View allAll Photos Tagged individualization
On the right corner the artist carved a scene of mourning. The boy, now shown larger, has died, and is lying dead on the floor, lamented by a Cupid with an inverted torch. Next to him is one of the Parcae, Atropos, reading from the scroll of his fate, while Hermes, represented as Psychopompos, leads away the soul, freed from the body but still resisting in fear. Psyche, previously depicted as a butterfly, is now depicted in the shape of a girl with butterfly wings. The figure between Athena and the mourning Cupid could be the mother of the dead child. She is turned to face the observer, and perhaps has individualized features.
On the upper part of the scene, Selene closes the narration by driving her chariot beyond the horizon line.
Source, Zanker P. e Wwald B.C., “Vivere con I Miti – L’iconografia dei sarcophagi romani”
Reference for detailed Italian information:
Pentelic marble sarcophagus
Late 3rd early 4th century AD
From
Rome, Musei Capitolini
Palazzo Nuovo, Sala delle Colombe, Inv. No. 0329
Francisco de Zurbarán, Fuente de Cantos 1598 - Madrid 1664
Hl. Casilda von Toledo - St. Casilda of Toledo (ca. 1630 - 35)
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Images of saints depicted alone, holding their attributes and looking out of the picture space were among the most popular compositions within Zurbarán’s output, and he approached this motif in a unique manner. The fact that there is evidence that the artist sent several series of images of female martyr saints to South America is proof of their popularity. In 1647 the artist was paid for twenty-four virgin saints for the monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación in Ciudad de los Reyes, Perú, while in 1649 he sent another fifteen to Buenos Aires. Saint Casilda has been identified in some publications as Saint Elizabeth of Hungary as both of these saints have roses as their traditional attribute. The absence of a crown on her head, typically found in depictions of Elizabeth, led Jonathan Brown to identify this saint as Casilda, who here wears a gold and pearl headband.
Daughter of an Arab king, Casilda was martyred in 1087. She had left the Islamic faith and converted to Christianity, taking food to her father’s Christian prisoners. Surprised by her father during one of these risky visits, a miracle occurred and the food hidden about her body was transformed into roses, the traditional attribute of this saint.
Richly dressed both with regard to her jewellery and costly, jewel-embroidered gown, the saint is modelled with a strong light that emphasises her monumental stature and highlights the strong colours of her clothes against a simple, graduated background. Zurbarán paid particular emphasis to the textures of her clothes and to the gold embroidery and jewellery. The notably individualized features of some of these martyr saints has led to the formulation of the concept of the “retrato a lo divino”, in which these saints would be portraits of real women, depicted with holy attributes.
Source and more information:
www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/zurbaran/saint...
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
Known in earlier literature as the "The Philosopher” or the "Old Man of Delphi", this statue, a characteristic example of representational art in early Hellenistic times, is one of the best-preserved statues to be unearthed in the sanctuary excavations. Dressed in a loose himation that leaves his right shoulder and chest bare, the figure stands firmly on both feet, his legs in a relaxed position. His feet are shod in sandals with narrow straps. His gaze follows the forward motion of his right hand and extended foot as though he were addressing an interlocutor or audience. His features are individualized. His massive, exaggeratedly round head with its high, protruding brow, sparse hair, sunken eyes beneath arched eyebrows, and the mouth partially hidden by a moustache that merges with the unruly curls of his beard all create a physiognomy with unique personal characteristics — a portrait, in other words.
The old man of Delphi's decisive gesture and contemplative gaze disclose his character and personality. It is obvious that this is not some random figure, but a noble, complex mature man, which explains why he was arbitrarily described a philosopher in the absence of any indication to that effect. In all probability, he was some venerable priest.
Source: Rosina Colonia, “The Archaeological Museum of Delphi”
Marble votive statue
Early Hellenistic period
Ca. 270 BC
Delphi, Archaeological Museum
I'll be writing up one of my tiny True Stories about this in just a few minutes, so please come back in a while if you want to see it. I did it!
For Dave C. and other Flickr friends, the *soul of this one will be apparent in a short while when I write up the Tiny True Story.
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**ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES with COVID19 SHOT**
I was scheduled to have my first dose of COVID19 vaccination today (April 17, 2021). Last night before I set any alarm clocks to be sure to wake up in time, I discovered that I had written down a little bit about my appointment, but not the time. I was prepared just to show up at 8 a.m. today in case it was early this morning. I thought if I waited to call them first thing, the lines might be very busy (last week I waited over 40 minutes) and by the time I got a human, they might not even be able to tell me). I looked through every scrap of paper I could find on my desk and in my bedroom, kitchen counter; you name it. I could not find the time for today's appointment. After an hour and a half of searching, I decided to give up and follow my plan just mentioned. A last minute thought was perhaps I put the information in my phone pouch (which I carry nearly all the time since I fell years ago, could not get up, and had 4 chickens and a Hungarian Vizsla large puppy pouncing on me). My phone at that time was inside the house, ironically being charged up so it would be ready if I needed it, and no human help was expected for 6 hours. I mention that story for 2 reasons, one to emphasize how my phone pouch has become a big part of my life, and two in case you like my stories. Back to today's appointment for the COVID19 Vaccine.
The note with the time for today's appointment was in my phone pouch! Not only the time, but I had forgotten that they gave me a ID number. It was there too. So I was all set. I set several alarms and was ready to go this morning. I had gas in my truck and no conflicting things to do.
I got to Autzen Stadium this morning, almost exactly on time. All the little white pointed-roof tents looked almost Disneyland-like, clean and cute as could be. There were a lot more people there than I thought there would be, but that was fine. There were lots of parking control people actively helping out with what looked like a very orderly flow of people in their cars. Someone told me to choose the shortest line. With his mask on and his hurried speech, it sounded a lot like Oooze the ortest ine. I chose Line 9 you can see in my photo. I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. I got up to where they are almost ready to give your shot, and they had more papers to fill out. I did, but left part blank about if I had had a flu shot within the last 2 weeks. It seemed to me that I had a flu shot (but I wasn't positive if it was flu, and I wasn't positive if it was less than 2 weeks or more like 3 or 4). I remembered that I had something in my left upper arm (toward shoulder) that was sore up until as little as a week ago. That soreness was my reason for choosing to have the COVID19 thing in my right arm. I had dressed appropriately for them to get to my upper right arm. I had even checked last week if I would be able to get out of the driver's seat enough for them to get my right arm. They had said yes.
They were leery about giving me the vaccine today because I wasn't sure about the flu shot timing, or if it even was a flu shot. They also asked about blood thinners. I said yes. They said they didn't matter. I didn't know why they even asked if it didn't matter, but I was being calm and patient as I could be. This was all at the little table where I theoretically would be given my shot. They were concerned about the flu shot during the last 2 weeks. They asked me to pull ahead and to the side a bit. I did. Then they asked me to pull over even more to the side. I did. I said I would call my doctor's office to figure out what I actually had and when. Then I realized my doctor's office would not be open on Saturday. I did reach an answering service and was reluctant to say it was an emergency; I supposed I could have gone on home, but I really didn't want to give up at that point. I told the answering service that it was not technically an emergency, but there were hundreds of people wanting their vaccine that day, and I had pulled to the side in front of all of them. The nurse would not give me the vaccine until I got it clarified. The answering service said they understood the importance of my call and that if I didn't hear from someone within 10 minutes to call him back. While I was waiting, yet a different parking attendant came from probably 35 yards away and said I needed to move again. I could not understand his directions very well, but tried to comply. That was my third time to move ahead of and to the side of the crowd of people in all of the lines. Some of them probably wondered who I was and why I kept moving forward further and further away from the little table under the tent with the nurses and the shots. I told myself I don't care what they think. But I did care a little bit. I got a call back, and it was a nurse triage person, who was very nice and said I had not had a flu shot. Not one person scolded me about it not being a real emergency. I wasn't sure how to back up to the little table under the tent that I had left 3 times, and tell them, and actually get my shot. I was pondering that, when here came, walking in all the gravel, the nurse that had very kindly told me that she couldn't give me the shot until we cleared up about other shots. She was nice as pie, had the shot with her, and gave it to me. I think her first name began with *C* and her last name was Moulton. I'm pretty sure she was an RN. All the staff were really nice, but she was the best, and the one I caught her name. I then had to go to a observation area for 15 minutes. That was fine! So my 9:45 appointment ended at more like 10:35 and I'm sure a number of people that were in line behind me and observed all the 3 moves separating me from the flock completely, and getting special individualized vaccination way out in the parking lot, wondered why? Well, they can wonder. I KNOW WHY!
