous being those that concern alleged nullity of marriage. The Apostolic Signatura is the supreme appellate and administrative court concerning decisions even of the Roman Rota and administrative decisions of ecclesiastical superiors (bishops and superiors of religious institutes), such as closing a parish or removing someone from office. It also oversees the work of other ecclesiastical tribunals at all levels. The Apostolic Penitentiary deals not with external judgments or decrees, but with matters of conscience, granting absolutions from censures, dispensations, commutations, validations, condonations, and other favors; it also grants indulgences.
The Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See coordinates the finances of the Holy See departments and supervises the administration of all offices, whatever be their degree of autonomy, that manage these finances. The most important of these is the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.
The Prefecture of the Papal Household is responsible for the organization of the papal household, audiences, and ceremonies (apart from the strictly liturgical part).
One of Pope Francis's goals is to reorganize the Curia to prioritize its role in the church's mission to evangelize. This reform insists that the Curia is not meant to be a centralized bureaucracy, but rather a service for the Pope and diocesan bishops that is in communication with local bishops' conferences. Likewise more lay people are to be involved in the workings of the dicasteries and in giving them input.
The Holy See does not dissolve upon a pope's death or resignation. It instead operates under a different set of laws sede vacante. During this interregnum, the heads of the dicasteries of the Curia (such as the prefects of congregations) cease immediately to hold office, the only exceptions being the Major Penitentiary, who continues his important role regarding absolutions and dispensations, and the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who administers the temporalities (i.e., properties and finances) of the See of St. Peter during this period. The government of the See, and therefore of the Catholic Church, then falls to the College of Cardinals. Canon law prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any innovations or novelties in the government of the church during this period.
In 2001, the Holy See had a revenue of 422.098 billion Italian lire (about US$202 million at the time), and a net income of 17.720 billion Italian lire (about US$8 million). According to an article by David Leigh in the Guardian newspaper, a 2012 report from the Council of Europe identified the value of a section of the Vatican's property assets as an amount in excess of €680m (£570m); as of January 2013, Paolo Mennini, a papal official in Rome, manages this portion of the Holy See's assets—consisting of British investments, other European holdings and a currency trading arm. The Guardian newspaper described Mennini and his role in the following manner: "... Paolo Mennini, who is in effect the Pope's merchant banker. Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which handles the 'patrimony of the Holy See'."
The orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See are conferred by the Pope as temporal sovereign and fons honorum of the Holy See, similar to the orders awarded by other heads of state.
The Holy See has been recognized, both in state practice and in the writing of modern legal scholars, as a subject of public international law, with rights and duties analogous to those of States. Although the Holy See, as distinct from the Vatican City State, does not fulfill the long-established criteria in international law of statehood—having a permanent population, a defined territory, a stable government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states—its possession of full legal personality in international law is shown by the fact that it maintains diplomatic relations with 180 states, that it is a member-state in various intergovernmental international organizations, and that it is: "respected by the international community of sovereign States and treated as a subject of international law having the capacity to engage in diplomatic relations and to enter into binding agreements with one, several, or many states under international law that are largely geared to establish and preserving peace in the world."
Since medieval times the episcopal see of Rome has been recognized as a sovereign entity. The Holy See (not the State of Vatican City) maintains formal diplomatic relations with and for the most recent establishment of diplomatic relations with 183 sovereign states, and also with the European Union, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, as well as having relations of a special character with the Palestine Liberation Organization; 69 of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See are situated in Rome. The Holy See maintains 180 permanent diplomatic missions abroad, of which 74 are non-residential, so that many of its 106 concrete missions are accredited to two or more countries or international organizations. The diplomatic activities of the Holy See are directed by the Secretariat of State (headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State), through the Section for Relations with States. There are 12 internationally recognized states with which the Holy See does not have relations. The Holy See is the only European subject of international law that has diplomatic relations with the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) as representing China, rather than the government of the People's Republic of China (see Holy See–Taiwan relations).
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office speaks of Vatican City as the "capital" of the Holy See, although it compares the legal personality of the Holy See to that of the Crown in Christian monarchies and declares that the Holy See and the state of Vatican City are two international identities. It also distinguishes between the employees of the Holy See (2,750 working in the Roman Curia with another 333 working in the Holy See's diplomatic missions abroad) and the 1,909 employees of the Vatican City State. The British Ambassador to the Holy See uses more precise language, saying that the Holy See "is not the same as the Vatican City State. ... (It) is the universal government of the Catholic Church and operates from the Vatican City State." This agrees exactly with the expression used by the website of the United States Department of State, in giving information on both the Holy See and the Vatican City State: it too says that the Holy See "operates from the Vatican City State".
