Leaves.

I posted a shot for Sliders Sunday last week. It was one of a set of variations on the theme all based on one original picture.

I didn’t have time to publish the rest at the time so I’ll do it now, in case it interests anyone.

The fun for me is in creating these different endpoints and seeing which ones work and which don’t. It’s always interesting to hear which you prefer too as that often surprises me.

The original image is linked in the first comment. I did about ten variants in all but I’ll only share the ones that I like for some reason or the other.

I’ve been going to A MFA self-help group (Mirror Filterers Anonymous) in recent months. They’re a friendly bunch and have helped me control my addiction. Sadly I shall have to admit to them my lapse - they will not be pleased :(

Don’t you just like the organic textures and leaves? (No obligation to say yes!) This reminds me of beetle exoskeletons for some reason :)

Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the images (and don’t get too bored!)

[This one was made from the B&W version with a twofold mirror filter in Afinity Photo and dragging the cursor (origin) around in the image to find something interesting. I like the whole leaves in it though another version uncovered some moths!]

Fontana di Trevi, Roma.

The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet) wide,it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city, and it is one of the most famous fountains in the whole world.

The fountain at the junction of three roads marks the terminal point of the "modern" Acqua Vergine, the revived Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km (8 miles) from the city. (This scene is presented on the present fountain's façade.) However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km (14 miles). This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than four hundred years. The coup de grâce for the urban life of late classical Rome came when the Goth besiegers in 537/38 broke the aqueducts. Medieval Romans were reduced to drawing water from polluted wells and the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer.

The Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. In 1453, Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and built a simple basin, designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti, to herald the water's arrival.

Unlike the Bzmot motorcars usually found here, classic loco-hauled trainsets like the one pictured above allow you to admire the beautiful landscape that surrounds the railway line between Miskolc and Tornanádaska a bit better.

On this snap, our train is passing the endpoint entry signal of Jósvafő-Aggtelek station, which indicates that it is safe to enter the station from this direction.

These mechanically operated semaphores are quite a rare sight nowadays, but there is still a decent amount of them in operation scattered throughout the Hungarian railway network.

They're often romanticised, reminding many of the olden days, the simpler times. So much so, that a German railway fan actually decided to collect the location of as many of them as possible, displaying them on a map.

I saved my favorite, and last, subway shot from February's NYC trip for last-- this is a scene that will soon, or may already, be impossible for the public to see.

In early February 2020, the New York City Subway's Grand Central-Times Square Shuttle was on the verge of historic, disruptive, transformative change- change that was planned. The system as a whole though- and indeed, the city, nation, and world- were also on the verge of very much unplanned, historic, disruptive, transformative change due to the emergence and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the devastation wrought by it.

Anyway, the reason this scene, one of the most spectacular underground views in New York in my opinion, will soon be invisible is due to the reconstruction and reconfiguration of the Times Square-Grand Central Shuttle.

Officially known as the IRT Times Square/Grand Central Shuttle, it runs a short distance under 42nd Street between two of the busiest and most important spots in all of New York City. It's a vital part of the subway system, linking the 1, 2, 3, 7, A, C, E, N, R, and Q train services at the enormous 42nd St - Times Square station complex to the 4, 5, 6, and 7 trains at Grand Central- and of course Metro-North's busy Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines at Grand Central Terminal itself. The shuttle is especially historic, as for the first 14 years of its existence from 1904 to 1918, when services were reconfigured, it was an integral part of New York's "First Subway", the Interborough Rapid Transit line from City Hall to northern Manhattan. As such, there are many remnants of that era, mainly regarding Track 2, which was removed sometime after 1918- hence, for over a century the Shuttle has only, and officially, had Tracks 1, 3, and 4.

At the time of my visit, the shuttle line was about to undergo its greatest change in slightly over a century of existence, (other than a brief but revolutionary experiment with automated operation from 1959-1964) with both endpoint stations being rebuilt to smooth passenger flow, and the line simplified from its current 3-track arrangement to two tracks. This will involve complicated underground construction work that will ultimately improve and streamline service, but will significantly change the look and feel of the Shuttle.

Here at the Times Square end of the line, the curve of the 1904 alignment of the original Interborough main line is still clearly evident, over a century after trains used the curve. the IRT West Side Line tunnel (here under Broadway) cuts through the old curve, and in the distance, a southbound [1] local train blurs by towards Lower Manhattan and outer Brooklyn.

In this general vicinity was once a Potawatomie Village

Archaeological evidence suggests that Chief Menominee's Village was located approximately 2½ miles southeast of here on the northern bank of the Yellow River near Wolf Creek.

The Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced removal by militia in 1838 of about 859 members of the Potawatomi nation from Indiana to reservation lands in what is now eastern Kansas.

The march began at Twin Lakes, Indiana (Myers Lake and Cook Lake, near Plymouth, Indiana) on November 4, 1838, along the western bank of the Osage River, ending near present-day Osawatomie, Kansas. During the journey of approximately 660 miles over 61 days, more than 40 people died, most of them children. It was the single largest Indian removal in Indiana history.

Although the Potawatomi had ceded their lands in Indiana to the federal government under a series of treaties made between 1818 and 1837, Chief Menominee and his Yellow River band at Twin Lakes refused to leave, even after the August 5, 1838, treaty deadline for departure. Indiana governor David Wallace authorized General John Tipton to mobilize a local militia of one hundred volunteers to forcibly remove the Potawatomi from the state. On August 30, 1838, Tipton's militia surprised the Potawatomi at Twin Lakes, where they surrounded the village and gathered the remaining Potawatomi together for their removal to Kansas. Father Benjamin Marie Petit, a Catholic missionary at Twin Lakes, joined his parishioners on their difficult journey from Indiana, across Illinois and Missouri, into Kansas. There the Potawatomi were placed under the supervision of the local Indian agent (Jesuit) father Christian Hoecken at Saint Mary's Sugar Creek Mission, the true endpoint of the march.

The world is full of abandoned cars and vehicle graveyards. The short life of a car usually has a guaranteed endpoint: a trip to the scrapyard. But, where there is junk there is another man's treasure. These wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought to this scrapyard where their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles. The unusable parts, known as scrap metal parts, are crushed on-site and then sold to metal-recycling companies for further processing where they are melted down and ultimately made into new products.

Russia, the Caucasus, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Dombay village

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Dombay glade is located at an altitude of 1650m above sea level. It formed by the mouth of the river Amanauz and its two tributaries - Alibek and Dombai-Elgen. Mountains frame Dombay a solid wall. To the east is Buu-Elgen (killed deer), on the south-east - Dombai-Elgen, the highest mountain in the Western Caucasus (4048 m), and Ptysh mountain. In the south - an array Dzhuguturlu-Chat (Rookery of goats), the south-west and west - Amanauz-Bashi, on the east - Proud Herzog and Sulakhat. Endpoints of ridges are Semenov-Bashi and Mussa-Achitar. Below you can see the village Dombay, and slightly above 2nd and 3rd lift station (2265m and 2500m respectively).

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Россия, Кавказ, Карачаево-Черкесия, посёлок Домбай

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Домбайская поляна расположена на высоте 1650 м над уровнем моря. Её образуют устья реки Аманауза и двух её притоков – Алибека и Домбай-Ёльгена. Горы обрамляют Домбайскую поляну сплошной стеной. На востоке это Буу-Ёльген (Убитый олень), на юго-востоке – Домбай-Ёльген, высочайшая вершина Западного Кавказа (4048 м), и Птыш. На юге – массив Джугутурлу-Чат (Лежбище туров), на юго-западе и западе – Аманауз-Баши, на востоке — гордый Эрцог и Сулахат. Конечные точки хребтов Семёнов-Баши и Мусса-Ачитара, являются популярнейшими «кругозорами». Внизу можно разглядеть посёлок Домбай, а чуть выше 2я и 3я станции канатной дороги (2265м и 2500м соответственно).

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Better to look at LARGE size =)

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A fountain at the junction of three roads - Fontana di Trevi, was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini.

It has been a Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome.

Taming of the waters is the theme of the gigantic scheme that tumbles forward, mixing water and rockwork, and filling the small square. Tritons guide Oceanus' shell chariot, taming seahorses.

This is an old photo...just trying to play with it :-)

Green is physical movement from place to place; purple is @replies from someone in one location to someone in another; combining to white where there is both.

Reported trips to Null Island excluded; all other geotags trusted. Endpoints of trips are real data; routes in between are fabricated. Brightness is logarithmic.

Data from the Twitter streaming API through September 1, 2011. Continent shapes from Natural Earth.

CSX Q389-21 nears its' endpoint of BRC's Clearing Yard from Cumberland, MD. Exercising trackage rights over NS from CP501 to CP509, they near the Belt Railway in the late day shadows of the mighty Chicago Skyway Overpass in South Chicago. Southside Icons the Blues Brothers look on as CSX delivers the manifest. A closed right hand lane made this shot an easy decision.

Welcome to my Waterfall series.

This part is shot just before Ampelos Village, in Samos island Greece.

Τhere is a path lined by trees which leads to the waterfall.

The path is very Slippery,wet and often steep,surrounded by sounds of falling waters.

The hiking (walkers) club in Samos visit often that place and the residents of the village have put some ropes, ans signs for guidance till the endpoint.

First time i been there,but something tells me to visit again and again,All you need to feel the beauty of Nature is there!

Have a great new week,see you soon with more pics :)

Thank you all for your comments & faves.

Fontana di Trevi

A seguir, um texto, em português, do Blog do Noblat:

Nenhuma semana sobre fontes poderia ser feita sem falar na Fontana di Trevi, a linda, a inteiramente diferente de todas as outras fontes. Numa pequena praça, formada pelo cruzamento de três vias, em italiano tre vie, e é daí que vem seu nome, a fonte marca o ponto final do aqueduto Acqua Vergine, um dos mais antigos de Roma.

Reza a lenda que em 19 a.C, uma virgem ajudou os Romanos a encontrar uma fonte de água pura. Essa nascente supriu Roma de água por mais de 400 anos, e isso só terminou entre 537 e 538, quando os visigodos sitiaram Roma e destruíram seus aquedutos.

A reconstrução do aqueduto só terminou em 1453, sob o papa Nicolau V que mandou fazer ali uma bacia em mármore para acolher a água.

Em 1629, o papa Urbano VII pediu a Bernini que embelezasse a fonte; o grande arquiteto começou por mudar o local da escultura: seu projeto a colocava do outro lado da praça e ela ficaria de frente para o Palácio Quirinal, de modo que o papa pudesse apreciar a vista. Mas o papa morreu, o projeto foi abandonado. Ainda assim muitos dos detalhes que Bernini criara foram respeitados pelo arquiteto Nicola Salvi, que assina a fonte.

Em 1730, Salvi recebeu do papa Clemente XII a incumbência de reiniciar a decoração da fonte. Os trabalhos começaram em 1732 e terminaram em 1762, depois da morte de Clemente. A estátua principal, do deus Oceano, só foi colocada após a morte do papa.

O pano de fundo da estrutura é o Palazzo Poli que, para compor o cenário perfeito, recebeu uma nova fachada com colunas gregas que unem os dois andares.

O tema principal é “O Domínio das Águas”. A biga de Oceano, em forma de concha, é puxada por cavalos alados dominados por Tritãos. O nicho do deus é um imenso arco do triunfo; nos laterais estão as estátuas da Abundância e da Salubridade.

No alto, em baixo relevo, a origem dos aquedutos romanos e, acima, as armas de Clemente XII. O conjunto mede 25.9m de altura x 19,8m de largura e é a maior fonte barroca dessa cidade com tantas fontes.

Reza a lenda que ao jogar uma moeda na fonte, está assegurada sua volta a Roma. Se jogar três moedas com a mão direita sobre o ombro esquerdo, você garante sua boa sorte. Parece brincadeira? Cerca de 3mil euros são jogados por dia na Fontana di Trevi!

Esse cenário deslumbrante serviu a Federico Fellini para uma das cenas mais famosas de sua obra-prima, o filme La Dolce Vita. Difìcil alguém que não conheça a cena interpretada por Anita Eckberg e Marcello Mastroianni. Pois bem, quando Mastroianni faleceu, desligaram a água e cobriram a fonte de panos negros. Foi o luto de Roma pelo grande ator.

Um texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a Enciclopédia livre:

A Fontana di Trevi (Fonte dos trevos, em português) é a maior (cerca de 26 metros de altura e 20 metros de largura) e mais ambiciosa construção de fontes barrocas da Itália e está localizada na rione Trevi, em Roma.

