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Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major churches of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominicans) in Rome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was built directly over (Italian: sopra) the ruins or foundations of a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, which had been erroneously ascribed to the Greco-Roman goddess Minerva (possibly due to interpretatio romana).
The church is located in Piazza della Minerva one block east the Pantheon in the Pigna rione of Rome within the ancient district known as the Campus Martius. The present church and disposition of surrounding structures is visible in a detail from the Nolli Map of 1748.
While many other medieval churches in Rome have been given Baroque makeovers that cover Gothic structures, the Minerva is the only extant example of original Gothic architecture church building in Rome. Behind a restrained Renaissance style façade the Gothic interior features arched vaulting that was painted blue with gilded stars and trimmed with brilliant red ribbing in a 19th-century Neo-Gothic restoration.
The church and adjoining convent served at various times throughout its history as the Dominican Order's headquarters. Today the headquarters have been re-established in their original location at the Roman convent of Santa Sabina. The titulus of Sanctae Mariae supra Minervam was conferred upon Cardinal António Marto, on 28 June 2018.
In Roman times there were three temples in what is now the area surrounding the basilica and former convent buildings: the Minervium, built by Gnaeus Pompey in honour of the goddess Minerva about 50 BC, referred to as Delubrum Minervae; the Iseum dedicated to Isis, and the Serapeum dedicated to Serapis. Details of the temple to Minerva are not known but recent investigations indicate that a small round Minervium once stood a little further to the east on the Piazza of the Collegio Romano. In 1665 an Egyptian obelisk was found, buried in the garden of the Dominican cloister adjacent to the church. Several other small obelisks were found at different times near the church, known as the Obelisci Isei Campensis, which were probably brought to Rome during the 1st century and grouped in pairs, with others, at the entrances of the temple of Isis. There are other Roman survivals in the crypt.
The ruined temple is likely to have lasted until the reign of Pope Zachary (741-752), who finally Christianized the site, offering it to Basilian nuns from Constantinople who maintained an oratorium there dedicated to the "Virgin of Minervum". The structure he commissioned has disappeared.
In 1255 Pope Alexander IV established a community of converted women on the site. A decade later this community was transferred to the Roman Church of San Pancrazio thereby allowing the Dominicans to establish a convent of friars and a studium conventuale there. The Friars were on site beginning in 1266 but took official possession of the Church in 1275. Aldobrandino Cavalcanti (1279), vicarius Urbis or vicar for Pope Gregory X, and an associate of Thomas Aquinas ratified the donation of Santa Maria sopra Minerva to the Dominicans of Santa Sabina by the sisters of S. Maria in Campo Marzio. The ensemble of buildings that formed around the church and convent came to be known as the insula sapientae or insula dominicana (island of wisdom or Dominican island).
The Dominicans began building the present Gothic church in 1280 modelling it on their church in Florence Santa Maria Novella. Architectural plans were probably drawn up during the pontificate of Nicholas III by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi. With the help of funds contributed by Boniface VIII and the faithful the side aisles were completed in the 14th century.
In 1453 church interior construction was finally completed when Cardinal Juan Torquemada ordered that the main nave be covered by a vault that reduced the overall projected height of the church. In the same year of 1453 Count Francesco Orsini sponsored the construction of the façade at his own expense. However work on the façade remained incomplete until 1725 when it was finally finished by order of Pope Benedict XIII.
In 1431, the Church and the adjacent Convent of the Dominicans was the site of a Papal conclave. The city of Rome was in an uproar upon the death of Pope Martin V (Colonna), whose family had dominated Roman political life for fifteen years, and enriched themselves on the wealth of the Church. There was fighting in the streets on a daily basis, and the Plaza in front of the Minerva, because of the configuration of streets, houses, church and monastery, could easily be fortified and defended. The Sacristy of the Church served as the meeting hall for the fourteen cardinals (out of nineteen) who attended the Conclave, which began on 1 March 1431. The dormitory of the monks in the Convent to the immediate north of the Church, served as the living quarters for the cardinals and their refectory and kitchen. On 3 March they elected Cardinal Gabriele Condulmaro, who took the name Eugenius IV. A second Conclave was held at the Minerva, on 4–6 March 1447, following the death of Pope Eugenius, once again in the midst of disturbances involving the Orsini supporters of Pope Eugenius and his enemies the Colonna. Eighteen cardinals (out of a total of twenty-six) were present and elected Cardinal Tommaso Parentucelli da Sarzana as Pope Nicholas V.