THE END
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"DSCN7747COVID19VaccinationAutzenMinorTuBigInitFlickr041721"
YES!!
SEATTLE WORKSHOP!!! MAY 1ST!!! AND AMANDA'S COMING WITH ME!!!
I’ll be teaching two 4-hour workshops, from 10am-2pm and 3pm-7pm.
They will cover:
Perfecting Your Vision
-how to hone in and identify your visual language. then craft an individualized style.
How the Tools Shape the Shots
-looking at how different cameras lead to very different results, and how they influence one’s work.
Interacting with Models
-investigating the ways in which to best engage with people, be they professionals or perfect strangers.
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I will explain my techniques, my core interests as a photographer, how specific cameras force me to work differently, how and why I engage with subjects and how I achieve the effects I do with my work.
In addition there will be hands-on shooting and tutoring, we’ll have ourselves some models to work with, it’s like a party but with less booze and more photos and fewer party fouls.
AGAIN, ONE OF THOSE MODELS WILL BE AMANDA!!!!
please contact me direct via EMAIL!!!!!!!
The terracotta soldier sculptures (兵馬俑) of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's funerary army date to around 210 BC. Only a few of these 2,200 year old terracotta soldier/warriors have been removed from the archeological pits and are on display in the adjacent Qinshihuang Mausoleum Museum (Museum of the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qinshihuang).
Roughly 8,000 terracotta soldiers have been discovered as of 2017. The figures are life-sized and have individualized faces. They were originally painted. The terracotta army was intended to be the symbolic protector of the Emperor's mausoleum/tomb.
Xian; September 2004
Gold pendant in the form of an engrailed hexagon. In the center of the pendant is a double solidus (type of coin) of Constantine the Great, his bust facing left, wearing a radiate diadem, military garb (cuirass - leather torso armor - and paludamentum - military cloak), with his right hand raised in blessing. His left hand is held lower and holding his orb of office. In each angle of the hexagon is a bust in high relief, each in its own tondo. Moving clockwise from top left, a female bust with an elaborate coiffure, looking right; a female bust looking to the left; a bearded male looking to the left; a female bust looking to the left; a bust of Attis wearing a Phrygian cap looking to the right; and a female bust looking to the right. Each bust is enclosed in a tondo, framed by a circlet of beaded gold wire and a plain collar of gold sheet. The nterstices between the busts are decorated in opus interrasile, the design comprising a heart-shaped motif in plain reserved gold from which emanate two vegetal scrolls which in turn form a larger open-work heart; running scroll tendrils fill the spaces between the collars and inner and outer borders; the scroll tendril design is less skilfully replicated on the suspension loop.
Coin-set jewellery was popular during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods. This pendant is one of four or five from the same necklace and is set with a double solidus of Constantine I (306-337) specially minted at Sirmium (present-day Sremska Mitrovica, in Serbia) in 321 CE.
The beautifully carved heads surrounding the coin are highly individualized, almost portraits. They probably represent mythological figures. Pierced work, opus interrasile, was a technique commonly used in jewellery of the period.
Late Roman, 321 CE, minted in historic Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), Serbia, Balkans.
British Museum, London (1984,0501.1)
Snapshot: an honest moment caught: in the act of creation. When painting or drawing, I am swept up in a whole other world. As I said to one journalist: “When creating, I found at some moments I flew out of myself, becoming purely a channel for inspiration: there was an almost total loss of self-consciousness.
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Spirituality is not to be found in the bricks of churches or at the end of one’s kneeling knees. It is not to be found in the pile of unintelligible New-Age bilge or in off-key Hymn singing. It is not to be found in the Bible or in the so-called sacred text of Islam or in the spouting of pious platitudes on street corners. It is not in the act of giving spare change to a bum or yearly donations to ‘save the planet’ crusades. It is religion that has pre-empted the word ‘spiritual’ making it very difficult to communicate this phenomenon in solely secular terms. Spirituality is to be found at the center of a truly individualized person. It is to be found in love and art—in the act of truly loving someone---and in the act of creating or enjoying a work of art, a work that makes you feel alive. It is love and the act of creation that is united in passion and devotion. This is the human potential at its peek. Love and art: This is where you’ll find spiritually.
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The following text, in english, is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the Mustelidae, or weasel family, a globally successful group of predators. Unusually for a mustelid, the Giant Otter is a social species, with family groups typically supporting three to eight members. The groups are centered on a dominant breeding pair and are extremely cohesive and cooperative. Although generally peaceful, the species is territorial and aggression has been observed between groups. The Giant Otter is diurnal, being active exclusively during daylight hours. It is the noisiest otter species and distinct vocalizations have been documented that indicate alarm, aggressiveness, and reassurance. The Giant Otter ranges across north-central South America.
Its distribution has been greatly reduced and is now discontinuous. Decades of poaching for its velvety pelt, peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, hugely diminished population numbers. The species was listed as endangered in 1999 and population estimates are typically below 5,000 in the wild. The Guianas are the last real stronghold for the species. It is the most endangered mammal in the neo-tropics. Habitat degradation and loss is the greatest current threat. The Giant Otter is also rare in captivity: as of 2003, only 60 animals were held.[3]
The Giant Otter shows a variety of adaptations suitable to an amphibious lifestyle, including exceptionally dense fur, a wing-like tail, and webbed feet. The species prefers freshwater rivers and streams, which are usually seasonally flooded, and may also take to freshwater lakes and springs. It constructs extensive campsites close to feeding areas, clearing large amounts of vegetation. The Giant Otter largely subsists on a diet of fish, particularly characins and catfish, and may also eat crabs. It has no serious natural predators other than humans, although it must compete with other species, including the Neotropical Otter and caiman species, for food resources.