A fonte situava-se no cruzamento de três estradas (tre vie), marcando o ponto final do Acqua Vergine, um dos mais antigos aquedutos que abasteciam a cidade de Roma. No ano 19 a.C., supostamente ajudados por uma virgem, técnicos romanos localizaram uma fonte de água pura a pouco mais de 22 quilômetros da cidade (cena representada em escultura na própria fonte, atualmente). A água desta fonte foi levada pelo menor aqueduto de Roma, diretamente para os banheiros de Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa e serviu a cidade por mais de 400 anos.

O "golpe de misericórdia" desferido pelos invasores godos em Roma foi dado com a destruição dos aquedutos, durante as Guerras Góticas. Os romanos durante a Idade Média tinham de abastecer-se da água de poços poluídos, e da pouco límpida água do rio Tibre, que também recebia os esgotos da cidade.

O antigo costume romano de erguer uma bela fonte ao final de um aqueduto que conduzia a água para a cidade foi reavivado no século XV, com a Renascença. Em 1453, o Papa Nicolau V determinou fosse consertado o aqueduto de Acqua Vergine, construindo ao seu final um simples receptáculo para receber a água, num projeto feito pelo arquiteto humanista Leon Battista Alberti.

Em 1629, o Papa Urbano VIII achou que a velha fonte era insuficientemente dramática e encomendou a Bernini alguns desenhos, mas quando o Papa faleceu o projeto foi abandonado. A última contribuição de Bernini foi reposicionar a fonte para o outro lado da praça a fim de que esta ficasse defronte ao Palácio do Quirinal (assim o Papa poderia vê-la e admirá-la de sua janela). Ainda que o projeto de Bernini tenha sido abandonado, existem na fonte muitos detalhes de sua idéia original.

Muitas competições entre artistas e arquitetos tiveram lugar durante o Renascimento e o período Barroco para se redesenhar os edifícios, as fontes, e até mesmo a Scalinata di Piazza di Spagna (as escadarias da Praça de Espanha). Em 1730, o Papa Clemente XII organizou uma nova competição na qual Nicola Salvi foi derrotado, mas efetivamente terminou por realizar seu projeto. Este começou em 1732 e foi concluído em 1762, logo depois da morte de Clemente, quando o Netuno de Pietro Bracci foi afixado no nicho central da fonte.

Salvi morrera alguns anos antes, em 1751, com seu trabalho ainda pela metade, que manteve oculto por um grande biombo. A fonte foi concluída por Giuseppe Pannini, que substituiu as alegorias insossas que eram planejadas, representando Agrippa e Trivia, as virgens romanas, pelas belas esculturas de Netuno e seu séquito.

A fonte foi restaurada em 1998; as esculturas foram limpas e polidas, e a fonte foi provida de bombas para circulação da água e sua oxigenação.

A text, in english, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The fountain at the junction of three roads (tre vie) marks the terminal point of the "modern" Acqua Vergine, the revivified Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km (8 miles) from the city. (This scene is presented on the present fountain's façade.) However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km (14 miles). This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than four hundred years. The coup de grâce for the urban life of late classical Rome came when the Goth besiegers in 537/38 broke the aqueducts. Medieval Romans were reduced to drawing water from polluted wells and the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer.

The Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. In 1453, Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and built a simple basin, designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti, to herald the water's arrival.

In 1629 Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but when the Pope died, the project was abandoned. Bernini's lasting contribution was to resite the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace (so the Pope could look down and enjoy it). Though Bernini's project was torn down for Salvi's fountain, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it was built. An early, striking and influential model by Pietro da Cortona, preserved in the Albertina, Vienna, also exists, as do various early 18th century sketches, most unsigned, as well as a project attributed to Nicola Michetti, one attributed to Ferdinando Fuga and a French design by Edme Bouchardon.

Competitions had become the rage during the Baroque era to design buildings, fountains, and even the Spanish Steps. In 1730 Pope Clement XII organized a contest in which Nicola Salvi initially lost to Alessandro Galilei — but due to the outcry in Rome over the fact that a Florentine won, Salvi was awarded the commission anyway. Work began in 1732, and the fountain was completed in 1762, long after Clement's death, when Pietro Bracci's Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche.

Salvi died in 1751, with his work half-finished, but before he went he made sure a stubborn barber's unsightly sign would not spoil the ensemble, hiding it behind a sculpted vase, called by Romans the asso di coppe, "the "Ace of Cups".

The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, who substituted the present allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippa and "Trivia", the Roman virgin.

The fountain was refurbished in 1998; the stonework was scrubbed and the fountain provided with recirculating pumps.

The backdrop for the fountain is the Palazzo Poli, given a new facade with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters that link the two main stories. Taming of the waters is the theme of the gigantic scheme that tumbles forward, mixing water and rockwork, and filling the small square. Tritons guide Oceanus' shell chariot, taming seahorses (hippocamps).

In the center is superimposed a robustly modelled triumphal arch. The center niche or exedra framing Oceanus has free-standing columns for maximal light-and-shade. In the niches flanking Oceanus, Abundance spills water from her urn and Salubrity holds a cup from which a snake drinks. Above, bas reliefs illustrate the Roman origin of the aqueducts.

The tritons and horses provide symmetrical balance, with the maximum contrast in their mood and poses (by 1730, rococo was already in full bloom in France and Germany).

A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Among those who are unaware that the "three coins" of Three Coins in the Fountain were thrown by three different individuals, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. A reported current version of this legend is that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.

Approximately 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day and are collected at night. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

Sunset along the east endpoint of this region.

Talugtug Echo passing thru Trinoma before going back to the designated endpoint.

Luzon Cisco Transport, Inc. | 114 | Hino RM2P | Grand-Echo II fleet by Hino Motors Philippines Corp. (HMPC)

🚏 Original / Authorized Franchise Route: Talugtug, Nueva Ecija - Cubao, Quezon City

🕚 Date Taken on June 9, 2022 • 4:22 PM

📍 Photo Shot Location @ Ayala Malls TriNoma, Mindanao Ave. cor. North Ave., Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City

#MacBusEnthusiast #BehindTheBusSpottingPhotography @macbusenthusiastph

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|GOOD NIGHT/GOOD DAY AND A WONDERFUL THURSDAY MY FRIENDS XOXOXO|

@ I think it was also interesting to learn more about the fountain.So i put it in 3 versions:English,Portuguese and Italian you can choose witch to read.Note de Italian version is the most complete of all.

The Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi) is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet) wide,[citation needed] it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city, and it is one of the most famous fountains in the whole world.

The fountain at the junction of three roads (tre vie) marks the terminal point of the "modern" Acqua Vergine, the revived Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km (8 miles) from the city. (This scene is presented on the present fountain's façade.) However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km (14 miles). This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than four hundred years.The coup de grâce for the urban life of late classical Rome came when the Goth besiegers in 537/38 broke the aqueducts. Medieval Romans were reduced to drawing water from polluted wells and the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer.

The Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. In 1453, Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and built a simple basin, designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti, to herald the water's arrival

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A Fontana di Trevi (Fonte dos trevos, em português) é a maior (cerca de 26 metros de altura e 20 metros de largura) e mais ambiciosa construção de fontes barrocas da Itália e está localizada na rione Trevi, em Roma.

A fonte situava-se no cruzamento de três estradas (tre vie), marcando o ponto final do Acqua Vergine, um dos mais antigos aquedutos que abasteciam a cidade de Roma. No ano 19 a.C., supostamente ajudados por uma virgem, técnicos romanos localizaram uma fonte de água pura a pouco mais de 22 quilômetros da cidade (cena representada em escultura na própria fonte, atualmente). A água desta fonte foi levada pelo menor aqueduto de Roma, diretamente para os banheiros de Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa e serviu a cidade por mais de 400 anos.

O "golpe de misericórdia" desferido pelos invasores godos em Roma foi dado com a destruição dos aquedutos, durante as Guerras Góticas. Os romanos durante a Idade Média tinham de abastecer-se da água de poços poluídos, e da pouco límpida água do rio Tibre, que também recebia os esgotos da cidade.

O antigo costume romano de erguer uma bela fonte ao final de um aqueduto que conduzia a água para a cidade foi reavivado no século XV, com a Renascença. Em 1453, o Papa Nicolau V, determinou que fosse consertado o aqueduto de Acqua Vergine, construindo ao seu final um simples receptáculo para receber a água, num projeto feito pelo arquiteto humanista Leon Battista Alberti.

Em 1629, o Papa Urbano VIII achou que a velha fonte era insuficientemente dramática e encomendou a Bernini alguns desenhos, mas quando o Papa faleceu o projeto foi abandonado. A última contribuição de Bernini foi reposicionar a fonte para o outro lado da praça a fim de que esta ficasse defronte ao Palácio do Quirinal (assim o Papa poderia vê-la e admirá-la de sua janela). Ainda que o projeto de Bernini tenha sido abandonado, existem na fonte muitos detalhes de sua idéia original.

La Fontana di Trevi è la più grande ed una fra le più note Fontane di Roma, ed è considerata all'unanimità una delle più celebri fontane del mondo.

La settecentesca fontana, progettata da Nicolò Salvi, è un connubio di classicismo e barocco adagiato su un lato di Palazzo Poli.

La storia della fontana inizia, in un certo senso, ai tempi dell'imperatore Augusto, quando il genero Agrippa fece arrivare l'acqua corrente fino al Pantheon ed alle sue terme grazie alla costruzione dell'acquedotto Vergine (che si può ammirare anche a Piazza del Popolo). Leggendaria è l'origine del nome Vergine che, secondo Frontino, sarebbe stato dato dallo stesso Agrippa in ricordo di una fanciulla (in latino virgo) che indicò il luogo delle sorgenti ai soldati che ne andavano in cerca.

L'Acquedotto dell'acqua Vergine, benché compromesso e assai ridotto nella portata dall'assedio dei Goti di Vitige nel 537, rimase in uso per tutto il medioevo: fu restaurato già dall'VIII secolo, poi ancora dal Comune nel XII e da Niccolò V e Paolo IV a metà del XV secolo, quando l'acqua tornò a fluire abbondante in una grande vasca con tre bocche di notevole portata. Ma le sorgenti originarie furono riallacciate solo nel 1570 da Pio V, che collocò la vasca dal lato opposto di quello della fontana attuale.

Papa Urbano VIII (Barberini) (1623 - 1644) per primo ordina una "trasformazione" della piazza e della fontana a Giovan Lorenzo Bernini, in modo da creare un nuovo nucleo scenografico vicino al proprio palazzo famigliare, Palazzo Barberini, e ben visibile dal Palazzo del Quirinale, sua residenza. Bernini progetta una grande mostra d'acqua, ribaltando ortogonalmente la mostra dell'acquedotto, sino ad arrivare all'allineamento odierno. La mostra da lui progettata, nota da varia documentazione illustrata, era costituita da un'architettura traforata,incentrata sulla statua della vergine Trivia posta su un basamento sotto il livello dell'acqua, a sembrare sbucare dall'acqua stessa. La morte del Papa e il conseguente processo aperto contro la famiglia Barberini dal nuovo pontefice Innocenzo X Pamphilj con la decisione di affidare al Borromini il trasporto dell'acqua Vergine sino a Piazza Navona per realizzare una nuova mostra monumentale dinanzi al proprio palazzo (realizzata per altro sempre dal Bernini), porterà a interrompere lavori a livello della vasca e basamento.

Papa Innocenzo XIII (Conti) (1721- 1724) fa allargare le proprietà della propria famiglia fino alla piazza di Trevi, e il palazzo Poli (i componenti della famiglia erano i duchi di Poli) "ingloba" diversi edifici più piccoli, ed arriva ad affacciarsi dietro alla fontana rimasta incompiuta.

All'inizio del XVIII secolo quello della fontana di Trevi diventa un tema obbligato per i numerosi architetti di passaggio a Roma, e l'Accademia di san Luca ne fa il tema di diversi concorsi. Si conoscono disegni e pensieri di Nicola Michetti, Luigi Vanvitelli, Ferdinando Fuga ed altri architetti italiani e stranieri.