The Minerva has been a titular church since 1557, and a minor basilica since 1566. The church's first titular cardinal was Michele Ghislieri who became Pope Pius V in 1566. He raised the church to the level of minor basilica in that same year.
In the 16th century Giuliano da Sangallo made changes in the choir area, and in 1600 Carlo Maderno enlarged the apse, added Baroque decorations and created the present façade with its pilastered tripartite division in Renaissance style. Marks on this façade dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries indicate various flood levels of the Tiber 65 feet (20 metres).
Between 1848 and 1855 Girolamo Bianchedi directed an important program of restoration when most of the Baroque additions were removed and the blank walls were covered with neo-gothic frescos giving the interior the Neo-Gothic appearance that it has today.
The basilica's stained glass windows are mostly from the 19th century. In 1909, the great organ was constructed by the firm of Carlo Vegezzi Bossi. The organ was restored in 1999.
The inscriptions found in S. Maria sopra Minerva have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.
Abandoned structure, East Nicolaus, Sutter County, California.
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Commercial Structure Fire
4-22-2015
Wilco, NC 42 West at I-40
Electrical fire in the bathroom
Cleveland, Clayton, Garner FD
EMS24, Medic2
Shot with Rollei 35S, using a Sonnar 40mm f/2.8 lens
CineStill 800T Film
Shot at ISO 1600 and developed + 1 step
Nasturtiums grow well in pots, borders, or on their own. They do not require much care and make a nice addition to the urban garden. The foliage looks like weird solar collectors which, I guess, they are. The flowers are edible and peppery. Don't fertilize this plant too much or it will tend not to flower. It does not tolerate frost, and tends to get aphids, ants, and other unattractive bugs, especially under the leaves. A dilute soap solution followed by a nice spray of water should help keep these under control.
Please join me in my blog “Botany Without Borders: Where Design Meets Science”
A quick test with my newly acquired Nikon E 4X/0.10 objective. This is the structure of a small feather I came across. Not a perfect test specimen as its not perfectly flat. but the lens seems to be sharp. Image is uncropped, just resized.
Commercial Structure Fire
4-22-2015
Wilco, NC 42 West at I-40
Electrical fire in the bathroom
Cleveland, Clayton, Garner FD
EMS24, Medic2
Friday, April 14, 2023 in Beamsville (Lincoln), ON.
Lincoln Fire Rescue responded with mutual aid from Pelham and Grimsby to this incident.
"An early morning blaze on Friday devastated an apple processing plant in Beamsville widely known for its gourmet apples.
After hours of battling the blaze that began at about 3 a.m. at Moyer’s Apple Products Ltd. on Christie Drive, Niagara West Fire and Emergency Services Chief Greg Hudson said firefighters remained at the scene throughout most of Friday.
Hudson said Moyer’s Apples Products Ltd. is a relatively large company, shipping products all over North America including the gourmet candy apples it produces.
'They have some pretty large customers in the States and all over Canada,' he said. 'They’re a big deal.'
Fire and smoke could be seen from the fire station more than a kilometre away as firefighters responded to the fully-involved fire in the industrial building.
'The fire was coming out through the roof already, before we even got here,' he said. 'The challenge was just getting in and just getting at the fire inside.'
The walls of the structure were also starting to lean inwards, 'so we didn’t want to put anyone in the building for firefighter safety reasons,' Hudson said."
The fire was declared under control approximately 12 hours after firefighters had first arrived on scene - at 2:46 pm. Heavy machinery was brought in to tear down the metal walls to access the fire inside (occurred after I left the scene).
Scene video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8QtsyIlIDY&feature=youtu.be
News article: www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2023/04/1...
After battling a massive structure fire the day before Thomaston Volunteers received a call for a structure fire in the Branch Road Condos. A fast attack by the first due engine brought a quick knockdown to the exterior fire that was spreading into the attic spaces of the condo and it's attached garage