Naming:
The Giant Otter has a handful of other names in English. River Wolf (Spanish: Lobo del Río) and Water Dog (Spanish: Perro del Agua) are used occasionally. The last of these may have been more common in the reports of explorers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[4] All three names are in use in Spanish and Portuguese, with a number of regional variations. "Giant Otter" translates as Nutria Gigante and Lontra Gigante in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively; a fourth name, Ariraí or Ariranha is also in use in South America.[5] Among the Achuar people, they are known as Wankanim,[6] and among the Sanumá as Hadami.[7][8] The genus name, Pteronura, is derived from the Ancient Greek words pteron/πτερον 'feather' or 'wing' and ura/ουρά 'tail',[9] a reference to its distinctive wing-like tail.[10]
Taxonomy and evolution:
The otters form the Lutrinae subfamily within the mustelids and the Giant Otter is the only member of the genus Pteronura. Two subspecies are currently recognized by the canonical Mammal Species of the World, P. b. brasiliensis and P. b. paraguensis. Incorrect descriptions of the species have led to multiple synonyms (the latter subspecies is often P. b. paranensis in the literature).[1] P. b. brasiliensis is distributed across the north of the Giant Otter range, including the Orinoco, Amazon, and Guianas river systems; to the south, P. b. paraguensis has been suggested in Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina,[5] although it may be extinct in the last three of these four. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) considers the species' presence in Argentina and Uruguay uncertain.[2] In the former, investigation has shown thinly distributed population remnants.[11] P. b. paraguensis is supposedly smaller and more gregarious, with different dentition and skull morphology. Carter and Rosas, however, rejected the subspecific division in 1997, noting that the classification had only been validated once, in 1968, and that the P. b. paraguensis type specimen was very similar to P. b. brasiliensis.[12] Biologist Nicole Duplaix calls the division of "doubtful value."[13]
An extinct genus, Satherium, is believed to be ancestral to the present species, having migrated to the New World during the Pliocene or early Pleistocene.[10] The Giant Otter shares the South American continent with three of the four members of the Lontra genus of otters: the Neotropical River Otter, the Southern River Otter, and the Marine Otter.[14] It seems to have evolved independently of Lontra in South America, despite the overlap. The Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) of Asia may be its closest extant relative: similar behaviour, vocalizations, and skull morphology have been noted.[10] Both species also show strong pair bonding and paternal engagement in rearing cubs.[15]
Phylogenetic analysis by Koepfli and Wayne in 1998 found that the Giant Otter has the highest divergence sequences within the otter subfamily, forming a distinct clade that split away 10 to 14 million years ago. They noted that the species may be the basal divergence among the otters or fall outside of them altogether, having split even before other mustelids, such as the Ermine, Polecat, and Mink.[10] Later gene sequencing research on the mustelids, from 2005, places the divergence of the Giant Otter somewhat later, between 5 and 11 million years ago; the corresponding phylogenetic tree locates the Lontra divergence first amongst otter genera, and Pteronura second, although divergence ranges overlap.[16]
Biology and behaviour:
The Giant Otter is large, gregarious, and diurnal (active through the day). Early travellers' reports describe noisy groups surrounding explorers' boats but little scientific information was available on the species until Duplaix's groundbreaking work in the late 1970s.[17] Concern over this endangered species has since generated a corpus of research.
Physical characteristics:
The Giant Otter is clearly distinguished from other otters by morphological and behavioural characteristics. It has the greatest body length of any species in the mustelid family, although the Sea Otter may be heavier. Males are between 1.5 and 1.8 meters (4.9–5.9 feet) in length and females between 1.5 and 1.7 m (4.9–5.6 ft). The animal's well-muscled tail can account for as much as 69 centimeters (27 in) of total body length.[18] Early reports of skins and living animals suggested exceptionally large males of up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft); intensive hunting likely reduced the occurrence of such massive specimens. Weights are between 32 and 45.3 kilograms (70–100 pounds) for males and 22 and 26 kg (48–57 lbs) for females.[19]
The Giant Otter has the shortest fur of all otter species; it is typically chocolate brown but may be reddish or fawn, and appears nearly black when wet.[19] The fur is extremely dense, so much so that water cannot penetrate to the skin.[20] Guard hairs trap water and keep the inner fur dry; the guard hairs are approximately 8 millimeters (one third of an inch) in length, about twice as long as the fur of the inner coat.[21] Its velvety feel makes the animal highly sought after by fur traders and has contributed to its decline.[22] Unique markings of white or cream fur color the throat and under the chin, allowing individuals to be identified from birth.[19]
Giant Otter muzzles are short and sloping and give the head a ball-shaped appearance.[13] The ears are small and rounded.[20] The nose (or rhinarium) is completely covered in fur, with only the two slit-like nostrils visible. The Giant Otter's highly sensitive whiskers (vibrissae) allow the animal to track changes in water pressure and currents, which aids in detecting prey.[23] The legs are short and stubby and end in large webbed feet tipped with sharp claws. Well suited for an aquatic life, it can close its ears and nose while underwater.[24]
As of Carter and Rosas' writing, vision had not been directly studied but field observations show that the animal primarily hunts by sight; above water, it is able to recognize observers at great distances. The fact that it is exclusively active during the day further suggests its eyesight should be strong, to aid in hunting and predator avoidance. In other otter species vision is generally normal or slightly myopic, both on land and in water. The Giant Otter's hearing is acute and its sense of smell excellent.[25][19]
Vocalizations:
The Giant Otter is an especially noisy animal, with a complex repertoire of vocalizations. All otters produce vocalizations, but by frequency and volume, the Giant Otter may be the most vocal.[26] Duplaix identified nine distinct sounds, with further subdivisions possible, depending on context. Quick HAH! barks or explosive snorts suggest immediate interest and possible danger. A wavering scream may be used in bluff charges against intruders, while a low growl is used for aggressive warning. Hums and coos are more reassuring within the group. Whistles may be used as advance warning of non-hostile intent between groups, although evidence is limited. Newborn cubs squeak to elicit attention, while older young whine and wail when they begin to participate in group activities.[27]
Social structure:
The Giant Otter is a highly social animal and lives in extended family groups. Group sizes are anywhere from two to twenty members but likely average between three and eight.[5] (Larger figures may reflect two or three family groups temporarily feeding together.)[28] The groups are strongly cohesive: the otters sleep, play, travel, and feed together.
Group members share roles, structured around the dominant breeding pair. The species is territorial, with groups marking their ranges with latrines, gland secretions, and vocalizations.[29] At least one case of a change in alpha relationship has been reported, with a new male taking over the role; the mechanics of the transition were not determined.[30] Duplaix suggests a division between residents, who are established within groups and territories, and nomadic and solitary transients; the categories do not seem rigid, and both may be a normal part of the Giant Otter life cycle.[31] One tentative theory for the development of sociality in mustelids is that locally abundant but unpredictably dispersed prey causes groups to form.[32]
Aggression within the species ("intraspecific" conflict) has been documented. Defense against intruding animals appears to be cooperative: while adult males typically lead in aggressive encounters, cases of alpha females guarding groups have been reported.[30] One fight was directly observed in the Brazilian Pantanal in which three animals violently engaged a single individual near a range boundary.[29] In another instance in Brazil, a carcass was found with clear indications of violent assault by other otters, including bites to the snout and genitals, an attack pattern similar to that exhibited by captive animals.[33] While not rare amongst large predators in general, intraspecific aggression is uncommon amongst otter species; Ribas and Mourão suggest a correlation to the animal's sociability, which is also rare amongst other otters.[29] A capacity for aggressive behaviour should not be overstated with the Giant Otter. Researchers emphasize that even between groups, conflict avoidance is generally adopted.[34][35] Within groups, the animals are extremely peaceful and cooperative. Group hierarchies are not rigid and the animals easily share roles.[36]
Reproduction and life cycle:
Details of Giant Otter reproduction and life cycle are scarce, and captive animals have provided much of the information. Females appear to give birth year round, although in the wild births may peak during the dry season. The estrous cycle is 21 days, with females receptive to sexual advances between 3 and 10 days.[37] Study of captive specimens has found that only males initiate copulation.[3] At Tierpark Hagenbeck in Germany, long-term pair bonding and individualized mate selection were seen, with copulation most frequently taking place in water.[38] Females have a gestation period of 65 to 70 days, giving birth to one to five pups, with an average of two.[38][37] Research over five years on a breeding pair at the Cali Zoo in Colombia found that the average interval between litters was six to seven months, but as short as 77 days when the previous litter did not survive.[3] Other sources have found greater intervals, with as long as 21 to 33 months suggested for the wild.[37]