The Holy See is a member of various international organizations and groups including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Telecommunication Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Holy See is also a permanent observer in various international organizations, including the United Nations General Assembly, the Council of Europe, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Relationship with Vatican City and other territories.
The Holy See participates as an observer to African Union, Arab League, Council of Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Organization of American States, International Organization for Migration and in the United Nations and its agencies FAO, ILO, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNESCO, UN-HABITAT, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, WFP, WHO, WIPO. and as a full member in IAEA, OPCW, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Although the Holy See is closely associated with Vatican City, the independent territory over which the Holy See is sovereign, the two entities are separate and distinct. After the Italian seizure of the Papal States in 1870, the Holy See had no territorial sovereignty. In spite of some uncertainty among jurists as to whether it could continue to act as an independent personality in international matters, the Holy See continued in fact to exercise the right to send and receive diplomatic representatives, maintaining relations with states that included the major powers Russia, Prussia, and Austria-Hungary. Where, in accordance with the decision of the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the Nuncio was not only a member of the Diplomatic Corps but its dean, this arrangement continued to be accepted by the other ambassadors. In the course of the 59 years during which the Holy See held no territorial sovereignty, the number of states that had diplomatic relations with it, which had been reduced to 16, actually increased to 29.
The State of the Vatican City was created by the Lateran Treaty in 1929 to "ensure the absolute and visible independence of the Holy See" and "to guarantee to it indisputable sovereignty in international affairs." Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Holy See's former Secretary for Relations with States, said that Vatican City is a "minuscule support-state that guarantees the spiritual freedom of the Pope with the minimum territory".
The Holy See, not Vatican City, maintains diplomatic relations with states. Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to Vatican City, and it is the Holy See that establishes treaties and concordats with other sovereign entities. When necessary, the Holy See will enter a treaty on behalf of Vatican City.
Under the terms of the Lateran Treaty, the Holy See has extraterritorial authority over various sites in Rome and two Italian sites outside of Rome, including the Pontifical Palace at Castel Gandolfo. The same authority is extended under international law over the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in a foreign country.
Though, like various European powers, earlier popes recruited Swiss mercenaries as part of an army, the Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506 as the personal bodyguards of the Pope and continues to fulfill that function. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". At the end of 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) in height. Members are armed with small arms and the traditional halberd (also called the Swiss voulge), and trained in bodyguarding tactics.
The police force within Vatican City, known as the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City, belongs to the city state, not to the Holy See.
The Holy See signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a binding agreement for negotiations for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
The main difference between the two coats of arms is that the arms of the Holy See have the gold key in bend and the silver key in bend sinister (as in the sede vacante coat of arms and in the external ornaments of the papal coats of arms of individual popes), while the reversed arrangement of the keys was chosen for the arms of the newly founded Vatican City State in 1929.
Little is known of the origins of the Church of St Martin, but it dates back at least to the Middle Ages. Christianity was brought here by people such as St David at Llanthony, and St Issui at Partrishow. It is more than likely that there was a church at Cwmyoy before the Norman Conquest.
The present church is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, which is not a common dedication in Monmouthshire. There was an ancient chapel at Bwlch Trewyn also bearing the dedication to St Martin. All traces of this chapel have disappeared. Both these churches would have been on the Pilgrim route to St David's in Pembrokeshire. In medieval times, two pilgrimages to St David's were considered the equivalent of one pilgrimage to Rome - an indication of how rough and hazardous travelling was at that time.
After the Norman Conquest the church came under the jurisdiction of Llanthony Priory which was founded in 1100 AD. The Manor of Cwmyoy was conferred to the Priory by Hugh de Lacy, son of the founder of the Priory, William de Lacy.
On 8th June 1538, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Llanthony Priory, together with all the manors and churches under its control were given to Sir Nicholas Arnold, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
During the monastic days, Cwmyoy was served by monks sent out by the Prior. After the dissolution, curates were appointed, but the names of those serving in the 17th century have never been recorded.
During the 18th century Cwmyoy became a perpetual curacy. Finally in 1830 it became a Vicarage, being formally joined to Llanthony. This was a formal recognition of an existing arrangement, since the curates had always shared both benefices.