Tocca a Papa Clemente XII Corsini (1730 - 1740), nel 1731, il compito di riprendere in mano le sorti della piazza e della fontana: nell'ambito delle grandi commissioni del suo Pontificato che porteranno al completamento di grandi fabbriche rimaste incompiute, bandisce un importante concorso per la costruzione di una grande mostra d'acqua che occupi l'intera facciata del palazzo Poli, con grande disappunto dei duchi di Poli, ancora proprietari dell'edificio, che avrebbero visto la facciata del proprio palazzo diminuita di due interassi di finestre e ancor più coronata dallo stemma Corsini. Il bando viene vinto da Nicolò Salvi, e alcuni diranno a "riparazione" del concorso per la facciata di San Giovanni in Laterano. Salvi inizia la costruzione della fontana nel 1732, impostando l'opera secondo un progetto che raccorda influenze barocche e ancor più berniniane al nuovo monumentalismo classicista che caratterizzerà tutto il pontificato di Clemente XII. Egli riprende l'idea di fondo di Urbano VIII e di Bernini, l'idea di narrare, tramite architettura e scultura insieme, la storia dell'Acqua Vergine.

Papa Clemente XII inaugura la fontana nel 1735, con i lavori ancora in corso. Nel 1740, però, la costruzione viene ancora una volta interrotta, per riprendere solo due anni più tardi.

Papa Benedetto XIV (Lambertini) (1740 - 1758) pretende una seconda inaugurazione nel 1744. La prima fase dei lavori termina nel 1747, quando vengono completate le statue e le rocce posticce. Nonostante la morte di Niccolò Salvi (1751), la costruzione prosegue sotto la guida di Giuseppe Panini, che porta finalmente l'opera a compimento nel 1762, sotto Papa Clemente XIII (Rezzonico) (1758 - 1769). Al cantiere, andato avanti per circa un trentennio, hanno lavorato almeno dieci scultori, da Maini a Bracci, oltre al Salvi e al Panini stessi. Alla fine, però, la fontana di Trevi diventa una scenografia e simbolo fondamentale della Roma papale.

Theme Rules:

The phrase “X marks the spot” often refers to a specific location, target, or goal. For this theme we want to see what your doll(s) is after. Is your doll a pirate following a map to a hidden treasure chest full of gold? Is your doll vacationing in a foreign city and following his/her visitors map to popular landmarks? Perhaps your doll is an entertainer and an X has been marked on the stage floor to show him/her where to stand. Or maybe your doll is an athlete practicing archery or crossing a finish line of a race. The only requirement for this theme is that there must be a doll and a marked endpoint or desired target somewhere in your photo.

About this photo:

In the MARVEL comic book universe, Sentinels are mutant-hunting robots specifically designed to rid the planet of the X-gene. The X-MEN seem to be their favorite targets, so I decided to use Colossus and Nightcrawler for this photo. Essentially, there are three targets here as the two X-MEN are steadying themselves for battle against this Sentinel.

A-Z Doll Photography Challenge Group Description

Members can submit a photo for one, two, or all themes. At the end of the month, members will vote for their favorite photos.

Participation is based on your time and inspiration. While we hope everyone can create a photo for each month, it is not required. Come and go as you like!

Submit just one photo per theme. Last day to submit photos for V, W, and X is September 30th!

Not a member or missed last month? Not a problem--this group is fluid -- participate when you can. Don't hesitate to ask any questions!

Visit A-Z Doll Photography Challenge to join. Hope to see you there! :)

I don't know what to say about this image - except that I love it.

I was playing around with MJ, blending and mixing composite artistic styles .... and whilst exploring Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt's styles I guided MJ into producing this.

I've done a wee bit of work in photoshop .... but really I've just been the conductor, MJ has done nearly all the work.

I am amazed how faithfully it has captured the feeling and style of these two great German expressionists.

I can't remember what I used as a seed image to start, but this is the endpoint of many iterations ...

If you know MJ you'll understand.

Dam 07/05/2020 07h47

The National Monument on the Dam this morning at 747. I was lucky that the floral wreath which was deposited by the king and queen last May 4 at eight o'clock in the evening was the only one illuminated by the morning sun.

Dam

Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city and the country.

Dam Square lies in the historical center of Amsterdam, approximately 750 metres south of the main transportation hub, Centraal Station, at the original location of the dam in the river Amstel. It is roughly rectangular in shape, stretching about 200 metres from west to east and about 100 metres from north to south. It links the streets Damrak and Rokin, which run along the original course of the Amstel River from Centraal Station to Muntplein (Mint Square) and the Munttoren (Mint Tower). The Dam also marks the endpoint of the other well-traveled streets Nieuwendijk, Kalverstraat and Damstraat. A short distance beyond the northeast corner lies the main Red-light district: De Wallen.

On the west end of the square is the neoclassical Royal Palace, which served as the city hall from 1655 until its conversion to a royal residence in 1808. Beside it are the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and the Madame Tussauds Amsterdam Wax Museum. The National Monument, a white stone pillar designed by J.J.P. Oud and erected in 1956 to memorialize the victims of World War II, dominates the opposite side of the square. Also overlooking the plaza are the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky and the upscale department store De Bijenkorf. These various attractions have turned the Dam into a tourist zone.

The Dam derives its name from its original function: a dam on the Amstel River, hence also the name of the city.[1] Built in approximately 1270, the dam formed the first connection between the settlements on the sides of the river.

[ Source & More: Wikipedia - Dam (Square) ]

Took my parents to see the "Sensorio, Field of Light" in Paso Robles last night. Fiber optic threads sprouting to endpoints via octopus tentacles connected to buried bulbs - 58,000 of them planted in rolling hills amongst craggy oaks. Scrambled to get there before evening light disappeared, and barely made it. Definitely not part of the Central Coast thing growing up! Really unique experience. iPhone snaps - we'll see how the camera shots turn out later (though they ban tripods, so that was a separate challenge).

- Esta foto va dedicada a Rocío/endpoint(me) por que creo que se la merece de todo corazón y porque me apetecía subirla. Ella sencillamente es increíble, y sí, me apetecía poner una foto de ella y del dibujo que le he dedicado. Gracias a ti Rocío por ser tal y como eres y por seguir haciéndome disfrutar de tus fotografías y tus textos. ¡Te adoro y te admiro muchísimo!

- Todos y cada uno de los dibujos son de ayer y están hechos por mi. Y ni me tacho de dibujante ni nada, es más solo hace un día que dibujo.

- La semana que viene empiezo exámenes así que olvidaros de verme mucho por aquí.

- Feliz cumpleaños Irene García. Espero que pases un buen día y disfrutes estos dieciséis. ¡Un besazo enorme!

My Pan-American Trek using Google Street View.

Downtown Abilene, Texas. According to Wikipedia, "Established by cattlemen as a stock shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881, the city was named after Abilene, Kansas, the original endpoint for the Chisholm Trail."

till you heard the voices in your ear. : )

I heard them here, standing in the median in front of the Ferry Building, where a little time warp opens up at night after most of the traffic is gone and the lamps are glowing; here on what was once the old Lincoln Highway, nearing its endpoint after crossing the continent; right here where each night vintage streetcars meet and turn the corner, first one and then the other.

Don't know if you can sense it from the picture, but it was crazy wonderful to be standing out there. I thought sure I was either on the set of an old Hollywood movie or in the Wayback Machine. Strange magic again! A lone street musician was over in front of the Ferry Building blowing Puttin' on the Ritz into his trumpet. I would have been perfectly happy to stand there for hours just watching the streetcars pass. Wish I could have, next trip I will.

The San Francisco Municipal Railway operates an amazing collection of restored heritage streetcars. Have a look at the fleet here. My favorites are the iconic PCCs, as seen in this shot. Streamlined beauties, nostalgic treasures, delicious eye candy!! They were made from 1936 till WWII halted production, and then after the war to 1952. You can read a bit about them here.

Oh, and what did the voices say? This moment, this ride - it's why you came, what you were looking for. Stay . . . just a little bit longer? Have another hit of this wrinkle-in-time elixir? I wanted to. You can't get the good stuff at any old corner drugstore, you know. And it was just what I needed too. Just. What. I needed . . .

But no, had to go. What a cheap trick, huh? ; )

Keolis/MBTA train 743 curls around the Lewis Wye off the Franklin Line (former New Haven Midland Division) and on to the Framingham Secondary for the just under four mile trip to their endpoint at Foxboro Station. The service to Foxboro was a year long pilot program that began in Oct 2019 funded in part by Robert Kraft to provide service for employees and customers of his massive Patriot Place shopping, entertainment, and sports complex centered around Gillette Stadium. But the Pandemic decimated whatever (dubious) demand their was so come November 1 these trains will disappear. Allegedly they will return in the spring of 2021, but I have my doubts if they ever will.

Given their endangered nature I figured a few photos were worth my effort especially on a line that saw no regular daily passenger service after 1933 until these trains returned.

For those interested in history the line to Foxboror was buiilt as the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad in 1870 and the 21 mile route between its two namesake points came under the aegis the Old Colony Railroad in 1879 and then the New Haven in 1893 when that system absorbed the OCRR. 40 years later passenger service ended, but for the past 86 years the line has been an important freight route. Passing from the NH to PC, CR, and ultimately CSXT the line was sold by the latter in June 2015 to MassDOT for $23 million. The line is now dispatched and maintained under contract by Mass Coastal (except for the four miles from Walpole to Foxboro under Keolis control) with CSXT retaining the perpetual freight rights. Excepting the rebuilt and signaled portion between here and Foxboror the branch line is a 10 MPH railroad that normally sees 4 trains a day on its fairly flat route through wooded semi rural and suburban Boston bedroom communities.

Standing at left in the background is the 1893 Union Station originally served the Old Colony Railroad (along the present day Framingham Sub side) and the New York and New England (along the present day Franklin Line side) although by 1898 it was all under the aegis of the New Haven.

Walpole, Massachusetts

Wednesday October 7, 2020

Nieuwe Diep 02/03/2021 17h28

The Equinix Centre Building reflecting in the water of the Nieuwe Diep as seen from the Waterkeringpad in Flevopark.

Equinix Data Center

Data growth is increasing so rapidly, traditional centralized storage management methods are no longer feasible. Harvesting data from so many endpoints and aggregating it all in one location is becoming an insurmountable challenge, pointing to the need to store and process data at the edge, where it is collected. A critical component of an Interconnection Oriented Architecture™, Data Hub enables a whole new level of control over business-critical data with direct, secure, high-speed interconnectivity. [ www.equinix.nl ]

Dungeons & Dragons

Complete Arcane

Page 28:

Bloodwalk (Su): At 10th level, a blood magus becomes perfectly attuned to the song of blood. He gains the supernatural ability to transport himself great distances via the blood of living creatures. Once per day as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, he can seamlessly enter any living creature (except an elemental, ooze, plant, undead, or other creature without blood or a similar fluid) whose size equals or exceeds his own and pass any distance to another living creature on the same plane in a single round, regardless of the distance separating the two. A blood magus merely designates a direction and distance (“a living creature twenty miles due west of here”), and the bloodwalk ability transports him to a destination creature as close as possible to the desired location. He can’t specify a named individual as the endpoint unless he has previously obtained a sample of that creature’s blood and has it preserved in a vial that he carries. The entry and destination creatures need not be familiar to the blood magus. A blood magus cannot use himself as an entry creature. If an intended entry creature is unwilling, he must make a successful melee touch attack to enter. (A missed touch attack does not use up the ability for that day.) When exiting a creature, a blood magus chooses an adjacent square in which to appear. Entering and exiting a creature is painless unless a blood magus wishes otherwise (see below). In most cases, though, the destination creature finds being the endpoint of a magical portal surprising and quite unsettling. If he desires, a blood magus can attempt to make a bloody exit from the destination creature. He bursts forth explosively from the creature’s body, dealing 10d6 points of damage unless the creature makes a Fortitude save (DC 10 + blood magus’s class level + blood magus’s Con modifier). When he makes a bloody exit, a blood magus must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round from the shock of his expulsion.

Our high point for the day, only 2.1 km from Pradelles which was to turn out to be our endpoint for walking for the day as Mademoiselle Anne's injuries just got too much. We eventually arranged for a taxi to take us the remaining few kilometres to Langogne to give Anne a chance at some recovery.

We were only a short climb from the peak of the Rocher de la Fagettes at 1265 metres but a climb was out of the question on the day.

Day 3 of 12 - Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas to Langogne: Walking the Chemin de Stevenson (GR 70 Robert Louis Stevenson Trail) in the south of France.

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Samobor moutain range, is popular hiking, biking and paragliding destination near Zagreb. Japetić peak is endpoint suited for paragliders.

This is our endpoint for today. Would love to hike down to the lakes below, but we would need more time than our day hike allows.

Leyenburg, endpoint of line 456.