Mothers give birth to furred and blind cubs in an underground den near to the river shore and fishing sites.[39] Males actively participate in rearing cubs and family cohesion is strong;[40] older, juvenile siblings also participate in rearing, although in the weeks immediately after birth they may temporarily leave the group.[37] Cubs open their eyes in their fourth week, begin walking in their fifth, and are able to swim confidently between 12 and 14 weeks.[3] They are weaned by nine months and begin hunting successfully soon after.[37] The animal reaches sexual maturity at about two years of age and both male and female cubs leave the group permanently after two to three years.[38][37] They then search for new territory to begin a family of their own.[41]
The Giant Otter is very sensitive to human activity when rearing its young. No institution, for example, has successfully raised Giant Otter cubs unless parents were provided sufficient privacy measures; the stress caused by human visual and acoustic interference can lead to neglect, abuse and infanticide, as well as decreased lactation. In the wild, it has been suggested, although not systematically confirmed, that tourists cause similar stresses: disrupted lactation and denning, reduced hunting, and habitat abandonment are all risks.[41] This sensitivity is matched by a strong protectiveness towards the young. All group members may aggressively charge intruders, including boats with humans in them.[42]
The longest documented Giant Otter lifespan in the wild is eight years. In captivity this may increase to 17, with an unconfirmed record of 19. The animal is susceptible to a variety of diseases, including the canine parvovirus. Parasites, such as the larvae of flies and a variety of intestinal worms, also afflict the Giant Otter.[41] Other causes of death include accidents, gastroenteritis, infanticide, and epileptic seizures.[37]
Hunting and diet:
The Giant Otter is an apex predator and its population status reflects the overall health of riverine ecosystems.[43] It feeds mainly on fish, including cichlids, characins (such as piranha), catfish, and perch. One full year study of Giant Otter scats in Amazonian Brazil found fish present in all fecal samples. Fish from the order Perciformes, particularly cichlids, were seen in 97% of scats, and Characiformes, such as characins, in 86%. Fish remains were of medium-sized species that seem to prefer relatively shallow water, to the advantage of the probably visually oriented Giant Otter. Prey species found were also sedentary, generally swimming only short distances, which may aid the Giant Otter in predation. The Giant Otter seems to be opportunistic, taking whatever species are most locally abundant.[44] If fish are unavailable it will also take crabs, snakes, and even small caimans and anacondas.[45]
The species can hunt singly, in pairs, and in groups, relying on its sharp eyesight to locate prey.[46] In some cases, supposed cooperative hunting may be incidental, a result of group members fishing individually in close proximity; truly coordinated hunting may only occur where the prey cannot be taken by a single Giant Otter, such as with anacondas and the Black Caiman.[35] The Giant Otter seems to prefer prey fish that are generally immobile on river bottoms in clear water. Prey chase is rapid and tumultuous, with lunges and twists through the shallows and few missed targets. The otter can attack from both above and below, swiveling at the last instant to clamp the prey in its jaws. Giant Otters catch their own food and consume it immediately; they grasp the fish firmly between the forepaws and begin eating noisily at the head.[46] Carter and Rosas have found that captive adult animals consume around 10% of their body weight daily—about 3 kilograms (7 lb), in keeping with findings in the wild.[47]
Habitat:
The species is amphibious, although primarily terrestrial.[48] It is found in freshwater rivers and streams, which are generally seasonally flooded. Other water habitats include freshwater springs and permanent freshwater lakes.[2] Four specific vegetation types were found on one important creek in Suriname: riverbank high forest; floodable mixed marsh and high swamp forest; floodable low marsh forest; and grass islands and floating meadows within open areas of the creek itself.[48] Duplaix identifies two critical factors in habitat selection: food abundance, which appears to positively correlate to shallow water, and low sloping banks with good cover and easy access to preferred water types. The Giant Otter seems to choose clear black waters with rocky or sandy bottoms over silty, saline, and white waters.[49]
Areas adjacent to rivers are used for the construction dens, campsites, and latrines.[50] Giant Otters clear significant amounts of vegetation in constructing their campsites. One report suggests maximum areas 28 m (92 ft) long and 15 m (49 ft) wide, well-marked by scent glands, urine, and feces to signal territory.[14] Carter and Rosas find average areas a third this size. Communal latrines are adopted adjacent to the campsites, and dens with a handful of entrances are dug, typically under root systems or fallen trees. One report found between three and eight campsites, clustered around feeding areas. In seasonally flooded areas, the Giant Otter may abandon campsites during the wet season, dispersing to flooded forests in search of prey.[51] Preferred locations may be adopted perennially, often on high ground. These can become quite extensive, including "backdoor" exits into forests and swamps, away from the water.[48] Not every site is visited or marked daily, but all are usually patrolled, often by a pair of otters in the morning.[52]
Research generally takes place in the dry season and an understanding of the species' overall habitat use remains partial. Dry season range size analysis of three otter groups in Ecuador found areas between 0.45 and 2.79 square kilometres (0.17 and 1.08 sq mi). Habitat requirements and availability were presumed to be dramatically different in the rainy season: range sizes of 1.98 to as much as 19.55 square kilometres (0.76 to 7.55 sq mi) were estimated for the groups.[50] Other researchers suggest approximately 7 square kilometres (2.7 sq mi) and note a strong inverse correlation between sociality and home range size; the highly social Giant Otter has smaller home range sizes than would be expected for a species of its mass.[32] Population densities varied with a high of 1.2 /km2 (3.1 /sq mi) reported in Suriname and with a low of 0.154 /km2 (0.40 /sq mi) found in Guyana.[5]
Predation and competition:
Adult Giant Otters have no serious natural enemies, beyond human beings. "Possible and occasional" predation by the Jaguar, Cougar, and anacondas has been suggested by Duplaix, but based on historical reports, not direct observation.[53] Cubs are more vulnerable, and may be taken by the Black Caiman and other large predators,[41] although adults are constantly mindful of stray young. The Spectacled Caiman is another potential competitor, but Duplaix found no conflict with the species in Suriname. When in the water, the Giant Otter faces danger from animals that are not strictly preying upon it: the Electric eel and stingrays are potentially deadly if stumbled upon, and piranha may be capable of at least taking bites out of a Giant Otter, as evidenced by scarring on individuals.[54]
Even if without direct predation, the Giant Otter must still compete with other predators for food resources. Duplaix documented interaction with the Neotropical Otter.[55] While the two species are sympatric (with overlapping ranges) during certain seasons, there appeared to be no serious conflict. The smaller Neotropical Otter is far more shy, less noisy, and less social; at about a third the weight of the Giant Otter, it is more vulnerable to predation and, hence, a lack of conspicuousness is to its advantage. The Neotropical Otter is active during twilight and darkness, reducing the likelihood of conflict with the diurnal Giant Otter.[56] Its smaller prey, different denning habits, and different preferred water types also reduce interaction.[47]
Other species that prey upon similar food resources include the caimans and large fish that are themselves piscivores. Gymnotids, such as the Electric Eel, and the large Silurid catfish are among aquatic competitors. Two river dolphins, the Tucuxi and Boto, might potentially compete with the Giant Otter but different spatial use and dietary preferences suggest minimal overlap.[47]
Conservation status:
The IUCN listed the Giant Otter as "endangered" in 1999; it had been considered "vulnerable" under all previous listings from 1982 when sufficient data had first become available. It is regulated internationally under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): all trade in specimens and parts is illegal.[57]
Ariranha, Lontra Gigante ou Lobo-do-rio (Pteronura brasiliensis).
O texto, em português, a seguir, é da wikipédia:
A ariranha, lontra-gigante (do inglês Giant Otter) ou lobo-do-rio (Pteronura brasiliensis), é um mamífero mustelídeo, característico do Pantanal e da bacia do Rio Amazonas.
A ariranha é a maior espécie da sub-família Lutrinae (as lontras) e pode chegar a medir cerca de 180 centímetros de comprimento, dos quais 65 compõem a cauda. Os machos são geralmente mais pesados que as fêmeas e pesam até 26 kg. A ariranha têm olhos relativamente grandes, orelhas pequenas e arredondadas, patas curtas e espessas e cauda comprida e achatada. Os dedos das patas estão unidos por membranas interdigitais que facilitam a natação. A pelagem é espessa, com textura aveludada e cor escura, excepto na zona da garganta onde apresentam uma mancha branca.