To bring the record up to date, the two parishes of Cwmyoy and Llanthony became part of a larger grouping in 1969 when these parishes came together with Llanfihangel Crucorney and Oldcastle; in the 1990s Oldcastle church was closed, and the three remaining parishes joined to become the united parish of Llanfihangel Crucorney.
The name Cwmyoy - a phonetic spelling of the Monmouthshire pronunciation of "cwm lau" - means "valley (cwm) of the yoke (lau)" in reference to the curved shape of the valley near the church cutting deep into Hatterrall Hill behind (along which runs part of the long-distance trail, Offa's Dyke Path).
The Church of St Martin is probably unique. No part of it is square or at right angles with any other part. This striking irregularity is accounted for by the geology of the underlying rock. The shifting subsoil has caused the church to move, tilting to the north at the tower end and to the south, forward of the small window at the west end of the north wall. If you look towards the altar from inside the tower, you will see that the tower arch tilts to the left, and the chancel arch and east window tilt markedly to the right.
The tower itself, at the NW corner, leans 5.2 degrees out of perpendicular. The two large buttresses to support it were built in the 1960s.
The interior of the church is simple: it has a nave, chancel, tower and porch, and dates mainly from the 13th to 16th centuries. The remains of a stair in the chancel would have led to a rood loft (probably destroyed during the Reformation).
The church was restored in 1887, when the plaster ceiling of the nave was removed, and it is possible that moulded plaster decorations set in the porch wall are remnants of the ceiling.
There are interesting wall memorials, many of which are by members of the Bute family who carved many memorials in and around the churches of the Black Mountains.
The medieval cross in the centre of the church was dug up in 1861 at the nearby farm, and placed in the church in 1935. An unusual feature is the mitre with three crosses on the head of Christ. The chamfered edges indicate it is post-Conquest.
The simple font is medieval, the pulpit is 19th century.
The only difference I notice between the new and vintage is the side guns have little shark heads with open mouths at the end of the side gun barrels.
This likely seemed like a good idea at the time.
I am not so impressed with this addition.
I do like most of the additions the Origins line has.
The Land Shark is my favorite of the the bad guy vehicles....
National Museum: China Through the Ages, exhibit 1. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
Artista: Origin
Fotografo: Silvia Minenna
Data: 14 agosto 2010
Venue: Brutal Assault
Città: JAROMEŘ - Repubblica Ceca
“In this space, abstract figures form together and organize colorful transcendental structures that represent a mutual whole between opposing forces.”
-Oree Original
Pueblo Nuevo presents, ORIGIN, the first solo exhibit by Oree Original (aka Daniel Jimenez). This new series of paintings are intensely bright, kaleidoscope-like puzzles that evoke pre-Columbian iconography remixed with Oree's personal mythology of our universe. Triangles, circles, squares and lines are used to construct complicated hypnotic patterns which form larger entities. Different combinations of these basic shapes, coupled with the vibrating relationships of solid colors give Oree's creations a seemingly infinite life with endless possibilities of their origins.
Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Oree moved to the Bay Area to begin an internship with Pueblo Nuevo and continue building on a career as a self taught visual artist. Currently residing in Berkeley, Oree has gained quite a reputation on dance floors of nightclubs and house parties all over the Bay. Only being kicked out of a handful of venues, he continues to steal hearts with his impeccable flowing locks.
Opening Reception
February 11th 2012 6pm-12am
Pueblo Nuevo Art Space & Gallery
1828 San Pablo Ave #1 Berkeley CA
with DJ Smokestack
Tradition traces the origins of the sanctuary of Trana even at the end of the first century. d. C. The cult of the Madonna della Stella, declining by at least two centuries, almost suddenly awoke in the late eighteenth century. thanks to two appearances (in 1768 and 1772).
In place of today's sanctuary there was almost certainly a church dedicated to Our Lady already around the year 1000, which served as a parish church for the small village, it fell into ruin (even after the creation of a parish church in the village center) and was closed in 1584, but at the end of the eighteenth century. was rebuilt after some events considered miraculous. The new sanctuary was opened in 1775. Regarding the statue, it is not clear when it goes back, it is certain that the sculpture does not seem to the earlier half of the seventeenth century.
The film program put together for ORIGIN Cinema includes works using a wide array of styles, formats and narrative techniques. What they have in common are plots that move in the direction of the origins of developments and stories.
credit: rubra
Bradford Kessler & Chip Rountree
Origin of life
Series of photographs.
Installation size variable
2008-2009
In early August 2008, while on psychoactive substance LSD, aritsts Chip Rountree and Bradford Kessler entered Beijing's Chaoyang park in search for the 'Origin of life'. These photographs document their journey.
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In the photographic documentation of Bradford Kessler and Chip Rountree's project "Origin of life" from 2008 we find seemingly insignificant pictures of a park - bushes, trees, patches of grass, clouds, insect shaped public bathrooms and aluminum signs pointing the way to a gaudy public sculpture -: '300 m to the Origin of life.' All the photographs were taken within Beijing's Chaoyang Park. Though their wall collage could possibly be the most boring set of photos ever displayed in a gallery, 'the art' in the piece is found in the missing elements. It is important to note that the photographs were all taken while the artists were seeing an invisible world. While on a chemically enhanced, spiritual quest against banality, their day at the park was seen through the unfiltered mind’s eye of a new born or new dead. With reconfigured visual and mental lenses, perhaps the pair photographed while viewing things as they really are.
Their verbal descriptions of bushes covered in rainbow spider webs, grassy knolls with glowing geographic grids, cloud lizards singing to the sun and pine trees covered in skulls from the spirits of the dead compose a different images than the ones found on the gallery wall. Without the effect of the psychotropic substance, the artists have asked the viewer to see significance in mundane everyday scenes - a slightly torturous gesture towards the gallery goer since only Rountree and Kessler alone share the secret memory.
-Austin M. Powers,Up the Downward Spiral, -from the Origin of life exhibition catalogue, Dafeng Gallery, Beijing
series "Abstrotem"
acrylic on canvas, 82x52 cm
Yuri Averin
@montressoartfoundation
Morocco 2019
Photo by @cyrilboixel
HOLY TRINITY (detail)
48” x 24”
“In this space, abstract figures form together and organize colorful transcendental structures that represent a mutual whole between opposing forces.”
-Oree Original
Pueblo Nuevo presents, ORIGIN, the first solo exhibit by Oree Original (aka Daniel Jimenez). This new series of paintings are intensely bright, kaleidoscope-like puzzles that evoke pre-Columbian iconography remixed with Oree's personal mythology of our universe. Triangles, circles, squares and lines are used to construct complicated hypnotic patterns which form larger entities. Different combinations of these basic shapes, coupled with the vibrating relationships of solid colors give Oree's creations a seemingly infinite life with endless possibilities of their origins.
Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Oree moved to the Bay Area to begin an internship with Pueblo Nuevo and continue building on a career as a self taught visual artist. Currently residing in Berkeley, Oree has gained quite a reputation on dance floors of nightclubs and house parties all over the Bay. Only being kicked out of a handful of venues, he continues to steal hearts with his impeccable flowing locks.
Opening Reception
February 11th 2012 6pm-12am
Pueblo Nuevo Art Space & Gallery
1828 San Pablo Ave #1 Berkeley CA
with DJ Smokestack
According to technologist Danny Sullivan, the term "social media optimization" was first used and described by marketer Rohit Bhargava.[10] Bhargava's original five "rules" for conducting social media optimization were:[11]
Increase your linkability
Make tagging and bookmarking easy
Reward inbound links
Help your content travel
Encourage the mashup
Get communities connected
Several authors have added further rules to Bhargava's original post, for a total of 16 rules.
Four years after the initial post, Bhargava posted an updated set of five new rules.[12]
Create shareable content
Make sharing easy
Reward engagement
Proactively share content
Encourage the mashup
Around the same time, entrepreneur and blogger Ben Elowitz proposed as SMO as a broader set of online marketing strategies for all published websites in an era where social platforms are ubiquitous.[13]
In 2009, Frank Speiser and Mike Perrone accidentally started a social optimization business after they had a political podcast, which no one would listen to. They started trying to find a way to get people to interact with their blog through Twitter. They examined the way in which people shared and consumed language, and after a few implementations of this, had noticed that they were in this business of optimizing content - accidentally creating SocialFlow.[14] SocialFlow is now considered one of the biggest social media optimization providers in the United States, Japan andGermany.[15]
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_optimization
Origin : Da Ping Village, Anxi County, Fujian Province
Harvest: Spring 2009
Varietal: Rou Gui
Altitude: 400-600 m
Certification : Small production direct from the farmer.
Evenly rolled, small leaves, this medium-baked tea is sweet and mellow with a hint of apple and cinnamon. The medium-bodied liquor has a long, smooth aftertaste and the flavours deepen and develop after each infusion.
Aquired from www.cantonteaco.com