Elysium, Elysium (63, 112, 16) - Moderate

MUSIC:

Pink Floyd - "Another Brick In The Wall"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9d72n2fX6g

WORDS: Exterminism: "The ideology of a society in which those who cannot produce have no funds and therefore cannot be consumers -- so the elites decide the world would be better off without them."

Stage One: Separation. Ghettos for the many and gated communities for the few.

Stage Two: Fear: 'They' are dangerous to 'us'. Whip up anxieties; create panic!

Stage Three: Hate: Preach 'Kill or be killed!' Surveillance and computer tagging. Facial recognition software.

Stage Four: Killer drones, militarization of the police, AI robots to 'clear spaces'; chemical and biological agents to 'reduce their numbers'

Stage Five: Reservations for the survivors.

Endpoint: A Brave New World -- for the few. For the many: mass graves.

Entrance of the Millcreek Tube, a concrete enclosure built after the Great Erie Flood of 1915 that killed 37 and caused significant damage. This 2.3 mile tunnel under the city begins near my home and travels north to its endpoint west of the Erie Wastewater Treatment Plant, emptying into Presque Isle Bay. This is a look inside on a hot day--you can see the fog of humidity, which gets very thick as one travels further inside. There is but a trickle of water during the heat of summer, but I've recorded video during flooding in 2009 that has the swell at almost halfway up the tunnel. And yes, there have been individuals who've fallen in and have been swept to the endpoint, which unfortunately [fortunately?] has iron bars to prevent debris from entering the bay.

Italien / Toskana - Siena

Piazza del Campo

Piazza del Campo is the main public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The Palazzo Pubblico and its Torre del Mangia, as well as various palazzi signorili surround the shell-shaped piazza. At the northwest edge is the Fonte Gaia.

The twice-a-year horse-race, Palio di Siena, is held around the edges of the piazza. The piazza is also the finish of the annual road cycling race Strade Bianche.

History

The open site was a marketplace established before the thirteenth century on a sloping site near the meeting point of the three hillside communities that coalesced to form Siena: the Castellare, the San Martino and the Camollia. Siena may have had earlier Etruscan settlements, but it was not a considerable Roman settlement, and the campo does not lie on the site of a Roman forum, as is sometimes suggested. It was paved in 1349 in fishbone-patterned red brick with 8 lines of travertine, which divide the piazza into 9 sections, radiating from the mouth of the gavinone (the central water drain) in front of the Palazzo Pubblico. The number of divisions is held to be symbolic of the rule of The Nine (Noveschi) who laid out the campo and governed Siena at the height of its mediaeval splendour between 1292-1355. The Campo was and remains the focal point of public life in the City. From the piazza, eleven narrow shaded streets radiate into the city.

The palazzi signorili that line the square, housing the families of the Sansedoni, the Piccolomini and the Saracini etc., have unified rooflines, in contrast to earlier tower houses — emblems of communal strife — such as may still be seen not far from Siena at San Gimignano. In the statutes of Siena, civic and architectural decorum was ordered :"...it responds to the beauty of the city of Siena and to the satisfaction of almost all people of the same city that any edifices that are to be made anew anywhere along the public thoroughfares...proceed in line with the existent buildings and one building not stand out beyond another, but they shall be disposed and arranged equally so as to be of the greatest beauty for the city."

The unity of these Late Gothic houses is affected in part by the uniformity of the bricks of which their walls are built: brick-making was a monopoly of the commune, which saw to it that standards were maintained.

At the foot of the Palazzo Pubblico's wall is the late Gothic Chapel of the Virgin built as an ex voto by the Sienese, after the terrible Black Death of 1348 had ended.

Fonte Gaia

The Fonte Gaia ("Joyous Fountain") was built in 1419 as an endpoint of the system of conduits bringing water to the city's centre, replacing an earlier fountain completed about 1342 when the water conduits were completed. Under the direction of the Committee of Nine, many miles of tunnels were constructed to bring water in aqueducts to fountains and thence to drain to the surrounding fields. The present fountain, a center of attraction for the many tourists, is in the shape of a rectangular basin that is adorned on three sides with many bas-reliefs with the Madonna surrounded by the Classical and the Christian Virtues, emblematic of Good Government under the patronage of the Madonna. The white marble Fonte Gaia was originally designed and built by Jacopo della Quercia, whose bas-reliefs from the basin's sides are conserved in the Ospedale di St. Maria della Scala in Piazza Duomo. The former sculptures were replaced in 1866 by free copies by Tito Sarrocchi, who omitted Jacopo della Quercia's two nude statues of Rhea Silvia and Acca Larentia, which the nineteenth-century city fathers found too pagan or too nude. When they were set up in 1419, Jacopo della Quercia's nude figures were the first two female nudes, who were neither Eve nor a repentant saint, to stand in a public place since Antiquity.

(Wikipedia)

Die Piazza del Campo ist der bedeutendste Platz der toskanischen Stadt Siena, deren Zentrum er bildet.

Der Platz ist bekannt durch seine beeindruckende Architektur und seine halbrunde Form sowie durch das hier normalerweise jährlich zweimal ausgetragene Pferderennen Palio di Siena.

Geschichte

Das Zentrum der bereits in der Etruskerzeit bedeutenden Stadt lag ursprünglich im Gebiet des heutigen Castelvecchio, während „der Campo“ lediglich ein Stück Land war, das dem Abfluss des Regenwassers diente. Da aber auch die an Siena vorbeiführende Fernstraße über dieses Feld verlief und sich hier mit einer anderen Straße kreuzte, entwickelte sich bald ein Marktplatz.

Der Name „Campo“ wird zum ersten Mal schriftlich 1169 erwähnt in einer Quelle, die sich mit der gesamten Talebene befasst, zu der auch die heutige Piazza del Mercato, heute auf der anderen Seite des Palazzo Comunale, gehörte. Damals erwarb die Stadt Siena das Gelände, das von der Piazza del Mercato bis zur heutigen Logge della Mercanzia reicht. Eine Unterteilung des Geländes in die heutigen zwei Plätze wird 1193 erwähnt, sodass man davon ausgehen kann, dass in der Zwischenzeit zumindest eine Mauer erbaut wurde, die den Platz in zwei Hälften teilte; möglicherweise geschah dies, um das Wasser besser ableiten zu können.

Bis ins Jahr 1270, als die Herrschaft der Vierundzwanzig (1236–1270) zu Ende ging, wurde dann der Platz für Messen und Märkte genutzt. Zwar hatte der Platz noch nicht das heutige Aussehen, er entwickelte sich aber allmählich zum zweiten Mittelpunkt der Stadt neben dem Dom; während dort religiöse Feste im Mittelpunkt standen, dominierten auf der Piazza del Campo der Handel und weltliche Feste. Da sich auch die städtische Obrigkeit immer unabhängiger vom Bischof (und später Erzbischof) machte, kam in der Zeit der Herrschaft der Neun (1289–1355) der Bedarf nach einem eigenen Rathaus auf.

Die Piazza del Campo ist einer der eindrucksvollsten kommunalen Plätze Italiens – im Gegensatz zum Markusplatz Venedigs und zur Piazza dei Miracoli Pisas ist dies ein Platz ohne Kirche, also ein rein politisches Zentrum – und das zeigt sich auch in der Kunst in den Innenräumen des Rathauses. Das Gelände ist leicht abschüssig und der Palazzo Pubblico, der öffentliche Palast, also das Rathaus steht an der tiefsten Stelle. Diese auffallend tief liegende Position im Gegensatz zu den Gepflogenheiten anderer Städte erklärt sich aus dem Bedürfnis, eine neutrale Lage zwischen den Hügeln von Siena zu wählen. Auch hier hat also das Konkurrenzdenken innerhalb der Stadt Konsequenzen gehabt. Das hatte zur Folge, dass der Turm sehr hoch werden musste, damit er trotz seiner niedrigen Lage die Stadt überragen konnte.

Mit dem Bau des Palazzo Comunale wurden dann auch die Impulse für eine architektonische Gestaltung des Platzes gegeben. In den Jahren 1327–1349 erhielt der Platz eine Pflasterung, wobei auch heute noch die Einteilung in neun Segmente an die damalige Herrschaft der Neun erinnert. Die „Skyline“ des Platzes ist allerdings nicht spontan in einem Stück entstanden. Erst mit den Jahren sorgte die Stadtverwaltung durch entsprechende Gesetze dafür, dass die Fassadengestaltung einheitlich gehandhabt wurde. So wurde etwa eine Peter- und Paul-Kirche abgerissen; heute erinnern die Gassen Vicoli di San Pietro e di San Paolo daran.

Nach 1861 wurden, wie auch an anderen Gebäuden in der Altstadt von Siena, Gebäude an der Piazza von ihren barocken Fassaden „befreit“, um dem ursprünglichen, d. h. mittelalterlichen Erscheinungsbild wieder zur Geltung zu verhelfen.

Seit ca. 2017 gehören 15 der 20 Gebäude, die den Platz begrenzen, Igor Bidilo, einem Investor aus Kasachstan.

Fonte Gaia

Auf der höheren Seite des Campo steht der Fonte Gaia, den Jacopo della Quercia von 1409 bis 1419 geschaffen hat. ‚Brunnen der Freude’ heißt er, weil es 1342 zum ersten Mal gelungen war, mithilfe einer 25 km langen Leitung Wasser in die Stadt fließen zu lassen. Der ewige Wassermangel war in der Bergstadt Siena ein großes Problem – besonders in den Sommermonaten. Stilistisch hat della Quercia in den Figuren dieses Brunnens etwas Ähnliches erreicht wie die Sieneser Malerei, nämlich einen Ausgleich zwischen der klassischen Tradition und gotischem Schwung.

Die Figuren des Brunnens sind zwar seit 1858 durch Nachbildungen von Tito Sarrocchi ersetzt, aber trotzdem haben wir hier ein wichtiges Dokument für die Entwicklung der frühen Renaissance-Plastik vor uns. Zur damaligen Zeit, 1409, hatte man angefangen, sich zunehmend für die antike Vergangenheit zu interessieren und dabei natürlich besonders für die Geschichte Roms. Jacopo della Quercia war von der Stadt Siena deshalb beauftragt worden, in diesem Brunnen die angebliche römische Abstammung der Stadt als Gründung der Söhne des Remus und ihre darauf beruhenden Tugenden zu dokumentieren. Die Originalteile des Brunnens sind heute im Museum von Santa Maria della Scala im Raum Fienile zu betrachten.

Gebäude

Blick auf die Piazza del Campo und die umliegenden Gebäude

Palazzo Comunale

Mit dem Bau des Gebäudes der Stadtverwaltung wurde 1297 begonnen. Ursprünglich hatte der Palazzo lediglich drei Stockwerke; später erfolgten weitere Anbauten. Vor allem aber kam im Laufe des 14. Jahrhunderts mit dem Torre del Mangia der 102 Meter hohe Turm hinzu, der das Stadtbild von Siena prägt. Der Name leitet sich von dem Spitznamen Mangiaguadagni (Gewinnfresser) des ersten Glöckners ab.

Cappella di Piazza

Vor dem Eingang zum Palazzo Pubblico wurde als Dank für die überstandene Pest 1352 – also noch in der Gotik – eine kleine Kapelle, die Cappella di Piazza, die Platzkapelle errichtet, die über 100 Jahre später (1463) mit einer Renaissance-Dekoration ihre heutige Gestalt erhielt. Beides passt aber so gut zusammen, als sei es gleichzeitig geschaffen worden. Die Dachkonstruktion stammt von Antonio Federighi und entstand in den 1460er Jahren. Die nordeuropäische Gotik wurde in Italien im 13. und besonders im 14. Jh. in stark veränderter und der italienischen Tradition angepassten Form übernommen. Und später konnte im 15. Jh. die Renaissance auf jahrhundertelange vorbereitende Phasen aufbauen. Beides widersprach sich hier in Italien nicht so wie in Frankreich oder Deutschland. Hier an dieser Kapelle ist in der Gotik also locker der alte Rundbogen verwandt worden und nicht der eigentlich typische gotische Spitzbogen. Und als in der Renaissance der Rundbogen wieder zur Norm wurde, musste hier auch gar nichts geändert werden.

Das Pferderennen

Auf dem Platz wird zweimal im Jahr, am 2. Juli und am 16. August, ein Pferderennen („Palio di Siena“) ausgetragen.

(Wikipedia)

Our endpoint today - the Hoodoo lookout

Fontana di Trevi

The Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi) is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city.