A ariranha vive e caça em grupos que podem chegar aos dez indivíduos e alimenta-se dos peixes, que habitam os rios da América do Sul, principalmente de caracídeos como a piranha e a traíra. Ingere-os sempre com a cabeça fora d'água, freqüentemente nadando pitorescamente para trás. Em condições de escassez, os grupos caçam pequenos jacarés e cobras, que podem inclusive ser pequenas anacondas. No seu habitat, as ariranhas adultas são predadores de topo da cadeia alimentar.
A época do acasalamento é na estação das chuvas, que pode ir de janeiro a março e resulta em gestações de 65 a 72 dias. Apenas a fêmea dominante do grupo se reproduz. Entre maio e setembro, as fêmeas dão à luz uma ninhada de pequenas lontras que são educadas em conjunto por todo o grupo. As crias ficam numa toca durante os primeiros três meses, após o que são integradas na vida do grupo. As ariranhas atingem a maturidade sexual entre os dois e os três anos de vida.
É uma espécie em perigo e a principal ameaça à sua sobrevivência é o desmatamento e destruição do seu habitat. A poluição dos rios, principalmente junto de explorações mineiras causam vítimas entre as lontras que se alimentam de peixe contaminado por metais, que se acumulam nos peixes e mais intensamente ainda nas ariranhas que estão no topo da cadeia alimentar. Entre os metais o que mais freqüentemente contamina animais é o mercúrio, usado na extração de ouro. Há também algumas perdas devidas a caça furtiva por causa da pele, que foi mais intensa no passado.
Os primeiros sucessos reprodutivos em cativeiro foram produzidos pela Fundação Zoológico de Brasília, onde os animais desfrutam de um ótimo recinto. A espécie protagonizou um episódio trágico no zoo: um militar, o Sargento do Exército Brasileiro Sílvio Delmar Hollenbach, atirou-se no recinto objetivando salvar um garoto que lá caíra, e apesar de ter concluído seu objetivo acabou morrendo dias depois, em virtude de uma infecção generalizada, causada pelas inúmeras mordidas.
[editar]Características
A ariranha é claramente distinguível das demais lontras pelas características morfológicas e comportamentais. Ela é o maior membro da família Mustelidae em comprimento, sendo a lontra-marinha a maior em peso. Os machos possuem de 1.5 a 1.8 metros de comprimento e as fêmeas de 1.5 a 1.7 metros. . O peso varia de 32 a 45.3 kilogramas para machos e de 22 a 26 kg para fêmeas.
[editar]Ataques a Humanos
Ataques registrados de Ariranhas são raros, a maioria ocorrido acidentalmente na região da bacia amazônica.
Porém em 1977 um ataque resultou na morte do Sargento Silvio Delmar Hollenbach no Jardim Zoológico de Brasília
[editar]Referências
Groenendijk, J., Hajek, F. & Schenck, C. 2004. Pteronura brasiliensis. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/18711/all). Salvo em 7 de janeiro de 2007.
Moche portrait vessels are ceramic vessels featuring highly individualized and naturalistic representations of human faces that are unique to the Moche culture of Peru.
he Moche culture thrived from 100—800 AD on the north coast of Peru. Their lands sat between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean cordillera. They were a stratified, agrarian society that also heavily relied on fishing
While most Moche portrait vessels feature heads, some portray full human figures. They are meant to hold liquids. Almost all of the portraits of are adult men.
Rick (word artist) has suggested that I should individualize my Addictions (see his comment below). So, I have decided to make it the first of a new series.
Next: Computer
Explored
Retired Staff Sgt. Daniel Crane tosses a volleyball while conducting ab exercises during the Air Force-hosted Northeast Regional Warrior Care event at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Nov. 17, 2015. The Air Force Wounded Warrior Program is a federally mandated program that provides personalized care, services and advocacy for wounded, ill and injured service members. Air Force Warrior Care support programs focus on specific personal and family needs through individualized support. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos)
I arranged for a VIP tour with a golf cart so that we could see more of the Zoo and my wife would not have to walk as much because of her foot surgery. It was well worth it.
zoo.sandiegozoo.org/animals/penguin
"Whether it’s because of their comical gait, dapper tuxedo-like coloring, or even the males’ legendary parenting skills, the appeal of penguins is undeniable. Guests can see our African penguins—native to the waters and shorelines of southern Africa—at the big, new Dan and Vi McKinney Penguin Habitat at Conrad Prebys Africa Rocks. The spacious Cape Fynbos includes a cobblestone beach, nesting area, and rockwork that mimics the granite boulders found at Boulders Beach in South Africa—along with a 200,000-gallon pool with depths up to 13 feet, and underwater viewing.
"Penguins move leisurely on land, where they nest and rest, but they are nimble and swift in the water. Capable of reaching speeds of 15 miles per hour when swimming after prey (schooling fish, like sardines and anchovies), penguins also have staying power—they can remain underwater for more than two minutes!
"A penguin’s characteristic black-and-white coloration helps camouflage the bird from ocean predators. When viewed from above, its black back blends into the dark, deeper ocean waters; and from below, its white belly matches the bright, sunlit surface. Be sure to step right up to the underwater viewing area when you visit our penguins—they seem to enjoy interacting with guests through the windows!
"Did You Know? African penguins are also sometimes called jackass penguins, because one of their vocalizations sounds like a braying donkey. To learn more about African penguins, visit San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals & Plants.
"Black and white and cute all over. While the African penguin may not be found in freezing temperatures, they are covered in an array of black, white, and gray dense, waterproof feathers that keep them dry and warm in the cold waters off the African coast. They also have a number of dot-like markings flecked across their white chests. These flecks help to individualize each penguin, as each penguin's feather pattern is as individual as a human's fingerprints. African penguins have a distinct, sharply pointed beak and black feet. The African penguin is one of the smallest penguin species. Males are generally slightly larger than their female counterparts.
Family: Spheniscidae
GENUS: Spheniscus
SPECIES: demersus
San Diego 2023
San Diego Zoo 2023
DSC04563.jpg
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
I believe this painting in the choir of St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Vilnius, Lithuania, represents Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzi.
Here's her biography:
Mystical ecstasy is the elevation of the spirit to God in such a way that the person is aware of this union with God while both internal and external senses are detached from the sensible world. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was so generously given this special gift of God that she is called the “ecstatic saint.”
Catherine de’ Pazzi was born into a noble family in Florence in 1566. The normal course would have been for her to have married into wealth and enjoyed comfort, but Catherine chose to follow her own path. At 9, she learned to meditate from the family confessor. She made her first Communion at the then-early age of 10, and made a vow of virginity one month later. At 16, Catherine entered the Carmelite convent in Florence because she could receive Communion daily there.
Catherine had taken the name Mary Magdalene and had been a novice for a year when she became critically ill. Death seemed near, so her superiors let her make her profession of vows in a private ceremony from a cot in the chapel. Immediately after, Mary Magdalene fell into an ecstasy that lasted about two hours. This was repeated after Communion on the following 40 mornings. These ecstasies were rich experiences of union with God and contained marvelous insights into divine truths.
As a safeguard against deception and to preserve the revelations, her confessor asked Mary Magdalene to dictate her experiences to sister secretaries. Over the next six years, five large volumes were filled. The first three books record ecstasies from May of 1584 through Pentecost week the following year. This week was a preparation for a severe five-year trial. The fourth book records that trial and the fifth is a collection of letters concerning reform and renewal. Another book, Admonitions, is a collection of her sayings arising from her experiences in the formation of women religious.
The extraordinary was ordinary for this saint. She read the thoughts of others and predicted future events. During her lifetime, Mary Magdalene appeared to several persons in distant places and cured a number of sick people.
It would be easy to dwell on the ecstasies and pretend that Mary Magdalene only had spiritual highs. This is far from true. It seems that God permitted her this special closeness to prepare her for the five years of desolation that followed when she experienced spiritual dryness. She was plunged into a state of darkness in which she saw nothing but what was horrible in herself and all around her. She had violent temptations and endured great physical suffering. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi died in 1607 at age 41, and was canonized in 1669. Her Liturgical Feast Day is May 25.
www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-mary-magdalene-de-pazzi/
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St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
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From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teamed up with Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast on November 22, 2015 at Camp Arnaz near Ojai to build floating nest platforms that will be used by federally endangered light-footed clapper rails in Ventura County this spring.
Utilizing tools and teamwork, girls constructed 10 platform nests using palm fronds and wood platforms. The nests will be placed in local lagoons at Navy Base Ventura County before the spring nesting season in 2016. Biologists at the base will monitor use of the nests through small wildlife cameras. This is a long-term conservation effort that will build upon the girl's interest in the outdoors, science and conservation, and contribute to the recovery of a federally endangered species.
The light-footed clapper rail is a federally endangered species that lives in coastal wetlands of southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico. Conservation efforts, including a captive breeding program and habitat restoration activities have aided in the recovery of this endangered bird, which faced extinction in 1980s due to coastal wetland destruction and degradation. For the first time in 40 years, more than 600 light-footed clapper rail pairs were documented during the 2015 breeding season across 22 marshes in California, according to an annual survey coordinated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Nesting usually begins in March and late nests hatch by August. The birds build their nests in areas to avoid flooding by tides, yet in dense enough cover to be hidden from predators and to support the relatively large nest. Typical nests are elevated 4 to 18 inches above the ground. The outside edges of nesting platforms are typically woven into the surrounding live cordgrass which secures the nest as it floats during high tide. Nests typically include one or two ramps of vegetation leading to the ground, and a loosely woven canopy of live stems and leaves. Females lay approximately 4 to 8 eggs, which hatch in 18 to 27 days. Both parents care for the young; one forages while, the other adult broods the chicks.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes that taking the time to introduce our children to nature and to educate them about the wonders of the environment they live in allows them to develop a sense of place, an understanding of the natural world that will continue to teach and inspire them for a lifetime. Our hope is that this hands-on project, which will support the recovery of a local endangered species, will inspire these young girls to pursue careers in the sciences and become stewards of their environment.
Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast serves over 10,700 girls across six counties and is committed to making Girl Scouting available to girls in ways that impact their lives both in the moment and into the future. Girls participate in troops, individual projects, council events, day camps, and more. A variety of leadership, outdoor skills, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) based programs and events provide girls with opportunities to learn and explore in fun and informative ways. To join or volunteer in Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara or Ventura County, visit: www.girlscoutsccc.org
Photos by Ashley Spratt/USFWS.
This is how the cruise ship company describers Silver Whisper:
"The amenities of a grand resort. The charms of a stylish boutique hotel. Silversea’s Millennium Class ships Silver Whisper and sister ship Silver Shadow invite you to enjoy Silversea’s world-class accommodations, shipboard conviviality and warm, individualized service, paired with the enhanced spaces and amenities of a larger ship. Revel in the pampering treatments of an expanded wellness spa, shop the hottest trends from top designers at our shipboard boutiques, and enjoy dynamic full-scale productions in a multi-tiered show lounge. Silver Whisper luxury cruise ship has it all. Design your own schedule … or no schedule at all … Silver Whisper."
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Brazilian Air Force (Portuguese:) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were in 1941 merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces". Both air branches transferred their equipment, installations and personnel to the new force. In World War II, the Brazilian Air force made important contributions to the Allied war efforts, especially as part of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) on the Italian front, and operated a number of American types like P-38, P-40 and P-47 fighters as well as A-20 and A-31 bombers, which were partly kept in service after the war had ended.
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was originally designed in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps. Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals for a twin-engine, high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude." The P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament.
During its successful career, the P-38 was not only used for interception, but also for dive bombing, level bombing, ground attack, night fighting, photo reconnaissance, radar and visual pathfinding for bombers and evacuation missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings. The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, since the exhaust was muffled by the turbo-superchargers. It was extremely forgiving and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in the early versions was too low for it to excel as a serious dogfighter.
The P-38 was operated by the USAAF throughout the country’s engagement in WWII and in all major conflict zones. Beyond the USAAF, the type was also tested or operated by allies, e. g. France, Great Britain (only an export version was tested and rejected) and Brazil. The Brazilian Air Force received its first P-38Js relatively late in WWII. In December 1944, a total of 109 aircraft were delivered to FEB forces in Italy, where the machines were primarily used as fighter bombers (armed with bombs and unguided missiles) and sometimes as long range escort fighter for American bomber raids. After the war, most of these machines were abandoned and scrapped on site, but the P-38 had a very good service record and had been popular among the crews. In order to modernize its home defense, Brazil procured in 1946 another 55 P-38L from US stock and surplus production. These were distributed among three interceptor squadrons and the type’s long range proved to be very effective over the country’s vast ranges along the borders, and also over the Atlantic Ocean.
Most of the aircraft’s career remained peaceful, but towards the end of the FAB P-38’s career, while the Lightning was already about to be gradually phased out, the machines became in 1961-63 involved in hot military action during the so-called “Lobster War”, a dispute over spiny lobsters with France. The Brazilian government refused to allow French fishing vessels to catch spiny lobsters 100 miles off the Brazilian northeast coast, arguing that lobsters "crawl along the continental shelf", while the French maintained that "lobsters swim" and that therefore they might be caught by any fishing vessel from any country. During this conflict, the P-38s carried out long range patrols over the Southern Atlantic and flew escort missions for Brazilian long-range reconnaissance aircraft, which shadowed (and threatened) French civil and military vessels. More than once the FAB aircraft flew low-level phantom attacks and fired their guns into the open sea as threatening gestures. There were no casualties, though, and the dispute was resolved unilaterally by Brazil, which extended its territorial waters to a 200-mile zone, taking in the disputed lobsters' bed.
The last FAB P-38 was eventually retired in 1965 and the type was replaced by the F-80C and TF-33A, which themselves were later replaced by the MB-326, Mirage III and Northrop F-5 jets.
General characteristics.
Crew: One
Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
Height: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Wing area: 327.5 ft² (30.43 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 23016 / NACA 4412
Empty weight: 12,800 lb (5,800 kg)
Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,940 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0268
Drag area: 8.78 ft² (0.82 m²)
Aspect ratio: 8.26
Powerplant:
2× Allison V-1710-111/113 V-12 piston engine,
each delivering 1,600 hp (1,193 kW) WEP at 60 inHg, 3,000 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 414 mph (666 km/h)
Cruise speed: 275 mph (443 km/h)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)
Range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km) with internal fuel
1,770 mi (3,640 km) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 44,000 ft (13,400 m)
Rate of climb: 4,750 ft/min (24.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft² (260.9 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 13.5
Armament:
1× Hispano M2 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds
4× M2 Browning 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rpg
Inner underwing hardpoints for up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks each;
Outer hardpoints for up to 2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity
Aircraft Rockets)
The kit and its assembly:
This lightning is another hardware rendition of a fictional profile drawing, once more created by Czech fellow user PantherG at whatifmodelers.com, originally posted in late Feb. 2019. Brazil never operated the P-38, but I found, due to the type’s long range, the idea quite plausible. And the paint scheme depicted in the profile was interesting, too. So I dug out a Matchbox P-38 from the pile (primarily in order to reduce its volume; if I had bought a dedicated P-38 kit for this build, I’d probably have used the Hobby Boss model) and started work.
The Matchbox P-38 is certainly not the best kit of this iconic aircraft. Its biggest selling point is that it goes together relatively well and yields a solid, even though simple model. It has many weak points, though:
- It features a wild mix of raised and engraved details on the surface.