Pre-1629 history of the aqueduct and the fountain site

The fountain at the junction of three roads (tre vie)marks the terminal point of the "modern" Acqua Vergine, the revivified Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km (8 miles) from the city. (This scene is presented on the present fountain's façade.) However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km (14 miles). This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than four hundred years. The coup de grâce for the urban life of late classical Rome came when the Goth besiegers in 537/38 broke the aqueducts. Medieval Romans were reduced to drawing water from polluted wells and the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer.

The Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. In 1453, Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and built a simple basin, designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti, to herald the water's arrival.

The present fountain

Commission, construction and design

In 1629 Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but when the Pope died, the project was abandoned. Bernini's lasting contribution was to resite the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace (so the Pope could look down and enjoy it). Though Bernini's project was torn down for Salvi's fountain, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it was built. An early, striking and influential model by Pietro da Cortona, preserved in the Albertina, Vienna, also exists, as do various early 18th century sketches, most unsigned, as well as a project attributed to Nicola Michetti one attributed to Ferdinando Fuga and a French design by Edme Bouchardon.

Panorama of the Trevi Fountain.

Competitions had become the rage during the Baroque era to design buildings, fountains, and even the Spanish Steps. In 1730 Pope Clement XII organized a contest in which Nicola Salvi initially lost to Alessandro Galilei — but due to the outcry in Rome over the fact that a Florentine won, Salvi was awarded the commission anyway. Work began in 1732, and the fountain was completed in 1762, long after Clement's death, when Pietro Bracci's Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche.

The asso di coppe

Salvi died in 1751, with his work half-finished, but before he went he made sure a stubborn barber's unsightly sign would not spoil the ensemble, hiding it behind a sculpted vase, called by Romans the asso di coppe, "the "Ace of Cups".

The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, who substituted the present allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippa and "Trivia", the Roman virgin.

Restoration

The fountain was refurbished in 1998; the stonework was scrubbed and the fountain provided with recirculating pumps.

The fountain filled with coins, from another perspective.

Iconography

The backdrop for the fountain is the Palazzo Poli, given a new facade with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters that link the two main stories. Taming of the waters is the theme of the gigantic scheme that tumbles forward, mixing water and rockwork, and filling the small square. Tritons guide Oceanus' shell chariot, taming seahorses (hippocamps).

In the center is superimposed a robustly modelled triumphal arch. The center niche or exedra framing Oceanus has free-standing columns for maximal light-and-shade. In the niches flanking Oceanus, Abundance spills water from her urn and Salubrity holds a cup from which a snake drinks. Above, bas reliefs illustrate the Roman origin of the aqueducts.

The tritons and horses provide symmetrical balance, with the maximum contrast in their mood and poses (by 1730, rococo was already in full bloom in France and Germany).

Fontana di Trevi by night.

Coin throwing

A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Among those who are unaware that the "three coins" of Three Coins in the Fountain were thrown by three different individuals, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. A reported current version of this legend is that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.

An estimated 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy.However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

Popular awareness

Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: Man throws red paint in Roman Trevi fountain to protest film festival

* The fountain is the setting for an iconic scene in Federico Fellini's film La dolce vita starring Marcello Mastroianni. The Trevi fountain was turned off and draped in black in honor of Mastroianni after the actor's death in 1996.

* Scaled-down replicas of the Trevi fountain can be found at the Window of the World theme park in Shenzen, China, and near the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, USA. In addition, part of the fountain is replicated at the Italy Pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World, USA.

* One of Respighi's Fontane di Roma.

* Three Coins in the Fountain, (1954)

* A scene in the movie The Lizzie McGuire Movie depicts Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) tossing a coin in the fountain.

* The Scooby gang makes a trek to Italy and the fountain is shown with the mention of the Three Coin Legend. What's New Scooby-Doo Season 1: Pompeii and Circumstance.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevi_Fountain

Fontana di Trevi

A seguir, um texto, em português, do Blog do Noblat:

Nenhuma semana sobre fontes poderia ser feita sem falar na Fontana di Trevi, a linda, a inteiramente diferente de todas as outras fontes. Numa pequena praça, formada pelo cruzamento de três vias, em italiano tre vie, e é daí que vem seu nome, a fonte marca o ponto final do aqueduto Acqua Vergine, um dos mais antigos de Roma.

Reza a lenda que em 19 a.C, uma virgem ajudou os Romanos a encontrar uma fonte de água pura. Essa nascente supriu Roma de água por mais de 400 anos, e isso só terminou entre 537 e 538, quando os visigodos sitiaram Roma e destruíram seus aquedutos.

A reconstrução do aqueduto só terminou em 1453, sob o papa Nicolau V que mandou fazer ali uma bacia em mármore para acolher a água.

Em 1629, o papa Urbano VII pediu a Bernini que embelezasse a fonte; o grande arquiteto começou por mudar o local da escultura: seu projeto a colocava do outro lado da praça e ela ficaria de frente para o Palácio Quirinal, de modo que o papa pudesse apreciar a vista. Mas o papa morreu, o projeto foi abandonado. Ainda assim muitos dos detalhes que Bernini criara foram respeitados pelo arquiteto Nicola Salvi, que assina a fonte.

Em 1730, Salvi recebeu do papa Clemente XII a incumbência de reiniciar a decoração da fonte. Os trabalhos começaram em 1732 e terminaram em 1762, depois da morte de Clemente. A estátua principal, do deus Oceano, só foi colocada após a morte do papa.

O pano de fundo da estrutura é o Palazzo Poli que, para compor o cenário perfeito, recebeu uma nova fachada com colunas gregas que unem os dois andares.

O tema principal é “O Domínio das Águas”. A biga de Oceano, em forma de concha, é puxada por cavalos alados dominados por Tritãos. O nicho do deus é um imenso arco do triunfo; nos laterais estão as estátuas da Abundância e da Salubridade.

No alto, em baixo relevo, a origem dos aquedutos romanos e, acima, as armas de Clemente XII. O conjunto mede 25.9m de altura x 19,8m de largura e é a maior fonte barroca dessa cidade com tantas fontes.

Reza a lenda que ao jogar uma moeda na fonte, está assegurada sua volta a Roma. Se jogar três moedas com a mão direita sobre o ombro esquerdo, você garante sua boa sorte. Parece brincadeira? Cerca de 3mil euros são jogados por dia na Fontana di Trevi!

Esse cenário deslumbrante serviu a Federico Fellini para uma das cenas mais famosas de sua obra-prima, o filme La Dolce Vita. Difìcil alguém que não conheça a cena interpretada por Anita Eckberg e Marcello Mastroianni. Pois bem, quando Mastroianni faleceu, desligaram a água e cobriram a fonte de panos negros. Foi o luto de Roma pelo grande ator.

Um texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a Enciclopédia livre:

A Fontana di Trevi (Fonte dos trevos, em português) é a maior (cerca de 26 metros de altura e 20 metros de largura) e mais ambiciosa construção de fontes barrocas da Itália e está localizada na rione Trevi, em Roma.

A fonte situava-se no cruzamento de três estradas (tre vie), marcando o ponto final do Acqua Vergine, um dos mais antigos aquedutos que abasteciam a cidade de Roma. No ano 19 a.C., supostamente ajudados por uma virgem, técnicos romanos localizaram uma fonte de água pura a pouco mais de 22 quilômetros da cidade (cena representada em escultura na própria fonte, atualmente). A água desta fonte foi levada pelo menor aqueduto de Roma, diretamente para os banheiros de Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa e serviu a cidade por mais de 400 anos.

O "golpe de misericórdia" desferido pelos invasores godos em Roma foi dado com a destruição dos aquedutos, durante as Guerras Góticas. Os romanos durante a Idade Média tinham de abastecer-se da água de poços poluídos, e da pouco límpida água do rio Tibre, que também recebia os esgotos da cidade.

O antigo costume romano de erguer uma bela fonte ao final de um aqueduto que conduzia a água para a cidade foi reavivado no século XV, com a Renascença. Em 1453, o Papa Nicolau V determinou fosse consertado o aqueduto de Acqua Vergine, construindo ao seu final um simples receptáculo para receber a água, num projeto feito pelo arquiteto humanista Leon Battista Alberti.

Em 1629, o Papa Urbano VIII achou que a velha fonte era insuficientemente dramática e encomendou a Bernini alguns desenhos, mas quando o Papa faleceu o projeto foi abandonado. A última contribuição de Bernini foi reposicionar a fonte para o outro lado da praça a fim de que esta ficasse defronte ao Palácio do Quirinal (assim o Papa poderia vê-la e admirá-la de sua janela). Ainda que o projeto de Bernini tenha sido abandonado, existem na fonte muitos detalhes de sua idéia original.

Muitas competições entre artistas e arquitetos tiveram lugar durante o Renascimento e o período Barroco para se redesenhar os edifícios, as fontes, e até mesmo a Scalinata di Piazza di Spagna (as escadarias da Praça de Espanha). Em 1730, o Papa Clemente XII organizou uma nova competição na qual Nicola Salvi foi derrotado, mas efetivamente terminou por realizar seu projeto. Este começou em 1732 e foi concluído em 1762, logo depois da morte de Clemente, quando o Netuno de Pietro Bracci foi afixado no nicho central da fonte.

Salvi morrera alguns anos antes, em 1751, com seu trabalho ainda pela metade, que manteve oculto por um grande biombo. A fonte foi concluída por Giuseppe Pannini, que substituiu as alegorias insossas que eram planejadas, representando Agrippa e Trivia, as virgens romanas, pelas belas esculturas de Netuno e seu séquito.

A fonte foi restaurada em 1998; as esculturas foram limpas e polidas, e a fonte foi provida de bombas para circulação da água e sua oxigenação.

A text, in english, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The fountain at the junction of three roads (tre vie) marks the terminal point of the "modern" Acqua Vergine, the revivified Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km (8 miles) from the city. (This scene is presented on the present fountain's façade.) However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km (14 miles). This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than four hundred years. The coup de grâce for the urban life of late classical Rome came when the Goth besiegers in 537/38 broke the aqueducts. Medieval Romans were reduced to drawing water from polluted wells and the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer.

The Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. In 1453, Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and built a simple basin, designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti, to herald the water's arrival.

In 1629 Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but when the Pope died, the project was abandoned. Bernini's lasting contribution was to resite the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace (so the Pope could look down and enjoy it). Though Bernini's project was torn down for Salvi's fountain, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it was built. An early, striking and influential model by Pietro da Cortona, preserved in the Albertina, Vienna, also exists, as do various early 18th century sketches, most unsigned, as well as a project attributed to Nicola Michetti, one attributed to Ferdinando Fuga and a French design by Edme Bouchardon.

Competitions had become the rage during the Baroque era to design buildings, fountains, and even the Spanish Steps. In 1730 Pope Clement XII organized a contest in which Nicola Salvi initially lost to Alessandro Galilei — but due to the outcry in Rome over the fact that a Florentine won, Salvi was awarded the commission anyway. Work began in 1732, and the fountain was completed in 1762, long after Clement's death, when Pietro Bracci's Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche.

Salvi died in 1751, with his work half-finished, but before he went he made sure a stubborn barber's unsightly sign would not spoil the ensemble, hiding it behind a sculpted vase, called by Romans the asso di coppe, "the "Ace of Cups".

The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, who substituted the present allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippa and "Trivia", the Roman virgin.

The fountain was refurbished in 1998; the stonework was scrubbed and the fountain provided with recirculating pumps.

The backdrop for the fountain is the Palazzo Poli, given a new facade with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters that link the two main stories. Taming of the waters is the theme of the gigantic scheme that tumbles forward, mixing water and rockwork, and filling the small square. Tritons guide Oceanus' shell chariot, taming seahorses (hippocamps).

In the center is superimposed a robustly modelled triumphal arch. The center niche or exedra framing Oceanus has free-standing columns for maximal light-and-shade. In the niches flanking Oceanus, Abundance spills water from her urn and Salubrity holds a cup from which a snake drinks. Above, bas reliefs illustrate the Roman origin of the aqueducts.

The tritons and horses provide symmetrical balance, with the maximum contrast in their mood and poses (by 1730, rococo was already in full bloom in France and Germany).

A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Among those who are unaware that the "three coins" of Three Coins in the Fountain were thrown by three different individuals, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. A reported current version of this legend is that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.

Approximately 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day and are collected at night. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

. . . I watched this female Baltimore Oriole through a sunroom window (hence the poor quality photo) try for 5 minutes to get a few fibers out of the ground cover plastic, for the nest building process. She would grab an endpoint fiber, and try to fly away with it, only to be jerked backwards in mid-air, as the fiber was still attached to the plastic on the other end!

Finally I went out with a scissors to aid the whole nest thing! Have a great Mother's Day weekend Facebook, Flickr, and 500px friends!

Facebook

Cape Drastis marks the north-western endpoint of Corfu

Modelo: María

Fotografía: Yo.

Edición: Yo.

Texto: Yo

Porque ella se lo merece, porque ella es genial, porque cada foto suya da unas vibraciones geniales. Porque pasar una mañana con ella, siempre se te hace demasiado corta. Porque con sus expresiones, sus gestos y personalidad hace que consigas tener un subidón en menos de 0 coma. Porque desde que la conocí me he proclamado Fan No 1 suya, porque si es genial como fotógrafa, no se imaginan como puede ser como persona, porque es algo que rebasa totalmente los límites de lo conocido.

Porque ella es simplemente genial, ella es simplemente María.

Hoy, y con permiso de mis chicas, le dedico mi Flickr a María con esta foto taaaan chula del Domingo pasado.

Una mañana con mis Flickeras favoritas que como siempre, nunca pasa desapercibida :D

CCREMM Las quiero mis chicas <3

X - X marks the spot

The phrase “X marks the spot” often refers to a specific location, target, or goal. For this theme we want to see what your doll(s) is after. Is your doll a pirate following a map to a hidden treasure chest full of gold? Is your doll vacationing in a foreign city and following his/her visitors map to popular landmarks? Perhaps your doll is an entertainer and an X has been marked on the stage floor to show him/her where to stand. Or maybe your doll is an athlete practicing archery or crossing a finish line of a race. The only requirement for this theme is that there must be a doll and a marked endpoint or desired target somewhere in your photo.

My photo: My Poppy goes for the summit from now!

However far the ‘solidification’ of the sensible world may have gone, it can never be carried so far as to turn the world into a ‘closed system’ such as is imagined by the materialists. The very nature of things sets limits to ‘solidification’, and the more nearly those limits are approached the more unstable is the corresponding state of affairs; in actual fact, as we have seen, the point corresponding to a maximum of ‘solidification’ has already been passed, and the impression that the world is a ‘closed system’ can only from now onward become more and more illusory and inadequate to the reality. ‘Fissures’ have been mentioned previously as being the paths whereby certain destructive forces are already entering, and must continue to enter ever more freely; according to traditional symbolism these ‘fissures’ occur in the ‘Great Wall’ that surrounds the world and protects it from the intrusion of malefic influences coming from the inferior subtle domain. (In the symbolism of the Hindu tradition the ‘Great Wall’ is the circular mountain Lokaloka, which divides the ‘cosmos’ (loka) from the ‘outer darkness(aloka).) In order that this symbolism may be fully understood in all its aspects, it is important to note that a wall acts both as a protection and as a limitation: in a sense therefore it can be said to have both advantages and inconveniences; but insofar as its principal purpose is to ensure an adequate defence against attacks coming from below, the advantages are incomparably the more important, for it is on the whole more useful to anyone who happens to be enclosed within its perimeter to be kept out of reach of what is below, than it is to be continuously exposed to the ravages of the enemy, or worse still to a more or less complete destruction. In any case, a walled space as such is not closed in at the top, so that communication with superior domains is not prevented, and this state of affairs is the normal one; but in the modern period the ‘shell’ with no outlet built by materialism has cut off that communication. Moreover, as already explained, because the ‘descent’ has not yet come to an end, the ‘shell’ must necessarily remain intact overhead, that is, in the direction of that from which humanity need not be protected since on the contrary only beneficient influences can come that way; the ‘fissures’ occur only at the base, and therefore in the actual protective wall itself, and the inferior forces that make their way in through them meet with a much reduced resistance because under such conditions no power of a superior order can intervene in order to oppose them effectively. Thus the world is exposed defenceless to all the attacks of its enemies, the more so because, the present-day mentality being what it is, the dangers that threaten it are wholly unperceived.

Nevertheless, although the Kali-Yuga as a whole is intrinsically a period of obscuration, so that ‘fissures’ have been possible ever since it began, the degree of obscuration pervading its later phases is far from having been attained at once, and that is why ‘fissures’ could be repaired relatively easily in earlier times; it was nonetheless necessary to maintain a constant vigilance against them, and this task was naturally among those assigned to the spiritual centers of the various traditions. Later on there came a period when, as a consequence of the extreme ‘solidification’ of the world, these same ‘fissures’ were much less to be feared, at least temporarily; this period corresponds to the first part of modern times, the part that can be defined as being characteristically mechanistic and materialistic, in which the ‘closed system’ alluded to was most nearly realized, at least to the extent that any such thing is actually possible. Nowadays, that is to say in the period which can be called the second part of modern times and which has already begun, conditions are certainly very different from the conditions obtaining in all earlier periods: not only can ‘fissures’ occur more and more extensively, and be much more serious in character, because a greater proportion of the descending course of manifestation has been accomplished, but also the possibilities of repairing them are not the same as they used to be; the action of the spiritual centers has indeed become ever more enclosed, because the superior influences that they normally transmit to our world can no longer be manifested externally, since they are held back by the ‘shell’ alluded to above; and when the whole of the human and cosmic order is in such a condition, where could a means of defence possibly be found such as might be effective in any way against the destructive forces?

***

In passing from philosophy to psychology it will be found that identical tendencies appear once again in the latter, and in the most recent schools of psychology they assume a far more dangerous aspect, for instead of taking the form of mere theoretical postulates they are given practical applications of a very disturbing character; the most ‘representative’ of these new methods, from the point of view of the present study, are those grouped under the general heading of ‘psychoanalysis’. It may be noted that, by a curious inconsistency, their handling of elements indubitably belonging to the subtle order continues to be accompanied in many psychologists by a materialistic attitude, no doubt because of their earlier training, as well as because of their present ignorance of the true nature of the elements they are bringing into play; is it not one of the strangest characteristics of modern science that it never knows exactly what the object of its studies really is, even when only the forces of the corporeal domain are in question? It goes without saying too that there is a kind of ‘laboratory psychology’, the endpoint of the process of limitation and of materialization of which the ‘philosophico-literary’ psychology of university teaching was but a less advanced stage, and now no more than a sort of accessory branch of psychology, which still continues to coexist with the new theories and methods; to this branch apply the preceding observations on the attempts that have been made to reduce psychology itself to a quantitative science.

There is certainly something more than a mere question of vocabulary in the fact, very significant in itself, that present-day psychology considers nothing but the ‘subconscious’, and never the ‘superconscious’, which ought logically to be its correlative; there is no doubt that this usage expresses the idea of an extension operating only in a downward direction, that is, toward the aspect of things that corresponds, both here in the human being and elsewhere in the cosmic environment, to the ‘fissures’ through which the most ‘malefic’ influences of the subtle world penetrate, influences having a character than can truthfully and literally be described as ‘infernal ’. (It may be noted in this connection that Freud put at the head of his The Interpretation of Dreams the following very significant epigram: Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo - If I cannot move heaven I will raise hell (Virgil ,Aeneid, vii, 312)) There are also some who adopt the term ‘unconscious’ as a synonym or equivalent of ‘subconscious’, and this term, taken literally, would seem to refer to an even lower level, but as a matter of fact it only corresponds less closely to reality; if the object of study were really unconscious it is difficult to see how it could be spoken of at all, especially in psychological terms; and besides, what good reason is there, other than mere materialistic and mechanistic prejudice, for assuming that anything unconscious really exists? However that may be, there is another thing worthy of note, and that is the strange illusion which leads psychologists to regard states as being more ‘profound’ when they are quite simply more inferior; is not this already an indication of the tendency to run counter to spirituality, which alone can be truly profound since it alone touches the principle and the very center of the being? Correspondingly, since the domain of psychology is not extended upward, the ‘superconscious’ naturally remains as strange to it and as cut off from it as ever; and when psychology happens to meet anything related to the ‘superconscious’, it tries to annex it merely by assimilating it to the ‘subconscious’. This particular procedure is almost invariably characteristic of its so-called explanations of such things as religion and mysticism, together with certain aspects of Eastern doctrine such as Yoga ; there are therefore features in this confusion of the superior with the inferior that can properly be regarded as constituting a real subversion.

It should also be noted that psychology, as well as the ‘new philosophy’, tends in its appeal to the subconscious to approach more and more closely to ‘metapsychics’; and in the same way it cannot avoid making an approach, though perhaps unwittingly (at least in the case of those of its representatives who are determined to remain materialists in spite of everything), to spiritualism and to other more or less similar things, all of which rely without doubt on the same obscure elements of a debased psychism. These same things, of which the origin and the character are more than suspect, thus appear in the guise of ‘precursory’ movements and as the allies of recent psychology, which introduces the elements in question into the contemporary purview of what is admitted to be ‘official’ science, and although it introduces them in a roundabout way (nonetheless by an easier way than that of ‘metapsychics’, the latter being still disputed in some quarters), it is very difficult to think that the part psychology is called upon to play in the present state of the world is other than one of active participation in the second phase of anti-traditional action. In this connection, the recently mentioned pretensions of ordinary psychology to annex, by forcible assimilation to the ‘subconscious’, certain things that by their very nature elude it, only belong to what may be called the ‘childish’ side of the affair, though they are fairly clearly subversive in tendency; for explanations of that sort, just like the ‘sociological’ explanations of the same things, are really of a ‘simplistic’ ingenuousness that sometimes reaches buffoonery; but in any case, that sort of thing is far less serious, so far as its real consequences are concerned, than the truly ‘satanic’ side now to be examined more closely in relation to the new psychology.

A ‘satanic’ character is revealed with particular clarity in the psychoanalytic interpretations of symbolism, or of what is held rightly or wrongly to be symbolism, this last proviso being inserted because on this point as on many others, if the details were gone into, there would be many distinctions to make and many confusions to dissipate: thus, to take only one typical example, a vision in which is expressed some ‘supra-human’ inspiration is truly symbolic, whereas an ordinary dream is not so, whatever the outward appearances may be. Psychologists of earlier schools had of course themselves often tried to explain symbolism in their own way and to bring it within the range of their own conceptions; in any such case, if symbolism is really in question at all, explanations in terms of purely human elements fail to recognize anything that is essential, as indeed they do whenever affairs of a traditional order are concerned; if on the other hand human affairs alone are really in question, then it must be a case of false symbolism, but then the very fact of calling it by that name reveals once more the same mistake about the nature of true symbolism. This applies equally to the matters to which the psychoanalysts devote their attention, but with the difference that in their case the things to be taken into consideration are not simply human, but also to a great extent ‘infra-human’; it is then that we come into the presence, not only of a debasement, but of a complete subversion; and every subversion, even if it only arises, at least in the first place, from incomprehension and ignorance (than which nothing is better adapted for exploitation to such ends), is always inherently ‘satanic’ in the true sense of the word. Besides this, the generally ignoble and repulsive character of psychoanalytical interpretations is an entirely reliable ‘mark’ in this connection; and it is particularly significant from our point of view, as has been shown elsewhere, that this very same ‘mark’ appears again in certain spiritualist manifestations— anyone who sees in this no more than a mere ‘coincidence’ must v surely have much good will, if indeed he is not completely blind. In most cases the psychoanalysts may well be quite as unconscious as are the spiritualists of what is really involved in these matters; but the former no less than the latter appear to be ‘guided’ by a subversive will making use in each case of elements that are of the same order, if not precisely identical. This subversive will, whatever may be the beings in which it is incarnated, is certainly conscious enough, at least in those beings, and it is related to intentions that are doubtless very different from any that can be suspected by people who are only the unconscious instruments whereby those intentions are translated into action.

Under such conditions, it is all too clear that resort to psychoanalysis for purposes of therapy, this being the usual reason for its employment, cannot but be extremely dangerous for those who undergo it, and even to those who apply it, for they are concerned with things that can never be handled with impunity; it would not be taking an exaggerated view to see in this one of the means specially brought into play in order to increase to the greatest possible extent the disequilibrium of the modern world and to lead it on toward final dissolution. Those who practice such methods are on the other hand without doubt convinced of the benefits afforded by the results they obtain; theirs is however the very delusion that makes the diffusion of these methods possible, and it marks the real difference subsisting between the intentions of the ‘practitioners’ and the intentions of the will that presides over the work in which the practitioners only collaborate blindly. In fact, the only effect of psychoanalysis must be to bring to the surface, by making it fully conscious, the whole content of those lower depths of the being that can properly be called the ‘subconscious’; moreover, the individual concerned is already psychologically weak by hypothesis, for if he were otherwise he would experience no need to resort to treatment of this description; he is by so much the less able to resist ‘subversion’, and he is in grave danger of foundering irremediably in the chaos of dark forces thus imprudently let loose; even if he manages in spite of everything to escape, he will at least retain throughout the rest of his life an imprint like an ineradicable ‘stain within himself.

Someone may raise an objection here, based on a supposed analogy with the ‘descent into hell’ as is met with in the preliminary phases of the initiatic journey; but any such assimilation is completely false, for the two aims have nothing in common, nor have the conditions of the ‘subject’ in the two cases; there can be no question of anything other than a profane parody, and that idea alone is enough to impart to the whole affair a somewhat disturbing suggestion of ‘counterfeit’. The truth is that this supposed ‘descent into hell’, which is not followed by any ‘re-ascent’, is quite simply a ‘fall into the mire’, as it is called according to the symbolism of some of the ancient Mysteries. It is known that this ‘mire’ was figuratively represented as the road leading to Eleusis, and that those who fell into it were profane people who claimed initiation without being qualified to receive it, and so were only the victims of their own imprudence. It may be mentioned that such ‘mires’ really exist in the macrocosmic as well as in the microcosmic order; this is directly connected with the question of the ‘outer darkness’ (the reader may be referred back to what has been said earlier about the symbolism of the ‘Great Wall’ and of the mountain Lokaloka), and certain relevant Gospel texts could be recalled, the meaning of which agrees exactly with what has just been explained. In the ‘descent into hell’ the being finally exhausts certain inferior possibilities in order to be able to rise thereafter to superior states; in the ‘fall into the mire’ on the other hand, the inferior possibilities take possession of him, dominate him, and end by submerging him completely.

There was occasion in the previous paragraph again to use the word ‘counterfeit’; the impression it conveys is greatly strengthened by some other considerations, such as the denaturing of symbolism previously mentioned, and the same kind of denaturing tends to spread to everything that contains any element of a ‘supra-human’ order, as is shown by the attitude adopted toward religion, and toward doctrines of a metaphysical and initiatic order such as Yoga. Even these last do not escape this new kind of interpretation, which is carried to such a point that some proceed to assimilate the methods of spiritual ‘realization’ to the therapeutical procedures of psychoanalysis. This is something even worse than the cruder deformations also current in the West, such as those in which the methods of Yoga are seen as a sort of ‘physical culture’ or as therapeutic methods of a purely physiological kind, for their very crudity makes such deformations less dangerous than those that appear in a more subtle guise. The subtler kind are the more dangerous not simply because they are liable to lead astray minds on which the less subtle could obtain no hold; they are certainly dangerous for that reason, but there is another reason affecting a much wider field, identical with that which has been described as making the materialistic conception less dangerous than conceptions involving recourse to an inferior psychism. Of course the purely spiritual aim, which alone constitutes the essentiality of Yoga as such, and without which the very use of the word becomes a mere absurdity, is no less completely unrecognized in the one case than in the other. Yoga is in fact no more a kind of psychic therapy than it is a kind of physiological therapy, and its methods are in no way and in no degree a treatment for people who are in any way ill or unbalanced; very far from that, they are on the contrary intended exclusively for those who must from the start and in their own natural dispositions be as perfectly balanced as possible if they are to realize the spiritual development which is the only object of the methods; but all these matters, as will readily be understood, are strictly linked up with the whole question of initiatic qualification.

But this is not yet all, for one other thing under the heading of ‘counterfeit’ is perhaps even more worthy of note than anything mentioned so far, and that is the requirement imposed on anyone who wants to practise psychoanalysis as a profession of being first ‘psychoanalyzed’ himself. This implies above all a recognition of the fact that the being who has undergone this operation is never again the same as he was before, in other words, to repeat an expression already used above, it leaves in him an ineradicable imprint, as does initiation, but as it were in an opposite sense, for what is here in question is not a spiritual development, but the development of an inferior psychism. In addition, there is an evident imitation of the initiatic transmission; but, bearing in mind the difference in the nature of the influences that intervene, and in view of the fact that the production of an effective result does not allow the practice to be regarded as nothing but a mere pretence without real significance, the psycho-analytic transmission is really more comparable to the transmission effected in a domain such as that of magic, or even more accurately that of sorcery. And there remains yet another very obscure point concerning the actual origin of the transmission: it is obviously impossible to give to anyone else what one does not possess oneself, and moreover the invention of psychoanalysis is quite recent; so from what source did the first psychoanalysts obtain the ‘powers’ that they communicate to their disciples, and by whom were they themselves ‘psychoanalyzed’ in the first place? To ask this question is only logical, at least for anyone capable of a little reflection, though it is probably highly indiscreet, and it is more than doubtful whether a satisfactory answer will ever be obtained; but even without any such answer this kind of psychic transmission reveals a truly sinister ‘mark’ in the resemblances it calls to mind: from this point of view psychoanalysis presents a rather terrifying likeness to certain ‘sacraments of the devil’.

Excerpts from:

René Guénon - The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times

Italien / Toskana - Siena

Piazza del Campo - Palazzo Comunale

Piazza del Campo is the main public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The Palazzo Pubblico and its Torre del Mangia, as well as various palazzi signorili surround the shell-shaped piazza. At the northwest edge is the Fonte Gaia.

The twice-a-year horse-race, Palio di Siena, is held around the edges of the piazza. The piazza is also the finish of the annual road cycling race Strade Bianche.

History

The open site was a marketplace established before the thirteenth century on a sloping site near the meeting point of the three hillside communities that coalesced to form Siena: the Castellare, the San Martino and the Camollia. Siena may have had earlier Etruscan settlements, but it was not a considerable Roman settlement, and the campo does not lie on the site of a Roman forum, as is sometimes suggested. It was paved in 1349 in fishbone-patterned red brick with 8 lines of travertine, which divide the piazza into 9 sections, radiating from the mouth of the gavinone (the central water drain) in front of the Palazzo Pubblico. The number of divisions is held to be symbolic of the rule of The Nine (Noveschi) who laid out the campo and governed Siena at the height of its mediaeval splendour between 1292-1355. The Campo was and remains the focal point of public life in the City. From the piazza, eleven narrow shaded streets radiate into the city.

The palazzi signorili that line the square, housing the families of the Sansedoni, the Piccolomini and the Saracini etc., have unified rooflines, in contrast to earlier tower houses — emblems of communal strife — such as may still be seen not far from Siena at San Gimignano. In the statutes of Siena, civic and architectural decorum was ordered :"...it responds to the beauty of the city of Siena and to the satisfaction of almost all people of the same city that any edifices that are to be made anew anywhere along the public thoroughfares...proceed in line with the existent buildings and one building not stand out beyond another, but they shall be disposed and arranged equally so as to be of the greatest beauty for the city."

The unity of these Late Gothic houses is affected in part by the uniformity of the bricks of which their walls are built: brick-making was a monopoly of the commune, which saw to it that standards were maintained.

At the foot of the Palazzo Pubblico's wall is the late Gothic Chapel of the Virgin built as an ex voto by the Sienese, after the terrible Black Death of 1348 had ended.

Fonte Gaia

The Fonte Gaia ("Joyous Fountain") was built in 1419 as an endpoint of the system of conduits bringing water to the city's centre, replacing an earlier fountain completed about 1342 when the water conduits were completed. Under the direction of the Committee of Nine, many miles of tunnels were constructed to bring water in aqueducts to fountains and thence to drain to the surrounding fields. The present fountain, a center of attraction for the many tourists, is in the shape of a rectangular basin that is adorned on three sides with many bas-reliefs with the Madonna surrounded by the Classical and the Christian Virtues, emblematic of Good Government under the patronage of the Madonna. The white marble Fonte Gaia was originally designed and built by Jacopo della Quercia, whose bas-reliefs from the basin's sides are conserved in the Ospedale di St. Maria della Scala in Piazza Duomo. The former sculptures were replaced in 1866 by free copies by Tito Sarrocchi, who omitted Jacopo della Quercia's two nude statues of Rhea Silvia and Acca Larentia, which the nineteenth-century city fathers found too pagan or too nude. When they were set up in 1419, Jacopo della Quercia's nude figures were the first two female nudes, who were neither Eve nor a repentant saint, to stand in a public place since Antiquity.

(Wikipedia)

Die Piazza del Campo ist der bedeutendste Platz der toskanischen Stadt Siena, deren Zentrum er bildet.

Der Platz ist bekannt durch seine beeindruckende Architektur und seine halbrunde Form sowie durch das hier normalerweise jährlich zweimal ausgetragene Pferderennen Palio di Siena.

Geschichte

Das Zentrum der bereits in der Etruskerzeit bedeutenden Stadt lag ursprünglich im Gebiet des heutigen Castelvecchio, während „der Campo“ lediglich ein Stück Land war, das dem Abfluss des Regenwassers diente. Da aber auch die an Siena vorbeiführende Fernstraße über dieses Feld verlief und sich hier mit einer anderen Straße kreuzte, entwickelte sich bald ein Marktplatz.

Der Name „Campo“ wird zum ersten Mal schriftlich 1169 erwähnt in einer Quelle, die sich mit der gesamten Talebene befasst, zu der auch die heutige Piazza del Mercato, heute auf der anderen Seite des Palazzo Comunale, gehörte. Damals erwarb die Stadt Siena das Gelände, das von der Piazza del Mercato bis zur heutigen Logge della Mercanzia reicht. Eine Unterteilung des Geländes in die heutigen zwei Plätze wird 1193 erwähnt, sodass man davon ausgehen kann, dass in der Zwischenzeit zumindest eine Mauer erbaut wurde, die den Platz in zwei Hälften teilte; möglicherweise geschah dies, um das Wasser besser ableiten zu können.

Bis ins Jahr 1270, als die Herrschaft der Vierundzwanzig (1236–1270) zu Ende ging, wurde dann der Platz für Messen und Märkte genutzt. Zwar hatte der Platz noch nicht das heutige Aussehen, er entwickelte sich aber allmählich zum zweiten Mittelpunkt der Stadt neben dem Dom; während dort religiöse Feste im Mittelpunkt standen, dominierten auf der Piazza del Campo der Handel und weltliche Feste. Da sich auch die städtische Obrigkeit immer unabhängiger vom Bischof (und später Erzbischof) machte, kam in der Zeit der Herrschaft der Neun (1289–1355) der Bedarf nach einem eigenen Rathaus auf.

Die Piazza del Campo ist einer der eindrucksvollsten kommunalen Plätze Italiens – im Gegensatz zum Markusplatz Venedigs und zur Piazza dei Miracoli Pisas ist dies ein Platz ohne Kirche, also ein rein politisches Zentrum – und das zeigt sich auch in der Kunst in den Innenräumen des Rathauses. Das Gelände ist leicht abschüssig und der Palazzo Pubblico, der öffentliche Palast, also das Rathaus steht an der tiefsten Stelle. Diese auffallend tief liegende Position im Gegensatz zu den Gepflogenheiten anderer Städte erklärt sich aus dem Bedürfnis, eine neutrale Lage zwischen den Hügeln von Siena zu wählen. Auch hier hat also das Konkurrenzdenken innerhalb der Stadt Konsequenzen gehabt. Das hatte zur Folge, dass der Turm sehr hoch werden musste, damit er trotz seiner niedrigen Lage die Stadt überragen konnte.

Mit dem Bau des Palazzo Comunale wurden dann auch die Impulse für eine architektonische Gestaltung des Platzes gegeben. In den Jahren 1327–1349 erhielt der Platz eine Pflasterung, wobei auch heute noch die Einteilung in neun Segmente an die damalige Herrschaft der Neun erinnert. Die „Skyline“ des Platzes ist allerdings nicht spontan in einem Stück entstanden. Erst mit den Jahren sorgte die Stadtverwaltung durch entsprechende Gesetze dafür, dass die Fassadengestaltung einheitlich gehandhabt wurde. So wurde etwa eine Peter- und Paul-Kirche abgerissen; heute erinnern die Gassen Vicoli di San Pietro e di San Paolo daran.

Nach 1861 wurden, wie auch an anderen Gebäuden in der Altstadt von Siena, Gebäude an der Piazza von ihren barocken Fassaden „befreit“, um dem ursprünglichen, d. h. mittelalterlichen Erscheinungsbild wieder zur Geltung zu verhelfen.

Seit ca. 2017 gehören 15 der 20 Gebäude, die den Platz begrenzen, Igor Bidilo, einem Investor aus Kasachstan.

Fonte Gaia

Auf der höheren Seite des Campo steht der Fonte Gaia, den Jacopo della Quercia von 1409 bis 1419 geschaffen hat. ‚Brunnen der Freude’ heißt er, weil es 1342 zum ersten Mal gelungen war, mithilfe einer 25 km langen Leitung Wasser in die Stadt fließen zu lassen. Der ewige Wassermangel war in der Bergstadt Siena ein großes Problem – besonders in den Sommermonaten. Stilistisch hat della Quercia in den Figuren dieses Brunnens etwas Ähnliches erreicht wie die Sieneser Malerei, nämlich einen Ausgleich zwischen der klassischen Tradition und gotischem Schwung.

Die Figuren des Brunnens sind zwar seit 1858 durch Nachbildungen von Tito Sarrocchi ersetzt, aber trotzdem haben wir hier ein wichtiges Dokument für die Entwicklung der frühen Renaissance-Plastik vor uns. Zur damaligen Zeit, 1409, hatte man angefangen, sich zunehmend für die antike Vergangenheit zu interessieren und dabei natürlich besonders für die Geschichte Roms. Jacopo della Quercia war von der Stadt Siena deshalb beauftragt worden, in diesem Brunnen die angebliche römische Abstammung der Stadt als Gründung der Söhne des Remus und ihre darauf beruhenden Tugenden zu dokumentieren. Die Originalteile des Brunnens sind heute im Museum von Santa Maria della Scala im Raum Fienile zu betrachten.

Gebäude

Palazzo Comunale

Mit dem Bau des Gebäudes der Stadtverwaltung wurde 1297 begonnen. Ursprünglich hatte der Palazzo lediglich drei Stockwerke; später erfolgten weitere Anbauten. Vor allem aber kam im Laufe des 14. Jahrhunderts mit dem Torre del Mangia der 102 Meter hohe Turm hinzu, der das Stadtbild von Siena prägt. Der Name leitet sich von dem Spitznamen Mangiaguadagni (Gewinnfresser) des ersten Glöckners ab.

Cappella di Piazza

Vor dem Eingang zum Palazzo Pubblico wurde als Dank für die überstandene Pest 1352 – also noch in der Gotik – eine kleine Kapelle, die Cappella di Piazza, die Platzkapelle errichtet, die über 100 Jahre später (1463) mit einer Renaissance-Dekoration ihre heutige Gestalt erhielt. Beides passt aber so gut zusammen, als sei es gleichzeitig geschaffen worden. Die Dachkonstruktion stammt von Antonio Federighi und entstand in den 1460er Jahren. Die nordeuropäische Gotik wurde in Italien im 13. und besonders im 14. Jh. in stark veränderter und der italienischen Tradition angepassten Form übernommen. Und später konnte im 15. Jh. die Renaissance auf jahrhundertelange vorbereitende Phasen aufbauen. Beides widersprach sich hier in Italien nicht so wie in Frankreich oder Deutschland. Hier an dieser Kapelle ist in der Gotik also locker der alte Rundbogen verwandt worden und nicht der eigentlich typische gotische Spitzbogen. Und als in der Renaissance der Rundbogen wieder zur Norm wurde, musste hier auch gar nichts geändert werden.

Das Pferderennen

Auf dem Platz wird zweimal im Jahr, am 2. Juli und am 16. August, ein Pferderennen („Palio di Siena“) ausgetragen.

(Wikipedia)

There was no formal international agreement on special delivery services between Canada and the United States until 1923. Prior to this date a variety of uses can be found. In this earlier period, special delivery stamps were commonly accepted by both countries on a reciprocal bases. This example with the US 10 cent "Special Delivery" stamp was mailed at Vancouver for Sacramento, California on - 13 May 1908.

US stamp Special Delivery (#E6) - Cycling Messenger (1902) 10¢ - by 1902, that sprinting express delivery mail carrier must have been getting very tired, so, maybe out of sympathy, the U.S. Post Office Department gave him a bicycle to use! Special delivery stamps indicated that the person had paid an extra fee to make sure that once the mail arrived at the post office, it would be immediately delivered to the addressee between 7am and midnight. United States Special Delivery stamps always begin with the letter "E".

To December 31, 1923 - If special delivery service was required for a letter addressed to the United States, the letter had to be franked with a U.S. 10 cent special delivery stamp or 10 cents U.S. postage in addition to the Canadian postage.

January 1, 1924 - Special delivery service to the United States could now be provided with Canadian stamps. The fee was 20 cents.

Vancouver, Canada to Sacramento, California, USA - 13 May 1908 / 17 May 1908

U.S. special delivery stamp (10 cent) affixed and cancelled at Vancouver, B.C. on 13 May 1908. Special Delivery service was provided at Sacramento, California.

- sent from - / VANCOUVER, B.C. / MAY 13 / 1908 / - machine cancel

- via - / PORT. & SAN FRAN. R.P.O. / TR 11 / MAY / 15 / 1908 / N.D. / RMS / - rpo duplex transit backstamp (Portland & San Francisco)

S.D. = Southern Division

N.D. = Northern Division

in 1903 the dividing line was in Ashland, Oregon

RMS = Railway Mail Service

PTS = Postal Transportation Service

George B. Armstrong, the assistant postmaster of Chicago, next took up the idea, and a mail sorting car went into service Aug. 28, 1864, on the Chicago and North Western Railway on the run from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa. Using the technology of the day, railway mail service became the quickest way to deliver a letter from point A to point B. The popularity of the service grew rapidly, and in less than 10 years, 57 railroads were operating mail cars over more than 15,000 miles of track in the United States. The service peaked in 1915, with railways operating more than 1,700 railway mail service routes with more than 20,000 clerks on about 4,000 cars operating over more than 216,000 miles of track. Typical railway mail service duplex cancelers used in the United States had the route endpoints, or an abbreviation for them, at the top of the postmark, the letters "R.P.O." for "railway post office" at the bottom of the postmark and the letters "RMS" for "Railway Mail Service" between the bars of the killer part of the marking. On Nov. 1, 1949, the name of the Railway Mail Service was changed to Postal Transportation Service. New cancelers supplied after that date had "PTS" between the killer bars, but "RMS" cancelers remained in use after the name change.

Mail moved by rail fell into three classifications.

(1) - Closed-pouch mail was sorted and postmarked at a post office and shipped as freight. It was not processed by the RPO.

(2) - Initial-terminal mail delivered to the RPO at the beginning point of the line was sorted and postmarked en route by the RPO. Processed mail was bagged and off-loaded at the appropriate stations along the line or passed on at the end of the run for forwarding.

(3) - Between-terminals mail was picked up at stations after the train began its run. This mail was sorted, postmarked, and if appropriate, off-loaded while the train was en route. At stations where the train did not stop, mail pouches were hooked at speed from small cranes. On some trains, passengers could mail letters or postcards by dropping them through a special slot in the mail car.

After the high-water mark of 1915, the Railway Mail Service began to decline. Mail cars were usually attached to passenger trains. As railway passenger volume declined, railroads terminated mail service on less-traveled lines. In 1942, there were still about 1,000 railway mail routes. On April 30, 1971, seven of the last eight railway mail routes were terminated. The last remaining railway post office, a high-speed mail-only train between New York City and Washington, D.C., made its last run June 30, 1977. LINK to the complete article - www.linns.com/news/postal-updates-page/stamp-collecting-b...

Addressed to: Mrs. E.L. Ransdall (Personal) / care - Mr. Bert. Wright / 717 L. Street / Sacramento, California

Note: 717 L. Street in Sacramento was a lodging house / rooming house with several rooms (14 rooms). It was built in the 1880's. In July of 1908 it was purchased by Mrs. Regan. LINKS - www.newspapers.com/clip/119945516/717-l-street/ and www.newspapers.com/clip/119945489/717-l-street/

- arrived at - / SACRAMENTO, CAL. / MAY 17 / 7 AM / 1908 / REC'D . / - cds arrival backstamp

This cover has a - MT. HOOD HOTEL / CHARLES A. BELL, Proprietor / HOOD RIVER, OREGON - corner card (lined out)

The original Mt. Hood Hotel dates back to 1888 the year the town of Hood River was founded. Strategically adjacent to the railroad depot, the hotel formed the social center of Hood River. It was where explorers and settlers alike gathered together to discuss business, eat, drink, and rest. As word spread throughout the country of the region’s successful fruit industry and scenic beauty, the town began to flourish. Finally in 1912, the Mt. Hood Hotel expanded with an Annex which is now today’s Hood River Hotel. LINK to the complete article with excellent photos - hoodriverhotel.com/history/

Charles Alonzo Bell

(b. 28 April 1860 in Taymouth, New Brunswick, Canada - d. 15 April 1925 at age 64 in Hood River, Oregon, USA)

CHARLES A. BELL - No citizen of the Hood River Valley was more widely or more favorably known than was the late Charles A. Bell, who attained a large measure of success in his operation of the Mt. Hood Hotel, at Hood River. A man of initiative ability, progressive ideas and sound business methods, he was also big hearted and generous, his kindly disposition and cordial manner winning for him a warm place in the hearts of all who knew him. Mr. Bell was born at Taymouth, New Brunswick, Canada, in 1860, and was a son of George and Jane (Norman) Bell, both of whom died in that country. Mr. Bell was educated in the public schools of his native town and followed the logging business in Canada until 1878, when he came to the United States, locating near Duluth, Minnesota. He followed the same line of work in that vicinity until 1886, when he was sent to Idaho by the North Powder Lumber Company to break a big log jam in a river, which he successfully accomplished. He was an expert river man and logger and was highly regarded by the companies for which he worked. In 1890 he came to Hood River with the Oregon Lumber Company, being in charge of a large train of oxen and camp equipment, and during the following years, as foreman of the logging camp, he logged off several thousand acres of timber on and around Mt. Hood, as well as across the river in Skamania county, Washington. About 1893 Mr. Bell bought the Mt. Hood Hotel, in Hood River, which he ran until 1901, when he sold it to C. L. Gilbert and returned to the Oregon Lumber Company as camp foreman. He remained with that concern until 1907, when he again bought the Mt. Hood Hotel, running it as it was until 1912, when he made extensive improvements, building a fine annex of forty rooms, the new part being of brick and modern in every respect. The hotel now contains eighty-five rooms and is well equipped for the proper accommodation of its guests. Mr. Bell continued to give his close attention to the operation of the hotel up to the time of his death, which occurred April 15, 1925, and he was more than ordinarily successful in its management.

Mr. Bell was married in 1889, at Pendleton, Oregon, to Miss Roselle Young, who was born at Taymouth, New Brunswick, Canada, and who died in 1896, leaving a son, Fred H., who was educated in the grade and high schools of Hood River and Hill Military Academy at Portland. When the United States entered the World war he enlisted for service in the artillery of the Forty-first Division, of Idaho Volunteers, was sent overseas in 1917 and served in France until the close of the war, after which he spent six months with the Army of Occupation in Germany. He is a member of Hood River post of the American Legion of which he was commander in 1921, as well as the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias at Hood River. On November 19, 1907, Mr. Bell was married to Miss Ola M. Stryker, who was born in Brownsville, Linn county, Oregon, and is a daughter of Dr. David S. and Celia M. Stryker. Her father, who had received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Scudder Medical College, at Cincinnati, Ohio, came to Oregon in 1862, making the journey across the plains with ox teams and covered wagon, and wintered at Boise, Idaho. He brought with him mining machinery and the equipment for a gristmill, all of which he sold in Boise, and in 1864 came on to Linn county, Oregon. Locating first at Brownsville, he practiced medicine there for several years and in 1871 located at Dayton, Washington, being there during the Indian troubles. Later he moved to Portland, Oregon, where he continued the practice of his profession to the time of his death, which occurred in 1899. His wife passed away in 1883. To them were born six children, as follows: Dr. Stanton, who was a prominent physician in Portland, was accidentally killed while climbing Mt. Hood, July 17, 1927; Mrs. Ola M. Bell; Dr. George, who lives in California; Guy, of Portland, Oregon; Ray, who is a practicing dentist in Los Angeles, California, and Mrs. George Wissinger, of Milwaukie, Oregon. All of these children were educated in Willamette University, at Salem. Dr. Stryker was a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Since her husband's death, Mrs. Bell and her stepson, Fred H. Bell, are continuing the operation of the Mt. Hood Hotel, which ranks among the leading hotels of this part of the state and has become a favorite stopping place for the many tourists who annually visit this section of the country. LINK - genealogytrails.com/ore/hood river/bios.html