- The cockpit only consists of a simple floor panel and a pilot seat, which rather looks like an armchair from a Seventies living room.
- The landing gear is very simple, too, and the landing gear wells show no interior detail at all
- The turbocharger fairings are (relatively) nicely detailed, but their fit is abysmal and their complex shape makes blending them with the surroundings a tiresome (if not futile) affair.
Since all wing and fuselage elements come in separate sections, aligning everything is not easy - expect some serious PSR work! At least, the real life P-38 had handed propellers, and this detail is actually reflected by the Matchbox kit.
Since this build was rather about fiction and the livery than details, I only made minor improvements. I left the cockpit closed, with the OOB pilot inside, but replaced the wacky seat and added a board with a radio to cover the empty space behind it. Any available space in the central pod and in the tail booms’ front ends was filled with lead, in hope to get the model on its three wheels. It actually worked!
The propellers received new and longer axes as well as matching adapter tubes inside of the engines, so that they could be attached after the model was otherwise finished. The primitive landing gear was taken OOB, I just pimped the struts with hydraulic hoses, made from thin wire.
The flaps under the inner wing sections were lowered and I used the OOB drop tanks. The “tree” HVAR launchers were omitted and their attachment points under the wings hidden under styrene profiles. On the nose, I added machine gun barrels to the otherwise empty openings, and, as a final cosmetic move, I added wire antennae between the tail booms and the canopy.
Painting and markings:
The more creative part. I tried to stay true to PantherG’s inspiring profile, even though I made some minor changes which appeared more plausible to me and added some more color. The three-tone camouflage pattern (inspired by Guatemaltecan P-51s?) reflects typical Brazilian jungle landscape well and was made of USAAF WWII colors (Dark Olive Drab 41 (ANA 613), Medium Green 42 (ANA 612), Sand 49 (ANA 616) and Neutral Grey 43.
Painting was done with Tamiya XF-62, Humbrol 195 and 237 on the upper surfaces, and underneath I used FS 36314 from Modelmaster, since I find “true” Neutral Grey (FS 36173) to look very murky on/under a 1:72 model. Painting was done with brushes, as per usual.
The cockpit interior was painted in zinc chromate green, while the landing gear wells’ interior became chrome yellow. Landing gear struts, wheel discs and drop tanks became Humbrol 156, similar to the aircraft’s undersides.
Concerning the FAB markings I deviated from PantherG’s profile drawing: I gave the Lightning post-WWII FAB roundels which consist only of the stylized star and lack the blue USAAF disc background or the “bars”. AFAIK, these markings were only used during WWII, when American aircraft were quickly “Brazilianized” through simply overpainting the original US insignia’s white star from the factories. Furthermore, I individualized the aircraft with post WWII FAB squadron markings in the form of medium blue bands around the tail booms with the Southern Cross star constellation from the Brazilian flag.
Another FAB post WWII era detail is the use of a color code for the different groups within a squadron, which were carried on propeller spinners and thin fuselage bands. In this case, the aircraft belonged to the “Blue Group”, adding some more color to the camouflaged aircraft.
The Brazilian roundels come from an FCM Decals T-33/F-80 sheet. The same source also provided the small stars that appear on the light blue fuselage band (created with generic decal sheet). The Brazilian fin flashes were created with yellow paint and green decal sheet material. The tactical codes in USAF 45° font come from a Hasegawa Japanese F-4E decal sheet, and for a better contrast I placed them on a silver background (again generic decal sheet material), as if they had been spared when the aircraft received its camouflage.
Some light panel shading as well as weathering/dry-brushing on the leading edges and around the cockpit was done, and finally the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
An interesting result – the Brazilian P-38 does not look spectacular, but quite plausible. The three-tone camouflage creates an interesting look on the P-38, which normally only comes in olive drab/grey, NMF or all-black liveries. In the beauty pics over a rainforest landscape, it even proves to be quite effective at medium and low altitude! And while the Matchbox kit is certainly not the best P-38 model around, it “does the job” and is a pleasant, quick build.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
---- … … ----
---- … … ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
---- … … ----
---- … … ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
========================================================
From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
The Imp class of light cargo freighters was produced by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. The base freighter design, like many CEC ships, was modular and came with many options. The 'Besther' model, named for the project lead, featured individualized cargo pods which could be customized to accommodate specific needs.
The Besther Imp XIV was made in the first production run and has faired decently in its 34 years of service. Many non-essential systems no longer function well or at all, and it's space-worthiness is in doubt, but it works well as a planetside-only cargo transport.
Name: "Besther" Imp XIV
Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation
Model #: IMP-1492013299
Length: 40 meters
Width: 12 meters
Height: 7 meters
Hyperdrive rating: Class 0.8*
Crew: 3 (Pilot, co-pilot, astromech droid*)
Cargo capacity: Variable, up to 750 metric tons
Escape pods: 2
Defense systems: Light shields*
Armament: Ballistic escape pods.
Sensors: Standard cargo class*
*System damaged or inoperable
The Lucasarts game "1313" was shaping up to be a brand new style of game for the Star Wars brand and a fantastic look at another side of the SW universe. Unfortunately, when Disney bought Lucasfilm they shuttered the Lucasarts game department. While not official, 1313 appears to have been effectively cancelled.
For SHIPtember I decided to pay tribute to what could have been. This ship features prominently in the trailer/demo video for the game, and appears to represent the opening act of the game.
While simple in shape, the detachable cargo pods were what first intrigued me enough to start this project. The ship is, to my best estimate, full minifigure scale. Though similar in looks, this ship would actually be dwarfed by the nearly four-times longer Tantive IV.
The full size of this model is 131.3 studs long, 42 studs wide, and 19 bricks tall. It took two weeks to create, start to finish.
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
========================================================
From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
========================================================
From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
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From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
Reproduced on the cover of the standard monograph on Cariani (Italian, 1485/90 - 1547 or after), A Concert is widely regarded as the artist's masterpiece. The painting first came to light in the 1960s, when it was attributed to Cariani with a dating of c.1519. Born c.1485 near Bergamo, the westernmost of the Venetian mainland territories, Cariani was trained in Venice, first in Giovanni Bellini's workshop and then among the circle of Giorgione. In Venice until 1517, he underwent further influences from Titian, Sebastiano del Piombo, and Palma Vecchio, the last of whom also came from Bergamo. Cariani returned to live in his native city twice, from 1517 to 1523 and again from 1528 to 1530; otherwise he was active in Venice until his death.
Cariani interpreted his Venetian models in a highly realistic Lombard manner. The musician accurately strums the six-stringed lute; near him are a white handkerchief with which to wipe his hands and a small box containing a spare string. Like the musical instruments, the costumes, especially the fur-lined cloaks, are treated with the utmost attention to texture and detail. All three figures, to judge from their individualized features, must be portraits, although the sitters have yet to be identified. Most impressive is the corpulent musician. He bursts onto the scene, separating the tutor, who is shown holding a book on the left, from his aristocratic young pupil, who looks out at the viewer from the right. Cariani's earthy realism gives the musician a humorous air: with his head cocked as if seeking inspiration, he is one of the great comic inventions of Italian Renaissance painting.
[Oil on canvas, 92 x 130 cm]
gandalfsgallery.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/cariani-concert-c1...
Location: Berlin - 591km from home.
I rather like this Luxembourg license plates with three 7s, probably an individualized license plate. Like so many plates from LUX, this car can be seen regularly in Berlin.
“Quartier Schützenstrasse” consists of a classical Friedrichstadt block defined by the Schützenstrasse, Markgrafenstrasse, Zimmerstrasse, and Charlottenstrasse.
Aldo Rossi’s used the historical urban structure of the division of land into small plots as his concept for Quartier Schützenstrasse. The individualized houses signal individual plots but the total number of facades exceeds the number of houses standing independently of each other. While two of the buildings are reserved exclusively for residential apartments the rest provide for a mixture of residential and commercial use.
The Quartier Schützenstrasse is a collage of icons and archetypes with several obvious references to other Rossi buildings as well as historical references. Schützenstrasse 8 is a copy of the courtyard facade of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, built in 1516 by Antonio Sangallo, that was modified by Michelangelo. The court yard facade copies three of the centre line of windows of the Palazzo Farnese. The path through the smallest, ornamental courtyard behind the Palazzo Farnese.
The intense colorfulness, inspired by the colors of antique architecture, tie the block together and draws attention to the allotment structure, which distinguishes the individual houses. Rossi used particular colors for particular facade materials; the more “artificial” the material, the more “vivid” the color. Blaring green and bright red signal aluminum. Muted colors; egg yolk yellow, carmine red and cornflower blue are all stucco. The earthy tones shading into red- brown or yellow indicate bricks. The pale facades are two kinds of natural stone; light and dark gray, sand and pink. The silver-grey sheet metal stays as is.
The urge towards a multiplicity of forms is unmistakable, the efforts beyond variations in color and material impressive. The varying window shapes, the appointment of the attics, the plastic development of the facades through extroverted and reticent sections, through sills and parapet; the sometimes expressly horizontal, other times explicitly vertical division of the mostly axial-symmetric facades; and finally their own, lightly staggered order all contribute to this effect.
The great pains Rossi took with the design of his city-within-a-city were only initially devoted to the plausibility of its lots structure. Rather, the “city” was mainly dedicated to what he called a monument, so that it may have sovereignty over its use, just as it is sovereign over its environment.
/ Mathias Remmele
Week 6 Thunderclap (1426 -1430) 3/2– 3/7/2025
ID 1427
Pieter de Hooch Dutch 1629-1684
Portrait of a Family Playing Music , 1663
Oil on canvas
Individualized facial features suggest that this is a family portrait, though the sitters themselves have not been identified. The elegant figures inhabit a shadowy ideal of fashionable décor: marble floor and mantelpiece, Transylvanian table carpet, Chinese ceramics, wall tapestries, and a glittering chandelier. Importantly, they are wealthy enough to be able to relax and enjoy leisure activities--unlike the maid seen caring for young children in the room beyond. Music making was a popular social activity in Dutch homes in the 1600s; musical ensembles in paintings often symbolized harmony between lovers or family members.
Gift of the Hanna Fund 1951.355
From the Placard: The Cleveland Museum of Art
ID 1427
De Hooch was born in Rotterdam (his father, perfectly, a bricklayer). He came to Delft in 1652 at the age of around twenty-three and more or less pioneered the ideal home so to speak, as a new subject for Dutch art. Women are the stars of his pictures, no matter that their domesticity may seem invidious to modern eyes. For they create all this order, they preserve the perfect peace and cleanliness; and the beneficent light in De Hooch's art illuminates all their herculean labours. Light polishes the flagons they have washed, twinkles in the water sluicing from their courtyard pails, sweeps across newly wiped tiles, the flawless glass in the windows, the sheen of a waxed wooden table.
A wonderful scene in the Wallace Collection shows a mother with an apple performing the all-in-one peeling trick that everyone loves, including her watching child; a tiny everyday miracle to compare with the celestial light that streams through the immaculate (and perfectly painted) window. The "schoon" means both clean and beautiful in Dutch.
His rooms are sometimes conceived like Chinese boxes; you look from foreground shadows into a middle room where sunshine ricochets in patches of brilliant light around the walls, and then out into the dazzling blue yonder through a half-open door. And all these doors, floors and windows have a geometrical abstraction to prefigure his compatriot Mondrian. His paintings are like a refuge, offering the possibility of calm, of ideal forms and beauty, of a perfect world.
De Hooch is younger than Fabritius and older than Vermeer so is invariably slotted in between the two, by scholars, because they all overlap in time in Delft. He is supposed to have taught Vermeer, who certainly looked hard at his art. He is often dunned by comparison. It is true that his figures can be clumsy, occasionally oversized. A sweet-faced woman recurs in his painting, always slightly too large for her surroundings. Perhaps the model was close to him, in all respects, conceivably his own wife.
But De Hooch doesn't just show you the perfect home and its inner workings. He turns the inside out. People sit in doorways talking to passers-by. Courtyards become outer rooms. Families drink and dine in gardens; do their laundry and even their cooking in backyards. The alley running up the side of a house has no door to conceal it. It is as if we have passed through a wall or a window; what is usually hidden is revealed.
Laura Cumming: Thunderclap A memoir of Art and Life & Sudden Death, Scribner An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2023. Pgs 174-175.
I started sending out various holiday e-cards when I got my first computer back in 2001 and multi-page Scrapbooks followed shortly thereafter. I’ve been doing these Images of Halloween collections since 2003. This is a page from 2009.
The little candy bricks and their unique dispensers have been around for more than 50 years. The first Halloween piece was the simple witch pictured on the right. Although there is no paint decoration on the head, note that the side of the stem has an image of a witch molded on. Many early Pez dispensers had individualized designs on a side panel. The witch and a few other traditional subjects have been updated through the years – sometimes with just slight changes, other times with totally different designs.
For some reason, each time I have driven to Asbury Park, with my friend, Sharon, I have somehow managed to totally miss it and end up further south. This time, heading back up to Asbury Park, I realized that I was in Ocean Grove, and got to see the tent houses that I learned about through my Flickr education (Thank you, surreal-journey) .... and I still say that ANYTHING you need to learn, you can learn on Flickr and/or Pinterest!!) We parked and took the time to walk around and it was actually a good time to be there because some of the houses were already emptied of their summer tenants and we could get a good look at the inside, while most of them were still decorated and populated. Apparently there were once 600 of these tent homes, and now there are 114, and there is a 10+ year wait if you want to rent one according to the Ocean Grove Historical Society. The tent houses consist of small wooden houses containing modern kitchens and baths and a wooden platform in front with a frame over which a canvas tent is placed creating a canvas parlor. The canvas tents and personal belongings can be stored in the wooden house and brought out in the summer. Personal touches added by the owners individualize the tent houses and make each one unique.
We were absolutely amazed at how elaborately decorated they were, and by the flowers and gardens, as well!
We walked the narrow pathways between the homes that allowed us a glimpse into many of them. I can only describe them as purely magical. I can’t even imagine how fantastic it must be to spend a summer in one of these (provided that you have quiet neighbors!). This particular one is already empty, but it gives you an idea of what the canvas parlor looks like and the doors leading to the permanent wooden structure. The blue morning glories are to die for!
And interestingly enough, here is what the structure looks like in the off season. I am pretty certain that this is the same one...
www.flickr.com/photos/surreal-journey/13445143575/in/set-...
And he also gives a better history of the area than I can offer:
www.flickr.com/photos/surreal-journey/14925107112/in/set-...
So happy that I got to see this first hand! (Thank you Randy!) You just can’t beat Flickr and Flickr friends for learning new things!
Sarcophagus with the life of Achilles - detail
Roman, made in Athens, AD 180-220
Marble
The lid of this monumental sarcophagus shows a man and a woman, representing the deceased, reclining on a couch. Their unfinished faces would have been completed and individualized at the time of purchase. Three episodes from the life of Achilles, the greatest Greek hero of the Trojan War, decorate the sides. On the front, Achilles drags the body of the Trojan hero Hector around the walls of Troy. On the right panel, Odysseus discovers Achilles hiding among the daughters of Lycomedes. On the left Achilles prepares for battle.
This is the last illo I did for The New Yorker. It was a tough one, Too much people and they are all brothers!! I spent 2 days watching pics to individualize each one of them. Their music is awesome!
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà