Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.

 

Today we are at Glynes, the grand Georgian family seat of the Chetwynds in Wiltshire, and the home of Lettice’s parents, the presiding Viscount and Countess of Wrexham and the heir, their eldest son Leslie and his wife Arabella. Lettice is visiting her family home for Christmas and the New Year. She motored down to Wiltshire with her old childhood chum, Gerald, also a member of the aristocracy who has tried to gain some independence from his family by designing gowns from a shop in Grosvenor Street. The Christmas tree, cut from the grove of trees on the Glynes estate, adorned with its gold tinsel, satin bows and shiny glass baubles still stands amidst all the grand gilt Louis and Palladian style furnishings of the drawing room: a remnant of the family Christmas, the gaily decorated presents that sat beneath its boughs are but a joyful memory from Christmas Day now, and the tree will be taken down by Bramley, the Chetwynd’s faithful butler and several of the Glynes’ maids tomorrow for Twelfth Night*. Lettice’s sister, Lalage (known to everyone in the family by the diminutive Lally), is also staying at Glynes with her own family, but has gone to visit locally living friends with her husband, Charles, and their three children. However, Lettice’s Aunt Eglantyne, the younger artistic spinster sister of the Viscount (known affectionately as Aunt Egg by all her nieces and nephews), remains at Glynes for the day along with Lettice. The Viscount and Lady Sadie, Leslie and Arabella, and Eglantyne are all gathered in the drawing room at the behest of Lettice, who has mysteriously announced that she has some important news to share, but will divulge nothing more.

 

“Where the devil is she then?” asks the Viscount irritably as he sits on an upright gilt salon chair embroidered with fine petit point by his mother, his arms folded akimbo across his chest. “The bloody cheek of her!”

 

“Language, Cosmo.” chides Lady Sadie from her seat across the fire from him, her usual place in the Glynes drawing room, where she quietly sits and embroiders some roses on a piece of linen stretched across her embroidery hoop.

 

“Well!” blusters the Viscount. “I think I have a right to be irked, Sadie. Lettice goes on about wanting to make some important announcement, telling us we all need to be present, being irritably mysterious about it,” He unfolds his arms and gesticulates before him. “And then she doesn’t even have the decency to show up at the time she asks us all to be here. Leslie and I need to be attending to the estate, not pandering to her and playing her silly games!”

 

“Pappa is right. It is rather selfish of Tice, Mamma.” Leslie adds in a slightly kinder, yet serious tone, uncharacteristically critical of his youngest sibling. “The estate doesn’t stop just because it’s New Year, and Pappa and I have business at Willow Wood Farm, and that’s on the far side of the estate.”

 

“If Lettice says it’s important, it’s important, Cosmo dear.” Eglantyne insists coolly from her seat on a sofa, toying distractedly with the long black glass bead sautoir** cascading down the front of her dramatic russet coloured Delphos gown***, her usual choice of frock, as she flips through Lady Sadie’s latest copy of Horse and Hound****. “She isn’t prone to over dramatisation.”

 

“No, but she does enjoy being the centre of attention.” mutters the Viscount.

 

“Wherever might she get that from?” Eglantyne asks rhetorically as she looks up at her brother from over the top of the magazine, watching him redden, bluster and shift uncomfortably in his seat under her astute observations, causing her to smile behind the pages of equestrian events held up in front of her.

 

Lady Sadie glances at the delicate Dresden china clock on the drawing room mantle. “I’m as put out as you Cosmo. Arabella and I have business in the village to attend to, don’t we Arabella dear?” When Arabella nods her ascent with a shallow nod, Lady Sadie goes on. “But it is only just after eleven. Let’s give Lettice a few more minutes.”

 

As the Viscount coughs and grumbles his reluctant agreement, folding his arms akimbo again across his golden yellow shepherd’s check***** vest, a loud rumbling from outside begins to break the tense atmosphere of the drawing room. “What the blazes…” the Viscount falters.

 

Lady Sadie puts aside her embroidery, rises from her seat and walks across the drawing room carpet to the full length windows that afford unobstructed views of the driveway. She discreetly moves the scrim curtain slightly and sighs heavily. “It’s Sir John in that ghastly, vulgar and showy car of his.”

 

“He’s come down in his Torpedo******?” Leslie pipes up, pulling himself out of his languid position by his wife’s side on the sofa, sitting upright in excitement. “I say! How ripping!”

 

“A racing car for a racy lifestyle.” opines the Viscount disparagingly in a quiet voice. “The old letch.”

 

Not hearing her husband’s denigrating comments about Sir John, Lady Sadie replies to her son’s remark. “Irritating is more like it. This really is too tiresome!” She sighs again. “What on earth can he want?”

 

“I thought you liked, Sir John, Sadie.” Arabella remarks, looking up from an old copy of The Tatler******* in her hands.

 

“Oh I don’t mind him, dear,” Lady Sadie responds with a huff, dropping the edge of the lace scrim curtain and turning back to face the room, whilst outside the front door Sir John energetically leaps elegantly from his Bugatti. “It’s just that being our neighbour… mmm… of sorts, and of influence in the district, whatever his business is, it will take precedence over Lettice’s news, however important she may think it, and that means we will be later in visiting the Miss Evanses.”

 

“Heaven forbid we should miss visiting the Miss Evanses.” Arabella remarks sarcastically, glad that she is facing away from her mother-in-law and into the room as she rolls her eyes upwards and smirks cheekily at Leslie, who smirks back as they share their mutual dislike of the two genteel gossipy spinster sisters who live in Holland House, a Seventeenth Century manor house, in Glynes village.

 

“Arabella!” Lady Sadie chides. “You know as well as I do that both the Miss Evanses have been sick with head colds since before Christmas.”

 

“That didn’t stop them trudging up here from the village with their beastly head colds to see the Christmas tree in the hall,” Leslie gripes. “Snuffling and coughing all over the place, and making a general nuisance of themselves with their simpering ‘only if it’s not too much trouble to get us a chair, give us an extra snifter or two of brandy, have Harris take us home’.” He rolls his eyes this time.

 

“Well, whatever they may or may not be, Leslie,” Lady Sadie counters. “The Evanses live in our village, and as lady of the manor, and your wife the future lady, Arabella and I have a duty to pay sick visits to them and see to their wellbeing. It’s just the same for you, as the presumptive heir, have a duty to visit the tenant farmers at Willow Wood Farm with your father.”

 

“I think Lettice should accompany us to the Miss Evanses, since she is putting us out like this.” Arabella says sulkily. “Perhaps three against two will make our sick visit a little more palatable. Even when they are sick, they can still whitter away nineteen to the dozen********. It’s exhausting.”

 

“Arabella!” Lady Sadie scolds. “That is most uncharitable.”

 

“But true.” smirks Leslie.

 

“Nothing will ever kill Geraldine or Henrietta Evans.” mutters the Viscount disgruntledly. “And at this rate, with infernal Sir John here as well, Leslie and I will never get to Willow Wood Farm.”

 

“Now, now!” Ladie Sadie replies as she walks back across the room. “Be polite. Stop slouching,” She flips her bejewelled hand in her husband’s general direction, causing him to sit up straightly in his seat. “And mind your manners, Cosmo.” She lowers herself elegantly into her seat and smooths down the tweed of her skirt over her knees as she prepares to receive Sir John with a painted smile on her face. “It’s not Sir John’s fault that you have better things to do than sit down and chat about county business with him.”

 

At that moment, the door to the Glynes drawing room opens and Bramley walks in.

 

“Err… Sir John Nettleford-Hughes, Milord.” the butler announces stiffly, but with a slight awkwardness as he speaks and steps aside to allow Sir John to enter.

 

Sir John strides in, oozing the confidence of male privilege that his sex, class and enormous wealth bestows with every step, wearing it every bit as well as the smart and well-cut Jermyn Street********* tweed suit he is dressed in. As he does so, Lettice follows closely in his wake, smiling a little shyly as she then steps alongside him and slips her left hand into his right. He turns his head ever so slightly to her and squeezes her hand in return in a most intimate fashion as his confident smile strengthens ever so slightly.

 

Arabella gasps as does Leslie, the married couple exchanging surprised glances at what they see. The pages of Horse and Hound in Eglantyne’s hands shiver with astonishment as she stares with her wide green eyes as her niece and Sir John approach them all.

 

“Sir John,” the Viscount says, rising to his feet. “How do you do. To what do I owe the..” The strangled gasp of surprise coming from his wife as she rises from her seat with trembling elegance distracts him momentarily. He turns away from his guest and sees Lady Sadie’s face drain of colour, as her blue eyes like cold aquamarine chips grow wide. He frowns at her, then quickly returns his attention to Sir John and concludes his sentence. “The unexpected pleasure?” It is then that he notices his youngest daughter as she slips alongside Sir John. “Oh good! There you are Lettice.” he says with false bonhomie. “Look who’s here!”

 

“Err.. Cosmo.” Lady Sadie manages to utter in a strangulated way as she steps from her seat to her husband’s side.

 

“How do you do, Lord Chetwynd,” Sir John turns his attention momentarily to the Viscount’s wife. “Lady Sadie.” He nods curtly. “It’s not really so unexpected a visit.” he continues, cutting off anything Lady Sadie might be about to say with his well elocuted syllables, his confident smile broadening a little more.

 

“Cosmo.” Lady Sadie tries to interject again.

 

“You see,” Sir John concludes. “I’ve come here at Lettice’s behest.”

 

For nearly a year Lettice had been patiently awaiting the return of her beau, Selwyn Spencely, son of the Duke of Walmsford, after he was sent to Durban by his mother, Lady Zinnia in an effort to destroy his and Lettice’s relationship which she wanted to end so that she could marry Selwyn off to his cousin, Pamela Fox-Chavers. Lettice was subsequently made aware by Lady Zinnia that during the course of the year, whilst Lettice had been biding her time, waiting for Selwyn’s eventual return, he had become engaged to the daughter of an Australian, Kenyan diamond mine owner, whilst in Durban. Fleeing Lady Zinnia’s Park Lane mansion, Lettice returned to Cavendish Mews and milled over her options over a week as she reeled from the news. Then, after that week, she knew exactly what to do to resolve the issues raised by Lady Zinnia’s unwelcome news about her son. Taking extra care in her dress, she took herself off to the neighbouring suburb of Belgravia and paid a call upon Sir John Nettleford-Hughes.

 

Old enough to be her father, wealthy Sir John is still a bachelor, and according to London society gossip intends to remain so, so that he might continue to enjoy his dalliances with a string of pretty chorus girls of Lettice’s age and younger. As an eligible man in a aftermath of the Great War when such men are a rare commodity, with a vast family estate in Bedfordshire, houses in Mayfair, Belgravia and Pimlico and Fontengil Park in Wiltshire, quite close to the Glynes estate belonging to her parents, Lettice’s mother, Lady Sadie, invited him as a potential suitor to her 1922 Hunt Ball, which she used as a marriage market for Lettice. Selwyn rescued Lettice from the horror of having to entertain him, and Sir John left the ball early in a disgruntled mood with a much younger partygoer. Lettice reacquainted herself with Sir John in the last year at an amusing Friday to Monday long weekend party held by Sir John and Lady Gladys Caxton at their Scottish country estate, Gossington, a baronial Art and Crafts castle near the hamlet of Kershopefoot in Cumberland. To her surprise, Lettice found Sir John’s company rather enjoyable. She then ran into him again at the Portland Gallery’s autumn show in Bond Street, where she found him yet again to be a pleasant and attentive companion for much of the evening. As well as lavishing her with his attentions, Sir John made a proposition to her that night: he offered her his hand in marriage should she ever need it. More like a business arrangement than a marriage proposal, Sir John offered Lettice the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of his large fortune, be chatelain of all his estates and continue to have her interior design business, under the conditions that she agree to provide him with an heir, and that he be allowed to discreetly carry on his affairs in spite of their marriage vows. He even suggested that Lettice might be afforded the opportunity to have her own extra marital liaisons if she were discreet about them. Turning up unannounced on his doorstep, she agreed to his proposal after explaining that the understanding between she and Selwyn was concluded. However, in an effort to be discreet, at Lettice’s insistence, they have not made their engagement public, allowing the dust about Selwyn’s break of his and Lettice’s engagement to settle, until now.

 

“At… Lettice’s behest?” the Viscount queries, cocking an eyebrow as he looks uncomprehendingly at his daughter. “What’s this about, Lettice? Enough with your silly games of intrigue! Leslie and I don’t have time for this, when we have estate business to attend to.”

 

“Err… Pappa.” Leslie ventures.

 

“Cosmo.” Lady Sadie tries again, reaching out and touching her husband’s arm, and indicating to her youngest daughter’s hand.

 

“You might think otherwise, Lord Chetwynd, when you hear what I’ve come here about.” remarks Sir John matter-of-factly.

 

“We’re engaged, Pappa!” Lettice blurts out, unable to contain herself any longer, her painted lips broadening into a bright smile as she shows her perfect white teeth. “Sir John and I!”

 

Lady Sadie, Leslie, Arabella and Eglantyne all draw their breath as one.

 

“What?” the Viscount’s face falls.

 

“Sir John and I are engaged, Pappa.” Lettice repeats.

 

“You… you and… Sir John?” the Viscount stammers, looking uncomprehendingly between his daughter and the older man.

 

“Lettice and I are announcing our engagement, Lord Chetwynd.” Sir John says, his confident smile strengthening as he tenderly raises Lettice’s left hand in his right one, the intimate movement sending a shock through Lady Sadie. He proudly proffers Lettice’s hand to the Viscount and Lady Sadie, where a beautiful and surprisingly dainty Victorian engagement ring sits on Lettice’s ring finger, a large square cut emerald********** surrounded by smaller diamonds set in platinum sparkling gaily in the light cast by the electrified chandelier above.

 

Leslie and Arabella gasp, rising quickly to their feet and scurrying across the drawing room carpet to inspect the ring. Never one to be rushed, Eglantyne slowly rises with poise and elegance, but says nothing, her lips pursed, and her face twisted into a look of disgusted intrigue, before slowly sauntering the few paces to join her nephew and his wife at Lettice and Sir John’s side.

 

“I wish you every happiness Tice***********!” Arabella cries with enthusiasm, throwing her arms around her sister-in-law, her exuberance breaking the stunned silence of the others.

 

“Yes, every happiness, Tice!” Leslie adds, following his wife’s response and hugging his sister. Yet as the felicitations fall from his lips, his voice betrays the concerns he has. As he holds her at arm’s length, his sparking pale blue eyes and slightly quavering smile are full of unspoken questions. Lettice smiles confidently in return and silently squeezes her eldest brother’s forearms as an indication that everything is alright, even if the news of her engagement is a shock to him. Leslie’s smile strengthens a little, his face taking on a slightly resigned look as he continues with a huff, “Good old Tice! After seeing all the fuss of our wedding, and how beautiful Bella looked, you just couldn’t resist, could you?”

 

Lettice releases the breath she had been holding, laughing anxiously as she does. “No, you’re quite right, Leslie! I had to be the next one in the family to get married! Heaven forbid one of Mamma’s cousins usurped me.”

 

“I say, congratulations old bean!************” Leslie says, turning his attention to Sir John and slapping his right upper arm with his left hand in a kind fashion and shaking his hand enthusiastically. “You’ve picked yourself a beautiful and intelligent bride.”

 

“Thanks ever so, old chap.” Sir John replies with a happy smile of gratitude towards his future brother-in-law.

 

“Yes, congratulations, Sir John.” Arabella says kindly. A little unsure as to whether to kiss him or not, she falters before him. “Tice inherited the looks and the brains in the Chetwynd family,” She turns to Leslie and smiles. “Unlike my husband.”

 

“Cheeky!” Leslie laughs as he looks at his pretty wife.

 

“Thank you, my dear Mrs. Chetwynd.” Sir John replies to Arabella, proffering his right cheek for her to kiss, assisting her in her indecision. “Now, if we are to be family, you really must address me as John.” His right cheek grazes Arabella’s left cheek.

 

“If we are to have you as our brother-in-law, you must call us Leslie and Bella.” Leslie pipes up.

 

“Yes… yes of course, Leslie and Bella.” Sir John chuckles distractedly in reply, accepting another congratulatory handshake from Leslie. Yet his eyes drift from Leslie’s gaze to his fiancée as she stands looking somewhat forlorn before her parents. Although her back is turned to him, Sir John can tell by her stance that Lettice is anxious. Her shoulders are stiffly upright, and her hands are clasped in front of her beseechingly.

 

“I wish you every happiness, Lettice my dear.” Lady Sadie remarks as she places her arms firmly on Lettice’s forearms and proffers her an air kiss of congratulations. “Although this is somewhat of a surprise, I must say.” she adds with an awkward laugh, releasing her daughter and staring across at Sir John.

 

“Engaged?” the Viscount asks in disbelief again.

 

“Please say you aren’t cross with me, Pappa.” Lettice addresses her crestfallen looking father with a mewling pout. “With us. I mean, I know we didn’t actually ask your permission, but we didn’t think you’d mind,” She prattles on. “And I am of age, after all.”

 

“Of course you are, Lettice my dear.” Lady Sadie replies on behalf of her husband, filling in the awkward silence between father and daughter. “I must say, you certainly took your time about it though.” She tuts. “Twenty-four, out in society and still on the shelf.” She smiles, but like Leslie there is concern in her blue eyes, causing her usual hard brilliance to mellow into a softer hue as worry fills them. “Still, you have chosen,’ she gulps. “Chosen well. Sir John is every bit of a catch as you are. It’s… it’s just come as something of a surprise, hasn’t it, Cosmo, my dear?”

 

“Please say you’re happy for me, Pappa!” Lettice implores.

  

“But when?” the Viscount manages to ask his daughter in a voice hoarse with emotion, looking at her with questioning eyes, seeing Lettice as a young woman for the first time, rather than a little girl. “How?”

 

“Oh, in the usual way, Lord Chetwynd.” Sir John says brightly, taking a few steps, leading him out of Leslie and Arabella’s orb of conversation and intruding into Lettice’s one with her parents. “I proposed, and she said yes.”

 

“Well, it kind of snuck up on us and surprised us, didn’t it, John darling.” Lettice says awkwardly, gulping and breathing heavily as she does.

 

“Yes!” Sir John chuckles a little awkwardly, thrusting his left hand deep into his trouser pocket as he rolls up and down slightly upon the balls of his feet. “Yes, I suppose it did.”

 

“So how did it happen,” Eglantyne asks as she steps up to her niece and fiancée, speaking for the first time. “Exactly?” There is an edge of hostility to her voice as she speaks, and as she glides elegantly up alongside her brother, she blows a cloud of acrid smoke from the Black Russian Sobranie************* she has lit and placed in her amber and gold holder, into Sir John’s face as she speaks. “It’s a story I should very much like to hear.”

 

“Aunt Egg!” Lettice exclaims, fanning her face with her hand to dissipate the heavy fug of smoke that envelops them.

 

“Really Eglantyne!” Lady Sadie snaps. “Must you smoke in here? You know how much I disapprove of men smoking indoors,” She looks askance at her sister-in-law with her hennaed red hair and bohemian dress drawing upon her cigarette. “Never mind women! It’s undignified!”

 

“Yes, I must, Sadie, even if it sticks in your craw. If my niece is announcing her surprise engagement, I think I must insist on smoking, short of being offered a very stiff drink by you to dull the surprise.” Eglantyne snaps back.

 

Lettice looks at her aunt with hurt eyes. “Aunt Egg!”

 

Ignoring Lettice, Eglantyne folds her arms akimbo and fixes Sir John with her appraising green eyes, smiling as she draws deeply on her cigarette through her holder. “Please, do go on, John. Regale us with the tale of your proposal.”

 

“Well, you were actually there, Eglantyne my dear,” Sir John replies with confidence, giving Lettice’s forearm a gentle comforting and protective squeeze, drawing her closer to him, determined not to be intimidated by Eglantyne, ignoring her evident hostility.

 

“I was?” Eglantyne asks in surprise, sending forth another plume of acrid greyish blue smoke.

 

“You were.” he assures her. “It was the night of the Portland Gallery’s autumn show.”

 

“Lettice?” Eglantyne queries, turning in surprise to Lettice. “Why did I not know about this?” she asks with a mixture of resentment and bitterness in her voice.

 

“Well, Lettice doesn’t have to tell you everything, Eglantyne.,” Sir John retorts. “Even if you are her favourite aunt.

 

“Well it didn’t quite happen that night, Aunt Egg” Lettice tries to explain in an apologetic tone. “It is true that John did propose to me that night, or rather he made me a proposition…” She pauses. “Of sorts.”

 

“A proposition?” Lady Sadie asks in concern, glancing first and Lettice and then more skeptically at Sir John. “What did you mean, child?”

 

“Well, I offered her my hand in marriage that night, should she ever need it.” Sir John replies.

 

“But that was…” Lady Sadie calculates the dates in her head. “But… didn’t you… you and Selwyn… still have an understanding then?” she manages to falter as she blushes, looking questioningly at her daughter.

 

“I did, Mamma.” Lettice replies.

 

“And that, my dear Eglantyne is why you wouldn’t have heard about my proposal that evening.” Sir John says cheerfully. “There was nothing to say on the matter. Lettice was still engaged to young Spencely at the time. I’d only asked Lettice to consider my proposal that evening, not accept it, and then, only in the event should circumstances with young Spencely ever change.”

 

“And how fortuitous for you that her circumstances changed, dear John.” Eglantyne remarks caustically.

 

“Aunt Egg!” Lettice looks askance at her aunt.

 

“Fortunate for us both, dear Eglantyne.” Sir John replies, pulling Lettice a little closer to him.

 

“I never took you for the marrying kind, John.” Eglantyne opines.

 

“Well,” Sir John bristles. “I didn’t take you as being a woman who put such faith in society gossip, Eglantyne.”

 

“Eglantyne!” Lady Sadie echoes Lettice’s admonishment.

 

“I was merely making an observation.” Eglantyne retorts, raising her bejewelled gnarled hands in defence, sending a trail of curling cigarette smoke into the air as she does. “I meant no offence.”

 

“Well, your opinions on the institution of marriage are well known, Eglantyne.” Lady Sadie quips, shaking her head slightly at her sister-in-law as she eyes her with an inscrutable look with hard eyes. “So let that be an end to it!”

 

“I shall say no more.” Eglantyne replies, withdrawing and standing next to Leslie.

 

“The main thing is, I proposed.” Sir John says defiantly.

 

“And I accepted, willingly.” Lettice says with a sudden steeliness in her voice. “And” She looks earnestly into her father’s face. “I hope you will give us your blessing, Pappa. Will you?”

 

Everyone in the drawing room suddenly looks at the Viscount as he stands in silence before his daughter. His look is indecipherable as he stares at her, his eyes sparkling with the unshed tears he holds back. His hands tremble almost imperceptibly at his side. The silence is palpable, and the longer it goes on, only broken by the gentle ticking on the clock on the mantle, the more awkward everyone becomes.

 

“Cosmo?” Lady Sadie asks uncertainly, gently reaching out and grasping his slumping shoulder.

 

“Pappa?” Lettice asks tentatively, her eyes filling with tears that threaten to spill at any moment.

 

He doesn’t reply at first, seemingly frozen in his stance as he gazes with a questioning look at his daughter. The unanswered question by his daughter finally reaches into the Viscount’s consciousness and breaks his silence. He coughs and stammers. “Well… well, your mother has said it already, but this news..” He pauses. “This welcome news..” he corrects. He lets out a shuddering breath as he speaks the two words. “Has come upon us rather suddenly. But you are of age, Lettice, so you do not need my permission. You may marry whomever you wish.”

 

“Indeed!” pipes up Lady Sadie. “You certainly took your time about it, Lettice. You aren’t getting any younger. You’re twenty-four now.”

 

“But will you give us your blessing, Pappa?” Lettice asks again, wrapping her left hand in Sir John’s right hand and squeezing it. When he squeezes it comfortingly in return Lady Sadie’s eyes to widen slightly and she shudders again at their obvious intimacy, which she is not used to.

 

“Are you happy with your choice, Lettice?” the Viscount asks.

 

Lettice doesn’t answer for a moment. Her mind is awash with a mixture of emotions: anger and resentment for Lady Zinnia, heartbreak and disappointment for Selwyn at his betrayal of her, gratefulness to Sir John for his proposal of marriage and his willingness to be truthful to her. “Of course I am, Pappa!” she finally answers with steeliness in her voice, chuckling as she finishes speaking. “We both are, aren’t we, John darling?” She turns to her fiancée.

 

“Indeed we are, Lettice.” he agrees, nodding his assent.

 

“Then we must open some champagne to celebrate!” the Viscount replies, blinking and smiling brightly at his daughter. “After all it isn’t every day that my youngest daughter announces her engagement, is it?” He opens his arms welcomingly to her.

 

“Oh Pappa!” Lettice exclaims with relief, releasing the pent-up breath she didn’t even realise that she was holding on to.

 

“Thank you!”

 

As Lettice falls into her father’s arms, burying her head into his shoulder she lets the tears of happiness and relief fall from her eyes as she closes them and inhales the familiar scent of her father, a mixture of musky eau de cologne and the scent of books. What she does not notice is the Viscount’s own tears and the trace of concern in his face and eyes as he pulls her close to him.

 

“Are you really sure, Lettice.” he whispers quietly in her ear.

 

“I am, Pappa.” she answers back in equally hushed tones, tightening her closed lids and smiling.

 

Releasing her from his embrace, the Viscount approaches Sir John. Sniffing he blusters, “Well, what is it they say, Sir John? I’m not losing a daughter, but gaining a son.” He reaches out his big hand and firmly shakes Sir John’s, slapping him firmly on the upper arm in a chummy way. “Isn’t that right?”

 

“Indeed it is, Lord Chetwynd,” Sir John says with a sigh of relief, not quite yet feeling comfortable or familiar enough to release the formality and call him, Cosmo.

 

“Congratulations!” the Viscount says with a half-smile, shaking Sir John’s hand.

 

“Yes, congratulations.” Lady Sadie echoes her husband, smiling politely at Sir John before allowing her gaze to dart back to her youngest child.

 

“Well!” the Viscount booms. “We must celebrate! Sadie! Ring for Bramley!” He claps his hands. “We must have champagne!”

 

A short while later Bramley and Moira the head parlourmaid arrive, as instructed, with two bottles of the finest champagne from the Viscount’s cellars in silver coolers and a tray of champagne flutes on a silver tray. They place them upon the ornate galleried gilded rococo table placed in the centre of the cluster of sofas and chairs.

 

“If I may wish you and Sir John my heartiest congratulations, My Lady.” the old retainer says to Lettice.

 

“Thank you, Bramley.” Lettice replies with a satisfied smile. “If you’d be good enough to share the news with all the staff below stairs, I’d appreciate it.”

 

“Certainly, My Lady.”

 

Amid the hubbub of slightly subdued chatter around the table, the Viscount pops the cork of one of the bottles and fills several of the glasses, draining the bottle before opening the second and filling the remaining flutes and passing the glasses around.

 

“A toast!” the Viscount announces, clearing his throat.

 

“Oh, it’s a shame that Lally and Charles aren’t here for this.” Blurts out Arabella.

 

“Well, we’ll just have to have another round when they get back from their visit to Bowood**************.” Leslie says. “Won’t we?”

 

“A toast!” the Viscount says again, raising his flute of sparking champagne and smiling at Lettice. “To the marriage of my lovely youngest daughter, Lettice and her fiancée, our friend and neighbour, Sir John. Nettleford-Hughes”

 

He, Lady Sadie, Leslie, Arabella and even Eglantyne, albeit a little begrudgingly, toast the newly engaged couple. “To Lettice and Sir John.” As the party sip their congratulatory champagne, Lady Sadie cannot help but shudder again as she watches Lettice’s and Sir John’s lips meet in a chaste kiss.

 

The company then break up into smaller groups and chatter animatedly as they sip their champagne. Sir John talks with Eglantyne on one of the sofas, their faces serious and their conversation animated. The Viscount and Leslie mill next to the drawing room’s impressive chinoiserie screen discussing the fact that it is now unlikely that they will get to Willow Wood Farm today. Lady Sadie wanders around, never quite settling, joining the fray of conversations, but then moving on, going from one armchair or sofa to another until she finishes her glass of champagne and quietly slips out of the drawing room. Arabella and Lettice put their heads together conspiratorially, giggling girlishly.

 

“Oh Tice!” Arabella sighs. “That is such a stunning engagement ring!”

 

“It was John’s mother’s ring.” Lettice answers. “His younger sister, Clemance has been keeping it safely aside for him.”

 

“I didn’t know Sir John had a sister, Tice.” Arabella admits.

 

“John, Bella my dear.” Lettice corrects her sister-in-law.

 

“Yes, of course: John!” Arabella replies, blushing as she does.

 

“John actually has quite a number of siblings, Bella, but I think Clemence is his favourite. She lived with her husband abroad for many years, in Paris mostly, but when he died last year, she returned to England, which is probably why you’ve never heard of her. She lives in London now, so when he announced our engagement, she gave him the ring, saying that she had kept it safely for him until he finally found the right young lady to give it to.”

 

“And that was you, Tice! You!” Arabella laughs.

 

“You are a hopeless romantic, Bella!” Lettice laughs, grateful to have at least one member of her family happy about her engagement. “Quite hopeless!”

 

“You know me, Tice!” Arabella giggles in response. “How delightful Sir… I mean, John’s sister sounds.”

 

“Oh, Clemance is lovely, Arabella. I’m sure you’ll like her when you meet her.”

 

“Just look at the way that emerald sparkles!” Arabella adds, lifting Lettice’s hand, causing the stones to wink and sparkle. “It’s magnificent.” she breathes with excitement. “It speaks of exotic climes and thrilling adventures.”

  

“Do you know, Bella, that emeralds are purported to be the revealer of truths?” Lettice asks her sister-in-law, speaking loudly enough for her father to hear. When Arabella shakes her head, Lettice goes on, “Emeralds reputedly could cut through all illusions and spells, including the truth or falsity of a lover's oath. Some believed it could also dampen lust. However, that is contrary to what they thought in ancient Greece and Rome, where emeralds were said to be the gemstone of the goddess Venus, purveyor of love and hope.”

 

“Who told you that, my clever girl?” the Viscount interrupts, drawing up alongside his daughter and daughter-in-law, his half empty glass of champagne in his hand.

 

“The language tutor you engaged to teach me French, Pappa.” Lettice laughs.

 

“What has the meaning of emeralds in ancient times to do with French?” the Viscount retorts in surprise, guffawing as he does.

 

“Nothing, but I did find that Monsieur Bertrand did have a secret passion for allegory as we took our lessons.”

 

“Not so secret, evidently, Tice.” giggles Arabella.

 

“Well, I hope he taught you about allegory in French, my dear.” the Viscount chortles.

 

“Bien sûr, Pappa!” Lettice laughs, the joyous sound making her father smile sadly.

 

“I’m so happy for you, Tice my dear!” Arabella enthuses again. “Sir John really is quite the catch.”

 

Father, daughter and daughter-in-law chuckle for a moment before the Viscount says, “My dear, I’m sorry to intrude on your conversation with Arabella, but I have a word with you?”

 

“Of course, Pappa.”

 

“In private.” he adds.

 

“Of course, Pappa.” Lettice says, nodding as she gives her sister-in-law an apologetic look.

 

“Please excuse us, Arabella my dear.” the Viscount apologises as he leads Lettice away from the cluster of his family gathered in clusters around the gilded galleried table, to a sofa further away where they can have a discussion without the fear of being eavesdropped upon. “Please.” He indicates for her to sit.

 

“This is all rather cloak and dagger, isn’t it Pappa?” Lettice titters as she does as she is bidden, and sinks down upon the soft gold satin upholstery with figured patterns upon it.

 

“This is no laughing matter, Lettice.” the Viscount acknowledges, his crumpled and wrinkled face looking dark. “Now this is serious, my dear. I want to talk to you.”

 

“Pappa!” Lettice’s face clouds as she sips her half empty flute of champagne. “You’re worrying me.”

 

“No need to be worried, my girl.” The Viscount takes a mouthful of champagne before continuing. “However, I do need to ask you something.”

 

“Yes,” Lettice replies, instantly taking a more dour stance. “What is it, Pappa?”

 

“Now, you know that I’m not one who is very good with expressing my emotions,” the Viscount blusters awkwardly. “But I hope that you do know I love you. Don’t you, my girl?”

 

“Oh Pappa!” Lettice scoffs, waving her hand, the emerald catching the Viscount’s eye as it and the surrounding diamonds winks and sparkle. “Of course I do!”

 

“And that I only want the very best for you.” He wags his index finger at her.

 

“Of course, Pappa.”

 

“Then please understand that what I’m about to ask and say, only comes from my love and concern for you and your happiness?”

 

“Goodness!” Lettice exclaims with a mixture of trepidation and frustration. “What on earth is this about Pappa?”

 

“Well,” the Viscount confesses. “I just want to make sure that you are quite certain.”

 

“Of marrying John?”

 

“Of marrying Sir John.” he agrees.

 

“Oh really Pappa!” Lettice mutters. “You must start calling him John, if we are to be engaged. You can’t very well call my husband Sir John all our married life.”

 

“Yes, quite. Err… John.” he coughs awkwardly. He pauses and takes another mouthful of champagne, swilling the fizzy liquid around in his mouth. Sighing he adds, “This is all very sudden, Lettice.”

 

“I knew you’d say that, Pappa, but it’s been long enough, and I’ve made up my mind,” Lettice replies defiantly. “No matter what you and Aunt Egg may think.”

 

“Now, now. Don’t be too hard on us, my girl. It’s just that this has all come as rather a shock to us. You mustn’t expect hearty congratulations when we had no idea this arrangement between the two of you was even a possibility.”

 

“Why do you call it an arrangement, Pappa?” Lettice asks hotly.

 

The Viscount doesn’t answer straight away. “No reason my girl. A poor choice of words on my part. An understanding then.” he concedes. “Anyway, you can hardly expect your aunt to be pleased no matter who you choose to marry. You know she’s a free spirit and doesn’t conform to society like the rest of us.” He looks across at Eglantyne as she talks with Sir John on the sofa. “I mean, Eglantyne wasn’t exactly thrilled when Leslie announced he was marrying Arabella,” He chuckles. “And we’d been voicing that possibility within her earshot for years before he finally asked her to marry him.”

 

“Well, she seemed a little happier about Leslie’s engagement than mine.” Lettice sulks. “She needn’t have been quite so openly hostile.”

 

“You’re her protégée, my girl, and you are my favourite daughter.” The Viscount chuckles again. “Just don’t tell Lally that by the way.” He wags a finger at Lettice. “We just want to be sure that you are happy, and that this isn’t something you are just rushing into. Give us both time. Eh?”

 

“Alright Pappa.” Lettice acquiesces.

 

“Good girl.” The Viscount smiles at his daughter before going on. “He’s a lot older than you, isn’t he? Sir John, I mean.” the Viscount continues. “He’s closer to my age than he is yours.”

 

“You’re concerned about the age difference between us?” Lettice asks.

 

The Viscount bites the inside of his bottom lip in concern. He’s felt for a long time now that Sir John was quite a lecherous man, paying undue attention to younger women at the social functions he and the Viscount attended in the district at the same time. Then there were the whiffs of scandal, implying that he may have gone off with one or two of them. There was even the rumour that he went home with a much younger partygoer at the 1922 Hunt Ball held at Glynes, purportedly because Lettice had spurned his attentions that evening, preferring those of Selwyn Spencely. All this whilst uncomfortable to think about, was at least at arm’s length when Sir John had his life, and the Viscount and his family had theirs, yet now the two have been catapulted together with the announcement of Lettice’s engagement to Sir John. These circumstances have brought the Viscount’s disparaging thoughts and the rumours about Sir John to the front of his mind. He stares at his daughter: a young lady yes, but still such an innocent as she looks at him with her defiant gaze. Does he share his concerns with her?

 

“Well, I…” he stammers. “Well it’s just that…”

 

“Pappa?”

 

“I just don’t want you feeling that you have to get married. I… I mean… I mean your mother and I want you to marry of course, and marry well.” he huffs. “And I know… John is a most eligible bachelor, but that doesn’t mean I want you to settle for Sir… err John, just because…”

 

“Settle?” Lettice interrupts.

 

“I want to make sure that that there is no undue influence, I mean. You know,” He gesticulates in the space between them. “Upon your decision, I mean, to marry him.”

 

“Undue influence?” Lettice looks at her father in surprise. “What on earth does that mean?”

 

“Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!” The Viscount sighs heavily as he rubs his big hand over his wrinkled and weathered face. “This isn’t coming out quite the way I wanted it, my girl.” He pauses and tries again. “You know words are not my strongest suit. Look, let me speak plainly.”

 

“I wish you would, Pappa.”

 

“I know back in twenty-two, your mother saw Sir John as a good match, and I know that you had your reservations about him being… well, being too old and stuffy. Of course you were attracted to young Spencely with all his charms.”

 

“What on earth has this to do with undue influence, Pappa?” Lettice asks. “This makes no sense.”

 

The Viscount lowers his voice. “I just want to make sure that you haven’t changed your mind about Sir John, because of something,” He turns and glances over his shoulder, unable to see his wife, who still hasn’t returned since he saw her deposit her empty champagne flute on the silver tray before quietly leaving the room with her head bowed in concern. He turns back to Lettice. “Something your mother might have said, or suggested, after young Spencely ended your engagement so suddenly.”

 

“Well, Mamma has hardly hidden her displeasure at my current status of remaining unmarried, Pappa at twenty-four. When I announced the understanding between Selwyn and I, it was obviously a relief to her.”

 

“I know your mother has put a great deal of emphasis on you being out in society for a while now, and anxious about you being stuck on the shelf. But I…”

 

“Pappa, please stop.” Lettice sets her now empty champagne glass aside and holds up her hands. “I can assure you that there was no undue pressure or influence from Mamma, or you in my decision.”

 

“No! No of course not.” he stammers in reply. Sighing he continues, “Well, that’s a relief. And.. and John?”

 

“Well, aside from him making his proposal at the Portland Gallery, which would weigh heavily on any girl’s conscience, there has been no pressure from him to decide.”

 

“It does seem a little bit odd, don’t you think?” the Viscount shakes his head as he screws up his face in distaste.

 

“Odd, Pappa?”

 

“Yes. It seems a rather rum business*************** what with him making the proposition to you as he did at the gallery, and then shortly after, Lady Zinnia announcing that Selwyn is marrying that horrible Antipodean**************** heiress in Durban.”

 

“Kitty Avendale” Lettice sighs heavily.

 

“Is that her name?”

 

“Yes.” Lettice answers laconically, focussing her attention on her toe of her shoe as she uses it to rub the pile of the Oriental carpet beneath it distractedly.

 

“Ghastly name, for a ghastly girl. “Treacherous trollop!”

 

Lettice allows herself a sad chuckle before going on. “Well,” she sighs. “I shan’t disagree with you about her name Pappa, but no, I don’t believe that John and Lady Zinnia are in any way conspiring. When John offered his proposal of sorts, he knew perfectly well that Selwyn and I were planning to get married upon his return from Durban.”

 

“Are you quite sure about that?”

 

“What are you implying, Pappa?”

 

“Nothing, my girl. I just want to make sure that you’re sure, and that… that this isn’t a result of some arrangement between Zinnia and John. She never wanted you to marry young Spencely, and wanted to end your romantic involvement with him, no matter what the cost, and Sir… err John and his proposal seems the perfect solution, if she knew that John was interested in you.”

 

The Viscount’s words hang between father and daughter.

 

“No, Pappa.” Lettice says resolutely. “John is not contriving with Lady Zinnia. He even encouraged me to hold onto hope that Selwyn was coming back to me. He said that I should only consider his offer if circumstances between Selwyn and I changed,” She sighs heavily. “And that is exactly what has happened, Pappa. Circumstances have changed, and none of them have to do with any scheming from John or Lady Zinnia. I’m quite sure of it. John was quite content to remain unmarried.”

 

“That’s what I mean, my dear girl!” His eyes light up. “Pardon me for saying this, but it seems so incredibly at odds with his behaviour to date.”

 

“But why should John wish to enter into a marriage he doesn’t want for Lady Zinnia’s ends, Pappa? It makes no sense that he would do that.”

 

“I concede, I can’t answer that.”

 

“Has it ever occurred to you, Pappa, that I might be the one who stirred his heart?”

 

“Well, of course it has, my dear!” he assures her hurriedly. “I think there are a great many men whose hearts you could stir”

 

“You’re so kind Pappa.” Lettice lowers her gaze. “I promise you that John says that he admires me for far more than my beauty, and her certainly isn’t a fortune hunter.”

 

“I’m quite aware of the latter, my dear. He is richer than Croesus*****************.”

 

“He admires me for my mind, my wit, and my business acumen. As he says, he’s a businessman at heart, so he wants to marry someone with a similar mind. We’ve already discussed the difference in age between us, and what that means for both of us. You also may be surprised, and hopefully pleased, to hear that he has no wish to stop me from continuing my endeavours in my interior design business.”

 

The Viscount’s face shows his pleased amazement. “I must confess that does surprise me.”

 

“That’s what I mean by John being a businessman at heart, Pappa. He has remarked, on a number of occasions, that the last kind of woman he wishes to attach himself to is one who is bord and bone idle.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Or one who becomes jealous if he has to go away on business trips. He admires industry and fruitfulness. His offer is a very generous one. I am able to enjoy being Lady Nettleford-Hughes and all the status and wealth that accompanies the title. I shall be chatelaine of his properties and enjoy them. He will even allow me to hang what he calls my ‘daubs’ on the walls of his houses if it so pleases me.”

 

The Viscount chuckles at Sir John’s adroit term for the style of modern paintings Lettice has a preference for.

 

“And all the while I will still have my own business to run: a business he not only supports, but encourages.” Lettice goes on.

 

“And you’re quite sure that the understanding between you and Selwyn is ended, my girl?” the Viscount asks seriously, lowering his head. “I mean, quite sure?”

 

“I am Pappa.” Lettice replies adamantly. “He’s engaged. That feels like a very definite action in order for him to end things with me. If he’d really wanted to marry me, now the year of separation imposed upon us by Lady Zinnia is at an end, he could have communicated it with me. They do have a telephone exchange in Durban, even if he was delayed in sailing back to me. But I’ve heard nothing from him at all. His silence speaks volumes.”

 

“I see.” the Viscount lowers his eyes momentarily. “No chance then?”

 

“Pappa!” Lettice gasps with exasperation. “How many times must I tell you before you believe me? Yes, I’m quite sure it is done with Selwyn and there is no chance for us. I saw the proof for myself: a whole cache of newspaper articles and clippings showing Selwyn and Miss Avendale smiling together with headlines emblazoned beneath them touting their engagement. What more proof do I need?” She holds up a hand. “And before you say it, Pappa, I will not suffer the indignity of hearing it directly from him. I would die of shame and embarrassment.”

 

“No of course not, Lettice.” He pauses for a moment and then adds. “But these wretched newspaper men often mistake their facts in an effort to get their stories out quickly. And,” he continues. “Such things as newspapers can be forged you know, especially for a woman as wealthy and influential as Zinnia is.”

 

“I know Pappa, and in my heart of hearts, I did consider it.”

 

“And I wouldn’t put anything past that scheming Zinnia. She’s a horrible, ghastly and despicable woman with eyes only for intrigues and forwarding her own interests!”

 

“You are kind to defend me Pappa, and I don’t disagree with your frank observations of her, which I adore. Lady Zinnia is no friend to me. Please forgive me for saying this Pappa, and for being so frank, but,” She smiles sadly. “It does sound rather like you are a drowning man clutching at straws.”

 

The Viscount looks his daughter earnestly in the face. “When did you grow up to be such a wise young lady, Lettice? You know me so well, my dear.” The Viscount chuckles sadly. “It is true that both your mother and I had high hopes for the match with young Spencely. He… well, he seemed like such a good match for you. It seemed perfect. He’s handsome. You are similar in age. He comes from an excellent family, Lady Zinnia and her intrigues notwithstanding. Even the fact that he designed houses made the whole thing seem preordained. He could have designed the houses and you could have decorated them.”

 

“I agree, Pappa.” The pain of Selwyn’s betrayal bursts within her like a blossom blooming, filling her heart with pain, and her eyes well with tears she is determined not to shed. She gulps before continuing. “Selwyn seemed to be the perfect match, but evidently it wasn’t, if he has decided to marry Miss Avendale.”

 

“I didn’t expect of him what has transpired. He seemed like a very decent fellow with a good character.”

 

“I don’t disagree with you, Pappa. As you know, I’m as surprised and upset by it as anyone, as I think as the jilted party, I have the right to be.”

 

“Oh of course you do, my dear! Of course!”

 

“And Gerald, who of course knows him from the club they both share, said the same thing as you. I cannot explain it, other than he fell in love with Miss Avendale.” She lets out a remorseful sigh. “For a little while after I received the news of Selwyn’s engagement from Lady Zinnia, I must confess that I held out a candle for Selwyn. I hoped that he would contact me and tell me that it was all some mistake, or a fabrication of some kind by his mother,” She looks seriously up at her father. ‘But he didn’t, did he?”

 

“Well, then I suppose there is very little left to be said on the matter, is there?” the Viscount says resignedly.

 

“Don’t be so downhearted, Pappa. Be happy for me. Be happy for both of us. John is a good man. Yes, he’s older that Selwyn, and no, he’s not perfect, but he’s good, and most importantly he isn’t lying to me, Pappa.” It is her turn to look her father squarely in the face. “I won’t be dissuaded from this marriage, Pappa. I intend to marry him.”

 

“As long as you are sure, my girl.”

 

“I am.” Lettice replies resolutely. “Quite sure, Pappa.”

 

“And he makes you happy, Lettice? You know that your happiness in paramount to me, whatever your mother may feel about titles and social standing.”

 

“He does Pappa.”

 

“Well then, I guess there is little more to say on that matter, either.”

 

“Where is Mamma, by the way?” Lettice looks over her shoulder where Eglantyne and Sir John are still engaged in their conversation, whilst Leslie and Arabella share a confidence together, standing by the galleried table, heads down and giggling together.

 

“I saw her leave a little while ago.” the Viscount states. “Is she not back?” He looks and still can’t see her. “Perhaps she went to shed her tears of joy at your engagement in private. You know how your mother feels about showing too much emotion…” He pauses and then adds, “In public anyway. I shall go and find her, and then, Lettice my dear, we will open another bottle of champagne. After all, it isn’t every day that my youngest daughter announces her engagement.”

 

“Then you are happy for me, Pappa?” Lettice asks hopefully.

 

“Your happiness is all that matters, my dear. So, if you are happy, I will be happy for you. Although it will take a little while for me to get used to having a son-in-law who is the same age as me, you have my blessing.”

 

“Oh Pappa!” Lettice leaps out of her seat and embraces her father gratefully. “Thank you!”

 

The Viscount lingers for a while, enjoying the moment of intimacy with his favourite child before he releases her, and holds her at arm’s length, smiling at her. “I’ll be back with your mother shortly.” he says, excusing himself.

 

*Dating back to the fourth century, many Christians have observed the Twelfth Night — the evening before the Epiphany — as the ideal time to take down the Christmas tree and festive decorations. Traditionally, the Twelfth Night marks the end of the Christmas season, but there's reportedly some debate among Christian groups about which date is correct. By custom, the Twelfth Night falls on either January 5 or January 6, depending on whether you count Christmas Day as the first day. The Epiphany, also known as Three Kings' Day, commemorates the visit of the three wise men to baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

 

**A sautoir is a French term for a long necklace that suspends a tassel or other ornament.

 

***The Delphos gown is a finely pleated silk dress first created in about 1907 by French designer Henriette Negrin and her husband, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo. They produced the gowns until about 1950. It was inspired by, and named after, a classical Greek statue, the Charioteer of Delphi. It was championed by more artistic women who did not wish to conform to society’s constraints and wear a tightly fitting corset.

 

****Horse and Hound is the oldest equestrian weekly magazine of the United Kingdom. Its first edition was published in 1884. The magazine contains horse industry news, reports from equestrian events, veterinary advice about caring for horses, and horses for sale.

 

*****Shepherd’s check is a popular pattern for a rather sturdy tweed, commonly worn in the country. Coming in various colours and pattern styles, the small check version in black and white is commonly known as Pepita check in Germanic countries.

 

******Introduced in 1922, the Type 30 was the first production Bugatti to feature an Inline-8. Nicknamed the “Torpedo” because of its similar look to the wartime munition, at the time Bugatti opted to move to a small two-litre engine to make the car more saleable, lighter and cheap. The engine capacity also made the Type 30 eligible for Grand Prix racing, which was a new direction for the marque. Despite the modest engine capacity, the power output was still remarkable thanks to the triple-valve arrangement. Also benefiting the Type 30 was good road handling, braking and steering which was common throughout the marque. The Type 30 was also the first Bugatti to have front brakes.

 

*******Tatler was introduced on the 3rd of July 1901, by Clement Shorter, publisher of The Sphere. It was named after the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. Originally sold occasionally as The Tatler and for some time a weekly publication, it had a subtitle varying on "an illustrated journal of society and the drama". It contained news and pictures of high society balls, charity events, race meetings, shooting parties, fashion and gossip, with cartoons by "The Tout" and H. M. Bateman.

 

********We are all familiar with the phrase “ten to the dozen’” which means someone who talks fast. However, the original expression is actually “nineteen to the dozen”. Why nineteen, you ask? Many sources say we simply don’t know, but there are other sources that claim it goes back to the Cornish tin and copper mines, which regularly flooded. With advancements in steam technology, the hand pumps they used to pump out this water were replaced by beam engines that could pump 19,000 gallons of water out for every twelve bushels of coal burned (much more efficient than the hand pumps!)

 

*********Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for high end gentlemen's clothing retailers and bespoke tailors in the West End.

 

**********The first diamond engagement ring can be traced back to 1477 when Archduke Maximillian of Austria proposed to Mary Burgundy. This exchange began a tradition that caught on in elite societies. However, engagement rings didn’t become popular among the masses until the mid-1900s. In 1947, British-owned diamond company, De Beers, premiered a new advertising campaign. This campaign featured the slogan, “A diamond is forever,” and helped diamond engagement rings to soar in popularity. Within three years of the launch of this campaign, diamond engagement ring sales increased by fifty percent and the numbers continued to skyrocket. In fact, in 1939, only about ten percent of engagement rings included diamonds. Thus, Lettice’s Victorian engagement ring, taken from Sir John’s mother’s collection of jewellery featuring an emerald as the predominant stone, would not have been unusual.

 

**********In more socially conscious times it was traditional to wish the bride-to-be happiness, rather than saying congratulations as we do today. Saying congratulations to a bride in past times would have implied that she had won something – her groom. The groom on the other hand was to be congratulated for getting the lady to accept his marriage proposal.

 

************Gaining popularity by the younger upper-class set between the wars, “old bean” was a phrase used as a friendly reference to a man. It arose in the trenches of the Great War, used by the Tommies, but was always tinged with upper-class stuffiness, which is possibly why it caught on more with the upper-classes of society.

 

*************The Balkan Sobranie tobacco business was established in London in 1879 by Albert Weinberg (born in Romania in 1849), whose naturalisation papers dated 1886 confirm his nationality and show that he had emigrated to England in the 1870s at a time when hand-made cigarettes in the eastern European and Russian tradition were becoming fashionable in Europe. Sobranie is one of the oldest cigarette brands in the world. Throughout its existence, Sobranie was marketed as the definition of luxury in the tobacco industry, being adopted as the official provider of many European royal houses and elites around the world including the Imperial Court of Russia and the royal courts of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Spain, Romania, and Greece. Premium brands include the multi-coloured Sobranie Cocktail and the black and gold Sobranie Black Russian.

 

**************Bowood is a Grade I listed Georgian country house in Wiltshire, that has been owned for more than two hundred and fifty years by the Fitzmaurice family. The house, with interiors by Robert Adam, stands on extensive grounds which include a garden designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. It is adjacent to the village of Derry Hill, halfway between Calne and Chippenham. The greater part of the house was demolished in 1956.

 

***************Rum is a British slang word that means odd (in a negative way) or disreputable.

 

**************** Antipodean is a term relating to Australia or New Zealand (used by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere).

 

*****************The idiom “richer than Croesus” means very wealthy. This term alludes to Croesus, the legendary King of Lydia and supposedly the richest man on earth. The simile was first recorded in English in 1577.

 

This grand Georgian interior may appear like something out of a historical stately country house, but it is in fact part of my 1:12 miniatures collection and includes items I have collected as an adult, as well as one that was especially made for me.

 

Fun things to look for in this tableau include:

 

The gilt Louis Quatorze chairs and sofa, the gilded Rococo chinoiserie central table and the gilt swan round tables and matching pedestal are made by the high-end miniature furniture maker, Bespaq.

 

The gilt high backed salon chair in the foreground to the left is also made by the high-end miniature furniture maker, Bespaq, but what is particularly special about it is that it has been covered in antique Austrian floral micro petite point by V.H. Miniatures in the United Kingdom, which makes this a one-of-a-kind piece. The artisan who made this says that as one of her hobbies, she enjoys visiting old National Trust Houses in the hope of getting some inspiration to help her create new and exciting miniatures. She saw some beautiful petit point chairs a few years ago in one of the big houses in Derbyshire and then found exquisitely detailed petit point that was fine enough for 1:12 scale projects. She also made the footstool you see in the right foreground. In addition, she also painted the Bespaq chest of drawers you can see in the background to the far right of the photo. She has painted an idyllic English school Eighteenth Century picnicking scene on its front, making it a very special one of a kind.

 

The beautiful gold and bronze decorated black chinoiserie screen in the background is a very special 1:12 miniature screen created especially for me, and there is no other like it anywhere else in the world. It was handmade and decorated over a twelve month period for me as a Christmas gift two years ago by miniature artisan Tim Sidford as a thanks for the handmade Christmas baubles I make him every year. Tim’s miniature works are truly amazing! You can see some of his handmade decorated interiors using upcycled Playmobil, found objects and 1:12 miniatures here: www.flickr.com/photos/timsidford/albums/72157624010136051/

 

The elegant ornaments that decorate the surfaces of the Chetwynd’s palatial drawing room very much reflect the Eighteenth Century spirit of the room.

 

On the pedestal to the left of the screen stands a blue and white hand painted vase which I acquired from Kathleen Knights Doll’s House Shop in the United Kingdom. Standing on the hand painted set of drawers to the right of the photo stand are two miniature diecast lead Meissen figurines: the Lady with the Canary and the Gentleman with the Butterfly, made by Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces, The pair have been hand painted and gilded by me. Also on the chest of drawers stand two large lidded urns and a pedestal bowl. These three pieces were made by M.W. Reutter Porzellanfabrik in Germany, who specialise in making high quality porcelain miniatures. All the pieces in the cabinet in the background are also made by M.W. Reutter Porzellanfabrik.

 

The silver champagne bucket, wine cooler and tray on the central chinoiserie tea table, have been made with great attenti

Spool’s sculptures have become a part of NOD’s landscape, dramatically and thoroughly altering the atmosphere of the entire land, however, to Spool, it feels as though no one takes notice; no one see’s worth in his work. Longing to be known and understood, Spool lives with the crippling hope that one day someone might notice his labor, however this hope is coupled with the fear that it will never happen. This fear has become a darkness characterized by dreariness, anger and resentment. This darkness lingers in Spool’s heart to this very day.

 

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Larry had stomach cancer years ago, and had to have a large portion of his stomach removed as a result.

He is perfectly healthy today, however because his stomach is small, he has to eat several small meals a day. To keep up his calorie intake, he likes to suck on hard candies all day long.

5 Flavor Lifesavers are a huge favorite.

He buys them in big bags. Each candy is individually wrapped in this little piece of cellophane.

Larry will scoop a handful of them out of the jar and shove them in his pocket. All day long he's reaching into his pockets to fish one out. Every time he does, several of the empty wrappers that he jammed back in his pockets after popping the candies in his mouth fall out on the ground

. Larry seems to be oblivious.

As a result, I find these babies everywhere.

Inside, outside.......EVERYWHERE!

Of course, as soon as I see them, I pick them up and throw them in the trash.

I must pick up at least 20 of them every day...no lie.

One particular day, after bending over to pick up the dozenth one of the morning I felt myself starting to well up with just a TAD bit of resentment.

I mean really? Did he expect me to trot around picking up after him all day? What was WRONG with him? Couldn't he see these things laying all over the place?"

I stood up and took a deep breath.

And then it hit me.

Judy! You're bitching about picking up a candy wrapper your husband dropped? Really??

He didn't do it on purpose, or to make you mad....look at all the stuff he does for everyone...especially YOU!

Quit bitching and pick up the wrapper!

These days when I bend down to pick them up, I just smile instead.

I do not want to think about what it would mean not to see them laying around now!

 

You can let the little things drive you crazy, or try to put a different spin on the situation........it's up to you.

In 2002, Jurgen Habermas and Ulrich Beck celebrated the great successes of the European Union: the re-unification of Germany, the expansion to the East, the successful introduction of the Euro. Old enmities had been left behind and former enemies collaborated in peaceful competition creating the most successful economic region in the world. Europe was becoming the model for the future of humanity.

 

The reality is different today. Europe is a dysfunctional entity that has betrayed its foundational values. Politicians, commentators and mainstream academics were aghast at the victories of Brexit and Trump. ‘Politics has gone mad’ said many. ‘The world is crumbling before our eyes’ intoned the French Ambassador to America.

 

Yet the rise of right wing populism and euroscepticism was not unpredictable. The economic, political and cultural trends leading to Brexit, Trump and the rise of the xenophobic and nationalist right-wing are similar and well-known. They did not seem to worry the European elites until recently.

 

My argument is that the current European crisis is the culmination of three overlapping historical cycles, three temporalities which, in a dialectical fashion, both created and are now leading Europe to its decline. The pioneering work of Etienne Balibar on the European Union and its teleologies is crucial in this approach.

 

The first, and longest, started in the fifteenth century with the Renaissance, the discovery and conquest of the New World and is still with us. It is the cycle of European capitalisation and provincialisation.

 

Over five centuries, Europe became the capital, the metropolis and capitalist centre of the world. The Europeans developed and then exported all over the world capitalism as the economic system and the (nation) state as its political organisation. But the cunning of history or reason (Kantian or Hegelian) worked its magic.

 

The colonials adopted the two principles and turned them against the master. The cycle is ending in our days as a process of European decay has set in. The violent economic development, the destruction of traditional communities and the artificial nature of the new states are giving rise to huge population movements.

 

The population movements are a symptom of the changing shift of power from the West to the East. The history of conquest and colonialism is now ending with the reversal of the centre-periphery division which have population flows as an integral part. They cannot be stopped by fences, walls or warships pushing back the dinghies bringing to us the new world dispensation.

 

The historical trajectory set up by the western conquests and reversed by the great anti-colonial struggles cannot be contained. We live the endgame of a five-century European domination and anyone who has experienced the post-imperial tristesse of Britain or France knows that while the reaction can be lethal, the outcome is inescapable.

 

The second cycle is the short twentieth century between 1918 and 1989, the century of the European civil war between Germany and the other European powers and, secondly, between capitalism and communism. The first finished with the pacification between Germany and the rest of Europe, the second with the defeat of communism and the end of the cold war.

 

The social state and the EU were direct consequences of these two conflicts, an attempt to transcend the ethnic and ideological wars that raged over the last century and ravaged the whole world. The social state was a marriage of convenience between capitalism and socialism, the market principle and social justice as distributive mechanisms.

 

It was a major victory for the working class movement, the trade unions and the left. But it was also a concession by capital to the dynamic working class movement in order to present a superior alternative to Soviet communism. It was capitalism with a human face.

 

Anyone who has experienced the post-imperial tristesse of Britain or France knows that while the reaction can be lethal, the outcome is inescapable

 

The marriage of convenience worked because politics intervened in the economy and mitigated market decisions in favour of working people. The all-conquering dialectic worked its magic again however.

 

The adoption of the market principle by the communist states contributed to their demise which, in turn, freed the West from its lukewarm commitment to the social state. What started as the great compromise of our times has finished with the end of both social systems. Soviet communism is dead and the social state is not feeling too well either.

 

Finally, the third cycle of the “end of history” started in 1989. It is an attempt to re-establish Western hegemony at a time of rapid decline. The liberalisation of capitalism, the destruction of the social state, the privatisation of public assets and the commons, the deregulation of the markets and the disrespect and marginalisation of democracy have freed markets from considerations of social justice. Markets have been freed from correction by social justice.

 

Economic performance, productivity, competitiveness and the repayment of debts are prioritised over social justice and the needs of people. We are treated and are turned into little entrepreneurs of ourselves and our families. We have to provide for our education, health, old age and care. Rights and entitlements created by the post-war social contract are now destroyed, state institutions and services privatised, governments become collection agencies of international capital against their own citizens.

 

The unravelling of the social state was facilitated by what became known as the post-democratic condition. Complex social problems require optimal scientific solutions that cannot be put into public deliberation or, even worse, the vote.

 

Politics must promote broad centre-left and centre-right alliances with technocratic and grand coalition governments. Understandably citizens conclude that elections make no difference and turn away from politics. This derogatory treatment of the plebeians and the business as usual mantra lies equally behind Brexit, Trump and Le Pen.

 

The passionate intensity of right wing nationalism offers a message the people respond to: the elites are selfish, corrupt, delinquent. Its promulgation that power must return to the people is the great lie of our times. (The two greatest shocks of 2016 came in the states that most fervently had adopted neoliberalism and the politics of the extreme centre.)

 

But the cunning of history struck again. The victory of the West in the cold war has undermined Europe’s major achievements: prosperity based on solidarity and the pacification of ethnic conflict. Austerity and recession, unemployment and precarious employment, the impoverishment of the middle class and the huge increase in inequality have undermined trust in mainstream politics.

 

Blair, Cameron, Renzi, Macron and the European Commission’s white paper follow the ‘business as usual’ mantra when the citizens have massively abandoned it. Their convergence into the extreme centre has undermined input legitimacy. On the output side, the wall built between economics and politics means that politics has largely given up redistributive aspirations. This is the ground a billionaire or Le Pen have usurped. They claim fraudulently to stand for the social state and the unemployed, stealing from social-democracy its assets and pride.

 

As Jurgen Habermas, the greatest promoter of law-based federalism has insisted, the monetary union has developed into a non-transparent, post-democratic case of ‘executive federalism’

 

The same disaster has befallen the second achievement. The suffering of countries under austerity and the resistance of Greeks is well known. So is the shocking response from mainstream journalists and politicians. The line between acceptable economic and political critique of the Southern states (revealingly nicknamed PIGS) and racial slurs is very thin.

 

The refugee crisis has made things worse: national interests and the election cycles determine foreign policy without regard for Union decisions, international law or humanitarian considerations. Europe is returning to the old nationalisms and ideological or historical spheres of influence. Had the cold war lasted longer, had the victory of capitalism been delayed, perhaps Europe could have moved towards political union, the ultimate defense against the Soviets. This did not happen.

 

All this leads to the conclusion that the new world order announced with fanfare in 1989 will be the shortest in history. It started unravelling in the financial crisis of 2008. Two waves of popular reaction followed. In 2011, the Arab spring, Spain Greece Occupy Wall Street, the world Occupy movement expressed in the anti-austerity and ‘we are the 99%’ slogans the rejection of neoliberal misery. The elites did not listen. In 2016 and 2017, in the absence of progressive alternatives the voters moved to the nationalist right-wing. The disease remains the same, the symptoms were left untreated; the people are choosing quack doctors.

 

President Juncker is fond of asking the Quo Vadis Europa question and repeated it when presenting the Commission White Paper. Perhaps he is making a joke at his own expense. It was St Peter who asked the risen Jesus "Quo vadis?", when he appeared to him as he was about to leave Rome to avoid martyrdom. Jesus replied, "Romam eo iterum crucifigi" ("I am going to Rome to be crucified again") and Peter returned.

 

On March 25, the leaders went to Rome to celebrate Europe. Another Roman reference comes to mind. While the city burned, legend has it that Emperor Nero played the fiddle and sang the lost epic Ιliou Persis (the Sacking of Troy). It is perhaps an ample parable of our state.

 

The failures of Europe

In the 1980s, integration and the ever-closer union became the raison d’etre of Brussels. The method adopted to this effect was the imposed or agreed convergence of states in key areas. The neo-functionalist orthodoxy of the time relied on spill-overs from already integrated fields.

 

These spill-overs were set off by putative causal connections treated as constraints in the further advance of already existing convergences. But as the integration started entering key areas of domestic social order, it was resisted and stalled. New steps became harder and were achieved only through the ECJ, which returned to its earlier model of ‘integration by stealth through Law’. Both methods sideline popular participation.

 

The constitution debacle made it clear that further moves towards integration would be resisted by the European citizens. In part, the answer was the EMU, which constitutively separated the integration process from democratic politics. As Jurgen Habermas, the greatest promoter of law-based federalism has insisted, the monetary union has developed into a non-transparent post-democratic case of ‘executive federalism’.

 

The EMU removed a large tranche of national problem solving capacities, such as exchange and interest rate flexibility, without replacing them with corresponding European mechanisms. What was initially presented as a technocratic exercise morphed by stealth into a fiscal union and started pushing the eighteen towards a federal political entity, without the politics or economics. Was not the 2008 financial crisis a catastrophic failure in economic governance?

 

The answer of the establishment is differentiated speeds, variable groups of states choosing their partners and priorities: Visegrad with a human face.

 

In Britain, the Queen, reversing the story of the Emperor’s new clothes, asked a senior economist at the LSE ‘how come that such a clever lot as you failed to predict and prevent the crisis’? Nobody has asked or answered the question at the European level. As a result, the story of the last eight years resembles a driverless train hurtling towards a coming derailment.

 

If convergence through politics has been marginalised; if the law cannot bear the burden without further loss of legitimacy; if economics has failed spectacularly; the final method is diktat, radical alteration of individual and collective behaviour at gunpoint. The bailout programmes and their conditionalities are a case of integration through diktat. The measures imposed on Greece and currently negotiated include the reduction of the minimum wage, the weakening of the unions, deregulation of employment protection and liberalisation of services.

 

Fiscal and current account deficits are seen solely as the result of lack of competitiveness. This is caused by above average increases in unit labour costs in the large domestic sector of Greek economy. What is the cure? Internal devaluation and reduction in labour costs in order to have the South become a pale imitation of the Northern export-based model.

 

But there can be no export-led recovery, as in Germany in the 2000s, because the measures supposed to help exports are depressing further the much larger domestic sector through fiscal strangulation and wage decreases. This is an experiment in social engineering and brutal biopolitical re-arrangement of whole populations worthy of Jeremy Bentham and nineteenth century England.

 

The monetary union has underperformed economically and is now failing politically. All governing parties in programme countries lost the following elections while Northern political parties use Southern woes for election advantage. Social justice has been abandoned at the European level and is contained in largely impotent domestic politics creating resentment and xenophobia. Citizen alienation is now threatening the whole European project.

 

The answer of the establishment is differentiated speeds, variable groups of states choosing their partners and priorities: Visegrad with a human face. For Greece, entry to the Euro was a mistake but exit would be a disaster and has been rightly ruled out. The desire for flexibility and selection of an emerging hard core Europe will be highly problematic for weaker members.

 

Perhaps, weaker Eurozone members should explore the possibility of a flexible if split euro as Joseph Stiglitz has suggested. Otherwise, Fortress Europe will keep out not just refugees and migrants out but the European South too.

 

The future

The Commission White Paper shows that the ideological straitjacket of ordoliberalism does not allow the theoretical imagination or the will necessary to move in a radically new direction. The white paper half-heartedly acknowledges the chasm between policies and people. For European orthodoxy, crises lead by stealth to greater integration and the hope is that the same will happen in the present travails.

 

Yet, the unprecedented rise of the nationalist right wing, to which European policies have generously contributed indicates that this is not a ‘normal’ crisis. We need a different politics in a different Europe, a serious and far-going critique of the Union while defending the ideal of Europe. The task is to rebuild Europe from the bottom up as a community of democratic nations and peoples, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all top-down construct.

 

A loose confederation of European homelands to replace the failed federal plan should be part of this debate

 

The battle for the soul of Europe will take place on three fronts. First, a reversal of austerity and recession-creating policies. Wide political alliances of social-democracy and the left are necessary for such policies. They could include fiscal policies for growth, a banking union in the Eurozone area, the guarantee of bank deposits and Eurobonds.

 

The second task for the left is the re-politicization of politics after the long post-democratic interval at the European and domestic levels. A European public sphere of debate and action must be created developing and coordinating the many recent campaigns of resistance, the solidarity and social economy initiatives that have saved the name of Europe in Lampedusa and Lesvos.

 

The radical restructuring of politics and a rebooting of the constitution involves the substantial upgrading of the democratically legitimate institutions. Parliaments, including the European, should become independent of the executive and exercise their role of controlling and holding the government to account more energetically. Local regional and national authorities should develop direct democracy institutions, such as local referenda, citizen assemblies and collective budgets.

 

Europe has failed to inspire its citizens in a way similar to other great ideas such as the nation, socialism or human rights. The daily experience of the vast majority of European peoples is one of political, cultural and emotional attachment to the local, regional or national level.

 

Many powers and competencies should therefore return from Brussels to national capitals, regions and local authorities as a precondition for survival. Perhaps the idea of a loose confederation of European homelands to replace the failed federal plan should be part of this debate.

 

It is perhaps the duty of the left with its institutional naivete and youthful audacity to think through these major changes. Such ideas and initiatives can only come from those challenging the tired European establishment.

 

www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/costas-douzinas/...

[Giselle is out shopping with her friends Mulan and Merida. She's still hasn't told her friends shes pregnant and all the stores they go to remind her that she won't be able to wear any of them]

 

Mer: Isn't this skirt cute?! Perfect for spring. I need to keep getting these modeling jobs. Somebody needs to pay the bills [She says that with a bit of resentment towards her unemployed boyfriend]

 

Mul: It is cute. Don't you agree, Giselle?

 

G: Yeah...

 

[Merida and Mulan give each other a worried look]

 

Mer: You feeling okay?

 

G: Yeah...

 

Mul: You seem down. You haven't bought anything all day. What's wrong?

 

G: [She give a long and depressing sigh] I'm pregnant.

 

Mul&Mer: [They give a hard gasp]

 

G: I haven't bought anything because there's no point. I could only wear it once. I can't believe I'm pregnant! I'm so mad that I could spit!

 

Mul: Gross.

 

G: I know. It's not fair. All I wanted was the fabulous carefree life. Is that too much to ask for? No more international trips, no more clubbing, no more wearing bikinis. Just...dirty diapers and puke.

 

Mer: I don't get it though. William already has two kids, so why are you mad about being pregnant?

 

G: As soon as we got married I planned to ship his kids to either their mother or boarding school.

 

Mul: Being pregnant doesn't sound too bad. You get to have your own mini you.

 

Mer: Yeah, you like being in charge and telling people what to do. Having a kid is perfect for you. And just think if its a girl. You can have a little Giselle to go shopping and dress up.

 

G: Hmm...I never thought of it like that.

 

Mul: And you love attention right? You'll get tons of it now that you're expecting. You'll probably never have to lift a finger.

 

G: OMGM, you're right! Maybe this pregnancy thing won't be too bad after all.

End of blame.

People who forgive are happier and healthier than those who hold resentments.

The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court, and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), resided at the Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand.

 

Construction of the palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, when he moved the capital city from Thonburi to Bangkok. Throughout successive reigns, many new buildings and structures were added, especially during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). By 1925, the king, the Royal Family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the palace, and had moved to other residences. After the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1932, all government agencies completely moved out of the palace.

 

In shape, the palace complex is roughly rectangular and has a combined area of 218,400 square metres (2,351,000 sq ft), surrounded by four walls. It is situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River at the heart of the Rattanakosin Island, today in the Phra Nakhon District. The Grand Palace is bordered by Sanam Luang and Na Phra Lan Road to the north, Maharaj Road to the west, Sanam Chai Road to the east and Thai Wang Road to the south.

 

Rather than being a single structure, the Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. Its asymmetry and eclectic styles are due to its organic development, with additions and rebuilding being made by successive reigning kings over 200 years of history. It is divided into several quarters: the Temple of the Emerald Buddha; the Outer Court, with many public buildings; the Middle Court, including the Phra Maha Monthien Buildings, the Phra Maha Prasat Buildings and the Chakri Maha Prasat Buildings; the Inner Court and the Siwalai Gardens quarter. The Grand Palace is currently partially open to the public as a museum, but it remains a working palace, with several royal offices still situated inside.

 

The construction of the Grand Palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I). Having seized the crown from King Taksin of Thonburi, King Rama I was intent on building a capital city for his new Chakri dynasty. He moved the seat of power from the city of Thonburi, on the west side of the Chao Phraya River, to the east side at Bangkok. The new capital city was turned into an artificial island when canals were dug along the east side. The island was given the name 'Rattanakosin'. The previous royal residence was the Derm Palace, constructed for King Taksin in 1768. The old royal palace in Thonburi was small and sandwiched between two temples; Wat Arun and Wat Tai Talat, prohibiting further expansion.

 

The new palace was built on a rectangular piece of land on the very west side of the island, between Wat Pho to the south, Wat Mahathat to the north and with the Chao Phraya River on the west. This location was previously occupied by a Chinese community, whom King Rama I ordered to relocate to an area south and outside of the city walls; the area is now Bangkok's Chinatown.

 

Desperate for materials and short on funds, the palace was initially built entirely out of wood, its various structures surrounded by a simple log palisade. On 10 June 1782, the king ceremonially crossed the river from Thonburi to take permanent residence in the new palace. Three days later on 13 June, the king held an abbreviated coronation ceremony, thus becoming the first monarch of the new Rattanakosin Kingdom. Over the next few years the king began replacing wooden structures with masonry, rebuilding the walls, forts, gates, throne halls and royal residences. This rebuilding included the royal chapel, which would come to house the Emerald Buddha.

 

To find more material for these constructions, King Rama I ordered his men to go upstream to the old capital city of Ayutthaya, which was destroyed in 1767 during a war between Burma and Siam. They dismantled structures and removed as many bricks as they could find, while not removing any from the temples. They began by taking materials from the forts and walls of the city. By the end they had completely leveled the old royal palaces. The bricks were ferried down the Chao Phraya by barges, where they were eventually incorporated into the walls of Bangkok and the Grand Palace itself. Most of the initial construction of the Grand Palace during the reign of King Rama I was carried out by conscripted or corvée labour. After the final completion of the ceremonial halls of the palace, the king held a full traditional coronation ceremony in 1785.

 

The layout of the Grand Palace followed that of the Royal Palace at Ayutthaya in location, organization, and in the divisions of separate courts, walls, gates and forts. Both palaces featured a proximity to the river. The location of a pavilion serving as a landing stage for barge processions also corresponded with that of the old palace. To the north of the Grand Palace there is a large field, the Thung Phra Men (now called Sanam Luang), which is used as an open space for royal ceremonies and as a parade ground. There was also a similar field in Ayutthaya, which was used for the same purpose. The road running north leads to the Front Palace, the residence of the Vice King of Siam.

 

The Grand Palace is divided into four main courts, separated by numerous walls and gates: the Outer Court, the Middle Court, the Inner Court and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Each of these court's functions and access are clearly defined by laws and traditions. The Outer Court is in the northwestern part of the Grand Palace; within are the royal offices and (formerly) state ministries. To the northeast is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the royal chapel, and home of the Emerald Buddha. The Middle Court housed the most important state apartments and ceremonial throne halls of the king. The Inner Court, at the south end of the complex, was reserved only for females, as it housed the king's harem.

 

During the reign of King Phutthaloetla Naphalai (Rama II), the area of the Grand Palace was expanded southwards up to the walls of Wat Pho. Previously this area was home to offices of various palace officials. This expansion increased the area of the palace from 213,674 square metres (2,299,970 sq ft) to 218,400 square metres (2,351,000 sq ft). New walls, forts, and gates were constructed to accommodate the enlarged compound. Since this expansion, the palace has remained within its walls with new construction and changes being made only on the inside.

 

In accordance with tradition, the palace was initially referred to only as the Phra Ratcha Wang Luang (พระราชวังหลวง) or 'Royal Palace', similar to the old palace in Ayutthaya. However, during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV) the name Phra Boromma Maha Ratcha Wang or 'Grand Palace' was first used in official documents. This change of name was made during the elevation of Prince Chutamani (the king's younger brother) to the title of Second King Pinklao in 1851. The proclamation of his title described the royal palace as the 'supreme' (บรม; Borom) and 'great' (มหา; Maha) palace. This title was given in order to distinguish the palace from the Second King's palace (the Front Palace), which was described as the Phra Bovorn Ratcha Wang (พระบวรราชวัง) or the 'glorious' (บวร; Bovorn) palace.

 

Throughout the period of absolute monarchy, from 1782 to 1932, the Grand Palace was both the country's administrative and religious centre. As the main residence of the monarch, the palace was also the seat of government, with thousands of inhabitants including guardsmen, servants, concubines, princesses, ministers, and courtiers. The palace's high whitewashed castellated walls and extensive forts and guard posts mirrored those of the walls of Bangkok itself, and thus the Grand Palace was envisioned as a city within a city. For this reason a special set of palace laws were created to govern the inhabitants and to establish hierarchy and order.

 

By the 1920s, a series of new palaces were constructed elsewhere for the king's use; these included the more modern Dusit Palace, constructed in 1903, and Phaya Thai Palace in 1909. These other Bangkok residences began to replace the Grand Palace as the primary place of residence of the monarch and his court. By 1925 this gradual move out of the palace was complete. The growth and centralization of the Siamese state also meant that the various government ministries have grown in size and were finally moved out of the Grand Palace to their own premises. Despite this the Grand Palace remained the official and ceremonial place of residence as well as the stage set for elaborate ancient ceremonies of the monarchy. The end of the absolute monarchy came in 1932, when a revolution overthrew the ancient system of government and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy.

 

Today the Grand Palace is still a centre of ceremony and of the monarchy, and serves as a museum and tourist attraction as well.

 

The Outer Court or Khet Phra Racha Than Chan Nork (เขตพระราชฐานชั้นนอก) of the Grand Palace is situated to the northwest of the palace (the northeast being occupied by the Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Entering through the main Visetchaisri Gate, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is located to the left, with many public buildings located to the right.

 

These buildings include the headquarters and information centre of the Grand Palace and the Bureau of the Royal Household. Other important buildings inside the court include the Sala Sahathai Samakhom (ศาลาสหทัยสมาคม), used for important receptions and meetings. The Sala Luk Khun Nai (ศาลาลูกขุนใน) is an office building housing various departments of the Royal Household. The main office of the Royal Institute of Thailand was also formerly located here. The Outer Court has a small museum called the Pavilion of Regalia, Royal Decorations and Coins. The Phimanchaisri Gate opens directly unto the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall and is the main portal from the Outer Court into the Middle Court.

 

Historically this court was referred to as Fai Na (ฝ่ายหน้า, literally In the front), and also served as the seat of the royal government, with various ministerial offices, a theatre, stables for the king's elephants, barracks for the royal guards, the royal mint and an arsenal. By 1925, all government agencies and workers had vacated the site and all of the buildings were converted for use by the Royal Household.

 

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

Keyneton.

The town was named after English pastoralist Joseph Keynes, who took up the land in 1841 and whose descendants still continue to live and farm in the area. Joseph Keynes (1810-1883) was the eldest son of a Congregational minister in southern England. His father Richard Keynes wrote to George Fife Angas in 1838 seeking information on South Australia. Angas offered Joseph the position of overseer of his stock in South Australia. Joseph accepted, arrived in 1839 and managed the farm at Flaxman's Valley for Angas. In 1841 he leased property which became Keyneton Estate and remains in the family. His partnership with Angas was dissolved in 1843 and Keynes declared his bankruptcy in 1846, leaving Angas with £9,000 in debts, great resentment and injured pride. But by 1850 the once despairing farmer had become a member of the 'squattocracy', with land in the Barossa Ranges, the Wakefield River valley and at Mount Remarkable. Keynes systematically amassed thousands of acres, wealth and social respect, being a member of the North Rhine District Council from its formation in 1873 to 1883. He died in 1883 at Lockleys and was buried in the Congregational cemetery at Keyneton. His son Richard took over the property. On 27 August 1884 Keynes married Margaret Ruth Shannon of Moculta.

 

In 1851 the Hundred of North Rhine was surveyed and land sold to farmers. Before that time a few leased land from the Angas family. Many new settlers to Keyneton from 1850 to 1854 were of German Lutheran descent from Tanunda and they quickly built a fine Georgian style school room in 1857 that doubled as a church until a new church was dedicated in 1866. It was on three acres of land donated by Henry Evans. Behind the church is a high bell tower erected in 1874 with a bell from Germany. Then in 1891 a new stone school room and church hall opened beside the 1866 church. It became a state school from 1917 to 1925 when the new government school opened in Keyneton opposite the old general store. Next to it is the Keyneton cemetery where members of the Evans and Keynes families were buried and many local Lutheran family members too. About one km northwards is the Independent Chapel built on land donated by Sarah Evans and supported by the Keynes and Evans families. It was built in 1865 and originally known as the North Rhine Independent Chapel. North Rhine River was changed to the Somme during World War One but has now been changed back. The Chapel became a Congregational Church in 1918 and finally closed as a church in 1971. Henry Evans married Sarah Angas a daughter of George Fife Angas and Henry Evans was the one who designed Collingrove and Lindsay Park homesteads for the Angas family. Henry’s wife was so opposed to alcohol and wine making that after her husband died in 1868 she got her son Henry Angas Evans to dig up or have the family wine vines grafted with currents. Thus, almost accidentally, young Henry Angas Evans founded the dried fruit industry in the Angaston-Keyneton district! To please his mother Henry Evans, with the support for John Howard and George Fife Angas, built the Temperance Hall in Keyneton in 1872. Keyneton was such a tiny town to have a Temperance Hall. After World War One the Romanesque style Temperance Hall was sold to a local group as a Soldiers War Memorial Hall. Thus the 1920 wooden entrance porch contrasts greatly with the Romanesque style of the original Temperance Hall. A km north again is the main part of the town with the state government primary school built 1925. But the first town school was built in 1859 with a stone classroom. It became a state school after 1875. It closed in 1912 but the Lutheran School became a state school in 1917 so children were able to attend it until the new state school opened in 1925. The Temperance Hotel (also known as a coffee palace) on the corner of the main intersection was built by Sarah Evans to prevent alcohol sales in Keyneton in 1884. She died in 1898 and then things slowly changed. The Temperance Hotel operated until 1948 mainly providing lodgings for casual workers, school teachers etc. On the other corner is the former Post Office and general store. It opened in 1866 and was owned by the Evans family from 1888 to 1940 with tenant storekeepers. The Art Deco style façade on the west side was built in 1955 when it was a Four Square Store. Just north of the intersection is the old blacksmith’s shop built in 1870.

 

Politician, writer, notary and intellectual, Blas Infante Pérez (Casares, July 5, 1885-Seville, August 11, 1936) was the precursor of the collective impulse that made possible the achievement of self-government that today represents the Statute of Autonomy for Andalusia. .

 

Its role was decisive in the configuration of the Andalusian identity and endowed the community with its own symbology through the creation of our flag, shield and anthem.

 

Infante promoted and defended our political autonomy with a regenerationist, inclusive and supportive discourse with the rest of the peoples of Spain.

 

Faced with hatred, antagonism or resentment, Blas Infante defended cooperation between individuals and peoples, and miscegenation and cosmopolitanism as identity values ​​of the Andalusian community.

 

In the time that he lived, in the context of a marginalized Andalusia, weighed down by inequality, illiteracy, unemployment or emigration, Infante was a firm promoter and defender of a universal Andalusia destined to play a leading role in the Spanish state.

 

A source of inspiration and an example of union for the Andalusian people, Blas Infante was recognized as Father of the Andalusian Homeland in an act of historic justice by the Parliament of Andalusia in April 1983 and named honorary president of the Junta de Andalucía in May of 2010.

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RESENTMENT

The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court, and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), resided at the Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand.

 

Construction of the palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, when he moved the capital city from Thonburi to Bangkok. Throughout successive reigns, many new buildings and structures were added, especially during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). By 1925, the king, the Royal Family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the palace, and had moved to other residences. After the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1932, all government agencies completely moved out of the palace.

 

In shape, the palace complex is roughly rectangular and has a combined area of 218,400 square metres (2,351,000 sq ft), surrounded by four walls. It is situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River at the heart of the Rattanakosin Island, today in the Phra Nakhon District. The Grand Palace is bordered by Sanam Luang and Na Phra Lan Road to the north, Maharaj Road to the west, Sanam Chai Road to the east and Thai Wang Road to the south.

 

Rather than being a single structure, the Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. Its asymmetry and eclectic styles are due to its organic development, with additions and rebuilding being made by successive reigning kings over 200 years of history. It is divided into several quarters: the Temple of the Emerald Buddha; the Outer Court, with many public buildings; the Middle Court, including the Phra Maha Monthien Buildings, the Phra Maha Prasat Buildings and the Chakri Maha Prasat Buildings; the Inner Court and the Siwalai Gardens quarter. The Grand Palace is currently partially open to the public as a museum, but it remains a working palace, with several royal offices still situated inside.

 

The construction of the Grand Palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I). Having seized the crown from King Taksin of Thonburi, King Rama I was intent on building a capital city for his new Chakri dynasty. He moved the seat of power from the city of Thonburi, on the west side of the Chao Phraya River, to the east side at Bangkok. The new capital city was turned into an artificial island when canals were dug along the east side. The island was given the name 'Rattanakosin'. The previous royal residence was the Derm Palace, constructed for King Taksin in 1768. The old royal palace in Thonburi was small and sandwiched between two temples; Wat Arun and Wat Tai Talat, prohibiting further expansion.

 

The new palace was built on a rectangular piece of land on the very west side of the island, between Wat Pho to the south, Wat Mahathat to the north and with the Chao Phraya River on the west. This location was previously occupied by a Chinese community, whom King Rama I ordered to relocate to an area south and outside of the city walls; the area is now Bangkok's Chinatown.

 

Desperate for materials and short on funds, the palace was initially built entirely out of wood, its various structures surrounded by a simple log palisade. On 10 June 1782, the king ceremonially crossed the river from Thonburi to take permanent residence in the new palace. Three days later on 13 June, the king held an abbreviated coronation ceremony, thus becoming the first monarch of the new Rattanakosin Kingdom. Over the next few years the king began replacing wooden structures with masonry, rebuilding the walls, forts, gates, throne halls and royal residences. This rebuilding included the royal chapel, which would come to house the Emerald Buddha.

 

To find more material for these constructions, King Rama I ordered his men to go upstream to the old capital city of Ayutthaya, which was destroyed in 1767 during a war between Burma and Siam. They dismantled structures and removed as many bricks as they could find, while not removing any from the temples. They began by taking materials from the forts and walls of the city. By the end they had completely leveled the old royal palaces. The bricks were ferried down the Chao Phraya by barges, where they were eventually incorporated into the walls of Bangkok and the Grand Palace itself. Most of the initial construction of the Grand Palace during the reign of King Rama I was carried out by conscripted or corvée labour. After the final completion of the ceremonial halls of the palace, the king held a full traditional coronation ceremony in 1785.

 

The layout of the Grand Palace followed that of the Royal Palace at Ayutthaya in location, organization, and in the divisions of separate courts, walls, gates and forts. Both palaces featured a proximity to the river. The location of a pavilion serving as a landing stage for barge processions also corresponded with that of the old palace. To the north of the Grand Palace there is a large field, the Thung Phra Men (now called Sanam Luang), which is used as an open space for royal ceremonies and as a parade ground. There was also a similar field in Ayutthaya, which was used for the same purpose. The road running north leads to the Front Palace, the residence of the Vice King of Siam.

 

The Grand Palace is divided into four main courts, separated by numerous walls and gates: the Outer Court, the Middle Court, the Inner Court and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Each of these court's functions and access are clearly defined by laws and traditions. The Outer Court is in the northwestern part of the Grand Palace; within are the royal offices and (formerly) state ministries. To the northeast is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the royal chapel, and home of the Emerald Buddha. The Middle Court housed the most important state apartments and ceremonial throne halls of the king. The Inner Court, at the south end of the complex, was reserved only for females, as it housed the king's harem.

 

During the reign of King Phutthaloetla Naphalai (Rama II), the area of the Grand Palace was expanded southwards up to the walls of Wat Pho. Previously this area was home to offices of various palace officials. This expansion increased the area of the palace from 213,674 square metres (2,299,970 sq ft) to 218,400 square metres (2,351,000 sq ft). New walls, forts, and gates were constructed to accommodate the enlarged compound. Since this expansion, the palace has remained within its walls with new construction and changes being made only on the inside.

 

In accordance with tradition, the palace was initially referred to only as the Phra Ratcha Wang Luang (พระราชวังหลวง) or 'Royal Palace', similar to the old palace in Ayutthaya. However, during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV) the name Phra Boromma Maha Ratcha Wang or 'Grand Palace' was first used in official documents. This change of name was made during the elevation of Prince Chutamani (the king's younger brother) to the title of Second King Pinklao in 1851. The proclamation of his title described the royal palace as the 'supreme' (บรม; Borom) and 'great' (มหา; Maha) palace. This title was given in order to distinguish the palace from the Second King's palace (the Front Palace), which was described as the Phra Bovorn Ratcha Wang (พระบวรราชวัง) or the 'glorious' (บวร; Bovorn) palace.

 

Throughout the period of absolute monarchy, from 1782 to 1932, the Grand Palace was both the country's administrative and religious centre. As the main residence of the monarch, the palace was also the seat of government, with thousands of inhabitants including guardsmen, servants, concubines, princesses, ministers, and courtiers. The palace's high whitewashed castellated walls and extensive forts and guard posts mirrored those of the walls of Bangkok itself, and thus the Grand Palace was envisioned as a city within a city. For this reason a special set of palace laws were created to govern the inhabitants and to establish hierarchy and order.

 

By the 1920s, a series of new palaces were constructed elsewhere for the king's use; these included the more modern Dusit Palace, constructed in 1903, and Phaya Thai Palace in 1909. These other Bangkok residences began to replace the Grand Palace as the primary place of residence of the monarch and his court. By 1925 this gradual move out of the palace was complete. The growth and centralization of the Siamese state also meant that the various government ministries have grown in size and were finally moved out of the Grand Palace to their own premises. Despite this the Grand Palace remained the official and ceremonial place of residence as well as the stage set for elaborate ancient ceremonies of the monarchy. The end of the absolute monarchy came in 1932, when a revolution overthrew the ancient system of government and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy.

 

Today the Grand Palace is still a centre of ceremony and of the monarchy, and serves as a museum and tourist attraction as well.

 

The Outer Court or Khet Phra Racha Than Chan Nork (เขตพระราชฐานชั้นนอก) of the Grand Palace is situated to the northwest of the palace (the northeast being occupied by the Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Entering through the main Visetchaisri Gate, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is located to the left, with many public buildings located to the right.

 

These buildings include the headquarters and information centre of the Grand Palace and the Bureau of the Royal Household. Other important buildings inside the court include the Sala Sahathai Samakhom (ศาลาสหทัยสมาคม), used for important receptions and meetings. The Sala Luk Khun Nai (ศาลาลูกขุนใน) is an office building housing various departments of the Royal Household. The main office of the Royal Institute of Thailand was also formerly located here. The Outer Court has a small museum called the Pavilion of Regalia, Royal Decorations and Coins. The Phimanchaisri Gate opens directly unto the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall and is the main portal from the Outer Court into the Middle Court.

 

Historically this court was referred to as Fai Na (ฝ่ายหน้า, literally In the front), and also served as the seat of the royal government, with various ministerial offices, a theatre, stables for the king's elephants, barracks for the royal guards, the royal mint and an arsenal. By 1925, all government agencies and workers had vacated the site and all of the buildings were converted for use by the Royal Household.

 

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

Some History of Brisbane.

The first European settlement in Queensland was a small convict colony which was established at Redcliffe, now a northern beach suburb, in 1824. The settlement was soon moved in 1825 to a better location on the Brisbane River in what is now the CBD of Brisbane. John Oxley suggested this change of location and that the town be known as Brisbane after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Governor of NSW who visited this settlement in 1826. Prior to this the settlement was known as the Moreton Bay. By 1831 Moreton Bay had 1,241 people, but 86% were convicts, and almost all the rest were guards and administrators. One of the founding free men to settle in Brisbane was Andrew Petrie, a government clerk, who arrived in the settlement in 1837. His son later became the first mayor of Brisbane.

 

In 1842 (six years after the settlement of SA) Moreton Bay penal settlement was closed and the area opened to free settlers. Half the convicts at Moreton Bay were Irish Catholics which influenced the development of the settlement thereafter as many stayed on. By 1846 Moreton Bay had a population of 4,000 people, considerably less than that of Burra at the time which had over 5,000 people! In 1848 the first immigrants direct from Britain arrived, as did some Chinese. In 1849 three ship loads of Presbyterians arrived in Brisbane, the first ship being the Fortitude- hence the naming of Fortitude Valley. The colony was still far from self-sufficient in terms of food production. In the mid-1850s German immigrants also started to arrive in the settlement. The only building still standing built by convict labour is the Old Windmill in Wickham Park.

 

During the late 1840s a few grand houses were built in Brisbane like Newstead House at Hamilton and the city began to take shape. All the central streets were named after members of Queen Victoria’s family- Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary for the streets parallel to Queen Street, and Albert, Edward, George and William for the streets perpendicular to Queen Street. In 1859 the population had grown sufficiently, to about 30,000 people, for Queensland to be proclaimed a separate colony from NSW with Brisbane (about 6,000 people) as the capital city. It was now a self-governing independent colony. Old Government House was built shortly after this in 1862 followed by numerous colonial government buildings. The French Empire style Parliament House opposite the old Botanical Gardens was erected in 1865 to a design by Charles Tiffin. It had perfect symmetry a mansard roof and an arcaded loggia. It is still one of the most distinctive buildings in Brisbane. Nearby the pastoralists and wealthy built the Queensland Club in Alice Street in 1882 with classical columns but with Italianate style bay windows. The location near parliament house is much like the situation of the Adelaide Club on North Terrace almost adjacent to the SA parliament. The wealthy and pastoralists in both states had immeasurable influence over early colonial politics. One of the other finest colonial buildings of Brisbane is the Old Customs House with the circular copper domed roof on the edge of the Brisbane River. It was erected in 1888.

 

Although Brisbane grew quickly through the following decades it was not incorporated as a city until 1902.Part of the reason for the relatively slow of growth of Brisbane, compared to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney was that it was not the focal point of the state railway network. Queensland always had other major regional centres. The railway from Brisbane reached out to southern Queensland only- Ipswich in 1864, Toowoomba in 1867, and Charleville in 1888. There was no early push to have a railway link between the coastal cities. They were not linked by a railway until 1927 when road transport had already taken over the transport of livestock and freight. The coastal railway to Cairns was always for passenger traffic as much as freight traffic.

 

Unlike the other Australian state capitals, Brisbane City Council governs most of the metropolitan area of Brisbane. In 1925 over twenty shires and municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Brisbane. It was at this time that the landmark Brisbane city Hall was built in Art Deco style. It was opened in 1930. During World War Two, Brisbane had a distinctive history as Prime Minister John Curtin had the “Brisbane Line” as a controversial defense plan, whereby if there was a land invasion of Australia, the northern half of the country would be surrendered at a line just north of Brisbane! Brisbane also became the headquarters for the American campaign in the South Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur based there at times. In 1942 a violent clash erupted between American and Australian service personnel in Brisbane. Between 2,000 and 5,000 men were involved in the riots which spread over two days. One soldier was killed and eight injured by gun fire as well as hundreds injured with black eyes, swollen faces, broken noses etc. On the second night 21 Americans were injured with 11 of them having to be hospitalised. This was The Battle of Brisbane. Yet around 1 million American troops passed through Queensland between December 1941 (just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour) and the end of 1945. They were here to spearhead attacks to take back the Philippines and to prevent the Japanese from taking New Guinea. Black American soldiers were especially unpopular in Brisbane as their landing contravened the “White Australia Policy” of those times. In response to this policy General Douglas MacArthur announced his support for the Australian government’s insistence that no more Black American troops be sent to Brisbane after 1942. The Black American units in Australia were later sent to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Black American troops in New Guinea were not allowed to visit Australia for rest and recreation leave although white American troops were allowed to visit Australia, mainly to Mackay. Resentment between American and Australian troops in Brisbane had to be contained and suppressed. Riots between troops also occurred in Townsville during the War. Today Brisbane is a fast growing city that has far outstripped Adelaide in terms of population, growth and infrastructure.

 

Wat Pho, also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan. The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction of its older name, Wat Photaram

 

The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site. It became his main temple and is where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.

 

Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam, from which the name Wat Pho is derived. The name refers to the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The date of the construction of the old temple and its founder are unknown, but it is thought to have been built or expanded during the reign of King Phetracha (1688–1703). The southern section of Wat Pho used to be occupied by part of a French Star fort that was demolished by King Phetracha after the 1688 Siege of Bangkok.

 

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 to the Burmese, King Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi where he located his palace beside Wat Arun on the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River from Wat Pho. The proximity of Wat Pho to this royal palace elevated it to the status of a wat luang ('royal monastery').

 

In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho. In 1788, he ordered the construction and renovation at the old temple site of Wat Pho, which had by then become dilapidated. The site, which was marshy and uneven, was drained and filled in before construction began. During its construction, Rama I also initiated a project to remove Buddha images from abandoned temples in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, as well other sites in Thailand, and many of these retrieved Buddha images were kept at Wat Pho. These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex. The rebuilding took over seven years to complete. In 1801, twelve years after work began, the new temple complex was renamed Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas in reference to the vihara of Jetavana, and it became the main temple for Rama I.

 

The complex underwent significant changes over the next 260 years, particularly during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851). In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete. The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 56 rai (9.0 ha; 22 acres), and most of the structures now present in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt during this period, including the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha. He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects.: 90  The inscriptions were written by about 50 people from the court of Rama III and learned monks led by Supreme Patriarch Prince Paramanuchitchinorot (1790-1853), the abbot of Wat Pho, a Buddhist scholar, historian and poet. On 21 February 2008, these marble illustrations and inscriptions was registered in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO to promote, preserve and propagate the wisdom of the world heritage. Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand's first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center in the mid-19th century before the advent of modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private school for Thai medicine founded in 1957 still operates.

 

The name of the complex was changed again to Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm during the reign of King Rama IV. Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho since. Repair work, however, is a continuing process, often funded by devotees of the temple. The temple was restored again in 1982 before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration.

 

Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok covering an area of 50 rai or 80,000 square metres. It is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 46 metres (151 ft) in length. The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Chetuphon Road running in the east–west direction. The larger northern walled compound, the phutthawat, is open to visitors and contains the finest buildings dedicated to the Buddha, including the bot with its four directional viharn, and the temple housing the reclining Buddha. The southern compound, the sankhawat, contains the residential quarters of the monks and a school. The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public (one on Chetuphon Road, the other near the northwest corner).

 

The temple grounds contain four great chedis, 91 small chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls) and various buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found in the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates in the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China.

 

Wat Pho was also intended to serve as a place of education for the general public. To this end a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas: history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion. These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustrations on medicine, Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple, for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions. Dotted around the complex are 24 small rock gardens (khao mor) illustrating rock formations of Thailand, and one, called the Contorting Hermit Hill, contains some statues showing methods of massage and yoga positions. There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry.

 

Phra Ubosot (Phra Uposatha) or bot is the ordination hall, the main hall used for performing Buddhist rituals, and the most sacred building of the complex. It was constructed by King Rama I in the Ayuthaya-style, and later enlarged and reconstructed in the Rattanakosin-style by Rama III. The bot was dedicated in 1791, before the rebuilding of Wat Pho was completed. This building is raised on a marble platform, and the ubosot lies in the center of courtyard enclosed by a double cloister (Phra Rabiang).

 

Inside the ubosot is a gold and crystal three-tiered pedestal topped with a gilded Buddha made of a gold-copper alloy, and over the statue is a nine-tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. The Buddha image, known as Phra Buddha Theva Patimakorn and thought to be from the Ayutthaya period, was moved here by Rama I from Wat Sala Si Na (now called Wat Khuhasawan) in Thonburi. Rama IV later placed some ashes of Rama I under the pedestal of the Buddha image so that the public may pay homage to both Rama I and the Buddha at the same time. There are also ten images of Buddha's disciples in the hall: Moggalana is to the left of Buddha and Sariputta to the right, with eight Arahants below.

 

The exterior balustrade surrounding the main hall has around 150 depictions in stone of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions. The stone panels were recovered from a temple in Ayuthaya. The ubosot is enclosed by a low wall called kamphaeng kaew, which is punctuated by gateways guarded by mythological lions, as well as eight structures that house bai sema, stone markers that delineate the sacred space of the bot.

 

Phra Rabiang - This double cloister contains around 400 images of Buddha from northern Thailand selected out of the 1,200 originally brought by King Rama I. Of these Buddha images, 150 are on the inner side of the double cloister, another 244 images are on the outer side. These Buddha figures, some standing and some seated, are evenly mounted on matching gilded pedestals. These images are from different periods in Siamese history, such as the Chiangsaen, Sukhothai, U-Thong, and Ayutthaya eras, but they were renovated by Rama I and covered with stucco and gold leaves to make them look similar.

 

The Phra Rabiang is intersected by four viharns. The viharn in the east contains an eight metre tall standing Buddha, the Buddha Lokanatha, originally from Ayutthaya. In its antechamber is Buddha Maravichai, sitting under a bodhi tree, originally from Sawankhalok of the late-Sukhothai period. The one on the west has a seated Buddha sheltered by a naga, the Buddha Chinnasri, while the Buddha on the south, the Buddha Chinnaraja, has five disciples seated in front listening to his first sermon. Both Buddhas in the south and west viharns were brought from Sukhothai by Rama I. The Buddha in the north viharn, called Buddha Palilai, was cast in the reign of Rama I. The viharn on the west contains a small museum.

 

Phra Prang - There are four towers, or phra prang, at each corner of the courtyard around the bot. Each of the towers is tiled with marble and contains four Khmer-style statues which are the guardian divinities of the Four Cardinal Points.

 

This is a group of four large stupas, each 42 metres high. These four chedis are dedicated to the first four Chakri kings. The first, in green mosaic tiles, was constructed by Rama I to house the remnants of the great Buddha from Ayuthaya, which was scorched to remove its gold covering by the Burmese. Two more were built by Rama III, one in white tiles to hold the ashes of his father Rama II, another in yellow for himself. A fourth in blue was built by Rama IV who then enclosed the four chedis leaving no space for more to be built.

 

The viharn or wihan contains the reclining Buddha and was constructed in the reign of Rama III emulating the Ayutthaya style. The interior is decorated with panels of mural.

 

Adjacent to this building is a small raised garden (Missakawan Park) with a Chinese-style pavilion; the centre piece of the garden is a bodhi tree which was propagated from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka that is believed to have originally came from a tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment.

 

Phra Mondop or the ho trai is the Scripture Hall containing a small library of Buddhist scriptures. The building is not generally open to the public as the scriptures, which are inscribed on palm leaves, need to be kept in a controlled environment for preservation. The library was built by King Rama III. Guarding its entrance are figures called Yak Wat Pho ('Wat Pho's Giants') placed in niches beside the gates. Around Phra Mondop are three pavilions with mural paintings of the beginning of Ramayana.

 

Phra Chedi Rai - Outside the Phra Rabiang cloisters are dotted many smaller chedis, called Phra Chedi Rai. Seventy-one of these small chedis were built by Rama III, each five metres in height. There are also four groups of five chedis that shared a single base built by Rama I, one on each corner outside the cloister. The 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 20 slightly larger ones clustered in groups of five contain the relics of Buddha.

 

Sala Karn Parien - This hall is next to the Phra Mondop at the southwest corner of the compound, and is thought to date from the Ayutthaya period. It serves as a learning and meditation hall. The building contains the original Buddha image from the bot which was moved here to make way for the Buddha image currently in the bot. Next to it is a garden called The Crocodile Pond.

Sala Rai - There are 16 satellite pavilions, most of them placed around the edge of the compound, and murals depicting the life of Buddha may be found in some of these. Two of these are the medical pavilions between Phra Maha Chedi Si Ratchakarn and the main chapel. The north medicine pavilion contains Thai traditional massage inscriptions with 32 drawings of massage positions on the walls while the one to the south has a collection of inscriptions on guardian angel that protects the newborn.

Phra Viharn Kod - This is the gallery which consists of four viharas, one on each corner outside the Phra Rabiang.

Tamnak Wasukri - Also called the poet's house, this is the former residence of Prince Patriarch Paramanuchitchinorot, a scholar, historian and poet. The house was a gift from his nephew Rama III. This building is in the living quarters of the monks in the southern compound and is open once a year on his birthday.

 

The wat and the reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas, Thai: พระพุทธไสยาสน์) were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand.

 

The figure has a brick core, which was modelled and shaped with plaster, then gilded. The right arm of the Buddha supports the head with tight curls, which rests on two box-pillows encrusted with glass mosaics. The soles of the feet of the Buddha are 3 m high and 4.5 m long, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. They are each divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified, such as flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers, and altar accessories. At the center of each foot is a circle representing a chakra or 'energy point'. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor representing the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. Visitors may drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and it also helps the monks to maintain the wat.

 

Although the reclining Buddha is not a pilgrimage destination, it remains an object of popular piety. An annual celebration for the reclining Buddha is held around the time of the Siamese Songkran or New Year in April, which also helps raise funds for the upkeep of Wat Pho.

 

The temple is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science, and literature through murals and sculptures. A school for traditional medicine and massage was established at the temple in 1955, and now offers four courses in Thai medicine: Thai pharmacy, Thai medical practice, Thai midwifery, and Thai massage. This, the Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School, is the first school of Thai medicine approved by the Thai Ministry of Education, and one of the earliest massage schools. It remains the national headquarters and the center of education of traditional Thai medicine and massage to this day. Courses on Thai massage are held in Wat Pho, and these may last a few weeks to a year. Two pavilions at the eastern edge of the Wat Pho compound are used as classrooms for practising Thai traditional massage and herbal massage, and visitors can received massage treatment here for a fee. The Thai massage or Nuad Thai taught at Wat Pho has been included in UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Wat Pho has trained more than 200,000 massage therapists who practice in 145 countries.

 

There are many medical inscriptions and illustrations placed in various buildings around the temple complex, some of which serve as instructions for Thai massage therapists, particularly those in the north medical pavilion. They were inscribed by scholars during the reign of King Rama III. Among these are 60 inscribed plaques, 30 each for the front and back of human body, showing pressure points used in traditional Thai massage. These therapeutic points and energy pathways, known as sen, with explanations given on the walls next to the plaques.

 

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

I love the song and the live performance is the best

From the blurb on the dust jacket:

 

"Messiah" by Gore Vidal will arouse anger and resentment in many people, it will shock them as "The Way of All Flesh" shocked them when it was first published; it will arouse argument and controversy, such as raged around Huxley's "Brave New World" and Orwell's "1984;" it will grip people while they read it and it will make them think.

 

Brain washing has become a recognized weapon; will soul washing come next? Will all the isms besetting humanity drive it into the arms of a new Messiah? Can television, advertising copy and high pressure publicity by exploiting man's inward religious urge lead him to anything, even death in preference to life? Can this happen here? Can it happen now?

 

These are some of the basic elements which make "Messiah" by Gore Vidal an absorbing, frightening and stimulating experience. This extraordinarily imaginative novel has a story of motion and action told in simple, economic words; it satirizes men and techniques, ridiculous in themselves, yet sinister in their intent and singleness of purpose; it gives a horribly real and vivid picture of a world that may come.

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Malcolm Macdonald - Chief Constable of Sutherland Constabulary from 1887 to 1906

 

On 7 June 1887, Malcolm Macdonald, then an Inspector in the Inverness-shire Constabulary, stationed at Portree on the Isle of Skye, was appointed as the new Chief Constable of Sutherland.

 

He had joined the Inverness-shire Constabulary as a 3rd Class Constable on 2 December 1874 at the age of 26 years. Previously a farm servant, he had also served 2 years in the City of Glasgow Police before joining Inverness-shire.

 

A native of the Island of Skye, Chief Constable Macdonald stood 6'1'' in height, had grey eyes and fresh complexion with dark and curly hair. He was a big man in all senses, with a considerable presence.

 

His promotion to Inspector came from the previous Chief Constable, William Murray, six months before Chief Constable McHardy went to Inverness-shire Constabulary from Dornoch.

 

In fact Mr MscDonald's advancement to Inspector had come quickly, only 13 months after being made up to Sergeant at Beauly with only 9 years Police Service, some 7 of them in Inverness-shire. Such a rapid (at least in terms of promotions in Inverness-shire) ascent would likely not have pleased some of his colleagues as it was upsetting the established order (“dead man’s shoes”).

 

That feeling of resentment would not apply however if his colleagues had identified, as they probably did in this case, that he was what was (and still is) termed a ‘flier’ (accelerated

promotion - such flight being both ‘upwards’ and ‘away’), and would be off to another force in a promoted rank soon enough, so that the previous order would resume with no harm done.

 

The new Chief, aged 39 on appointment, was awarded an initial salary of £200 per annum. He appeared to settle in very well in Sutherland, a land very similar in terrain and attitude to his own

home Island. That he made a lasting impression on the local population is not in dispute.

 

Sadly his wife died during his period in Dornoch, leaving the Chief to raise his family of six, three boys and three girls.

 

In November 1892 Mr Macdonald received a ten per cent rise in his salary, going up to £220, having served 5 years in the Force. The 15th of November seems to have been either the start or mid point of the Force's financial year. Almost all amalgamations of Forces occurred on 16 May or 16 November.

 

John Macdonald, eldest son of Malcolm, joined the City of Dundee Police in 1898 and had been promoted to Sergeant in the following year. He surely was a ‘flier’. With only 14 years of police service, he would reach the exalted rank of Superintendent (and be appointed Deputy Chief Constable) in Dundee by 1912, and then from 1931 to 1936 would be Chief Constable of the City of Dundee himself.

 

Chief Constable Malcolm Macdonald died suddenly at his home in Dornoch on the afternoon of Thursday 15 February 1906 and a sense of shock was experienced all around the County, as demonstrated by the obituary carried in the "Northern Times" newspaper:-

 

It came as a shock to the northern public on Thursday afternoon to hear of the sudden death at 4.40 p.m. on that day of Mr Malcolm Macdonald, Chief Constable of Sutherland, at his residence in Dornoch. The cause of death, it is understood, was heart failure supervening after a sharp attack of colic, which began about 10 a.m. on the morning of his death. He was at the curling on Loch-in-treel, and in excellent spirits the day before. He got up on Thursday morning as usual and breakfasted with his family, after which he went outside and did some work on his own premises. Returning to the house he complained of a feeling of being gripped as if some one had caught him by the throat, this gradually going down the chest to the abdomen when pain set in, which was at times very acute.

 

Dr Maclachlan was called about eleven o'clock, but no serious view was taken of the attack, and a prescription was given. Again at two o'clock the doctor saw Mr Macdonald, and, although he was still suffering nothing serious was apprehended; but unfortunately the unseen was at work, and he became alarmingly ill, and expired suddenly at the hour stated above, in the presence of his son and daughter and his sister-in-law. All the curlers, in view of the County Bonspiel, were out at Loch-in-treel, and when they heard the sad news on their return it could hardly be believed. The telegraph conveyed the news all over the county, and the sadness which it produced as it spread testified to the popularity of the deceased.

 

The "Chief," as he was popularly known, was 57 years of age and a widower. His eldest son is superintendent of police at Dundee, and there are two other sons and three daughters, six in all, mostly grown up. Mr Macdonald was Chief Constable of Sutherland for eighteen years, having succeeded the late Chief-Constable MacLean in July 1887. He was appointed from the post of inspector at Portree, which he had occupied under Mr McHardy, chief constable of Inverness-shire for about five years.

 

He was in Skye, of which he was a native, during the time of the crofter disturbances, and on one occasion he and the late Sergt Mackenzie, Kingussie, and four constables, visiting Glendale, encountered a violent mob, by whom the inspector was roughly handled, receiving injuries from the after effects of which he suffered for a long time. Mr Macdonald's connection with the Inverness-shire Constabulary began at Obbe, from which he transferred to Ardersier, afterwards becoming sergeant of police at Beauly.

 

Since he came into the County of Sutherland the Chief was one of the most popular public figures, and was welcomed wherever people gathered together. He was a man equally at home at a social gathering or at a public meeting, ever having an open eye to his duty, and ever ready to take his full share of public work.

 

It is a rare testimonial to a Chief Constable to say that he was one of the most popular men in the north and west of Scotland. From the nature of the duties falling to be executed by one in that position, people would naturally look for some enmity, at least on the part of those unfortunate enough to come on the wrong side of his official work. But the Chief had his own way of doing things. His official work never left the flesh raw or nor a feeling of revenge.

 

Everyone knew the big soft heart he carried in his big frame, and any unpleasant work that may have fallen to the Chief was done in the most pleasant manner possible. Therein lay his popularity. He never talked "shop". He never spoke anything but well of people, and where he could not do that he held his peace.

 

He gave a helping hand where he could, whether it was privately or in connection with public movements, either in the Burgh of Dornoch or in the County, or in his native island of Skye, and his death is mourned by a huge circle of friends all over the northern half of Scotland, who extend to the bereaved family every expression of sympathy.

 

The Chief was a fine specimen of the Highlander. Standing considerably over six feet in height, and huge of girth and limb he was an imposing figure, and the beau ideal in the public mind of what a chief constable should be. Coming from the misty Isle of Skye his knowledge of the Gaelic language was extensive, and he spoke with a correctness of tone and felicity of expression which often excited comment.

 

He was passionately fond of Gaelic song and story, and had an illimitable store of both, which, when it was tapped, was delightful. To see the fine erect figure, clad in real Highland dress, and to, at the same time hear him conversing in the Gaelic language, was to find the real embodiment of a Highlander, seemingly as far apart from English language and latter-day customs as the towering peaks of his native Cuchullins.

 

Although out of Skye for many years he always manifested a keen interest in the doings of the island, and was regularly a prominent figure at the annual "field-day" at Portree, renewing acquaintances with his many friends and following with zest the fortunes of the competitors at the cattle show and the Highland games, to the prize-lists of each of which he was a standing contributor.

 

Physically a strong man, he was naturally fond of the out-door life, although, within recent years, the attacks of rheumatism with which he was visited served to curtail his partaking in various games he played as much as he would have wished. Prominently, above all else, he was a golfer. Although he never tackled a club until he was about forty years of age, he worked himself down to "scratch" in a year or two, and for some years he held the record at the Dornoch course, and since then has always been reckoned as amongst the best five or six players the club possessed.

 

He was also a well-known figure on the Tain, Brora, and Golspie courses, and his style of play - so easy, confident, and sure with clubs remarkable for their lightness and shortness - was always much admired. Then, as a curler - and golf and curling are the two premier games of Scotland - he was as keen and hearty a man as ever "sooped a stone into the house" and none watched the counting of points with keener interest.

 

In all respects he was an ideal man for his position and the "good old chief" - decent soul that he was" - will long live in the memories of those to whom he was known. It will be many long years ere he has been forgotten, and there will always be those for half a century to come who will remember with softening of the heart and a dimming of the eyes the admirable Chief who they loved so well. Requiescat in pace.

 

The funeral took place to Dornoch Churchyard on Monday amid every appearance of mourning and sincere sympathy. It was largely attended by representatives from practically every corner of the county, and by all the officials and Constabulary. The remains were laid beside those of his wife and daughter, the coffin bearing the age of 57.

 

(The newspaper cutting was preserved by the late Kenneth Ross BL, final Chief Constable of Sutherland)

Wanganui/Whanganui. (Since 2009 the government uses Whanganui.)

 

In May of 1840 the NZ Company purchased 40,000 acres of land from 27 different Maori Chiefs. Wanganui was the second NZ Company settlement and after surveying land was sold to white settlers from February 1841. It was the third settlement in New Zealand after the Bay of Islands and Wellington. But the land at Wanganui was bought two months after the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed so it should have been purchased through the Crown. A Land Commission in 1844 ordered the NZ Company to pay more compensation for the land but left the amount up to the Company. Some chiefs accepted the original miserly compensation of 1840 and others did not. Conflict and resentment simmered. By 1847 Whanganui was a stockaded town, constructed by the British troops not the NZ Company and trouble was expected from the Maori. Trouble did erupt but not a major war as in some other districts. A Maori was accidentally killed by a British sailor in 1847 and reprisals led to the death of a white mother and her three children. Some Maori captured four Maori villains responsible for the white murders and handed them over to the British troops. Peace returned to the settlement after the four Maori were hung. Then in 1864 inter-tribal warfare broke out in the Wanganui River valley and the British siding with one group. As usual once peace was restored the British confiscated land from the warring Maoris. This created more Maori resentment. The stockade of Wanganui was only removed when all British troops left NZ (and Australian colonies) in 1870. By this time Wanganui was a well-established white settlement area with around 2,000 pakeha inhabitants as well as the Maori.

 

Whanganui grew in the 1870s after the river bridges were built and again in the 1880s after it had two railway connections – one to Wellington and the other to New Plymouth. These days Whanganui’s industrial base is centred on boat building (such as Fuller Ferries in Auckland), bicycle helmets and agriculture service and engineering industries. Whanganui is one of the major ports of New Zealand. The city has around 40,000 people and the wider district 42,000. A focus of the city is the Whanganui River which rises on the volcanic Mt Tongariro. The Whanganui River is 290 kms long and the second longest river in NZ. The river brings many tourists to the district for cruises and higher up the valley kayaking and rafting. Traditionally the Maori used their canoes for transport up and down the river. The city has many schools and cultural institutions. Its historic buildings include

•St Hill Street. The Victorian era Opera House built in 1899 at 69 St Hill Street; Wanganui Commercial Club at 72 St Hill St built in 1926; the Ward (a NZ astronomer) Observatory 1903 at 121 St Hill St;

•Cameron Terrace. Wanganui Regional Museum built 1928 in Cameron Tce; Sarjeant Gallery in Cameron Tce;

•Victoria Avenue. National Bank of New Zealand built in 1929 at 98 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New South Wales built in 1910 at 39 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New Zealand built in 1906 at 26 Victoria Avenue.

 

Waimarie Steamboat Cruise.

Our 11 am cruise on the Waimarie is a great way to enjoy the Wanganui River. The paddle boat was built in London and shipped in pieces for reassembly in Wanganui. The Wanganui Settlers’ Riverboat Company ran the ship along the river as transport for just 3 years to 1902 when she was taken over by Hatrick and Co who had 12 river boats. They named the boat the Waimarie meaning “good fortune.” The Waimarie carried mail, some passengers and freight up the river to its rapids. She sunk and was left in the river in 1952. A group of locals started rising funds, and volunteers to raise the boat in 1992 succeeding in this endeavour in 1993. Some 67,000 volunteer hours were needed to restore the Waimarie. She was recommissioned on 1st January 2000. She now carries well over 25,000 people a year on cruises along the Wanganui River. Coal for her steam boiler is supplied from a mine near Hamilton. Food and drinks from the bar are available during the two hour cruise.

 

I think that some of my past abandonment issues along with other problems with opening up to people really stemmed from my parents and their toxic relationship. There was a messy divorce when I was 5 years old, they fought a lot even afterward and that definitely hurt more than it helped us kids. My dad eventually married again and had another family, and although my dad kept in contact through email (early 2000’s) and an occasional phone call our visits grew far and few between. I always wanted to be the light of my dads life, always getting good grades and trying to be the best well mannered kid that ate all of her vegetables and impressed all of the adults. I held out hope that my parents would get back together and I blamed my moms resentful demeanor towards him as the reason why I would never belong to a happy and whole family. In my adolescence though I grew more and more angry at how HE handled things and understood more why she had her outbursts and nights crying in her room. When I finally stood up to him about how he essentially disowned my little sister he cut off contact. I not only grew up thinking I wasn’t worthy of love after my father left but also had no idea of what love looked like. I’ve looked back on a lot of my adult relationships and realized I self sabotage when things start to get really real. I push people away to see if they really care about me.

 

7 years ago I started dating a guy who I was so overwhelmingly into, he was from a good family, he just got out of the Army, and we had a matching sense of humor. Great right?! But I was the one texting/calling him and trying to make plans, only recently did I realize that I was simply seeking his approval (just like I had with my father) and wondering why I wasn’t good enough to be thought of first. We started dating which I was over the moon about because OH MY GOD HE PICKED ME but soon after I noticed he had bouts of rage but I chocked it up to PTSD from Afghanistan. I stuck through it and I got pregnant after the holidays in 2015.

 

I got the news and told him the same day but he was less than thrilled and it actually looked like the blood drained from his face. Thats when the switch flipped. He told me he wanted me to get an abortion and that he didn’t want to have a kid with me or anyone. He was cold and heartless for the whole month before I went to the abortion clinic. The day of my appointment, I was sad. I remember my mom texted me that morning telling me she loved me and I wore my late grandmothers comfy sweater so I would feel like I had some support. My ride had to cancel because it snowed so HE had to drive me. He sat with me in the waiting room but I felt utterly alone, he was even joking with his friend via text saying that he was “at the clinic, where miracles go to die” and showed me it thinking I would laugh. I didn’t, I took the phone and threw it across the room. They have you speak with a psychiatrist before you go in and ask you questions like “are you being pressured into this?” Then I was asked “Why are you doing this?” To which I replied “Because I feel like I have nothing to offer a child” and the response that I got was one I’ll never forget and still brings tears to my eyes “you have yourself to offer”. But to me I wasn’t good enough, or so that’s what I had thought all my life. So, I went into the back room, and I got put under during the procedure. I woke up groggy and already sobbing uncontrollably. I was comforted by the nurses briefly and then carted into a room to “recover” for 30 minutes before I could leave. We drove home and even though it was late in the afternoon I went straight to bed and slept.

 

Two weeks later I found out I had been cheated on for almost my entire relationship. I found out I was pregnant again. I wasn’t sure what to do about my newly ended relationship but I knew I wasn’t going to give up my invitation to motherhood like before. I wasn’t going to let anyone sway my decision, even if that meant raising my child alone. For the whole first trimester of my pregnancy he told me he hoped I had a miscarriage, asked me “if it was still alive” and told me to have another abortion. I didn’t even live with him and he was relentless. I couldn’t sleep, I ate only because I knew I had to, and spent most of my days in my bedroom binging shows or going to the gym. I was depressed and I don’t use that term lightly. I couldn’t keep a job and felt like my world was imploding, I didn’t know what was next but I knew I had hope as long as my child was healthy and I could take care of him.

 

When we found out it was a boy it’s almost like the switch flipped on again and he was excited for his son to be born. I ended up moving back in with my sons father and for the next 4 years I was treated as a guest in his home and told that I was worthless and to kill myself. I tried to seek help and talk about it with his family but the blind eye kept being turned. I felt that because he was so narcissistic that no one bothered to speak up to him. His mother did, with the first pregnancy, and I’ll always be thankful for that. But the years of emotional and verbal abuse afterward took a huge chunk out of me as an individual. My mother spoke up when I told her that he said to kill myself for about the 8th time but that didn’t stop him from getting in my face from time to time and yelling at me to get the fuck out of his house and to leave our son there. He had a heavy drinking problem and one night pissed on the floor in the bathroom because he couldn’t stand straight, as I stood there in disbelief my son who was 3 years old at the time asked me “why is daddy doing that?” And I decided then that we needed to move out.

 

After a while I ended up getting my own place a few towns away and he had already been talking to a woman he met online. That was difficult for me only because she has a son almost the same age as mine and not only had I felt instantly replaced but my son was confused as well, and it didn’t make matters easier when he had them move in a few months later. I was out of control with my anger and resentment and started to see a pattern I had seen in my childhood. I would blow up over the phone, name call, and I tried to control the situation any way I knew how.

 

It wasn’t until mid March of 2020 that I decided I needed to seek real help. I went to my doctor because I had been crying so much and felt like every day was just a blur into the next. I knew that my son deserved better than to see me like that and immediately started therapy and Serotonin inhibitors. My healing process hasn’t been ideal or easy but I guess when you have a major life shift there’s a lot of soul work that needs to be done. I kept up with my therapist and my meds and did a ton of self care. The best advice I can give to anyone is do whatever is self care for you. Take a shower, shave your legs, paint your nails, play with your dog, visit or call friends or family you know love you, sit on the couch and read/write, paint, just do anything that makes you feel even the slightest bit alive because those are the things that kept me going on the hard days. It was really crucial for me that I had a support system, and even when I felt like I didn’t want to talk about something with a loved one I went straight to my therapist or wrote in my journal.

 

I really wanted to share my experiences to help another person who may have gone through something similar. I feel that sharing our downfalls and our failures brings people together more than pretending our lives are hunky-dory. But even if no one gets any insight or clarity from this, it has helped me IMMENSELY to write it down and let that shit go. I still have a long way to go in realizing what is healthy in a relationship, I recently I lost someone who I truly believed to be the love of my life because of my own toxic behavior. It’s all about coming back to yourself and not expecting anyone else to do the work for you. It’s an uphill climb coming out of a dark hole and remembering who YOU are and what YOU love and where YOU came from but as the pieces come back it’s the most beautiful and grounding thing. We’re learning (and unlearning!) as we go and everyone has their own set of traumas and difficulties, but make sure that you’re not building your wall so high that you’re keeping out the good people too. Love and light to anyone whose read this.

"We cannot in good conscience cause animals to suffer for something as inconsequential as a momentary gustatory pleasure...."

Bruce Friedrich - Farm Sanctuary

 

"Farm animals feel pleasure and sadness, excitement and resentment, depression fear and pain, they are individual beings in their own right..."

Jane Goodall - primatologist and proud vegetarian

Brief History of Norfolk as a Penal Settlement.

As noted previously Norfolk was settled to provide flax fibre rope, flax sails and tree masts from Norfolk Island pine trees and also because it was uninhabited. It was also an island paradise with rich volcanic soils. Its only major drawback was its isolation and its lack of a good harbour. Its history falls into several phases.

Phase One- 1788-1814. This phase was run along the same lines as the settlement of Sydney. Both men and women convicts were quartered here. The women were to work making flax rope and sails and the men were to do the building, road making, land clearing, agriculture and stone masonry work. Some free settlers came too. The settlement was centred on Kingston (then called Sydney) and nearby Arthur’s Vale (watermill valley.) By 1806 the population had reached over 1,000 people. Then for financial reasons- the cost of sending supply ships from Sydney to Norfolk was too great- the evacuation of the island was ordered. Convicts and other settlers were moved to Van Diemen’s Land- hence the settlements there of New Norfolk and Norfolk Plains (later Longford.)

Phase Two- 1825-1855. This time the island was run as a total penitentiary for the worse offenders. There would be no escape from Norfolk Island. Conditions were harsh, severe and degrading. It was a place of extreme punishment. The worst commandant was Captain Turton. During the period 1840-44 conditions were slightly better. Free settlers were not encouraged to settle during this second phase but a few of the best behaved convicts were allowed to work small farms across the island. Massive government expenditure on the penitentiary meant that fine sandstone Georgian buildings were erected and like Port Arthur in Tasmania many of them still remain. A large prison was built in the 1840s, and the prison required large military barracks, large stores and Commissariat stores, officer headquarters, a large hospital etc and good quality homes for the prison and military officers on the island. Kingston remained the administration and shipping centre of the island.

Phase Three – 1856-. In the third phase some of the original stone buildings were dismantled or left to go to ruins. Some were burnt down or the stone re-used for other structures. But the major feature of this period was the introduction of 194 Pitcairn Islanders in 1856. Norfolk remained isolated and largely forgotten. At one stage the Governor of NSW (the British Crown representative in charge of the island) ordered that the Pitcairn Islanders could no longer reside in the former penal settlement buildings in Kingston. This was in 1908 just before the Commonwealth government took charge. The resentment of this change led to fires and some beautiful buildings being destroyed. In 1893 Norfolk got a telegraph office and an underwater cable link to the world via Canada. Soon it had a cable link to New Zealand and a cable station opened at Anson Bay in 1902. Once it became a territory of the new Australian federal government conditions improved a little. Shipping came irregularly but during World War Two the Australian government built an airstrip for defence reasons. Flights continued after the War and now the main linkage between Norfolk and Australia is by air. The federal government has also put more money into other facilities on the island including the Botanic Gardens, and all the restoration work at Kingston etc.

 

Bowes Castle was built between 1171 and 1187 on the site of the Roman fort of Lavatris. The Roman fort can be traced for most of its perimeter.

 

It was constructed to guard the strategic route known as the Stainmore Pass, and was occupied from the late 1st century AD to the late 4th century. The importance of this route and the crucial defensive position of the fort were recognised by Henry II who built the keep in the north-west sector of the fort. The castle was originally a possession of the Honour of Richmond but came into the ownership of the Crown when Earl Conan died without male heirs in 1171. King Henry II lost no time in strengthening a castle so vital for the defence of the kingdom against a Scottish invasion, which did in fact occur in 1173–4. Bowes was besieged by the army of King William of Scotland which immediately retreated when Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, approached with a relieving army. No further expenditure on its fabric is recorded after 1187, and, as the keep is the only part of the castle that still stands, the history of the rest is obscure.

 

The castle appears to have remained in Crown ownership until 1233, when it was presented by Henry III to the Duke of Brittany. In 1241 the castle and manor of Bowes were given to Peter of Savoy who was the king’s uncle and also Earl of Richmond. Edward II subsequently granted the castle to John de Scargill in 1322, causing much local resentment, and tenants of the earl besieged and captured the castle. After further changes of ownership the castle reverted to the Crown in 1471. By the 17th century it had become redundant, and after the Civil War parts of it were dismantled and the stone was re-used for other buildings.

 

The castle now stands in a field surrounded by a moat on two sides. The keep is the only surviving part. It is rectangular in plan, with broad, flat buttresses at the corners and halfway along each wall. The keep was originally three storeys high. It was entered at first-floor level via a main door in the east wall, reached by a flight of stairs within a forebuilding that has now disappeared. The entrance to the building is now through an opening that was originally an arrow slit. The two upper floors and the basement – which provided secure storage space – were linked by the spiral staircase in the thickness of the wall at the south-east corner. The first floor, suspended on vaulting added in the 13th or 14th century, was divided into a hall and a chamber by a cross-wall. Smaller rooms and passageways to latrines were constructed in the thickness of the walls. The north-east room was a kitchen. The spiral stair continued up to the second floor, now inaccessible and ruinous.

I think that some of my past abandonment issues along with other problems with opening up to people really stemmed from my parents and their toxic relationship. There was a messy divorce when I was 5 years old, they fought a lot even afterward and that definitely hurt more than it helped us kids. My dad eventually married again and had another family, and although my dad kept in contact through email (early 2000’s) and an occasional phone call our visits grew far and few between. I always wanted to be the light of my dads life, always getting good grades and trying to be the best well mannered kid that ate all of her vegetables and impressed all of the adults. I held out hope that my parents would get back together and I blamed my moms resentful demeanor towards him as the reason why I would never belong to a happy and whole family. In my adolescence though I grew more and more angry at how HE handled things and understood more why she had her outbursts and nights crying in her room. When I finally stood up to him about how he essentially disowned my little sister he cut off contact. I not only grew up thinking I wasn’t worthy of love after my father left but also had no idea of what love looked like. I’ve looked back on a lot of my adult relationships and realized I self sabotage when things start to get really real. I push people away to see if they really care about me.

 

7 years ago I started dating a guy who I was so overwhelmingly into, he was from a good family, he just got out of the Army, and we had a matching sense of humor. Great right?! But I was the one texting/calling him and trying to make plans, only recently did I realize that I was simply seeking his approval (just like I had with my father) and wondering why I wasn’t good enough to be thought of first. We started dating which I was over the moon about because OH MY GOD HE PICKED ME but soon after I noticed he had bouts of rage but I chocked it up to PTSD from Afghanistan. I stuck through it and I got pregnant after the holidays in 2015.

 

I got the news and told him the same day but he was less than thrilled and it actually looked like the blood drained from his face. Thats when the switch flipped. He told me he wanted me to get an abortion and that he didn’t want to have a kid with me or anyone. He was cold and heartless for the whole month before I went to the abortion clinic. The day of my appointment, I was sad. I remember my mom texted me that morning telling me she loved me and I wore my late grandmothers comfy sweater so I would feel like I had some support. My ride had to cancel because it snowed so HE had to drive me. He sat with me in the waiting room but I felt utterly alone, he was even joking with his friend via text saying that he was “at the clinic, where miracles go to die” and showed me it thinking I would laugh. I didn’t, I took the phone and threw it across the room. They have you speak with a psychiatrist before you go in and ask you questions like “are you being pressured into this?” Then I was asked “Why are you doing this?” To which I replied “Because I feel like I have nothing to offer a child” and the response that I got was one I’ll never forget and still brings tears to my eyes “you have yourself to offer”. But to me I wasn’t good enough, or so that’s what I had thought all my life. So, I went into the back room, and I got put under during the procedure. I woke up groggy and already sobbing uncontrollably. I was comforted by the nurses briefly and then carted into a room to “recover” for 30 minutes before I could leave. We drove home and even though it was late in the afternoon I went straight to bed and slept.

 

Two weeks later I found out I had been cheated on for almost my entire relationship. I found out I was pregnant again. I wasn’t sure what to do about my newly ended relationship but I knew I wasn’t going to give up my invitation to motherhood like before. I wasn’t going to let anyone sway my decision, even if that meant raising my child alone. For the whole first trimester of my pregnancy he told me he hoped I had a miscarriage, asked me “if it was still alive” and told me to have another abortion. I didn’t even live with him and he was relentless. I couldn’t sleep, I ate only because I knew I had to, and spent most of my days in my bedroom binging shows or going to the gym. I was depressed and I don’t use that term lightly. I couldn’t keep a job and felt like my world was imploding, I didn’t know what was next but I knew I had hope as long as my child was healthy and I could take care of him.

 

When we found out it was a boy it’s almost like the switch flipped on again and he was excited for his son to be born. I ended up moving back in with my sons father and for the next 4 years I was treated as a guest in his home and told that I was worthless and to kill myself. I tried to seek help and talk about it with his family but the blind eye kept being turned. I felt that because he was so narcissistic that no one bothered to speak up to him. His mother did, with the first pregnancy, and I’ll always be thankful for that. But the years of emotional and verbal abuse afterward took a huge chunk out of me as an individual. My mother spoke up when I told her that he said to kill myself for about the 8th time but that didn’t stop him from getting in my face from time to time and yelling at me to get the fuck out of his house and to leave our son there. He had a heavy drinking problem and one night pissed on the floor in the bathroom because he couldn’t stand straight, as I stood there in disbelief my son who was 3 years old at the time asked me “why is daddy doing that?” And I decided then that we needed to move out.

 

After a while I ended up getting my own place a few towns away and he had already been talking to a woman he met online. That was difficult for me only because she has a son almost the same age as mine and not only had I felt instantly replaced but my son was confused as well, and it didn’t make matters easier when he had them move in a few months later. I was out of control with my anger and resentment and started to see a pattern I had seen in my childhood. I would blow up over the phone, name call, and I tried to control the situation any way I knew how.

 

It wasn’t until mid March of 2020 that I decided I needed to seek real help. I went to my doctor because I had been crying so much and felt like every day was just a blur into the next. I knew that my son deserved better than to see me like that and immediately started therapy and Serotonin inhibitors. My healing process hasn’t been ideal or easy but I guess when you have a major life shift there’s a lot of soul work that needs to be done. I kept up with my therapist and my meds and did a ton of self care. The best advice I can give to anyone is do whatever is self care for you. Take a shower, shave your legs, paint your nails, play with your dog, visit or call friends or family you know love you, sit on the couch and read/write, paint, just do anything that makes you feel even the slightest bit alive because those are the things that kept me going on the hard days. It was really crucial for me that I had a support system, and even when I felt like I didn’t want to talk about something with a loved one I went straight to my therapist or wrote in my journal.

 

I really wanted to share my experiences to help another person who may have gone through something similar. I feel that sharing our downfalls and our failures brings people together more than pretending our lives are hunky-dory. But even if no one gets any insight or clarity from this, it has helped me IMMENSELY to write it down and let that shit go. I still have a long way to go in realizing what is healthy in a relationship, I recently I lost someone who I truly believed to be the love of my life because of my own toxic behavior. It’s all about coming back to yourself and not expecting anyone else to do the work for you. It’s an uphill climb coming out of a dark hole and remembering who YOU are and what YOU love and where YOU came from but as the pieces come back it’s the most beautiful and grounding thing. We’re learning (and unlearning!) as we go and everyone has their own set of traumas and difficulties, but make sure that you’re not building your wall so high that you’re keeping out the good people too. Love and light to anyone whose read this.

Everyday I wake up each morning with the desire to do right, to be a good and meaningful person, to be... well... as simple as it sounds (and as impossible as it actually is) happy.

 

And every single day my heart would descend from my chest into my stomach. By early afternoon, a feeling of anxiety and overwhelmingness overpowers me like a demon and everything I do, just isn't right. I just want to be left alone. By evening, I feel fulfilled: alone in the magnitude of grief, alone in aimless guilt, alone even in loneliness. I am not sad, I repeat to myself over and over, I am not sad... Maybe one day I could convince myself (or fool myself).

 

The only thing worse than being sad is for others to know that you're sad. I am not sad. I am not sad. Because my life has unlimited potential for happiness, nevertheless it's just an empty white room.........

 

By the time I try to fall asleep, my heart is at the foot of my bed. And each morning, I wake with it again in the protection of my rib cage, having become a little heavier, a little weaker, but still pumping. And by the mid-afternoon, I was again overcome with the desire to be somewhere else, someone else, someone else somewhere else. But here is reality striking you with a smack in the face.

 

Tomorrow....

 

Tomorrow is another one of those days. But instead my heart will ache a little more. It's two years, to the day, that true happiness has been such a chore to attain. Two years without the most meaningful and influential person in my life. Two years without that reassurance and comfort that everyone requires. Two years that I have learnt how life can be so crude and how horrible this cancer disease really is. Why does it exist? What's the point of it? Really... It took someone very special away and I will never forgive this terrible disease.

 

On November 15th, 2010, my father passed away. Such a loving and caring man who worked extremely hard to please everyone. Did everything in his power to help everyone he could. Spared no resentment to no one and held no grudges. Such a great man... taken away... by such an unforgiving disease.

 

In light of all this, I will live on with something he has always taught me; to never give up. No matter what is thrown at you, you must always make the best of it. I truly miss you dad and I will never forget everything you have done.

 

Most of all, thank you. Thank you dad. That is all I will say. I am truly blessed to have had 23 great years spent with you.

 

This November I participated in the No Shave November movement. Only difference, is that I will shave it off for your day tomorrow.

 

Love you Dad.

En todas las vidas, hay retazos de rencores, de secretos, de momentos de "morderse la lengua" ...

 

Y es curioso, que ver llorar a un ser humano que acaba de llegar, cambia los prejuicios que tienes hacia la raza humana, y asientas ... y arrepientes ...

 

Veo la cara de Lucas, su grito, su llanto; y veo la de su abuela, mirando, sonriendo ...

 

Nunca un contraste tan inmenso como el de un llanto y una sonrisa, supuso un vínculo tan fuerte ...

 

Es la vida ...

  

--------------------

  

In all the lives, there are pieces of resentments, secrets, moments of " to bite" … And he is peculiar, that to see cry to a human being who finishes arriving, changes the prejudices that you have towards the human race, and is becoming… and regrets…

 

I see the face of Lucas, its shout, its weeping; and I see the one of its grandmother, watching, smiling… Never a as immense resistance as the weeping and the smile, supposed a bond more hard…

 

That's life ...

    

Nikon D700

Nikon 85mm 1.4 AF-D

 

© Manuel Orero

All rights reserved

Todos los derechos reservados

  

The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart of Montmartre), commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

 

Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte of Montmartre. From the dome, two hundred meters above the Seine, it is possible to see all of Paris, and the countryside for fifty kilometres around, It is the second-most visited monument in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower. Sacré-Cœur Basilica has maintained a perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist since 1885.

 

The Basilica was first proposed by Felix Fournier, the Bishop of Nantes, on 4 September, 1870, following the defeat of France and the capture of Napoleon III at the Battle of Sedan, in the Franco-Prussian War, and six months before the Paris Commune. He blamed the defeat of France upon the "moral decline" of France since the Revolution, and proposed a new Paris church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Christ.The site chosen was the butte of Montmartre, overlooking the whole city, and the traditional location of the martrydom of Saint Denis, the patron saint of Paris.

 

The basilica was designed by Paul Abadie, whose Neo-Byzantine-Romanesque plan was selected from among seventy-seven proposals. Construction began in 1875, and continued for forty years, under five successive architects. It was completed in 1914, but, because of World War I, it was not formally consecrated until 1919.

 

The site of the church was politically controversial, since Montmartre was also the site of beginning of the Paris Commune where, on March 18, 1871, Communard soldiers killed two French army generals and seized a park full of artillery. On the last day of the Commune, one of its leaders, the socialist and anarchist Eugène Varlin, was executed there. There was (and remains) a feeling of resentment on the French left against the church.

 

The plan to build a new Parisian church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was first proposed on September 4, 1870, by Felix Fournier, the Bishop of Nantes, following the defeat of France and the capture of Emperor Napoleon III by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War. Until his death in 1877, Fournier was an active builder who completed the long-delayed restoration of Nantes Cathedral. He wrote that the defeat of France in 1870 was a divine punishment for the moral decline of the country since the French Revolution.

 

In January 1871, Bishop Fournier was joined by the philanthropist Alexandre Legentil, who was a follower of Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Legentil declared that France had been justly punished for its sins by the defeat of the French Army at Sedan and the imprisonment of the Pope in Italy by Italian nationalists. He wrote, "We recognize that we were guilty and justly punished. To make honourable amends for our sins, and to obtain the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ and the pardon of our sins, as well as extraordinary aid which alone can delivery our sovereign Pontiff from captivity and reverse the misfortune of France, we promise to contribute to the erection in Paris of a sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." The influence of Legentil led to a successful fundraising campaign based entirely on private contributions.

 

Montmarte was selected as the site of the new Basilica due to its prominent height and visibility from many parts of the city. Since the location included land belonging to the local government as well as private owners, the French parliament assisted in securing the site by declaring that the construction of the Basilica was in the national interest. In July 1873, the proposal was finally brought forward and approved in the National Assembly with the official statement that "it was necessary to efface by this work of expiation the crimes which have crowned our sorrows." The groundbreaking for the new church finally took place in 1875.

 

Apart from its physical attributes, Montmartre or the "Hill of the Martyrs" was also chosen for its association with the early Christian church. According to tradition, it was the place where the patron saint of Paris, Saint Denis of Paris, was beheaded by the Romans. His tomb became the site of the Basilica of Saint Denis, the traditional resting place for the Kings of France until the French Revolution.

 

In addition, Montmartre was the birthplace of the Society of Jesus, one of the largest and most influential religious orders in the history of the Catholic Church. In 1534, Ignatius of Loyola and a few of his followers made their vows in Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, one of the oldest churches in Paris. The church survived the Revolution although the Montmartre Abbey to which it belonged was destroyed.

 

A competition was held for the design of the Basilica and attracted seventy-seven proposals. Architect Paul Abadie was selected, and the cornerstone finally laid on June 16, 1875.

 

The early construction was delayed and complicated by unstable foundations. Eighty-three wells, each thirty meters deep, had to be dug under the site and filled with rock and concrete to serve as subterranean pillars supporting the Basilica.[8] Construction costs, estimated at 7 million francs drawn entirely from private donors, were expended before any above-ground structure became visible. A provisional chapel was consecrated on March 3, 1876, and pilgrimage quickly brought in additional funding.

 

Not long after the foundation was completed in 1884, Abadie died and was succeeded by five other architects who made extensive modifications: Honoré Daumet (1884–1886), Jean-Charles Laisné (1886–1891), Henri-Pierre-Marie Rauline (1891–1904), Lucien Magne (1904–1916), and Jean-Louis Hulot (1916–1924).

 

During construction, opponents of the Basilica were relentless in their effort to hinder its progress. In 1882, the walls of the church were barely above its foundations when the left-wing coalition led by Georges Clemenceau won the parliamentary election. Clemenceau immediately proposed halting the work, and the parliament blocked all further funding for the project. However, faced with enormous liabilities of twelve million francs from project cancellation, the government had to allow the construction to proceed.

 

In 1891, the interior of the Basilica was completed, dedicated and opened for public worship. Still, in 1897, Clemenceau made another attempt to block its completion in the parliament, but his motion was overwhelmingly defeated since the cancellation of the project would require repaying thirty million francs to eight million people who had contributed to its construction.

 

The dome of the church was completed in 1899, and the bell tower finished in 1912. The Basilica was completed in 1914 and formally dedicated in 1919 after World War 1.

 

Criticism of the church by leftist journalists and politicians for its alleged connection with the destruction of the Paris Commune continued from the late 19th century into the 20th and 21st centuries, even though the church had been proposed before the Paris Commune took place. In 1898, Emile Zola wrote sarcastically, "France is guilty. It must do penitence. Penitence for what? For the Revolution, for a century of free speech and science, and emancipated reason... for that they built this gigantic landmark that Paris can see from all of its streets, and cannot be seen without feeling misunderstood and injured."

 

Shortly after the completed Statue of Liberty was transported from France to the United States, opponents of Sacre-Coeur came up with a new strategy. They proposed installing a full-size copy of the Statue of Liberty on top of Montmartre, directly in front of the Basilica, which would entirely block the view of the church. This idea was eventually dropped as expensive and impractical.

 

A bomb was exploded inside the church in 1976. To make the government opposition to the church clear, the socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin in 2004 renamed the square in front of and below the church for Louise Michel, the prominent anarchist and participant in the Paris Commune. He expressed his wish that the basilica be demolished as a symbol of "obscurantism, bad taste and reactionism."

 

In 2021, to avoid celebrating the church's history in the same year as the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, leftist members of the French parliament blocked a measure to declare the church a national historic monument and postponed it until 2022.

 

The church is 85 meters long and thirty-five meters wide. It is composed of a large central rotunda, around which are placed a small nave, two transepts, and an advance-choir, which form a cross. The porch of the church has three bays, and is modelled after the porch of Périgueux Cathedral. The dominant feature is the immense elongated ovoid cupola, 83.33 meters high, surrounded by four smaller cupolas. At the north end is the campanile, or bell tower, 84 meters high, containing the "Savoyarde", the largest bell in France.

 

The overall style of the structure is a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine architecture. This was an unusual architectural style at the time, and was in part a reaction against the neo-Baroque of the Palais Garnier opera house by Charles Garnier, and other buildings of the Napoleon III style. The construction was eventually handed on to a series of new architects, including Garnier himself, who was a counsellor to the architect Henri-Pierre Rauline between 1891 and 1904,

 

Some elements of the design, particularly the elongated domes and the structural forms of the windows on the south facade, are Neo-classical, and were added by the later architects Henri-Pierre Rauline and Lucien Magne.

 

The campanile, or bell tower, on the north front, houses the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell (one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy. It alludes to the attachment of Savoy to France in 1860.

 

The porch of the south façade, the main entrance, is loaded with sculpture combining religious and French national themes. It is topped with a statue representing the Sacred Heart of Christ. The arches of the façade are decorated with two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefèbvre.

 

The white stone of Sacré-Cœur is travertine limestone of a type called Chateau-Landon, quarried in Souppes-sur-Loing, in Seine-et-Marne, France. The particular quality of this stone is that it is extremely hard with a fine grain, and exudes calcite on contact with rainwater, making it exceptionally white.

 

The nave is dominated by the very high dome, which symbolises the celestial world, resting upon a rectangular space,symbolising the terrestrial world. The two are joined by massive columns, which represent the passage between the two worlds.

 

The plan of the interior is a Greek cross, with the altar in the center, modelled after Byzantine churches. More traditional Latin features, the choir and the disambulatory, were added around the altar. The light in interior of the church is unusually dim, due to the height of the windows above the altar, and this contributes to the mystical effect. Other Byzantine features in the interior include the designs of the tile floor and the glasswork.

 

The mosaic over the choir, entitled The Triumph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the largest and most important work of art in the church. It was created by Luc-Olivier Merson, H. M. Magne and R. Martin, and was dedicated in 1923. The mosaic is composed of 25,000 enamelled and gilded pieces of ceramic, and covers 475 square meters, making it one of the largest mosaics in the world.

 

The central figure is Jesus Christ, dressed in white, with open arms offering his heart, decorated with gold. He is joined by his mother, the Virgin Mary, and by the Archangel Michael, the protector of the church and of France. At his feet, kneeling, is Saint Joan of Arc offering him a crown. A figure of Pope Leo XIII offers a globe to Christ, symbolising the world.

 

To the right of Christ is a scene titled "The Homage of France to the Sacred Heart;" a group of popes and cardinals present a model of the basilica to Christ. On his left is "The Homage of the Catholic Church to the Sacred Heart": where people in the costumes of the five continents pay their homage to the Sacred Heart. At the base of the mosaic is a Latin inscription, stating that the basilica is a gift from France. "To the Sacred Heart of Jesus, France fervent, penitent and grateful." The word "grateful" was added after World War I.

 

At the top of the mosaic is another procession, called "the Saints of France and Saints of the Universal Church". In all of the mosaic, the artists adapted elements of Byzantine art in the organization of the figures, the altered perspective, and the use of polychrome colors enhanced with silver and gold.

 

The basilica complex also includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which spreads out to the south of the basilica.

 

The use of cameras and video recorders is forbidden inside the basilica.

 

The interior of the basilica is surrounded by a series of chapels, mostly offered by professional groups or religious orders. The chapels are decreed with sculpture, relief sculpture, and tapestries, often relating to the professions of the donors. For example, the Chapel of the Order of Notre Dame of the Sea is decorated with tapestries illustrating Christ walking on the water and the Miraculous Catch of fish.

 

Beginning to the right of the main entrance, they are:

 

The Chapel of the Archangel Michael, or Chapel of the Armies

The Chapel of Saint Louis (Louis IX) or the Attorneys

The Tribune of Commerce and Industry (end of the East transept)

The Chapel of Marguerite-Marie Alacoque

the Chapel of Notre Dame of the Sea

 

The apse itself is ringed by an additional seven chapels.

 

The Chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi

The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, offered by Canada and the Knights of Malta

The Chapel of Saint Joseph

The Chapel of the Virgin Mary

The Chapel of Saint Luke the Evangelist, Comé and Damien, or the Doctors

The Chapel of Ignace de Loyola

Th Chapel of Saint Ursula of Cologne

The Chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul

The Tribune of Agriculture (at the end of the west transept)

The chapel of the Queens of France

 

The crypt below Sacré-Cœur is different from traditional crypts, which are usually underground. At Sacré-Cœur, the crypt has stained glass windows, thanks to a "saut-de-loup", a trench about four meters wide around it, which allows light to enter through windows and oculi of the crypt wall. In the centre of the crypt is the chapel of the Pieta, whose central element is a monument statue of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, at the altar. The statue was made by Jules Coutain in 1895. A series of seven chapels is placed on the east side and seven on the west side of crypt, corresponding to the chapels on the level above. The crypt contains the tombs of important figures in the creation of the basilica, including Cardinals Guibert and Richard.

 

Art and decoration

Decoration covers the walls, the floor, and the architecture. Much of the decoration is in a distinctly neo-Byzantine style, with intricate patterns, and abundant color.

 

The basilica contains a large and very fine pipe organ built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the most celebrated organ builder in Paris in the 19th century. His other organs included those of Saint-Denis Basilica (1841), Sainte-Clotilde Basilica (1859), Saint-Sulpice church and Notre Dame de Paris (1868). The organ is composed of 109 ranks and 78 speaking stops spread across four 61-note manuals and the 32-note pedalboard (unusual before the start of the 20th century; the standard of the day was 56 and 30), and has three expressive divisions (also unusual for the time, even in large organs).

 

The organ was originally built in 1898 for the Biarritz chateau of the Baron Albert de L'Espée. It was the last instrument built by Cavaillé-Coll. The organ was ahead of its time, containing multiple expressive divisions and giving the performer considerable advantages over other even larger instruments of the day. It was almost identical (tonal characteristics, layout, and casework) to the instrument in Sheffield's Albert Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1937. However, when installed in Paris in 1905 by Cavaillé-Coll's successor and son-in-law, Charles Mutin, a much plainer case was substituted for the original ornate case.

 

The organ was recognised as a national landmark in 1981. It has undergone several restorations. The most recent, begun in 1985, replaced only the most severely damaged pneumatic parts, but others have deteriorated and some are no longer usable. The pipes are now covered with a thick layer of dust which impacts the pitch and timbre. Both the organ and the church itself have been recognized as national landmarks.

 

Bells

The belfry of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre houses five bells. The four small bells named from largest to smallest are Félicité, Louise, Nicole and Elisabeth, which were the original bells of the church of Saint-Roch and moved to the basilica in 1969.

 

Below the four bells is a huge bourdon called "The Savoyarde", the biggest bell in France. The full name of the bourdon is “Françoise Marguerite of the Sacred Heart of Jesus". It was cast on May 13, 1891, by the Paccard foundry (Dynasty of Georges, Hippolyte-Francisque and Victor or "G & F") in Annecy-le-Vieux.

 

The Savoyarde itself only rings for major religious holidays, especially on the occasion of Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, Christmas, Assumption and All Saints. One exception was on the night of August 24, 1944 when La Nueve – 9th Company, Régiment de marche du Tchad of the French 2nd Armored Division – broke into Paris and arrived at the Hôtel de Ville during the Liberation of Paris from Nazi German occupation, becoming the first French Army troops to return to the city since 1940. The bell then rang when Pierre Schaeffer broadcast the news on a Radiodiffusion Nationale broadcast and then, after a playing of "La Marsellaise", asked any priests who were listening to ring their churches' bells. The Savoyarde can be heard from 10 km away.

 

This bell is the fifth largest in Europe, ranking behind the Petersglocke of Cologne (Germany), the Olympic Bell of London, Maria Dolens of Rovereto (Italy), and the Pummerin of Vienna (Austria). It weighs 18,835 kg, measures 3,03 m of diameter for 9.60 m of outer circumference, with a base thickness of 22 cm and a leaf of 850 kg. With its accessories, its official weight reaches 19,685 kg. It was offered by the four dioceses of Savoy. It was transported to the basilica on October 16, 1895, pulled by a team of 28 horses. In the late 1990s, a crack was noticed in the bell.

 

Role in Catholicism

The church is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular devotion after the visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690) in Paray-le-Monial. In response to requests from French bishops, Pope Pius IX promulgated the feast of the Sacred Heart in 1856. The basilica itself was consecrated on 16 October 1919.

 

Since 1885 (before construction had been completed) the Blessed Sacrament (Christ's body, consecrated during the Mass) has been continually on display in a monstrance above the high altar. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted in the basilica since 1885.

 

Christian de Chergé, one of the killed monks of Tibherine, was chaplain at the basilica in the years 1964-1969.

 

Tourists and others are asked to dress appropriately when visiting the basilica and to observe silence as much as possible, so as not to disturb persons who have come from around the world to pray in this place of pilgrimage, especially since the Blessed Sacrament is displayed. Photos are not allowed to be taken in the basilica.

 

Access

The basilica is accessible by bus or metro line 2 at Anvers station. Sacré-Cœur is open from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. The dome is accessible from 09:00 to 19:00 in the summer and to 18:00 in the winter.

 

Copy in Martinique

A much smaller version of the basilica, Sacré-Cœur de la Balata, is located north of Fort-de-France, Martinique, on N3, the main inland road. Built for the refugees driven from their homes by the eruption of Mount Pelée, it was dedicated in 1915.

I was intrigued by the way the morning sun was bouncing off the pavement tiles. It was casting a warm, golden, reflected light into the covered walkway in front of the coffee shop I often frequent on campus. As I paused to enjoy the effect, I looked around and saw her standing nearby, checking her cell phone. I walked over and introduced myself and my Human Family project and asked if I could take a couple of casual portraits of her, explaining that I could do it then and there, making use of the reflected light and that her beautiful red hijab would frame her face nicely. She listened with friendly interest and agreed. Meet Farah.

 

It was to be my second street portrait making use of golden reflected light in as many days. I had met and photographed Ian, my previous subject, making use of golden light reflected from a nearby building. Farah kindly shrugged off her backpack and I suggested she keep it close to make sure it didn’t “disappear” and she followed my minimal guidance regarding where to stand and to please look into the lens of my camera.

 

Photos taken, we chatted. I learned that Farah is 30 and came to Canada with her family from Iraq four years ago for “a better life.” As with many professionals who come to Canada from other countries, Farah had to make sacrifices in exchange for the better life. She was a practicing physician in Iraq but gaining access to medical licensing in Canada is very difficult with inadequate residency places for foreign-trained doctors. Consequently, she has returned to school and is working on a degree in Occupational Health and Safety. Although that career may not give her the same immediate satisfaction of being a doctor helping individuals in need, at least it is medically-related and will make use of her knowledge and experience. I was impressed that she voiced no resentment of the system that prevents her from continuing her life as a doctor.

 

Relocating herself and her family to Canada brought another challenge. Her parents were understandably against her leaving home and building a life so far away from home. It must have taken a good deal of determination and courage for her to follow her own compass, especially knowing that it was going against the wishes of those she cares so much about: Her parents.

 

One of the challenges she is facing now is the constant pull between her studies and raising her “two beautiful children” but she is simply doing her best to balance out the competing demands. Her other challenge is an anticipated future challenge: Finding good employment once she completes her program. Her message to the project is “Don’t waste a moment of your life and be sure your time is spent doing good.”

 

We parted with me wishing Farah well in her studies and in her life in Canada and she wished me well with my photography project. It was good of her to take a few minutes to meet and to participate in my project. This is my 543rd submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.

 

You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.

Some History of Brisbane.

The first European settlement in Queensland was a small convict colony which was established at Redcliffe, now a northern beach suburb, in 1824. The settlement was soon moved in 1825 to a better location on the Brisbane River in what is now the CBD of Brisbane. John Oxley suggested this change of location and that the town be known as Brisbane after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Governor of NSW who visited this settlement in 1826. Prior to this the settlement was known as the Moreton Bay. By 1831 Moreton Bay had 1,241 people, but 86% were convicts, and almost all the rest were guards and administrators. One of the founding free men to settle in Brisbane was Andrew Petrie, a government clerk, who arrived in the settlement in 1837. His son later became the first mayor of Brisbane.

 

In 1842 (six years after the settlement of SA) Moreton Bay penal settlement was closed and the area opened to free settlers. Half the convicts at Moreton Bay were Irish Catholics which influenced the development of the settlement thereafter as many stayed on. By 1846 Moreton Bay had a population of 4,000 people, considerably less than that of Burra at the time which had over 5,000 people! In 1848 the first immigrants direct from Britain arrived, as did some Chinese. In 1849 three ship loads of Presbyterians arrived in Brisbane, the first ship being the Fortitude- hence the naming of Fortitude Valley. The colony was still far from self-sufficient in terms of food production. In the mid-1850s German immigrants also started to arrive in the settlement. The only building still standing built by convict labour is the Old Windmill in Wickham Park.

 

During the late 1840s a few grand houses were built in Brisbane like Newstead House at Hamilton and the city began to take shape. All the central streets were named after members of Queen Victoria’s family- Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary for the streets parallel to Queen Street, and Albert, Edward, George and William for the streets perpendicular to Queen Street. In 1859 the population had grown sufficiently, to about 30,000 people, for Queensland to be proclaimed a separate colony from NSW with Brisbane (about 6,000 people) as the capital city. It was now a self-governing independent colony. Old Government House was built shortly after this in 1862 followed by numerous colonial government buildings. The French Empire style Parliament House opposite the old Botanical Gardens was erected in 1865 to a design by Charles Tiffin. It had perfect symmetry a mansard roof and an arcaded loggia. It is still one of the most distinctive buildings in Brisbane. Nearby the pastoralists and wealthy built the Queensland Club in Alice Street in 1882 with classical columns but with Italianate style bay windows. The location near parliament house is much like the situation of the Adelaide Club on North Terrace almost adjacent to the SA parliament. The wealthy and pastoralists in both states had immeasurable influence over early colonial politics. One of the other finest colonial buildings of Brisbane is the Old Customs House with the circular copper domed roof on the edge of the Brisbane River. It was erected in 1888.

 

Although Brisbane grew quickly through the following decades it was not incorporated as a city until 1902.Part of the reason for the relatively slow of growth of Brisbane, compared to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney was that it was not the focal point of the state railway network. Queensland always had other major regional centres. The railway from Brisbane reached out to southern Queensland only- Ipswich in 1864, Toowoomba in 1867, and Charleville in 1888. There was no early push to have a railway link between the coastal cities. They were not linked by a railway until 1927 when road transport had already taken over the transport of livestock and freight. The coastal railway to Cairns was always for passenger traffic as much as freight traffic.

 

Unlike the other Australian state capitals, Brisbane City Council governs most of the metropolitan area of Brisbane. In 1925 over twenty shires and municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Brisbane. It was at this time that the landmark Brisbane city Hall was built in Art Deco style. It was opened in 1930. During World War Two, Brisbane had a distinctive history as Prime Minister John Curtin had the “Brisbane Line” as a controversial defense plan, whereby if there was a land invasion of Australia, the northern half of the country would be surrendered at a line just north of Brisbane! Brisbane also became the headquarters for the American campaign in the South Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur based there at times. In 1942 a violent clash erupted between American and Australian service personnel in Brisbane. Between 2,000 and 5,000 men were involved in the riots which spread over two days. One soldier was killed and eight injured by gun fire as well as hundreds injured with black eyes, swollen faces, broken noses etc. On the second night 21 Americans were injured with 11 of them having to be hospitalised. This was The Battle of Brisbane. Yet around 1 million American troops passed through Queensland between December 1941 (just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour) and the end of 1945. They were here to spearhead attacks to take back the Philippines and to prevent the Japanese from taking New Guinea. Black American soldiers were especially unpopular in Brisbane as their landing contravened the “White Australia Policy” of those times. In response to this policy General Douglas MacArthur announced his support for the Australian government’s insistence that no more Black American troops be sent to Brisbane after 1942. The Black American units in Australia were later sent to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Black American troops in New Guinea were not allowed to visit Australia for rest and recreation leave although white American troops were allowed to visit Australia, mainly to Mackay. Resentment between American and Australian troops in Brisbane had to be contained and suppressed. Riots between troops also occurred in Townsville during the War. Today Brisbane is a fast growing city that has far outstripped Adelaide in terms of population, growth and infrastructure.

 

Keyneton.

The town was named after English pastoralist Joseph Keynes, who took up the land in 1841 and whose descendants still continue to live and farm in the area. Joseph Keynes (1810-1883) was the eldest son of a Congregational minister in southern England. His father Richard Keynes wrote to George Fife Angas in 1838 seeking information on South Australia. Angas offered Joseph the position of overseer of his stock in South Australia. Joseph accepted, arrived in 1839 and managed the farm at Flaxman's Valley for Angas. In 1841 he leased property which became Keyneton Estate and remains in the family. His partnership with Angas was dissolved in 1843 and Keynes declared his bankruptcy in 1846, leaving Angas with £9,000 in debts, great resentment and injured pride. But by 1850 the once despairing farmer had become a member of the 'squattocracy', with land in the Barossa Ranges, the Wakefield River valley and at Mount Remarkable. Keynes systematically amassed thousands of acres, wealth and social respect, being a member of the North Rhine District Council from its formation in 1873 to 1883. He died in 1883 at Lockleys and was buried in the Congregational cemetery at Keyneton. His son Richard took over the property. On 27 August 1884 Keynes married Margaret Ruth Shannon of Moculta.

 

In 1851 the Hundred of North Rhine was surveyed and land sold to farmers. Before that time a few leased land from the Angas family. Many new settlers to Keyneton from 1850 to 1854 were of German Lutheran descent from Tanunda and they quickly built a fine Georgian style school room in 1857 that doubled as a church until a new church was dedicated in 1866. It was on three acres of land donated by Henry Evans. Behind the church is a high bell tower erected in 1874 with a bell from Germany. Then in 1891 a new stone school room and church hall opened beside the 1866 church. It became a state school from 1917 to 1925 when the new government school opened in Keyneton opposite the old general store. Next to it is the Keyneton cemetery where members of the Evans and Keynes families were buried and many local Lutheran family members too. About one km northwards is the Independent Chapel built on land donated by Sarah Evans and supported by the Keynes and Evans families. It was built in 1865 and originally known as the North Rhine Independent Chapel. North Rhine River was changed to the Somme during World War One but has now been changed back. The Chapel became a Congregational Church in 1918 and finally closed as a church in 1971. Henry Evans married Sarah Angas a daughter of George Fife Angas and Henry Evans was the one who designed Collingrove and Lindsay Park homesteads for the Angas family. Henry’s wife was so opposed to alcohol and wine making that after her husband died in 1868 she got her son Henry Angas Evans to dig up or have the family wine vines grafted with currents. Thus, almost accidentally, young Henry Angas Evans founded the dried fruit industry in the Angaston-Keyneton district! To please his mother Henry Evans, with the support for John Howard and George Fife Angas, built the Temperance Hall in Keyneton in 1872. Keyneton was such a tiny town to have a Temperance Hall. After World War One the Romanesque style Temperance Hall was sold to a local group as a Soldiers War Memorial Hall. Thus the 1920 wooden entrance porch contrasts greatly with the Romanesque style of the original Temperance Hall. A km north again is the main part of the town with the state government primary school built 1925. But the first town school was built in 1859 with a stone classroom. It became a state school after 1875. It closed in 1912 but the Lutheran School became a state school in 1917 so children were able to attend it until the new state school opened in 1925. The Temperance Hotel (also known as a coffee palace) on the corner of the main intersection was built by Sarah Evans to prevent alcohol sales in Keyneton in 1884. She died in 1898 and then things slowly changed. The Temperance Hotel operated until 1948 mainly providing lodgings for casual workers, school teachers etc. On the other corner is the former Post Office and general store. It opened in 1866 and was owned by the Evans family from 1888 to 1940 with tenant storekeepers. The Art Deco style façade on the west side was built in 1955 when it was a Four Square Store. Just north of the intersection is the old blacksmith’s shop built in 1870.

 

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things we can do from our character ... and yet if we do, it is incredibly liberating.

It cleanses us from the poisons of anger and resentment, and lets us live the life to live as a happy man ....;o))

  

DON HENLEY [Eagles] - THE HEART OF THE MATTER

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xezg3z5IE8I&feature=related

Buildings to Watch Out for in Brisbane.

•Parliament House in the French Empire style. The architect Charles Tiffin was inspired by the Louvre Art gallery in Paris! It is open for free public inspection but only when parliament is not sitting (QLD parliament is meant to rise on 6 August). It was built in 1868. It is located on the corner of George and Alice Streets, opposite the Old Botanical Gardens. This

Photograph shows the 2 side pavilions or wings making it Palladian in style.

•Old Government House. This is now part of the QUT (Queensland University of Technology). It has recently been extensively restored and re-opened to the public over the Queens birthday long weekend in June. It too has free entry with the upstairs devoted to the art of William Robinson a gifted Queensland painter. Old Government House was built in 1862 and is one of the older buildings in Brisbane. It is a grand two storey house with arcaded loggias, classical facades and features, and two semi-circular balconies. The interior has a grand staircase. The complex is in the Old Botanical Gardens and has a café too.

•The Old Customs House. (399 Queen Street.) Pictured below with its green copper dome, classical balustrades, Corinthian columns and pilasters and triangular roof pediment etc. It is now a commercial building with a café on the river front.

 

•Brisbane City Hall. This Art Deco building built between 1920 and 1930 with classical features is dominated by the 92 metre high clock tower. The building and the clock tower are open free for public inspection during office hours. Note the tympanum frieze decoration in the triangular pediment across the façade.

 

•Albert St Uniting Church. This distinctive brick, gothic style church is across the plaza from the Town Hall. It is open on Fridays till 4 pm. The most prominent feature of the external design is the spire rising to a height of 42 metres from the street. It is capped with a handsome wrought iron final. The original organ was imported from England, and built by George Benson of Manchester. The front pipes are coloured and gilded with gold leaf.

 

•ANZAC Square War Memorial is uniquely and ideally set in peaceful surrounds and worth a visit. The Shrine of Remembrance, with its Eternal Flame, forms the focal point for the radial patterned pathways, pools and lawns. From here you get a view down to the Old Post Office which was built of local sandstone in 1872 by Mr Petrie.

 

A Very brief History of Brisbane.

Australia’s third largest city is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Scotsman who was governor of NSW from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a small convict colony which was established at Redcliffe in 1824. Redcliffe is a northern beach suburb of Brisbane. The settlement was soon moved in 1825 to better location on the Brisbane River in what is now the CBD of Brisbane. John Oxley suggested this change of location and also that the town be known as Brisbane after Sir Thomas Brisbane who visited the settlement in 1826. The settlement area was known as the Moreton Bay. By 1831 Moreton Bay had 1,241 people, but 86% were convicts, and almost all the rest were guards and administrators. One of the founding pioneers to settle in Brisbane was Andrew Petrie, a government clerk, who arrived in the settlement in 1837. His son later became the first mayor of Brisbane.

 

In 1842 (six years after the settlement of SA) Moreton Bay penal establishment was closed and the area opened to free settlers. Half the convicts at Moreton Bay were Irish Catholics which influenced the development of the settlement thereafter. By 1846 Moreton Bay had a population of 4,000 people, considerably less than that of Burra at the time which had over 5,000 people! In 1848 the first immigrants direct from Britain arrived, as did some Chinese. In 1849 three ship loads of Presbyterians arrived in Brisbane, the first ship being the Fortitude- hence the naming of Fortitude Valley. The colony was still far from self sufficient in terms of food production. In the mid 1850s German immigrants also started to arrive in the settlement. The only building still standing built by convict labour is the Old Windmill in Wickham Park. Most of the other convict built buildings were in the CBD and gradually demolished during phases of growth in the 19th century.

 

During the late 1840s a few grand houses were built in Brisbane like Newstead House at Hamilton, and the city began to take shape. All the central streets were named after members of Queen Victoria’s family- Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary for the streets parallel to Queen Street, and Albert, Edward, George and William for the streets perpendicular to Queen Street. In 1859 the population had grown sufficiently, to about 30,000 people for Queensland to be proclaimed a separate colony from NSW with Brisbane (about 6,000 people) as its capital city. It was now a self governing independent colony. Old Government House was built shortly after this in 1862 followed by numerous colonial government buildings. The French Empire style Parliament House opposite the old Botanical Gardens was erected in 1865 to a design by Charles Tiffin. It had perfect symmetry, mansard roof lien with dormer windows, triangular pediments above some windows, and an arcaded loggia. It is still one of the most pleasing and distinctive buildings in Brisbane. Nearby the pastoralists and wealthy built the Queensland Club in Alice Street in 1882 with classical columns, roof line pediment, balustrade and perfect symmetry, but with Italianate style bay windows. The location near parliament house is much like the situation of the Adelaide Club on North Terrace almost adjacent to the SA parliament. The wealthy and pastoralists in both states had immeasurable influence over early colonial politics. One of the other finest colonial buildings of Brisbane is the Old Customs House with the circular copper domed roof on the edge of the Brisbane River. It was erected in 1888.

 

Although Brisbane grew quickly through the following decades it was not incorporated as a city until 1902.Part of the reason for the relatively slow of growth of Brisbane, compared to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney was that it was not the focal point of the state railway network. Queensland always had other major regional centres. The railway from Brisbane reached out to southern Queensland only- Ipswich in 1864, Toowoomba in 1867, and Charleville by 1888. There was no early push to have a railway link with the coast cities and their hinterlands. The coastal cities of Queensland were not linked by a railway until 1927 when road transport had already taken over the transport of livestock and freight. The coastal railway in Queensland was always for passenger traffic as much as freight traffic.

 

Unlike the other Australian state capitals, Brisbane City Council governs most of the metropolitan area of Brisbane. In 1925 over twenty shires and municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Brisbane. It was at this time that the landmark Brisbane city Hall was built in Art Deco style. It was opened in 1930 and members of the public can enter and walk around the inside of the building.

 

During World War Two, Brisbane had a distinctive history as Prime Minister John Curtin had the “Brisbane Line” as a controversial defense plan, whereby if there was a land invasion of Australia, the northern half of the country would be surrendered at a line just north of Brisbane! Brisbane also became the headquarters for the Americans campaign in the South Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur based there at times. In 1942 a violent clash erupted between American and Australian service personnel in Brisbane. Between 2,000 and 5,000 men were involved in the riots which spread over two days. One soldier was killed and eight injured by gun fire as well as 100s injured with black eyes, swollen faces, broken noses etc. On the second night 21 Americans were injured with 11 of them having to be hospitalised. It was locally known as The Battle of Brisbane.

 

Yet around 1 million American troops passed through Queensland between December 1941 (just after the bombing of Pearl harbour) and the end of 1945. They were here to spearhead attacks to take back the Philippines, and to prevent the Japanese from taking New Guinea.

Black American soldiers were especially unpopular in Brisbane as their landing contravened the “White Australia Policy” of the times. In response to this policy General Douglas MacArthur announced his support for the Australian government’s insistence that no more Black American troops be sent to Brisbane after 1942. The Black American units in Australia were later sent to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Black American troops in New Guinea were not allowed to visit Australia for rest and recreation leave although white American troops were allowed to visit Australia, mainly to Mackay. Resentment between American and Australian troops in Brisbane had to be contained and suppressed. Riots between troops also occurred in Townsville during the War.

 

Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo is a famous tourist places suitable for all ages and located in Tha Kham, Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom Province, central Thailand.

 

Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo was established by Mr. Pichai Chaimongkoltrakul. The zoo officially opened to the public on March 24, 1985 as a tourist destination, orchid propagation facility and animal breeding especially crocodiles and elephants.

 

Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo is located at 117 Moo 6, Petkasem Rd, Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, west of Bangkok and about 40 kilometers from the city.

 

The elephant theme show and the crocodile wrestling show are the highlight events in this zoo.

 

In the elephant show, the elephants dance, race, paint and play “Yutha Hathi”, a royal battle in Thai history which is performed with actors riding on the elephants.

 

For the crocodile wrestling, performers show the visitors how to catch crocodiles with their bare hands and also put their arms or heads inside the crocodile’s jaws.

 

The zoo is open daily from 08.30 A.M. – 05.30 P.M.

 

Elephant Theme Show01.45 P.M. – 02.10 P.M.03.30 P.M. – 04.00 P.M.

 

Crocodile Wrestling Show00.45 P.M. – 01.05 P.M.02.20 P.M. – 02.40 P.M.

 

Magic Show01.15 P.M. – 01.45 P.M.03.00 P.M. – 03.30 P.M.

 

Visitors can ride the elephants and visit tropical gardens and waterfalls around the zoo. They can visit orchid nursery and the crocodile’s nursery. Located at the zoo is the ‘Erawan Restaurant’ which provides international cuisine and offers food for visitors if they are hungry throughout the day.

 

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

The Tower of Pisa (popularly known as the leaning tower and, in Pisa, the Campanile or the Tower ) is the bell tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta , in the famous Piazza del Duomo ( a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 ) of which it is the most famous monument due to its characteristic slope, symbol of Pisa and among the iconic symbols of Italy. It is a free-standing bell tower 57 meters high (58.36 meters considering the foundation plan) built over two centuries, between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. With a mass of 14,453 tons, the curved line predominates, with turns of blind arches and six floors of loggias. The slope is due to a subsidence of the underlying ground which occurred already in the early stages of construction.

 

The inclination of the building measures 3.97° with respect to the vertical axis. The tower is managed by the Opera della Primaziale Pisana , the body that manages all the monuments in the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa. It has been proposed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world .

 

Work began on 9 August 1173 . The foundations were left fallow for an entire year. Some studies attribute the authorship of the project to the Pisan architect Diotisalvi , who was building the baptistery in the same period . Construction was stopped during the beginning of the third ring.

 

There are in fact many similarities between the two buildings, starting from the type of foundations. Others instead suggest Gherardi , while according to Vasari the work was started by Bonanno Pisano . Vasari's thesis was considered valid especially after the discovery of a tombstone with the name of Bonanno near the bell tower, walled up in the atrium of the building; furthermore, in the 19th century, an epigraphic fragment of pink material was also found nearby, probably a cast on which a metal plate was cast, which is placed on the jamb of the entrance door of the building. On this fragment we read, reversed: "Pisan citizen named Bonanno". This cast was most likely related to the Porta Regia of the Cathedral, destroyed during the fire of 1595 .

 

The first phase of the work was interrupted halfway through the third floor, due to the subsidence of the land on which the base of the bell tower stands. The softness of the soil, consisting of normally consolidated soft clay , is the cause of the slope of the tower and, although to a lesser extent, of all the buildings in the square.

 

Work resumed in 1275 under the guidance of Giovanni di Simone and Giovanni Pisano , adding another three floors to the previous construction. In an attempt to straighten the tower, the three added floors tend to curve in the opposite direction to the slope. The bell tower was completed in the middle of the following century, adding the belfry .

 

Since its construction the overhang has substantially increased, but over the centuries there have also been long periods of stability or even reduction in the slope. During the nineteenth century the bell tower underwent important restorations, which led, for example, to the insulation of the tower's base. The works, carried out under the direction of Alessandro Gherardesca , contributed to definitively debunking the theory, supported by some scholars of the time, according to which the bell tower was thought to have been leaning since its origin.

 

In fact, soil tests carried out during the restoration brought to light the presence of a significant quantity of underground water which made the ground soft. To deal with this problem, large quantities were sucked up from the underground with the aid of pumps, but this favored the phenomenon of subsidence and the consequent increase in the slope of the tower. In the last decades of the 20th century the inclination had undergone a decisive increase, so much so that the danger of collapse had become real. In 1993 the displacement from the top of the axis to the base was estimated to be approximately 4.47 meters, or approximately 4.5 degrees .

 

During the consolidation works, which began in 1990 and ended at the end of 2001 , the slope of the bell tower was reduced by encircling some floors, temporary application of steel tie rods and lead counterweights (up to 900 tons) and under-excavation, bringing it back to the one that, presumably, must have been 200 years old. Furthermore, the foundation has been consolidated to allow the tower to be safely maintained for at least another three centuries, thus allowing access to visitors. Starting in 2004, the restoration of all the external stone surfaces and the restoration and layout of the internal rooms began. Some of these interventions were carried out thanks to funds from the Lotto game , according to what is regulated by law no. 662/1996

 

Since March 2008 the tower has reached the definitive level of consolidation in terms of inclination, settling again at 3.97°, a value that should remain unchanged for at least another 300 years. The success of the operation is linked to the name of Michele Jamiolkowski , professor of the Polytechnic of Turin and president of the International Committee for the Protection of the Tower of Pisa from 1990 to 2003, to that of Carlo Viggiani , professor of the Department of Geotechnical Engineering of the University of the Studies of Naples Federico II and president of the International Committee for the conservation of monuments and historical sites and that of the engineer John Boscawen Burland , professor of the Department of Civil Engineering of the Imperial College of London .

 

After twenty years, the restoration work on the stone surfaces, both on the exterior and interior, was completed on 22 April 2011 .

 

The structure of the bell tower incorporates two rooms: one at the base of the tower, known as the Fish Room, due to a bas-relief depicting a fish; this room has no ceiling, being in fact the cable of the tower. The other one is the belfry, on the seventh ring. Delimited by the walls of the upper walkway, it is also open to the sky and in the centre, through an opening, it is possible to see the ground floor of the tower. There are also three flights of stairs: one uninterrupted from the base to the sixth ring, where you exit outside; one, a smaller spiral that leads from the sixth ring to the seventh; finally an even smaller one, still spiral, which leads from the seventh ring to the top.

 

Bells

Assunta - is the largest bell in the concert and emits the note B2, its weight amounts to 2600 kg. about; it was cast in 1654 by Giovanni Pietro Orlandi;

Crucifix - of note C#3 and weighing 1850 kg. approximately, originally cast in 1572 by Vincenzo Possenti, recast in 1818 by Gualandi da Prato;

San Ranieri - of note D#3 and weight 1150 kg. approximately, cast in 1735 by Pier Francesco Berti of Lucca;

Dal Pozzo - of note Sol3, cast in 1606 and damaged by the bombings of the last world war, displayed in a museum and replaced in 2004 by a copy made by the Marinelli foundry in Agnone weighing 490 kg. about;

Pasquereccia - of note G#3 and weighing approximately 1014 kg., cast in 1262 by Lotteringio di Bartolomeo (Locterineus de Pisis);

Terza - of note is #3 and weighs approximately 330 kg., made by Lorraine or Alsatian foundrymen in 1473;

Vespruccio - the minor, of note E4 and weighing 120 kg. approximately, made in the 14th century and recast in 1501.

The bells ring before masses in the cathedral and at midday via a system of electric clappers.

 

In ancient times each bell was used for a moment of the liturgical day. For example, the Pasquereccia rang for Easter, the Terce at the third hour of the day (nine in the morning), the Vespruccio bell at the time of vespers (six in the afternoon).

 

There is news of a bell stolen from the church of San Michele a Guamo , near Lucca, then recast to form a "new concert" .

The bell of San Ranieri was originally called "Giustizia" and was located in the palace of the same name. He used to play for the deaths of traitors and, it is supposed, he also played for the death of Count Ugolino . It was brought to the bell tower in the 15th century to replace the original Pasquareccia and later recast in 1606.

 

Pisa is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.

 

The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies.

 

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Pisa.

Ancient times

The most believed hypothesis is that the origin of the name Pisa comes from Etruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.

 

Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving the Etruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations.

 

Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet of Alphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists from Pisa in Elis, near which the Alpheius river flowed. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era.

 

The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village) and Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians and Gauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia obsequens.

 

Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city.

 

Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

During the last years of the Western Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of Ravenna: Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and Corsica, Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain.

 

After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of Otto I) within the mark of Tuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of tenth century Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of Cremona, called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of the Saracen pirates urged the city to expand its fleet; in the following years, this fleet gave the town an opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa. In 871, they took part in the defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front of Calabrese coasts.

 

11th century

The power of Pisa as a maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare).

 

At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some 'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between 1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to the aid of the Norman Roger I, took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo.

 

In 1060, Pisa had to engage in their first battle with Genoa. The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092, Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising the town to the rank of archbishopric.

 

Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla to push El Cid out of Valencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade, and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert, the future patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of the Levant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in Cairo, Alexandria, and of course Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of the Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself.

 

12th century

In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors; the queen and the king of Majorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western Mediterranean.

 

In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with Languedoc, Provence (Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille.

 

The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults.

 

In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa, asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II against those of Pope Anacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily. Amalfi, one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from Aversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked Salerno.

 

New city walls, erected in 1156 by Consul Cocco Griffi

In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by Frederick I. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, a half of Palermo, Messina, Salerno and Naples, the whole of Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI, Otto IV, and Frederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as Lucca, Massa, Volterra, and Florence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via Francigena, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa.

 

Genoa had acquired a dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the Rhône, when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of Toulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was Sicily, where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III, though removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III, allied himself with the Guelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated[clarification needed] a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy.

 

To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne, Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the Adriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town.

 

One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople.

 

13th century

In 1209 in Lerici, two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with the Holy Roman Empire, and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northern Sardinia.

 

In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241, a combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo, attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio (Battle of Giglio), in front of Tuscany; the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in 1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243.

 

The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici, conquered by the Pisans some years earlier, in 1256.

 

The great expansion in the Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate.

 

Decline

The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini, was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto Zaccaria and Oberto Doria, in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria. This defeat ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land with salt. The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but the end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the Aragonese.

 

Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under the command of Uguccione della Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405.[9] Florentines corrupted the capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism. In the 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples, Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic.

 

The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja, Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to the Visconti family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa, created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987).

 

Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat of an archbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during World War II.

 

Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area.

 

Geography

Climate

Pisa has a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). The city is characterized by cool to mild winters and hot summers. This transitional climate allows Pisa to have summers with moderate rainfall. Rainfall peaks in autumn. Snow is rare. The highest officially recorded temperature was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 22 August 2011 and the lowest was −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 12 January 1985.

 

Culture

Gioco del Ponte

In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) which was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge (Ponte di Mezzo). The participants wore quilted armor and the only offensive weapon allowed was the targone, a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of the bridge. The object of the two opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated.

 

In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artist Cornelis de Bruijn. He wrote:

 

"While I stayed in Livorno, I went to Pisa to witness the bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing the bridge, in the same way as the fistfights in Venice between the it:Castellani and the Nicolotti."

 

In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions.

 

Festivals and cultural events

Capodanno pisano (folklore, March 25)

Gioco del Ponte (folklore)

Luminara di San Ranieri (folklore, June 16)

Maritime republics regata (folklore)

Premio Nazionale Letterario Pisa

Pisa Book Festival

Metarock (rock music festival)

Internet Festival San Ranieri regata (folklore)

Turn Off Festival (house music festival)

Nessiáh (Jewish cultural Festival, November)

Main sights

 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by the municipal administration.

 

Other sights include:

Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri, and also designed by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th century. It houses a bust by Donatello, and paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi, Alessandro Fei, and Pontormo. It also contains spoils from the many naval battles between the Cavalieri (Knights of St. Stephan) and the Turks between the 16th and 18th centuries, including the Turkish battle pennant hoisted from Ali Pacha's flagship at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.

St. Sixtus. This small church, consecrated in 1133, is also close to the Piazza dei Cavalieri. It was used as a seat of the most important notarial deeds of the town, also hosting the Council of Elders. It is today one of the best preserved early Romanesque buildings in town.

St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed by Giovanni di Simone, built after 1276. In 1343 new chapels were added and the church was elevated. It has a single nave and a notable belfry, as well as a 15th-century cloister. It houses works by Jacopo da Empoli, Taddeo Gaddi and Santi di Tito. In the Gherardesca Chapel are buried Ugolino della Gherardesca and his sons.

San Frediano. This church, built by 1061, has a basilica interior with three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th century. Paintings from the 16th century were added during a restoration, including works by Ventura Salimbeni, Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Lomi, and Rutilio Manetti.

San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design of Giovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of the 13th century. The paintings include the Madonna with Child by Francesco Traini (14th century) and St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by Giovanni and Nino Pisano, and the Annunciation by Francesco di Valdambrino.

Santa Maria della Spina. A small white marble church alongside the Arno, is attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1230), is another excellent Gothic building.

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno. The church was founded around 952 and enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the cathedral. It is annexed to the Romanesque Chapel of St. Agatha, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.

San Pietro in Vinculis. Known as San Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave.

 

Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling arcades and the Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo (990). There are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway through the Piagge riverside promenade.

Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, and Lorenzo de' Medici sojourned here.

Orto botanico di Pisa. The botanical garden of the University of Pisa is Europe's oldest university botanical garden.

Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani patrician family. Here Galileo Galilei showed to Grand Duke of Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The edifice was erected in 1559 by Baccio Bandinelli for Cosimo I de Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is now a museum.

Palazzo Gambacorti. This palace is a 14th-century Gothic building, and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.

Palazzo Agostini. The palace is a Gothic building also known as Palazzo dell'Ussero, with its 15th-century façade and remains of the ancient city walls dating back to before 1155. The name of the building comes from the coffee rooms of Caffè dell'Ussero, historic meeting place founded on September 1, 1775.

Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work by Keith Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio, painted in June 1989.

Museums

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original sculptures of Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano, the Islamic Pisa Griffin, and the treasures of the cathedral.

Museo delle Sinopie: showing the sinopias from the camposanto, the monumental cemetery. These are red ocher underdrawings for frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with water.

Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings from the 12th to 15th centuries, among them the masterworks of Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, the Master of San Martino, Simone Martini, Nino Pisano and Masaccio.

Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc.

Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a collection of instruments used in science, between a pneumatic machine of Van Musschenbroek and a compass which probably belonged to Galileo Galilei.

Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located in the Certosa di Calci, outside the city. It houses one of the largest cetacean skeletons collection in Europe.

Palazzo Blu: temporary exhibitions and cultural activities center, located in the Lungarno, in the heart of the old town, the palace is easy recognizable because it is the only blue building.

Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A museum of 10,650 square meters – 3,500 archaeological excavation, 1,700 laboratories and one restoration center – that visitors can visit with a guided tour.[19] The Museum opened in June 2019 and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the Tuscany Soprintendenza. It hosts a remarkable collection of ceramics and amphoras dated back from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century BC, and also 32 ships dated back from the second century BCE and the seventh century BC. Four of them are integrally preserved and the best one is the so-called Barca C, also named Alkedo (written in the ancient Greek characters). The first boat was accidentally discovered in 1998 near the Pisa San Rossore railway station and the archeological excavations were completed 20 years later.

 

Churches

St. Francis' Church

San Francesco

San Frediano

San Giorgio ai Tedeschi

San Michele in Borgo

San Nicola

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno

San Paolo all'Orto

San Piero a Grado

San Pietro in Vinculis

San Sisto

San Tommaso delle Convertite

San Zeno

Santa Caterina

Santa Cristina

Santa Maria della Spina

Santo Sepolcro

 

Palaces, towers and villas

Palazzo della Carovana or dei Cavalieri.

Pisa by Oldypak lp photo

Pisa

Palazzo del Collegio Puteano

Palazzo della Carovana

Palazzo delle Vedove

Torre dei Gualandi

Villa di Corliano

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

Sports

Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa, currently plays in the Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as Diego Simeone, Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, opened in 1919 and with a capacity of 25,000.

 

Notable people

For people born in Pisa, see People from the Province of Pisa; among notable non-natives long resident in the city:

 

Giuliano Amato (born 1938), politician, former Premier and Minister of Interior Affairs

Alessandro d'Ancona (1835–1914), critic and writer.

Silvano Arieti (1914–1981), psychiatrist

Gaetano Bardini (1926–2017), tenor

Andrea Bocelli (born 1958), tenor and multi-instrumentalist.

Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), poet and 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature winner.

Massimo Carmassi (born 1943), architect

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1920–2016), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Maria Luisa Cicci (1760–1794), poet

Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari (1677–1754), a musical composer and maestro di cappella at Pistoia.

Alessio Corti (born 1965), mathematician

Rustichello da Pisa (born 13th century), writer

Giovanni Battista Donati (1826–1873), an Italian astronomer.

Leonardo Fibonacci (1170–1250), mathematician.

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), physicist.

Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944), philosopher and politician

Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639), painter.

Count Ugolino della Gherardesca (1214–1289), noble (see also Dante Alighieri).

Giovanni Gronchi (1887–1978), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Giacomo Leopardi [1798–1837), poet and philosopher.

Enrico Letta (born 1966), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy

Marco Malvaldi (born 1974), mystery novelist

Leonardo Ortolani (born 1967), comic writer

Antonio Pacinotti (1841–1912), physicist, inventor of the dynamo

Andrea Pisano (1290–1348), a sculptor and architect.

Afro Poli (1902–1988), an operatic baritone

Bruno Pontecorvo (1913–1993), nuclear physicist

Gillo Pontecorvo (1919–2006), filmmaker

Ippolito Rosellini (1800–1843), an Egyptologist.

Paolo Savi (1798–1871), geologist and ornithologist.

Antonio Tabucchi (1943–2012), writer and academic

Sport

Jason Acuña (born 1973), Stunt performer

Sergio Bertoni (1915–1995), footballer

Giorgio Chiellini (born 1984), footballer

Camila Giorgi (born 1991), tennis player

Buildings to Watch Out for in Brisbane.

•Parliament House in the French Empire style. The architect Charles Tiffin was inspired by the Louvre Art gallery in Paris! It is open for free public inspection but only when parliament is not sitting (QLD parliament is meant to rise on 6 August). It was built in 1868. It is located on the corner of George and Alice Streets, opposite the Old Botanical Gardens. This

Photograph shows the 2 side pavilions or wings making it Palladian in style.

•Old Government House. This is now part of the QUT (Queensland University of Technology). It has recently been extensively restored and re-opened to the public over the Queens birthday long weekend in June. It too has free entry with the upstairs devoted to the art of William Robinson a gifted Queensland painter. Old Government House was built in 1862 and is one of the older buildings in Brisbane. It is a grand two storey house with arcaded loggias, classical facades and features, and two semi-circular balconies. The interior has a grand staircase. The complex is in the Old Botanical Gardens and has a café too.

•The Old Customs House. (399 Queen Street.) Pictured below with its green copper dome, classical balustrades, Corinthian columns and pilasters and triangular roof pediment etc. It is now a commercial building with a café on the river front.

 

•Brisbane City Hall. This Art Deco building built between 1920 and 1930 with classical features is dominated by the 92 metre high clock tower. The building and the clock tower are open free for public inspection during office hours. Note the tympanum frieze decoration in the triangular pediment across the façade.

 

•Albert St Uniting Church. This distinctive brick, gothic style church is across the plaza from the Town Hall. It is open on Fridays till 4 pm. The most prominent feature of the external design is the spire rising to a height of 42 metres from the street. It is capped with a handsome wrought iron final. The original organ was imported from England, and built by George Benson of Manchester. The front pipes are coloured and gilded with gold leaf.

 

•ANZAC Square War Memorial is uniquely and ideally set in peaceful surrounds and worth a visit. The Shrine of Remembrance, with its Eternal Flame, forms the focal point for the radial patterned pathways, pools and lawns. From here you get a view down to the Old Post Office which was built of local sandstone in 1872 by Mr Petrie.

 

A Very brief History of Brisbane.

Australia’s third largest city is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Scotsman who was governor of NSW from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a small convict colony which was established at Redcliffe in 1824. Redcliffe is a northern beach suburb of Brisbane. The settlement was soon moved in 1825 to better location on the Brisbane River in what is now the CBD of Brisbane. John Oxley suggested this change of location and also that the town be known as Brisbane after Sir Thomas Brisbane who visited the settlement in 1826. The settlement area was known as the Moreton Bay. By 1831 Moreton Bay had 1,241 people, but 86% were convicts, and almost all the rest were guards and administrators. One of the founding pioneers to settle in Brisbane was Andrew Petrie, a government clerk, who arrived in the settlement in 1837. His son later became the first mayor of Brisbane.

 

In 1842 (six years after the settlement of SA) Moreton Bay penal establishment was closed and the area opened to free settlers. Half the convicts at Moreton Bay were Irish Catholics which influenced the development of the settlement thereafter. By 1846 Moreton Bay had a population of 4,000 people, considerably less than that of Burra at the time which had over 5,000 people! In 1848 the first immigrants direct from Britain arrived, as did some Chinese. In 1849 three ship loads of Presbyterians arrived in Brisbane, the first ship being the Fortitude- hence the naming of Fortitude Valley. The colony was still far from self sufficient in terms of food production. In the mid 1850s German immigrants also started to arrive in the settlement. The only building still standing built by convict labour is the Old Windmill in Wickham Park. Most of the other convict built buildings were in the CBD and gradually demolished during phases of growth in the 19th century.

 

During the late 1840s a few grand houses were built in Brisbane like Newstead House at Hamilton, and the city began to take shape. All the central streets were named after members of Queen Victoria’s family- Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary for the streets parallel to Queen Street, and Albert, Edward, George and William for the streets perpendicular to Queen Street. In 1859 the population had grown sufficiently, to about 30,000 people for Queensland to be proclaimed a separate colony from NSW with Brisbane (about 6,000 people) as its capital city. It was now a self governing independent colony. Old Government House was built shortly after this in 1862 followed by numerous colonial government buildings. The French Empire style Parliament House opposite the old Botanical Gardens was erected in 1865 to a design by Charles Tiffin. It had perfect symmetry, mansard roof lien with dormer windows, triangular pediments above some windows, and an arcaded loggia. It is still one of the most pleasing and distinctive buildings in Brisbane. Nearby the pastoralists and wealthy built the Queensland Club in Alice Street in 1882 with classical columns, roof line pediment, balustrade and perfect symmetry, but with Italianate style bay windows. The location near parliament house is much like the situation of the Adelaide Club on North Terrace almost adjacent to the SA parliament. The wealthy and pastoralists in both states had immeasurable influence over early colonial politics. One of the other finest colonial buildings of Brisbane is the Old Customs House with the circular copper domed roof on the edge of the Brisbane River. It was erected in 1888.

 

Although Brisbane grew quickly through the following decades it was not incorporated as a city until 1902.Part of the reason for the relatively slow of growth of Brisbane, compared to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney was that it was not the focal point of the state railway network. Queensland always had other major regional centres. The railway from Brisbane reached out to southern Queensland only- Ipswich in 1864, Toowoomba in 1867, and Charleville by 1888. There was no early push to have a railway link with the coast cities and their hinterlands. The coastal cities of Queensland were not linked by a railway until 1927 when road transport had already taken over the transport of livestock and freight. The coastal railway in Queensland was always for passenger traffic as much as freight traffic.

 

Unlike the other Australian state capitals, Brisbane City Council governs most of the metropolitan area of Brisbane. In 1925 over twenty shires and municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Brisbane. It was at this time that the landmark Brisbane city Hall was built in Art Deco style. It was opened in 1930 and members of the public can enter and walk around the inside of the building.

 

During World War Two, Brisbane had a distinctive history as Prime Minister John Curtin had the “Brisbane Line” as a controversial defense plan, whereby if there was a land invasion of Australia, the northern half of the country would be surrendered at a line just north of Brisbane! Brisbane also became the headquarters for the Americans campaign in the South Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur based there at times. In 1942 a violent clash erupted between American and Australian service personnel in Brisbane. Between 2,000 and 5,000 men were involved in the riots which spread over two days. One soldier was killed and eight injured by gun fire as well as 100s injured with black eyes, swollen faces, broken noses etc. On the second night 21 Americans were injured with 11 of them having to be hospitalised. It was locally known as The Battle of Brisbane.

 

Yet around 1 million American troops passed through Queensland between December 1941 (just after the bombing of Pearl harbour) and the end of 1945. They were here to spearhead attacks to take back the Philippines, and to prevent the Japanese from taking New Guinea.

Black American soldiers were especially unpopular in Brisbane as their landing contravened the “White Australia Policy” of the times. In response to this policy General Douglas MacArthur announced his support for the Australian government’s insistence that no more Black American troops be sent to Brisbane after 1942. The Black American units in Australia were later sent to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Black American troops in New Guinea were not allowed to visit Australia for rest and recreation leave although white American troops were allowed to visit Australia, mainly to Mackay. Resentment between American and Australian troops in Brisbane had to be contained and suppressed. Riots between troops also occurred in Townsville during the War.

 

The Fountain of Putti is a monumental work in Carrara marble , located at the entrance to Piazza dei Miracoli and Via Santa Maria in Pisa .

 

It was built between 1746 and 1765 by Giuseppe Vaccà , who took care of the base, and by Giovanni Antonio Cybei , author of the marble group of putti holding the coats of arms of Pisa and the Opera del Duomo, based on a design by the painter Giovanni Battista Tempesti

 

The presence of a first fountain in the Piazza del Duomo, although simple and devoid of ornaments, has been attested since 1659. However, it was thanks to the Operaio dell'Opera Francesco Quarantotti , appointed in 1729, that the current structure was built , strategically moved a few meters compared to the position of the previous fountain and placed "on the corner of the paved road that goes to the church" , that is, in front of the exit of via Santa Maria into Piazza del Duomo. For the new monument, an aesthetic solution was chosen that could better harmonize with the classic appearance of the monuments in the square .

 

The first phase of construction of the fountain was entrusted to the Carrara sculptor Giuseppe Vaccà, who had participated together with his father Giovan Battista and his cousin in the furnishing of the Cathedral , a phase which ended in 1746 with the construction of a base decorated with cherubs and acanthus leaves. The pillar of the source was built in Avenza di Massa in the Vaccà workshop in just under a year, and despite the construction difficulties caused by the soft ground (which it was necessary to consolidate by driving 33 pine poles deep) , in September by 1746 the fountain could now be said to be completed . Its creation, as reported in the Memoria del Duomo by Filippo D'Angelo, was defined as "not magnifying but beautiful and gallant" .

 

In 1763 Anton Francesco Maria Quarantotti, who had succeeded his father in the service of the Opera del Duomo, agreed with Vaccà to complete the structure of the fountain with a sculptural group to be positioned above the marble base. Vaccà in all likelihood in this case only played the role of entrepreneur : the construction was in fact entrusted to Giovanni Antonio Cybei , who worked starting from a preparatory drawing by the painter Giovanni Battista Tempesti . From 1763, the work kept Cybei busy for about two years ; the sculptural group was transported to the city by sea and up the Arno a few days before Christmas 1765

 

Shortly after the completion of the work, the first critical assessments also emerged, which were directed in particular against the sculptural group of the three putti. The oldest written testimony of these negative judgments dates back to Filippo D'Angelo , who, in his Memoirs of the Cathedral and events of the city of Pisa in 1767 , defined the author as "a terrible statuary" .

 

In 1848, the Pisan sculptor Girolamo Marconi was the first to propose replacing the sculptural group with a statue of the city's patron saint, San Ranieri , also replacing the base with another, more sober one, bearing the city coat of arms [9] . However, probably due to lack of funds, the proposal was not followed up .

 

With the foundation in Pisa of the Association for the embellishments of the Piazza del Duomo (1862), born in the period of national unification, the hypothesis of replacing the group of three putti, judged to be of little value, with the statue of Buscheto , architect of the Cathedral . However, not even this time did the intent to restore a more austere appearance to the square lead to concrete results.

 

The opportunity for a new attempt to remove the group presented itself with the appointment of Archbishop Pietro Maffi in 1905. Maffi, who was an astronomer and had been appointed president of the Vatican Observatory in 1904 , proposed replacing the putti with a monument to Galileo Galilei . To reduce costs, he also suggested removing only the sculptural group, using the fountain below. The project, however, was harshly criticized when it was made public in 1906; on this occasion, for the first time, some defenders of the Fontana dei Putti intervened as a historical and symbolic element of the square. The determination of Maffi, who in the meantime had become cardinal, led him to a second attempt in 1922, when the Genoese sculptor Antonio Bozzano was entrusted with the task of creating a sketch for the work . Once again, however, the project was not successful: the survival of the Fontana dei Putti was probably guaranteed by the failure of Maffi to be elected to the papal throne in the Council of 1922 , which instead led to the election of Achille Ratti with the name of Pope Pius XI. This event marked the end of a century of replacement projects and allowed the three cherubs to maintain their role among the prominent monuments in the square.

 

The history of the attribution of the sculptural group of the three putti has been the subject of complex developments.

 

Despite the relevant testimony of Girolamo Tiraboschi , who already in 1786, in his biography dedicated to Cybei, mentioned among the artist's works the three putti in the Piazza del Duomo of Pisa , over time the name of the author of group was lost.

 

In 1873 Tiraboschi's words were also reported by the Marquis Giovanni Campori in his Biographical Memoirs of sculptors, architects, painters, etc. natives of the Province of Massa in 1873 , but despite this testimony for a long time the role of Cybei was ignored and the sculptures were attributed to Giuseppe Vaccà. The attribution to Vaccà also remained in the Pisa Guide by Bellini Pietri and in a 1931 essay by Giorgio Castelfranco entitled The Fountain of G. Vaccà in Piazza del Duomo in Pisa.

 

Subsequently, in 1990, Paolo Roberto Ciardi seemed to resolve the issue by publishing the contract stipulated in 1763 between the Worker Quarantotti and Giuseppe Vaccà, which recognized the latter as the author of the three putti. However, towards the end of the nineties, the discovery of an autograph by Cybei, in which the sculptor explicitly declared that he had created the group for the fountain, allowed the paternity of the work to be returned to him

 

The base created by Giuseppe Vaccà appears as a parallelepiped positioned vertically, characterized on two sides by acanthus leaves, which create a bulge in the lower part of the plinth, while, on the opposite sides, two volutes resting on a base support the basin for the 'waterfall.

 

In the areas of the squares of the fountain's pedestal the artist is inspired by the architectural formulas of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, proposing an architecture animated by two different themes: on two sides, a geometric ornamentation; on the other two, mythological figures in high relief. The artist also uses different techniques for the two pairs of panels: high relief for the figurative images and low relief for the more ornamental decoration .

 

In the squares of the parallelepiped, the artist creates a dialogue between art and nature , representing an acanthus leaf that invades the lower part of the base, a symbol widely used in architectural decorative resolutions. The artist here clearly refers to classical models [19] , loading them with allusive values: the acanthus leaf, a constant presence on capitals, ceiling and wall decorations, returns here to symbolize freshness and refreshment, themes that are well suited to the nature and function of the monument.

 

The considerable volume of acanthus leaves also has its own structural utility . It distributes the weight thrusts at the base of the parallelepiped towards the ground in a more uniform and less incidental way, avoiding the formation of cracks and ensuring better cohesion between the different parts. To confirm this, we observe the presence of two overturned shelves under the two basins, which also serve to balance the downward forces.

 

In the other two areas of the panels, however, the work is loaded with allegorical-symbolic values ​​through one of the most traditional figures of mythological language: the Triton who fights with the sea monster. The extremely popular theme, however, seems to refer in particular to a preparatory drawing by Marco da Faenza for the grotesques of the Triton in combat, preserved at the superintendence for artistic and historical heritage of Florence .

 

The young Tritons, represented in a mirrored manner in the mirrors of the base, have the aim of enhancing the wonder of the sea. One, by blowing the conch, seems to attract the attention of the other intent on fighting, immortalized in the gesture of throwing a stone at the monster subjected to him, in a playful and carefree atmosphere. The volumes of the figures burst into space, projecting to the maximum, with a powerful modeling that goes beyond the limits of high relief.

 

The sculptural group created between 1763 and 1765 by Antonio Cybei is located above the base and depicts three colossal putti, also in white Carrara marble , holding the coats of arms of Pisa and the Opera del Duomo .

 

In his reworking of the work, Cybei did not modify the poses of the three putti compared to the original sketch proposed by Tempesti, but inverted the central putto counterclockwise, creating a composition capable of further highlighting the dynamism of the figures.

 

The spiral arrangement of the figures had the aim of lightening the base and, at the same time, creating the optical illusion of an ascending movement, as if the direction given to the movement was not directed downwards, but was going towards the sky . The different compositional arrangement between Tempesti's sketch and Cybei's work highlights a different intent. In Tempesti's sketch, which is arranged clockwise, the shield seems to move downwards, as if it descended directly from the sky into the arms of the children . On the contrary, in the layout given by Cybei the figures are positioned counterclockwise, with the statues appearing to raise the shield upwards, in a gesture "of thanksgiving and consecration of the Pisan people to God".

 

In this sense, the execution of Tempesti's modeling still has a baroque character, in which the composition rotates around a central axis, and the distribution of weights moves in a spiral that converges downwards. On the contrary, the change made by Cybei, with the anti-clockwise movement of the figures, seems to mark, according to Mario Noferi, the transition from baroque to rococo . In fact, the revision, which proposed an ascending dynamism in the form of a spiral, seems to lighten the weight of the compositions that characterizes baroque works while maintaining the basic principles of representation intact, in line with one of the main objectives of the Rococo. In summary, the reworking of Cybei made the work more modern compared to Tempesti's sketch, which still reflected the influence of the Roman school .

 

Another notable characteristic of the Putti group is certainly the plastic treatment of the volumes, capable of expressing the sensation of the softness of the flesh. The skilful use of chiaroscuro also contributes to this rendering, which gives the sculpture an almost pictorial character, to the point of pushing Mario Noferi to believe that "the sculptor, with intention, wanted to leave traces of the original design idea taken from the drawing of a painter". Evidence of these plastic abilities would also be, according to the scholar, the careful reproduction of an atmospheric phenomenon: the disheveled hair of the children, in fact, seems to be agitated by the wind, a re-enactment of a natural phenomenon that contributes to the overall movement of the work

 

From a symbolic point of view, the presence of water refers to the concept of purification, historically also referring to the dawn of Christianity, when fountains were placed in the atrium of Christian basilicas to introduce the sacred space. In the same way it would then be possible, according to Mario Noferi, to consider the monumental fountain as a spiritual entrance to the square, at the convergence of all the city streets that lead to the Cathedral.

 

Furthermore, according to the scholar, the iconic buildings of the square symbolize the essential phases of human life in relation to faith: birth represented by the baptistery, life symbolized by the cathedral and death evoked by the cemetery. Similarly, the three lively children who adorn the top of the Fountain represent a specific phase of human existence, recalling the short period of childhood characterized by energy and recklessness in games

 

The introduction of postal cards is believed to have contributed to the revaluation of the fountain in the 19th century . Initially, in fact, the classic view of the square included only the Baptistery, the Cathedral and the famous Leaning Tower. However, as time passed, the fountain was included in other images taken from different angles, acquiring a significant role among other major monuments and arousing the interest of both postcard buyers and the recipients themselves .

 

This process gradually led the fountain to establish itself in the collective imagination as an essential element of the urban panorama of the Piazza dei Miracoli. However, it is with the advent of mobile devices and new technologies that the fountain has taken on an even more relevant role. Today, thanks to the ease with which it is possible to take photographs and videos, the fountain is included in many images of the square, deliberately chosen to offer added value to the image itself and enhance the other monuments present.

 

Furthermore, a notable aspect is that from the perspective located at the intersection between Piazza dei Miracoli and Via Santa Maria, it is possible to appreciate in a single glance all three faces of the children who, with their different contortions, support the coat of arms of the city of Pisa .

 

Ultimately, the fountain on the Piazza dei Miracoli has undergone a process of revaluation over the years, becoming a fundamental element of the urban landscape. Thanks to social media, its presence is increasingly constantly documented, while the peculiar detail of the cherubs holding up the coat of arms of Pisa contributes to increasing the curiosity and attention of visitors

 

The Fountain of Putti also appears in the theme song of the fourth animated season of " Lupine III - The Italian Adventure ", a derivative of the manga by the Japanese cartoonist Monkey Punch and broadcast in 2015 .

 

The series, made up of twenty-six episodes, is entirely set in Italy and the opening theme features several important Italian tourist places (such as Rome, the canals of Venice, San Marino, Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence). Among these, a significant shot is reserved for the Leaning Tower of Pisa, with the Fountain of the Putti placed right in the foreground.

 

Pisa is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.

 

The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies.

 

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Pisa.

Ancient times

The most believed hypothesis is that the origin of the name Pisa comes from Etruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.

 

Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving the Etruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations.

 

Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet of Alphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists from Pisa in Elis, near which the Alpheius river flowed. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era.

 

The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village) and Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians and Gauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia obsequens.

 

Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city.

 

Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

During the last years of the Western Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of Ravenna: Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and Corsica, Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain.

 

After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of Otto I) within the mark of Tuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of tenth century Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of Cremona, called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of the Saracen pirates urged the city to expand its fleet; in the following years, this fleet gave the town an opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa. In 871, they took part in the defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front of Calabrese coasts.

 

11th century

The power of Pisa as a maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare).

 

At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some 'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between 1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to the aid of the Norman Roger I, took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo.

 

In 1060, Pisa had to engage in their first battle with Genoa. The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092, Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising the town to the rank of archbishopric.

 

Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla to push El Cid out of Valencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade, and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert, the future patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of the Levant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in Cairo, Alexandria, and of course Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of the Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself.

 

12th century

In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors; the queen and the king of Majorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western Mediterranean.

 

In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with Languedoc, Provence (Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille.

 

The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults.

 

In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa, asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II against those of Pope Anacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily. Amalfi, one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from Aversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked Salerno.

 

New city walls, erected in 1156 by Consul Cocco Griffi

In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by Frederick I. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, a half of Palermo, Messina, Salerno and Naples, the whole of Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI, Otto IV, and Frederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as Lucca, Massa, Volterra, and Florence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via Francigena, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa.

 

Genoa had acquired a dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the Rhône, when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of Toulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was Sicily, where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III, though removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III, allied himself with the Guelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated[clarification needed] a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy.

 

To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne, Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the Adriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town.

 

One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople.

 

13th century

In 1209 in Lerici, two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with the Holy Roman Empire, and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northern Sardinia.

 

In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241, a combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo, attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio (Battle of Giglio), in front of Tuscany; the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in 1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243.

 

The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici, conquered by the Pisans some years earlier, in 1256.

 

The great expansion in the Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate.

 

Decline

The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini, was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto Zaccaria and Oberto Doria, in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria. This defeat ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land with salt. The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but the end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the Aragonese.

 

Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under the command of Uguccione della Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405.[9] Florentines corrupted the capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism. In the 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples, Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic.

 

The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja, Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to the Visconti family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa, created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987).

 

Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat of an archbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during World War II.

 

Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area.

 

Geography

Climate

Pisa has a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). The city is characterized by cool to mild winters and hot summers. This transitional climate allows Pisa to have summers with moderate rainfall. Rainfall peaks in autumn. Snow is rare. The highest officially recorded temperature was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 22 August 2011 and the lowest was −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 12 January 1985.

 

Culture

Gioco del Ponte

In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) which was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge (Ponte di Mezzo). The participants wore quilted armor and the only offensive weapon allowed was the targone, a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of the bridge. The object of the two opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated.

 

In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artist Cornelis de Bruijn. He wrote:

 

"While I stayed in Livorno, I went to Pisa to witness the bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing the bridge, in the same way as the fistfights in Venice between the it:Castellani and the Nicolotti."

 

In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions.

 

Festivals and cultural events

Capodanno pisano (folklore, March 25)

Gioco del Ponte (folklore)

Luminara di San Ranieri (folklore, June 16)

Maritime republics regata (folklore)

Premio Nazionale Letterario Pisa

Pisa Book Festival

Metarock (rock music festival)

Internet Festival San Ranieri regata (folklore)

Turn Off Festival (house music festival)

Nessiáh (Jewish cultural Festival, November)

Main sights

 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by the municipal administration.

 

Other sights include:

Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri, and also designed by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th century. It houses a bust by Donatello, and paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi, Alessandro Fei, and Pontormo. It also contains spoils from the many naval battles between the Cavalieri (Knights of St. Stephan) and the Turks between the 16th and 18th centuries, including the Turkish battle pennant hoisted from Ali Pacha's flagship at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.

St. Sixtus. This small church, consecrated in 1133, is also close to the Piazza dei Cavalieri. It was used as a seat of the most important notarial deeds of the town, also hosting the Council of Elders. It is today one of the best preserved early Romanesque buildings in town.

St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed by Giovanni di Simone, built after 1276. In 1343 new chapels were added and the church was elevated. It has a single nave and a notable belfry, as well as a 15th-century cloister. It houses works by Jacopo da Empoli, Taddeo Gaddi and Santi di Tito. In the Gherardesca Chapel are buried Ugolino della Gherardesca and his sons.

San Frediano. This church, built by 1061, has a basilica interior with three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th century. Paintings from the 16th century were added during a restoration, including works by Ventura Salimbeni, Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Lomi, and Rutilio Manetti.

San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design of Giovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of the 13th century. The paintings include the Madonna with Child by Francesco Traini (14th century) and St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by Giovanni and Nino Pisano, and the Annunciation by Francesco di Valdambrino.

Santa Maria della Spina. A small white marble church alongside the Arno, is attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1230), is another excellent Gothic building.

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno. The church was founded around 952 and enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the cathedral. It is annexed to the Romanesque Chapel of St. Agatha, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.

San Pietro in Vinculis. Known as San Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave.

 

Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling arcades and the Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo (990). There are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway through the Piagge riverside promenade.

Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, and Lorenzo de' Medici sojourned here.

Orto botanico di Pisa. The botanical garden of the University of Pisa is Europe's oldest university botanical garden.

Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani patrician family. Here Galileo Galilei showed to Grand Duke of Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The edifice was erected in 1559 by Baccio Bandinelli for Cosimo I de Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is now a museum.

Palazzo Gambacorti. This palace is a 14th-century Gothic building, and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.

Palazzo Agostini. The palace is a Gothic building also known as Palazzo dell'Ussero, with its 15th-century façade and remains of the ancient city walls dating back to before 1155. The name of the building comes from the coffee rooms of Caffè dell'Ussero, historic meeting place founded on September 1, 1775.

Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work by Keith Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio, painted in June 1989.

Museums

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original sculptures of Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano, the Islamic Pisa Griffin, and the treasures of the cathedral.

Museo delle Sinopie: showing the sinopias from the camposanto, the monumental cemetery. These are red ocher underdrawings for frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with water.

Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings from the 12th to 15th centuries, among them the masterworks of Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, the Master of San Martino, Simone Martini, Nino Pisano and Masaccio.

Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc.

Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a collection of instruments used in science, between a pneumatic machine of Van Musschenbroek and a compass which probably belonged to Galileo Galilei.

Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located in the Certosa di Calci, outside the city. It houses one of the largest cetacean skeletons collection in Europe.

Palazzo Blu: temporary exhibitions and cultural activities center, located in the Lungarno, in the heart of the old town, the palace is easy recognizable because it is the only blue building.

Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A museum of 10,650 square meters – 3,500 archaeological excavation, 1,700 laboratories and one restoration center – that visitors can visit with a guided tour.[19] The Museum opened in June 2019 and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the Tuscany Soprintendenza. It hosts a remarkable collection of ceramics and amphoras dated back from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century BC, and also 32 ships dated back from the second century BCE and the seventh century BC. Four of them are integrally preserved and the best one is the so-called Barca C, also named Alkedo (written in the ancient Greek characters). The first boat was accidentally discovered in 1998 near the Pisa San Rossore railway station and the archeological excavations were completed 20 years later.

 

Churches

St. Francis' Church

San Francesco

San Frediano

San Giorgio ai Tedeschi

San Michele in Borgo

San Nicola

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno

San Paolo all'Orto

San Piero a Grado

San Pietro in Vinculis

San Sisto

San Tommaso delle Convertite

San Zeno

Santa Caterina

Santa Cristina

Santa Maria della Spina

Santo Sepolcro

 

Palaces, towers and villas

Palazzo della Carovana or dei Cavalieri.

Pisa by Oldypak lp photo

Pisa

Palazzo del Collegio Puteano

Palazzo della Carovana

Palazzo delle Vedove

Torre dei Gualandi

Villa di Corliano

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

Sports

Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa, currently plays in the Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as Diego Simeone, Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, opened in 1919 and with a capacity of 25,000.

 

Notable people

For people born in Pisa, see People from the Province of Pisa; among notable non-natives long resident in the city:

 

Giuliano Amato (born 1938), politician, former Premier and Minister of Interior Affairs

Alessandro d'Ancona (1835–1914), critic and writer.

Silvano Arieti (1914–1981), psychiatrist

Gaetano Bardini (1926–2017), tenor

Andrea Bocelli (born 1958), tenor and multi-instrumentalist.

Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), poet and 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature winner.

Massimo Carmassi (born 1943), architect

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1920–2016), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Maria Luisa Cicci (1760–1794), poet

Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari (1677–1754), a musical composer and maestro di cappella at Pistoia.

Alessio Corti (born 1965), mathematician

Rustichello da Pisa (born 13th century), writer

Giovanni Battista Donati (1826–1873), an Italian astronomer.

Leonardo Fibonacci (1170–1250), mathematician.

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), physicist.

Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944), philosopher and politician

Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639), painter.

Count Ugolino della Gherardesca (1214–1289), noble (see also Dante Alighieri).

Giovanni Gronchi (1887–1978), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Giacomo Leopardi [1798–1837), poet and philosopher.

Enrico Letta (born 1966), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy

Marco Malvaldi (born 1974), mystery novelist

Leonardo Ortolani (born 1967), comic writer

Antonio Pacinotti (1841–1912), physicist, inventor of the dynamo

Andrea Pisano (1290–1348), a sculptor and architect.

Afro Poli (1902–1988), an operatic baritone

Bruno Pontecorvo (1913–1993), nuclear physicist

Gillo Pontecorvo (1919–2006), filmmaker

Ippolito Rosellini (1800–1843), an Egyptologist.

Paolo Savi (1798–1871), geologist and ornithologist.

Antonio Tabucchi (1943–2012), writer and academic

Sport

Jason Acuña (born 1973), Stunt performer

Sergio Bertoni (1915–1995), footballer

Giorgio Chiellini (born 1984), footballer

Camila Giorgi (born 1991), tennis player

Is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city.

Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is the most populous insular nation in the Caribbean. Its people, culture, and customs draw from diverse sources, including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples; the period of Spanish colonialism; the introduction of African slaves; and its proximity to the United States.

 

Etymology

The name "Cuba" comes from the Taíno language and though the exact meaning is unclear, it may be translated either as "where fertile land is abundant" (cubao), or as "great place" (coabana). It is also said that Cuba shares the same Arabic root word "Ka'bah." meaning "Shrine". Another claim states that the name "Cuba" was given by Columbus after the ancient town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal.

 

History

Pre-Columbian Era

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the island was inhabited by Native American peoples known as the Taíno and Ciboney whose ancestors migrated from the mainland of North, Central and South America several centuries earlier. The Taíno were farmers and the Ciboney were farmers and hunter-gatherers; some have suggested that copper trade was significant, and mainland artifacts have been found.

 

Spanish colonization

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed near what is now Baracoa, claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain, and named Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias. In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa; other towns soon followed including the future capital, San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515. The Spanish enslaved the approximately 100,000 indigenous people who resisted conversion to Christianity, setting them primarily to the task of searching for gold, and within a century European infectious diseases had virtually wiped out the indigenous people.

 

Cuba remained a Spanish possession for almost 400 years (1511–1898), with an economy based on plantations agriculture, mining and the export of sugar, coffee and tobacco to Europe and later to North America. The work was done primarily by African slaves brought to the island when Britain owned it in 1762. The small land-owning elite of Spanish settlers held social and economic power, supported by a population of Spaniards born on the island (Criollos), other Europeans, and African-descended slaves.

 

Independence wars

In the 1820s, when the rest of Spain's empire in Latin America rebelled and formed independent states, Cuba remained loyal, although there was some agitation for independence, leading the Spanish Crown to give it the motto "La Siempre Fidelísima Isla" ("The Always Most Faithful Island"). This loyalty was due partly to Cuban settlers' dependence on Spain for trade, protection from pirates, protection against a slave rebellion, and partly because they feared the rising power of the United States more than they disliked Spanish rule.

 

The Ten Years' War

Independence from Spain was the motive for a rebellion in 1868 led by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, resulting in a prolonged conflict known as the Ten Years' War. The U.S. declined to recognize the new Cuban government, though many European and Latin American nations had done so. In 1878, the Pact of Zanjón ended the conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba. In 1879–1880, Cuban patriot Calixto Garcia attempted to start another war, known as the Little War, but received little support.

The period between wars

Slavery was abolished in 1886, although the African-descended minority remained socially and economically oppressed.[citation needed] During this period, rural poverty in Spain provoked by the Spanish Revolution of 1868 and its aftermath led to increased Spanish emigration to Cuba.

During the 1890s, pro-independence agitation was revived in part by resentment of the restrictions imposed on Cuban trade by Spain and hostility to Spain's increasingly oppressive and incompetent administration of Cuba.[citation needed] Few of Spain's promises for economic reform in the Pact of Zanjón were kept.

 

The War of '95

In 1892, an exiled dissident, José Martí, founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York, with the aim of achieving Cuban independence. In January 1895, Martí travelled to Montecristi, Santo Domingo to join the efforts of Máximo Gómez. Martí wrote down his political views in the Manifesto of Montecristi. Fighting against the Spanish army began in Cuba on 24 February 1895, but Martí was unable to reach Cuba until 11 April 1895. Martí was killed on 19 May 1895, in the battle of Dos Rios. His death immortalized him and he has become Cuba's national hero.

Around 200,000 Spanish troops outnumbered the much smaller rebel army which relied mostly on guerrilla and sabotage tactics. The Spaniards began a campaign of suppression. General Valeriano Weyler, military governor of Cuba, herded the rural population into what he called reconcentrados, described by international observers as "fortified towns". These are often considered the prototype for 20th-century concentration camps. Between 200,000 and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease in the camps, numbers verified by the Red Cross and U.S. Senator (and former Secretary of War) Redfield Proctor. U.S. and European protests against Spanish conduct on the island followed.

The Spanish-American War

The U.S. battleship Maine arrived in Havana on 25 January 1898 to offer protection to the 8,000 American residents on the island; but the Spanish saw this as intimidation. On the evening of 15 February 1898, the Maine blew up in the harbor, killing 252 crew that night; another 8 died of their wounds in hospital over the next few days. A Naval Board of Inquiry, headed by Captain William Sampson, was appointed to investigate the cause of the explosion on the Maine. Having examined the wreck and taken testimony from eyewitnesses and experts, the board reported on 21 March 1898, that the Maine had been destroyed by "a double magazine set off from the exterior of the ship, which could only have been produced by a mine".

The facts remain disputed today, although an investigation by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover in 1976 established that the blast was most likely a large internal explosion, caused by spontaneous combustion in inadequately ventilated bituminous coal which ignited gunpowder in an adjacent magazine. The board was unable to fix the responsibility for the disaster, but a furious American populace, fueled by an active press—notably the newspapers of William Randolph Hearst—concluded that the Spanish were to blame and demanded action. The U.S. Congress passed a resolution calling for intervention, and President William McKinley complied. Spain and the U.S. declared war on each other in late April.

 

Modern history

After the Spanish-American War, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (1898), by which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the U.S. for the sum of $20 million. Under the same treaty, Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over the title to Cuba. Theodore Roosevelt, who had fought in the Spanish-American War and had some sympathies with the independence movement, succeeded McKinley as U.S. President in 1901 and abandoned the 20-year treaty proposal. Instead, Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. on May 20, 1902 as the Republic of Cuba. But under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, the U.S. leased the Guantánamo Bay naval base from Cuba.

In 1906, following disputed elections, the first president, Tomás Estrada Palma, faced an armed revolt by independence war veterans who defeated the meager government forces. The U.S. intervened by occupying Cuba and named Charles Edward Magoon as Governor for three years. For many years afterwards, Cuban historians attributed Magoon's governorship as having introduced political and social corruption. In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected President, but the U.S. continued intervening in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province, but was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed.

During World War I, Cuba shipped considerable quantities of sugar to Britain, avoiding U-boat attack, by the subterfuge of shipping sugar to Sweden. The Menocal government declared war on Germany very soon after the U.S. did.

Despite frequent outbreaks of disorder, constitutional government was maintained until 1930, when Gerardo Machado y Morales suspended the constitution. During Machado's tenure, a nationalistic economic program was pursued with several major national development projects undertaken, including Carretera Central and El Capitolio. Machado's hold on power was weakened following a decline in demand for exported agricultural produce due to the Great Depression, and to attacks first by independence war veterans, and later by covert terrorist organizations, principally the ABC.

During a general strike in which the Communist Party sided with Machado, the senior elements of the Cuban army forced Machado into exile and installed Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, son of Cuba's founding father (Carlos Manuel de Céspedes), as President. During September 4–5, 1933 a second coup overthrew Céspedes, leading to the formation of the first Ramón Grau government. Notable events in this violent period include the separate sieges of Hotel Nacional de Cuba and Atares Castle. This government lasted 100 days but engineered radical socialist changes in Cuban society and a rejection of the Platt amendment. In 1934, Fulgencio Batista and the army replaced Grau with Carlos Mendieta.

Batista was finally elected as President democratically in the elections of 1940, and his administration carried out major social reforms. Several members of the Communist Party held office under his administration. Batista's administration formally took Cuba to the Allies of World War II camp in the World War II, declaring war on Japan on December 9, 1941, then on Germany and Italy on December 11, 1941. Cuba was not greatly involved in combat during World War II.

Ramón Grau won the 1944 elections. Carlos Prío Socarrás won the 1948 elections. The influx of investment fueled a boom which did much to raise living standards across the board and create a prosperous middle class in most urban areas, although the gap between rich and poor became wider and more obvious.

The 1952 election was a three-way race. Roberto Agramonte of the Ortodoxos party led in all the polls, followed by Dr Aurelio Hevia of the Auténtico party, and Batista as a distant third, seeking a return to office. Both Agramonte and Hevia had decided to name Col. Ramón Barquín to head the Cuban armed forces after the elections. Barquín, then a diplomat in Washington, DC, was a top officer, respected by the professional army, and had promised to eliminate corruption in the ranks. Batista feared that Barquín would oust him and his followers, and when it became apparent that Batista had little chance of winning, he staged a coup on March 10, 1952 and held power with the backing of a nationalist section of the army as a "provisional president" for the next two years.

Justo Carrillo told Barquín in Washington in March 1952 that the inner circles knew that Batista had aimed the coup at him; they immediately began to conspire to oust Batista and restore democracy and civilian government in what was later dubbed La Conspiracion de los Puros de 1956 (Agrupacion Montecristi). In 1954, Batista agreed to elections. The Partido Auténtico put forward ex-President Grau as their candidate, but he withdrew amid allegations that Batista was rigging the elections in advance.

In April 1956, Batista ordered Barquín to become General and chief of the army. But Barquín decided to move forward with his coup to secure total power. On April 4, 1956, a coup by hundreds of career officers led by Barquín was frustrated by Rios Morejon. The coup broke the backbone of the Cuban armed forces. The officers were sentenced to the maximum terms allowed by Cuban Martial Law. Barquín was sentenced to solitary confinement for eight years. La Conspiración de los Puros resulted in the imprisonment of the commanders of the armed forces and the closing of the military academies.

Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios. In 1958, Cuba was a relatively well-advanced country, certainly by Latin American standards, and in some cases by world standards. Cuban workers enjoyed some of the highest wages in the world. Cuba attracted more immigrants, primarily from Europe, as a percentage of population than the US. The United Nations noted Cuba for its large middle class. On the other hand, Cuba was affected by perhaps the largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities.

Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems. Unemployment became relatively large; graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs. The middle class, which compared Cuba to the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with the unemployment, while labor unions supported Batista until the very end.

 

Cuban Revolution

Main article: Cuban Revolution

On December 2, 1956 a party of 82 people, led by Fidel Castro in a small boat, the Granma, landed on the shore of Cuba with the intention of establishing an armed resistance movement in the Sierra Maestra. While facing armed resistance from these rebels in the mountains, the Batista regime was weakened and crippled by a United States arms embargo imposed on March 14, 1958. By late 1958, the rebels broke out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general, popular insurrection. After the fighters captured Santa Clara, Batista dramatically fled from Havana on January 1, 1959 to exile in Portugal. Barquín negotiated the symbolic change of command between Camilo Cienfuegos, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro and his brother Fidel Castro after the Supreme Court decided that the Revolution was the source of law and its representative should assume command.

Castro's forces entered the capital on January 8, 1959. Shortly afterwards, a liberal lawyer, Dr Manuel Urrutia Lleó became president. He was backed by Castro's 26th of July Movement because they believed his appointment would be welcomed by the United States. Disagreements within the government culminated in Urrutia's resignation in July 1959. He was replaced by Osvaldo Dorticós who served as president until 1976. Castro became prime minister in February 1959, succeeding José Miró in that post.

In its first year, the new revolutionary government expropriated private property with little or no compensation, nationalised public utilities, tightened controls on the private sector and closed down the mafia-controlled gambling industry. The CIA conspired with the Chicago mafia in 1960 and 1961 to assassinate Fidel Castro, according to documents declassified in 2007.

Some of these measures were undertaken by Fidel Castro's government in the name of the program outlined in the Manifesto of the Sierra Maestra, while in the Sierra Maestra. The government nationalized private property totaling about $25 billion US dollars, of which American property made up only over US $1.0 billions.

By the end of 1960, all opposition newspapers had been closed down, and all radio and television stations were in state control. Moderates, teachers and professors were purged. In any year, about 20,000 dissenters were held and tortured under inhumane prison conditions. Homosexuals and other unfortunates were locked up in internment camps in the 1960s, where they were subject to medical-political "re-education". One estimate is that 15,000 to 17,000 people were executed.

The Communist Party strengthened its one-party rule, with Castro as supreme leader. Fidel's brother, Raúl Castro, became the army chief. Loyalty to Castro became the primary criterion for all appointments. In September 1960, the regime created a system known as Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), which provided neighborhood spying.

In the 1961 New Year's Day parade, the administration exhibited Soviet tanks and other weapons. Eventually, the tiny island nation built up the second largest armed forces in Latin America, second only to Brazil. Cuba became a privileged client-state of the Soviet Union.

By 1961, hundreds of thousands of Cubans had left for the United States. The 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion (La Batalla de Girón) was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Cuban government by a U.S.-trained force of Cuban exiles with U.S. military support. The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F. Kennedy became the U.S. President. The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the exiles in three days. The bad Cuban-American relations were exacerbated the following year by the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Kennedy administration demanded the immediate withdrawal of Soviet missiles placed in Cuba, which was a response to U.S. nuclear missiles in Turkey and the Middle East.

The Soviets and Americans soon agreed on the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba and American missiles secretly from Turkey and the Middle East within a few months. Kennedy also agreed not to invade Cuba in the future. Cuban exiles captured during the Bay of Pigs Invasion were exchanged for a shipment of supplies from America. By 1963, Cuba was moving towards a full-fledged Communist system modeled on the USSR. The U.S. imposed a complete diplomatic and commercial embargo on Cuba and began Operation Mongoose.

In 1965, Castro merged his revolutionary organizations with the Communist Party, of which he became First Secretary, and Blas Roca became Second Secretary. Roca was succeeded by Raúl Castro, who, as Defense Minister and Fidel's closest confidant, became and has remained the second most powerful figure in Cuba. Raúl's position was strengthened by the departure of Che Guevara to launch unsuccessful insurrections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and then Bolivia, where he was killed in 1967.

During the 1970s, Castro dispatched tens of thousands troops in support of Soviet-supported wars in Africa, particularly the MPLA in Angola and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia. The standard of living in 1970s was "extremely spartan" and discontent was rife. Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a 1970 speech. By the mid-1970s, Castro started economic reforms.

Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1962 in support of the U.S. embargo, but in 1975 the OAS lifted all sanctions against Cuba and both Mexico and Canada broke ranks with the US by developing closer relations with Cuba.[citation needed] On 3 June 2009, the OAS adopted a contentious resolution to end the 47-year exclusion of Cuba, but the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked out in protest as the resolution was being drafted. Cuban leaders have repeatedly announced they are not interested in rejoining the OAS.

As of 2002, some 1.2 million persons of Cuban background (about 10% of the current population of Cuba) reside in the U.S., Many of them left the island for the U.S., often by sea in small boats and fragile rafts. On 6 April 1980, 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. The following day, the Cuban government granted permission for the emigration of Cubans seeking refuge in the Peruvian embassy. On 16 April, 500 Cubans left the Peruvian Embassy for Costa Rica. On 21 April, many of those Cubans started arriving in Miami via private boats and were halted by the U.S. State Department, but the emigration continued, because Castro allowed anyone who desired to leave the country to do so through the port of Mariel. Over 125,000 Cubans emigrated to the U.S. before the flow of vessels ended on 15 June.

Castro's rule was severely tested in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse (known in Cuba as the Special Period). The food shortages were similar to North Korea; priority was given to the elite classes and the military, while ordinary people had little to eat. The regime did not accept American donations of food, medicines and cash until 1993. On 5 August 1994, state security dispersed protesters in a spontaneous popular uprising in Havana.

Cuba has found a new source of aid and support in the People's Republic of China, and new allies in Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela and Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, both major oil and gas exporters. In 2003, the regime arrested and imprisoned a large number of civil activists, a period known as the "Black Spring".

On July 31, 2006 Fidel Castro temporarily delegated his major duties to his brother, First Vice President, Raúl Castro, while Fidel recovered from surgery for an "acute intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding". On 2 December 2006, Fidel was too ill to attend the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Granma boat landing, fuelling speculation that he had stomach cancer, although there was evidence his illness was a digestive problem and not terminal.

In January 2008, footage was released of Fidel meeting Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, in which Castro "appeared frail but stronger than three months ago".[citation needed] In February 2008, Fidel announced his resignation as President of Cuba, and on 24 February Raúl was elected as the new President. In his acceptance speech, Raúl promised that some of the restrictions that limit Cubans' daily lives would be removed. In March 2009, Raúl Castro purged some of Fidel's officials.

 

Geography

Cuba is an archipelago of islands located in the northern Caribbean Sea at the confluence with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The United States lies to the north-west, the Bahamas to the north, Haiti to the east, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to the south, and Mexico to the west. Cuba is the principal island, surrounded by four smaller groups of islands: the Colorados Archipelago on the northwestern coast, the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago on the north-central Atlantic coast, the Jardines de la Reina on the south-central coast and the Canarreos Archipelago on the southwestern coast.

The main island is 1,199 km (745 mi) long, constituting most of the nation's land area (105,006 km2 (40,543 sq mi)) and is the 16th-largest island in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the Sierra Maestra mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is Pico Turquino (1,975 m (6,480 ft)). The second-largest island is Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of 3,056 km2 (1,180 sq mi). Cuba has a total land area of 110,860 km2 (42,803 sq mi).

The local climate is tropical, though moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. The average temperature is 21 °C (70 °F) in January and 27 °C (81 °F) in July. The warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba sits across the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico combine to make the country prone to frequent hurricanes. These are most common in September and October.

The most important mineral resource is nickel, of which Cuba has the world's second largest reserves after Russia. A Canadian energy company operates a large nickel mining facility in Moa. Cuba is also the world's fifth-largest producer of refined cobalt, a byproduct of nickel mining operations. Recent oil exploration has revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce approximately 4.6 billion barrels (730,000,000 m3) to 9.3 billion barrels (1.48×109 m3) of oil. In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible exploitation.

 

Other info

Oficial Name:

Republica de Cuba

 

Independence:

Declaredc October 10, 1868

- Republic declared May 20, 1902

- Cuban Revolution January 1, 1959

 

Area:

110.860 km2

 

Inhabitants:

12.500.000

 

Languages:

Lucumi [luq] Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Defoid, Yoruboid, Edekiri

More information.

 

Spanish [spa] 10,000,000 in Cuba (1995). Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Castilian

 

Capital city:

La Habana

 

Meaning country name:

From Taíno Indian Cubanacan — "centre place". In Portugal, some believe that the name echoes that of the Portuguese town of Cuba, speculating that Christopher Columbus provided a link. In portuguese and spanish, the word "cuba" refers to the barrels used to hold beverages.

 

Description Flag:

The official version of the Cuban government about the meaning of the shapes and colors of the cuban flag says that the blue stripes refer to the three old divisions of the island, the two white to the strength of the independentist ideal, the red triangle stands for equality, fraternity and freedom as well as for the blood split in the strugle for independence and the lone star symbolizes the absolute freedom among the peoples

 

Coat of arms:

The Cuban Coat of Arms is the official heraldic symbol of Cuba. It consists of a shield, crowned by the Phrygian Cap, all supported by an oak branch on one side and a laurel wreath on the other. The coat of arms was created by Miguel de Teurbe Tolon and was adopted on April 24, 1906.

Shield

The shield is divided in a three parts:

In the chief, a key charging a blue sea between two rocks, symbolizing Cuba’s geographical position as the key to the Gulf of Mexico, with a bright rising sun in the background, which represents the rising new republic.

In the division located to the viewer's left (dexter) are three dark blue stripes (bend sinister) on a light blue background, representing the three departments which divide the island: Oriental, Central y Occidental (the Eastern, Central and Western).

In the division toward the viewer's right (sinister), a heraldic landscape consisting of mountains, green vegetation and a royal palm, the national tree of Cuba, representing the rich soil of Cuba.

Supporters

The shield is supported by an oak branch on one side and a laurel wreath on the other. The oak branch symbolizes the strength of the nation; and the laurel wreath: honour and glory. These symbols were meant to represent the rights of man: Equality, Liberty and Fraternity.

Helm/crest

The Phrygian Cap (Gorro Frigio) or liberty cap that has a sole star, and serves as a crown symbolizing liberty, and the sole star stands for independence.

Official description

"The National coat of arms represents our island. It is shaped like a pointed leather shield, and divided into three sections. In its horizontal upper part, there is a golden key between two mountains, and a sun rising over the sea - which symbolises the position of Cuba in the Gulf, between the two Americas, amidst the emergence of a new state. The blue and white stripes, down the left hand side, represent the situation of the island, in terms of its division into states, in the colonial period. Down the right hand side, a Cuban country scene is dominated by a royal palm tree - the symbol of the unbreakable character of the Cuban people."

 

Motto:

" Patria O Muerte "

 

National Anthem: La Bayamesa

 

Spanish Lyrics

 

Al combate, corred, Bayameses,

Que la Patria os contempla orgullosa;

No temáis una muerte gloriosa,

Que morir por la Patria es vivir.

 

En cadenas vivir, es morir

En afrenta y oprobio sumido;

Del clarín escuchad el sonido;

¡A las armas, valientes, corred!

 

English translation

 

Hasten to battle, men of Bayamo!

The fatherland looks proudly to you;

Do not fear a glorious death,

Because to die for the fatherland is to live.

 

To live in chains is to live

In dishonour and ignominy,

Hear the clarion's call;

Hasten, brave ones, to battle!

 

eng | arg | ast | cat | dan | fra | frp | glg | hau | ina | ita | jnf | lat | lld | nah | nld | nor | oci | por | roh | ron | rup | spa | srd | swa | wln: Cuba

afr | aym | bre | ces | cor | dsb | eus | fao | fry | hrv | hsb | hun | ind | jav | lav | lin | lit | mlt | nov | pap | pol | que | slk | slv | sme | smg | sqi | swe | szl | tet | tgl | zza: Kuba

aze | bos | crh | kaa | slo | tuk | uzb: Kuba / Куба

est | fin | som | vor | yua: Kuuba

deu | ltz | nds: Kuba / Kuba

hat | kin | run: Kiba

smo | ton: Kiupa

bam: Kiba

cym: Ciwba

epo: Kubo

fur: Cube

gla: Cùba

gle: Cúba / Cúba

glv: Yn Choobey

grn: Kuva

ibo: Kiuba

isl: Kúba

kab: Kuba / ⴽⵓⴱⴰ

kmr: Kûba / Куба / کووبا

kur: Kuba / کوبا ; Kûba / کووبا

mlg: Kioba

mol: Cuba / Куба

msa: Cuba / كوبا

nrm: Tchuba

rmy: Kuba / कुबा

scn: Cubba

tur: Küba

vie: Cu Ba

vol: Kubeän

wol: Kubaa

abq | alt | bul | che | kjh | kom | krc | kum | mhr | mkd | rus | sah | tyv | udm | ukr: Куба (Kuba)

bak | bel | srp | tat: Куба / Kuba

chv: Кубӑ (Kubă)

kaz: Куба / Kwba / كۋبا

kbd: Кубэ (Kubă)

kir: Куба / كۇبا (Kuba)

mon: Куб (Kub)

oss: Кубӕ (Kubä)

tgk: Куба / کوبه / Kuba

ara: كوبا (Kūbā)

fas: کوبا / Kubâ

prs: کیوبا (Kyūbā)

pus: کيوبا (Kyūbā); کوبا (Kūbā)

uig: كۇبا / Kuba / Куба

urd: کیوبا (Kyūbā)

div: ކިއުބާ (Kiubā)

heb: קובה (Qûbah)

lad: קובה / Kuba

yid: קובאַ (Kuba)

amh: ኩባ (Kuba)

ell-dhi: Κούβα (Koýva)

ell-kat: Κοῦβα (Koỹva)

hye: Կուբա (Kouba)

kat | lzz | xmf: კუბა (Kuba)

hin: क्यूबा (Kyūbā); कूबा (Kūbā); क्योबा (Kyobā)

ben: কিউবা (Kiubā); কুবা (Kubā)

guj: ક્યુબા (Kyubā)

ori: କ୍ୟୁବା (Kyubā)

pan: ਕਿਊਬਾ (Kiūbā)

sin: කියුබාව (Kiyubāva)

kan: ಕ್ಯೂಬ (Kyūba)

mal: ക്യൂബ (Kyūba)

tam: கியூபா (Kiyūpā)

tel: క్యూబా (Kyūbā)

zho: 古巴 (Gǔbā)

yue: 古巴 (Gúbā)

jpn: キューバ (Kyūba)

kor: 쿠바 (Kuba)

bod: ཀུ་བ། (Ku.ba)

dzo: ཀིའུ་སྦ། (Ki'u.sba)

mya: က္ယူးဘား (Kyùbʰà)

tha: คิวบา (Kʰiwbā)

lao: ກຸບາ (Kubā)

khm: គុយបា (Kuybā)

 

Hore Abbey (also Hoare Abbey, sometimes known as St. Mary's) is a ruined Cistercian monastery near the Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland.

 

'Hore' is thought to derive from 'iubhair' – yew tree. The former Benedictine abbey at Hore was given to the Cistercians by Archbishop David MacCearbhaill (in 1270), who later entered the monastery. He endowed the Abbey generously with land, mills and other benefices previously belonging to the town. A story that is much cited by tour-guides is that he evicted the Benedictines after a dream that they were about to kill him. This is unlikely to be true and probably arises from the Archbishop's 'interference' with the commerce of the city of Cashel. His disfavour of the established orders in Cashel certainly caused local resentment. He was resented by some of the towns-people, being considered too much in favour of the Irish by the more Anglicised. This is evident in the objection by the thirty-eight local brewers to the levy of two flagons out of every brewing and in the murder of two monks who were visiting the town.

Just between lovers. Robert Patterson for Ladies Home Journal illustrates a triangle of jealousy and resentment.

 

The Seed of the Sacred Fig review – Mohammad Rasoulof’s arresting tale of violence and paranoia in Iran

 

The exiled director’s story of officialdom’s misogyny and theocracy in his home country may be flawed, but its importance is beyond doubt

 

Peter Bradshaw

 

Mohammad Rasoulof is a fugitive Iranian director and dissident wanted by the police in his own country, where he has received a long prison sentence and flogging. Now he has made a brazen and startling picture which, though flawed, does justice to the extraordinary and scarcely believable drama of his own situation and the agony of his homeland.

 

It’s a movie about Iranian officialdom’s misogyny and theocracy, and sets out to intuit and externalise the inner anguish and psychodrama of its dissenting citizens – in a country where women can be judicially bullied and beaten for refusing to wear the hijab. The Seed of the Sacred Fig begins as a downbeat political and domestic drama in the familiar style of Iranian cinema, and then progressively escalates to something extravagantly crazy and traumatised – like a pueblo shootout by Sergio Leone.

 

Iman (Missagh Zareh) is an ambitious lawyer who has just been promoted to state investigator – one step short of being a full judge in the revolutionary court. He gets a handsome pay rise and better accommodation for his family: wife (played by actor and anti-hijab protester Soheila Golestani) and two student-age daughters (Setareh Maleki and Mahsa Rostami). But the promotion almost immediately brings disappointment and tension: Iman, a thoughtful and decent man, is stunned to discover that he is expected to rubber-stamp death-penalty judgments without reading the evidence. He is told that he must now be secretive with friends and family who could be threatened and doxed by criminal elements as a way of pressuring him.

 

Most fatefully of all, he is issued a handgun for his family’s protection, apparently without any training or guidance as to how to use or store it. Naive Iman casually leaves it lying around the house and tucks it in the back of his trousers like a Hollywood gangster. (Are Iranian prosecutors really allowed to be so casual with firearms?)

 

When the anti-hijab protests explode in Iran, whatever liberal scruples Iman once had are suppressed. He coldly rebukes his daughters over dinner for their rebellious feminist views and accuses them of falling for the propaganda of enemies and foreign elements. “What foreign elements?” his daughters demand – but Iman sullenly refuses to elaborate. (Here is a flaw in the film, surely – in real life, Iman would make some very specific, ugly, paranoid claims.) When his wife and daughters help a terrified young female anti-hijab protester who has been shot in the face by the police, this too must be concealed from Iman. And then, catastrophe – Iman’s gun goes missing and, with increasing resentment and fury, he suspects one of the women of his family has taken it and is lying to him. His toxic outrage bleeds into the fabric of the film itself.

 

The Seed of the Sacred Fig starts out in the modern world of Instagram reels and YouTube, composed in the complex and oblique style that we have got used to in Iranian cinema in films by Asghar Farhadi: a world of subtle, realist implications that has arguably replaced the fashion in Iranian cinema for the poetic and the sublime. Rasoulof’s mysterious parable Iron Island from 2005 is a good example. It is possible to watch this movie and initially assume (as I admit I did) that the obvious prime suspect for the gun-theft is not a family member and their refusal to mention the probable culprit’s name is a symptom of their unease at having widened the circle of trust to someone outside the family – an indication of their repression and groupthink dysfunction.

 

But no. The answer lies elsewhere and emerges almost casually as the drama evolves into something almost jaw-dropping. We get a car chase, violence, and a final demonstration of Chekhov’s rule about what happens to a gun produced in act one. And yes, perhaps the point is that The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a film to be finally understood in precisely those enigmatic, poetic and symbolic terms that looked to have been superseded in Iranian cinema – and that the realist depictions of what Iran has become are to be found in the smartphone footage being shared on social media. The film may not be perfect, but its courage – and relevance – are beyond doubt.

 

The Seed of the Sacred Fig screened at the Cannes film festival, and is in UK and Irish cinemas from 7 February.

As i mentioned previously there is quite a bit of resentment to "foreign" photographers, so when this fella shout over and bust a few moves to pose for a photograph.....well heck i can do that with a "Merci Monsieur"

The Tower of Pisa (popularly known as the leaning tower and, in Pisa, the Campanile or the Tower ) is the bell tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta , in the famous Piazza del Duomo ( a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 ) of which it is the most famous monument due to its characteristic slope, symbol of Pisa and among the iconic symbols of Italy. It is a free-standing bell tower 57 meters high (58.36 meters considering the foundation plan) built over two centuries, between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. With a mass of 14,453 tons, the curved line predominates, with turns of blind arches and six floors of loggias. The slope is due to a subsidence of the underlying ground which occurred already in the early stages of construction.

 

The inclination of the building measures 3.97° with respect to the vertical axis. The tower is managed by the Opera della Primaziale Pisana , the body that manages all the monuments in the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa. It has been proposed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world .

 

Work began on 9 August 1173 . The foundations were left fallow for an entire year. Some studies attribute the authorship of the project to the Pisan architect Diotisalvi , who was building the baptistery in the same period . Construction was stopped during the beginning of the third ring.

 

There are in fact many similarities between the two buildings, starting from the type of foundations. Others instead suggest Gherardi , while according to Vasari the work was started by Bonanno Pisano . Vasari's thesis was considered valid especially after the discovery of a tombstone with the name of Bonanno near the bell tower, walled up in the atrium of the building; furthermore, in the 19th century, an epigraphic fragment of pink material was also found nearby, probably a cast on which a metal plate was cast, which is placed on the jamb of the entrance door of the building. On this fragment we read, reversed: "Pisan citizen named Bonanno". This cast was most likely related to the Porta Regia of the Cathedral, destroyed during the fire of 1595 .

 

The first phase of the work was interrupted halfway through the third floor, due to the subsidence of the land on which the base of the bell tower stands. The softness of the soil, consisting of normally consolidated soft clay , is the cause of the slope of the tower and, although to a lesser extent, of all the buildings in the square.

 

Work resumed in 1275 under the guidance of Giovanni di Simone and Giovanni Pisano , adding another three floors to the previous construction. In an attempt to straighten the tower, the three added floors tend to curve in the opposite direction to the slope. The bell tower was completed in the middle of the following century, adding the belfry .

 

Since its construction the overhang has substantially increased, but over the centuries there have also been long periods of stability or even reduction in the slope. During the nineteenth century the bell tower underwent important restorations, which led, for example, to the insulation of the tower's base. The works, carried out under the direction of Alessandro Gherardesca , contributed to definitively debunking the theory, supported by some scholars of the time, according to which the bell tower was thought to have been leaning since its origin.

 

In fact, soil tests carried out during the restoration brought to light the presence of a significant quantity of underground water which made the ground soft. To deal with this problem, large quantities were sucked up from the underground with the aid of pumps, but this favored the phenomenon of subsidence and the consequent increase in the slope of the tower. In the last decades of the 20th century the inclination had undergone a decisive increase, so much so that the danger of collapse had become real. In 1993 the displacement from the top of the axis to the base was estimated to be approximately 4.47 meters, or approximately 4.5 degrees .

 

During the consolidation works, which began in 1990 and ended at the end of 2001 , the slope of the bell tower was reduced by encircling some floors, temporary application of steel tie rods and lead counterweights (up to 900 tons) and under-excavation, bringing it back to the one that, presumably, must have been 200 years old. Furthermore, the foundation has been consolidated to allow the tower to be safely maintained for at least another three centuries, thus allowing access to visitors. Starting in 2004, the restoration of all the external stone surfaces and the restoration and layout of the internal rooms began. Some of these interventions were carried out thanks to funds from the Lotto game , according to what is regulated by law no. 662/1996

 

Since March 2008 the tower has reached the definitive level of consolidation in terms of inclination, settling again at 3.97°, a value that should remain unchanged for at least another 300 years. The success of the operation is linked to the name of Michele Jamiolkowski , professor of the Polytechnic of Turin and president of the International Committee for the Protection of the Tower of Pisa from 1990 to 2003, to that of Carlo Viggiani , professor of the Department of Geotechnical Engineering of the University of the Studies of Naples Federico II and president of the International Committee for the conservation of monuments and historical sites and that of the engineer John Boscawen Burland , professor of the Department of Civil Engineering of the Imperial College of London .

 

After twenty years, the restoration work on the stone surfaces, both on the exterior and interior, was completed on 22 April 2011 .

 

The structure of the bell tower incorporates two rooms: one at the base of the tower, known as the Fish Room, due to a bas-relief depicting a fish; this room has no ceiling, being in fact the cable of the tower. The other one is the belfry, on the seventh ring. Delimited by the walls of the upper walkway, it is also open to the sky and in the centre, through an opening, it is possible to see the ground floor of the tower. There are also three flights of stairs: one uninterrupted from the base to the sixth ring, where you exit outside; one, a smaller spiral that leads from the sixth ring to the seventh; finally an even smaller one, still spiral, which leads from the seventh ring to the top.

 

Bells

Assunta - is the largest bell in the concert and emits the note B2, its weight amounts to 2600 kg. about; it was cast in 1654 by Giovanni Pietro Orlandi;

Crucifix - of note C#3 and weighing 1850 kg. approximately, originally cast in 1572 by Vincenzo Possenti, recast in 1818 by Gualandi da Prato;

San Ranieri - of note D#3 and weight 1150 kg. approximately, cast in 1735 by Pier Francesco Berti of Lucca;

Dal Pozzo - of note Sol3, cast in 1606 and damaged by the bombings of the last world war, displayed in a museum and replaced in 2004 by a copy made by the Marinelli foundry in Agnone weighing 490 kg. about;

Pasquereccia - of note G#3 and weighing approximately 1014 kg., cast in 1262 by Lotteringio di Bartolomeo (Locterineus de Pisis);

Terza - of note is #3 and weighs approximately 330 kg., made by Lorraine or Alsatian foundrymen in 1473;

Vespruccio - the minor, of note E4 and weighing 120 kg. approximately, made in the 14th century and recast in 1501.

The bells ring before masses in the cathedral and at midday via a system of electric clappers.

 

In ancient times each bell was used for a moment of the liturgical day. For example, the Pasquereccia rang for Easter, the Terce at the third hour of the day (nine in the morning), the Vespruccio bell at the time of vespers (six in the afternoon).

 

There is news of a bell stolen from the church of San Michele a Guamo , near Lucca, then recast to form a "new concert" .

The bell of San Ranieri was originally called "Giustizia" and was located in the palace of the same name. He used to play for the deaths of traitors and, it is supposed, he also played for the death of Count Ugolino . It was brought to the bell tower in the 15th century to replace the original Pasquareccia and later recast in 1606.

 

Pisa is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.

 

The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies.

 

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Pisa.

Ancient times

The most believed hypothesis is that the origin of the name Pisa comes from Etruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.

 

Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving the Etruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations.

 

Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet of Alphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists from Pisa in Elis, near which the Alpheius river flowed. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era.

 

The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village) and Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians and Gauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia obsequens.

 

Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city.

 

Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

During the last years of the Western Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of Ravenna: Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and Corsica, Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain.

 

After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of Otto I) within the mark of Tuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of tenth century Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of Cremona, called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of the Saracen pirates urged the city to expand its fleet; in the following years, this fleet gave the town an opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa. In 871, they took part in the defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front of Calabrese coasts.

 

11th century

The power of Pisa as a maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare).

 

At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some 'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between 1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to the aid of the Norman Roger I, took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo.

 

In 1060, Pisa had to engage in their first battle with Genoa. The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092, Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising the town to the rank of archbishopric.

 

Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla to push El Cid out of Valencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade, and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert, the future patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of the Levant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in Cairo, Alexandria, and of course Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of the Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself.

 

12th century

In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors; the queen and the king of Majorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western Mediterranean.

 

In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with Languedoc, Provence (Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille.

 

The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults.

 

In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa, asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II against those of Pope Anacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily. Amalfi, one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from Aversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked Salerno.

 

New city walls, erected in 1156 by Consul Cocco Griffi

In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by Frederick I. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, a half of Palermo, Messina, Salerno and Naples, the whole of Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI, Otto IV, and Frederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as Lucca, Massa, Volterra, and Florence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via Francigena, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa.

 

Genoa had acquired a dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the Rhône, when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of Toulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was Sicily, where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III, though removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III, allied himself with the Guelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated[clarification needed] a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy.

 

To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne, Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the Adriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town.

 

One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople.

 

13th century

In 1209 in Lerici, two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with the Holy Roman Empire, and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northern Sardinia.

 

In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241, a combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo, attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio (Battle of Giglio), in front of Tuscany; the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in 1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243.

 

The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici, conquered by the Pisans some years earlier, in 1256.

 

The great expansion in the Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate.

 

Decline

The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini, was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto Zaccaria and Oberto Doria, in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria. This defeat ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land with salt. The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but the end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the Aragonese.

 

Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under the command of Uguccione della Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405.[9] Florentines corrupted the capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism. In the 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples, Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic.

 

The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja, Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to the Visconti family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa, created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987).

 

Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat of an archbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during World War II.

 

Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area.

 

Geography

Climate

Pisa has a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). The city is characterized by cool to mild winters and hot summers. This transitional climate allows Pisa to have summers with moderate rainfall. Rainfall peaks in autumn. Snow is rare. The highest officially recorded temperature was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 22 August 2011 and the lowest was −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 12 January 1985.

 

Culture

Gioco del Ponte

In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) which was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge (Ponte di Mezzo). The participants wore quilted armor and the only offensive weapon allowed was the targone, a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of the bridge. The object of the two opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated.

 

In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artist Cornelis de Bruijn. He wrote:

 

"While I stayed in Livorno, I went to Pisa to witness the bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing the bridge, in the same way as the fistfights in Venice between the it:Castellani and the Nicolotti."

 

In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions.

 

Festivals and cultural events

Capodanno pisano (folklore, March 25)

Gioco del Ponte (folklore)

Luminara di San Ranieri (folklore, June 16)

Maritime republics regata (folklore)

Premio Nazionale Letterario Pisa

Pisa Book Festival

Metarock (rock music festival)

Internet Festival San Ranieri regata (folklore)

Turn Off Festival (house music festival)

Nessiáh (Jewish cultural Festival, November)

Main sights

 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by the municipal administration.

 

Other sights include:

Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri, and also designed by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th century. It houses a bust by Donatello, and paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi, Alessandro Fei, and Pontormo. It also contains spoils from the many naval battles between the Cavalieri (Knights of St. Stephan) and the Turks between the 16th and 18th centuries, including the Turkish battle pennant hoisted from Ali Pacha's flagship at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.

St. Sixtus. This small church, consecrated in 1133, is also close to the Piazza dei Cavalieri. It was used as a seat of the most important notarial deeds of the town, also hosting the Council of Elders. It is today one of the best preserved early Romanesque buildings in town.

St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed by Giovanni di Simone, built after 1276. In 1343 new chapels were added and the church was elevated. It has a single nave and a notable belfry, as well as a 15th-century cloister. It houses works by Jacopo da Empoli, Taddeo Gaddi and Santi di Tito. In the Gherardesca Chapel are buried Ugolino della Gherardesca and his sons.

San Frediano. This church, built by 1061, has a basilica interior with three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th century. Paintings from the 16th century were added during a restoration, including works by Ventura Salimbeni, Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Lomi, and Rutilio Manetti.

San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design of Giovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of the 13th century. The paintings include the Madonna with Child by Francesco Traini (14th century) and St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by Giovanni and Nino Pisano, and the Annunciation by Francesco di Valdambrino.

Santa Maria della Spina. A small white marble church alongside the Arno, is attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1230), is another excellent Gothic building.

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno. The church was founded around 952 and enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the cathedral. It is annexed to the Romanesque Chapel of St. Agatha, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.

San Pietro in Vinculis. Known as San Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave.

 

Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling arcades and the Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo (990). There are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway through the Piagge riverside promenade.

Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, and Lorenzo de' Medici sojourned here.

Orto botanico di Pisa. The botanical garden of the University of Pisa is Europe's oldest university botanical garden.

Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani patrician family. Here Galileo Galilei showed to Grand Duke of Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The edifice was erected in 1559 by Baccio Bandinelli for Cosimo I de Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is now a museum.

Palazzo Gambacorti. This palace is a 14th-century Gothic building, and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.

Palazzo Agostini. The palace is a Gothic building also known as Palazzo dell'Ussero, with its 15th-century façade and remains of the ancient city walls dating back to before 1155. The name of the building comes from the coffee rooms of Caffè dell'Ussero, historic meeting place founded on September 1, 1775.

Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work by Keith Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio, painted in June 1989.

Museums

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original sculptures of Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano, the Islamic Pisa Griffin, and the treasures of the cathedral.

Museo delle Sinopie: showing the sinopias from the camposanto, the monumental cemetery. These are red ocher underdrawings for frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with water.

Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings from the 12th to 15th centuries, among them the masterworks of Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, the Master of San Martino, Simone Martini, Nino Pisano and Masaccio.

Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc.

Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a collection of instruments used in science, between a pneumatic machine of Van Musschenbroek and a compass which probably belonged to Galileo Galilei.

Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located in the Certosa di Calci, outside the city. It houses one of the largest cetacean skeletons collection in Europe.

Palazzo Blu: temporary exhibitions and cultural activities center, located in the Lungarno, in the heart of the old town, the palace is easy recognizable because it is the only blue building.

Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A museum of 10,650 square meters – 3,500 archaeological excavation, 1,700 laboratories and one restoration center – that visitors can visit with a guided tour.[19] The Museum opened in June 2019 and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the Tuscany Soprintendenza. It hosts a remarkable collection of ceramics and amphoras dated back from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century BC, and also 32 ships dated back from the second century BCE and the seventh century BC. Four of them are integrally preserved and the best one is the so-called Barca C, also named Alkedo (written in the ancient Greek characters). The first boat was accidentally discovered in 1998 near the Pisa San Rossore railway station and the archeological excavations were completed 20 years later.

 

Churches

St. Francis' Church

San Francesco

San Frediano

San Giorgio ai Tedeschi

San Michele in Borgo

San Nicola

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno

San Paolo all'Orto

San Piero a Grado

San Pietro in Vinculis

San Sisto

San Tommaso delle Convertite

San Zeno

Santa Caterina

Santa Cristina

Santa Maria della Spina

Santo Sepolcro

 

Palaces, towers and villas

Palazzo della Carovana or dei Cavalieri.

Pisa by Oldypak lp photo

Pisa

Palazzo del Collegio Puteano

Palazzo della Carovana

Palazzo delle Vedove

Torre dei Gualandi

Villa di Corliano

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

Sports

Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa, currently plays in the Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as Diego Simeone, Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, opened in 1919 and with a capacity of 25,000.

 

Notable people

For people born in Pisa, see People from the Province of Pisa; among notable non-natives long resident in the city:

 

Giuliano Amato (born 1938), politician, former Premier and Minister of Interior Affairs

Alessandro d'Ancona (1835–1914), critic and writer.

Silvano Arieti (1914–1981), psychiatrist

Gaetano Bardini (1926–2017), tenor

Andrea Bocelli (born 1958), tenor and multi-instrumentalist.

Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), poet and 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature winner.

Massimo Carmassi (born 1943), architect

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1920–2016), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Maria Luisa Cicci (1760–1794), poet

Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari (1677–1754), a musical composer and maestro di cappella at Pistoia.

Alessio Corti (born 1965), mathematician

Rustichello da Pisa (born 13th century), writer

Giovanni Battista Donati (1826–1873), an Italian astronomer.

Leonardo Fibonacci (1170–1250), mathematician.

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), physicist.

Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944), philosopher and politician

Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639), painter.

Count Ugolino della Gherardesca (1214–1289), noble (see also Dante Alighieri).

Giovanni Gronchi (1887–1978), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Giacomo Leopardi [1798–1837), poet and philosopher.

Enrico Letta (born 1966), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy

Marco Malvaldi (born 1974), mystery novelist

Leonardo Ortolani (born 1967), comic writer

Antonio Pacinotti (1841–1912), physicist, inventor of the dynamo

Andrea Pisano (1290–1348), a sculptor and architect.

Afro Poli (1902–1988), an operatic baritone

Bruno Pontecorvo (1913–1993), nuclear physicist

Gillo Pontecorvo (1919–2006), filmmaker

Ippolito Rosellini (1800–1843), an Egyptologist.

Paolo Savi (1798–1871), geologist and ornithologist.

Antonio Tabucchi (1943–2012), writer and academic

Sport

Jason Acuña (born 1973), Stunt performer

Sergio Bertoni (1915–1995), footballer

Giorgio Chiellini (born 1984), footballer

Camila Giorgi (born 1991), tennis player

In 1989 I left apartheid South Africa and spent much of the next year travelling Europe. In October I found myself in the outback of Turkey, and the word on the street was that the Berlin Wall was about to fall. With it's fascinating history, cold war angst and strong David Bowie connection, Berlin had always been on my "must visit" list and I accelerated my plans to get there. Unfortunately the wall began crumbling on the evening of November 9, 1989 and continued over the following days and weeks. Nevertheless, I skipped through the Greek islands and caught the ferry from the port of Piraeus in Athens to Brindisi in Italy. I decided to bypass Naples and caught a fast train north to Rome. I think it was either on the ferry or on the train that I met fellow traveller, Serge Bowers from Pennsylvania in the USA. He and I made good companions and has a Chianti-fuelled blast through Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice (but that's another story).

 

On November 25, Serge and I went our own ways - he headed for Amsterdam, while I spent a couple of days in Milan, visiting the magnificent Il Museo Storico dell’Alfa Romeo in Arese. I then skipped through Switzerland (Lausanne, Bern, Luzern and Lurich) beofre finally making it to Stuttgart in Germany, taking in the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum. By this time (December 4) I was running low on cash and so resorted to hitch-hiking from Stuttgart to Mannheim, heading for Bonn where I was going to be staying with Prof. Dr. Marcella Rietschel (a Research Fellow at the Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn) who I had met in Istanbul in October. It was freezing cold and snowing out on the road, and by the time I reached Mannheim, I had had enough and headed to the Hauptbahnhof. After a cup of steaming coffee, I bought a ticket to Bonn, boarded the milk-train and continued the journey north. As fate would have it, I ended up in Zeppelinheim, close to Frankfurt, and that extraordinary interlude is detailed here.

 

Being on the bones of my financial arse, and with a severe cold snap making hitch-hiking a really bad idea, I now resorted to using the Mitfahrzentrale - an organised hitch-hiking (or "cap pooling") service where a driver can register how many spare seats they have in their car and where they are travelling from, to, and on what date. Potential passengers are provided with contact details and descriptions of the journey including any proposed stops along the way. As all travellers share costs, the savings can be extensive and it also serves as a good way to meet interesting people and to practice your German!

 

Our route to the east The so-called "inner German border" (a.k.a. "Zonengrenze") was the frontier between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. The border was a physical manifestation of Winston Churchill's metaphorical Iron Curtain that separated the Soviet and Western blocs during the Cold War. The border could be crossed legally only through a limited number of routes and foreigners were able to traverse East German territory to or from West Berlin via a limited number of road corridors, the most used of which was at Helmstedt-Marienborn on the Hanover–Berlin A2 autobahn. Codenamed Checkpoint Alpha, this was the first of three Allied checkpoints on the road to Berlin. The others were Checkpoint Bravo, where the autobahn crossed from East Germany into West Berlin, and most famous of all, Checkpoint Charlie, the only place where non-Germans could cross from West to East Berlin. Lengthy inspections caused long delays to traffic at the crossing points, and for some the whole experience was very disturbing: "Travelling from west to east through [the inner German border] was like entering a drab and disturbing dream, peopled by all the ogres of totalitarianism, a half-lit world of shabby resentments, where anything could be done to you, I used to feel, without anybody ever hearing of it, and your every step was dogged by watchful eyes and mechanisms." (Jan Morris) Personally, having spent almost three decades of my life under the oppression of the apartheid regime, it felt all too familiar.

 

So, after an uncomfortable 6-8 hour road trip, I was finally there - Berlin! One of my German friends from South Africa (P.A.) had been a regular visitor to Berlin during our high school and university years, before relocating to the city in the mid-80's. In those days it made a lot of sense - getting out of South Africa after studying meant escaping two years military service with the south African Defence Force and moving to Berlin meant avoiding conscription into the German military as well. That is, in order to encourage young people to move to West Berlin, they were lured in with exemptions from national service and good study benefits. It was December 8, 1989 and P.A. was unfortunately not in town. But a mutual friend was - L.M. had left Africa at about the same time as Pierre and was an aspirant artist in Berlin. He offered me a place to stay and we spent a brilliant week together, partying, clubbing and taking in all the delights that this city in change had to offer! I don't remember too much, but have some photos that I am sharing for the first time, a quarter of a century later, to the day.

 

45657-16-ew - the caption on the back of the photo reads:

"Christ, that stuff was hard! M.P. collecting bits of the "The Wall". A section near "Checkpoint Charlie", West Berlin. Germany, Sunday, December 10, 1989." I still have pieces of "The Wall" in my collection :-)

 

Buildings to Watch Out for in Brisbane.

•Parliament House in the French Empire style. The architect Charles Tiffin was inspired by the Louvre Art gallery in Paris! It is open for free public inspection but only when parliament is not sitting (QLD parliament is meant to rise on 6 August). It was built in 1868. It is located on the corner of George and Alice Streets, opposite the Old Botanical Gardens. This

Photograph shows the 2 side pavilions or wings making it Palladian in style.

•Old Government House. This is now part of the QUT (Queensland University of Technology). It has recently been extensively restored and re-opened to the public over the Queens birthday long weekend in June. It too has free entry with the upstairs devoted to the art of William Robinson a gifted Queensland painter. Old Government House was built in 1862 and is one of the older buildings in Brisbane. It is a grand two storey house with arcaded loggias, classical facades and features, and two semi-circular balconies. The interior has a grand staircase. The complex is in the Old Botanical Gardens and has a café too.

•The Old Customs House. (399 Queen Street.) Pictured below with its green copper dome, classical balustrades, Corinthian columns and pilasters and triangular roof pediment etc. It is now a commercial building with a café on the river front.

 

•Brisbane City Hall. This Art Deco building built between 1920 and 1930 with classical features is dominated by the 92 metre high clock tower. The building and the clock tower are open free for public inspection during office hours. Note the tympanum frieze decoration in the triangular pediment across the façade.

 

•Albert St Uniting Church. This distinctive brick, gothic style church is across the plaza from the Town Hall. It is open on Fridays till 4 pm. The most prominent feature of the external design is the spire rising to a height of 42 metres from the street. It is capped with a handsome wrought iron final. The original organ was imported from England, and built by George Benson of Manchester. The front pipes are coloured and gilded with gold leaf.

 

•ANZAC Square War Memorial is uniquely and ideally set in peaceful surrounds and worth a visit. The Shrine of Remembrance, with its Eternal Flame, forms the focal point for the radial patterned pathways, pools and lawns. From here you get a view down to the Old Post Office which was built of local sandstone in 1872 by Mr Petrie.

 

A Very brief History of Brisbane.

Australia’s third largest city is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Scotsman who was governor of NSW from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a small convict colony which was established at Redcliffe in 1824. Redcliffe is a northern beach suburb of Brisbane. The settlement was soon moved in 1825 to better location on the Brisbane River in what is now the CBD of Brisbane. John Oxley suggested this change of location and also that the town be known as Brisbane after Sir Thomas Brisbane who visited the settlement in 1826. The settlement area was known as the Moreton Bay. By 1831 Moreton Bay had 1,241 people, but 86% were convicts, and almost all the rest were guards and administrators. One of the founding pioneers to settle in Brisbane was Andrew Petrie, a government clerk, who arrived in the settlement in 1837. His son later became the first mayor of Brisbane.

 

In 1842 (six years after the settlement of SA) Moreton Bay penal establishment was closed and the area opened to free settlers. Half the convicts at Moreton Bay were Irish Catholics which influenced the development of the settlement thereafter. By 1846 Moreton Bay had a population of 4,000 people, considerably less than that of Burra at the time which had over 5,000 people! In 1848 the first immigrants direct from Britain arrived, as did some Chinese. In 1849 three ship loads of Presbyterians arrived in Brisbane, the first ship being the Fortitude- hence the naming of Fortitude Valley. The colony was still far from self sufficient in terms of food production. In the mid 1850s German immigrants also started to arrive in the settlement. The only building still standing built by convict labour is the Old Windmill in Wickham Park. Most of the other convict built buildings were in the CBD and gradually demolished during phases of growth in the 19th century.

 

During the late 1840s a few grand houses were built in Brisbane like Newstead House at Hamilton, and the city began to take shape. All the central streets were named after members of Queen Victoria’s family- Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary for the streets parallel to Queen Street, and Albert, Edward, George and William for the streets perpendicular to Queen Street. In 1859 the population had grown sufficiently, to about 30,000 people for Queensland to be proclaimed a separate colony from NSW with Brisbane (about 6,000 people) as its capital city. It was now a self governing independent colony. Old Government House was built shortly after this in 1862 followed by numerous colonial government buildings. The French Empire style Parliament House opposite the old Botanical Gardens was erected in 1865 to a design by Charles Tiffin. It had perfect symmetry, mansard roof lien with dormer windows, triangular pediments above some windows, and an arcaded loggia. It is still one of the most pleasing and distinctive buildings in Brisbane. Nearby the pastoralists and wealthy built the Queensland Club in Alice Street in 1882 with classical columns, roof line pediment, balustrade and perfect symmetry, but with Italianate style bay windows. The location near parliament house is much like the situation of the Adelaide Club on North Terrace almost adjacent to the SA parliament. The wealthy and pastoralists in both states had immeasurable influence over early colonial politics. One of the other finest colonial buildings of Brisbane is the Old Customs House with the circular copper domed roof on the edge of the Brisbane River. It was erected in 1888.

 

Although Brisbane grew quickly through the following decades it was not incorporated as a city until 1902.Part of the reason for the relatively slow of growth of Brisbane, compared to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney was that it was not the focal point of the state railway network. Queensland always had other major regional centres. The railway from Brisbane reached out to southern Queensland only- Ipswich in 1864, Toowoomba in 1867, and Charleville by 1888. There was no early push to have a railway link with the coast cities and their hinterlands. The coastal cities of Queensland were not linked by a railway until 1927 when road transport had already taken over the transport of livestock and freight. The coastal railway in Queensland was always for passenger traffic as much as freight traffic.

 

Unlike the other Australian state capitals, Brisbane City Council governs most of the metropolitan area of Brisbane. In 1925 over twenty shires and municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Brisbane. It was at this time that the landmark Brisbane city Hall was built in Art Deco style. It was opened in 1930 and members of the public can enter and walk around the inside of the building.

 

During World War Two, Brisbane had a distinctive history as Prime Minister John Curtin had the “Brisbane Line” as a controversial defense plan, whereby if there was a land invasion of Australia, the northern half of the country would be surrendered at a line just north of Brisbane! Brisbane also became the headquarters for the Americans campaign in the South Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur based there at times. In 1942 a violent clash erupted between American and Australian service personnel in Brisbane. Between 2,000 and 5,000 men were involved in the riots which spread over two days. One soldier was killed and eight injured by gun fire as well as 100s injured with black eyes, swollen faces, broken noses etc. On the second night 21 Americans were injured with 11 of them having to be hospitalised. It was locally known as The Battle of Brisbane.

 

Yet around 1 million American troops passed through Queensland between December 1941 (just after the bombing of Pearl harbour) and the end of 1945. They were here to spearhead attacks to take back the Philippines, and to prevent the Japanese from taking New Guinea.

Black American soldiers were especially unpopular in Brisbane as their landing contravened the “White Australia Policy” of the times. In response to this policy General Douglas MacArthur announced his support for the Australian government’s insistence that no more Black American troops be sent to Brisbane after 1942. The Black American units in Australia were later sent to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Black American troops in New Guinea were not allowed to visit Australia for rest and recreation leave although white American troops were allowed to visit Australia, mainly to Mackay. Resentment between American and Australian troops in Brisbane had to be contained and suppressed. Riots between troops also occurred in Townsville during the War.

 

Taken @ "Flamingo Gardens and Wildlife Sanctuary"

Davie, Florida, USA

Nikon D5000

 

April 1rst/2010

 

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Titanic Soundtrack - Rose's Theme

  

"What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum."

— Vincent Van Gogh

 

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Textures with my deepest gratitude to clive sax: Sky texture Thank you so much I found your textures very, very versatiles to work with!!

 

PLEASE: Do not add your picture (even a miniature) or Flickr river link with your comment, it will be removed.

 

Petunia is genus of 20 species[ of flowering plants of South American origin. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word petun, meaning "tobacco," from a Tupi–Guarani language.

 

The Mayan and Incas believed that petunias have the power to chase away (with their odor) the underworld monsters and spirits. Their flower-beds were bunched together for magical drinks. According to the folklore, Petunias will thrive where there is positive energy and will not grow in places where there is negativity.

 

When given as a gift, Petunias typically have two meanings. They could represent being comfortable with someone, or "your company suits me". Conversely, they could also represent anger and resentment. ( Wikipedia )

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Le terme de "pétunia" de la langue commune renvoie au genre Petunia tel que Jussieu l'avait circonscrit en 1803 avant les révisions taxinomiques de la fin du siècle passé. Le terme scientifique de Petunia traité ici, renvoie au genre Petunia circonscrit par Wijsman1 en 1990.

 

Le botaniste Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu établit le genre Petunia sur la base de deux plantes récoltées par Commerson en Uruguay. Il observe que « La corolle, attachée sous l'ovaire, est monopétale, tubulée, rétrécie dans son milieu, évasée par le haut, et à peine divisée en cinq lobes inégaux...Le nombre de cinq étamines les rapproche davantage des Solanées, et on reconnut bientôt qu'elles doivent être placées à côté du Tabac, Nicotiana. Mais leurs fleurs sont solitaires, axillaires, et non en épis terminaux comme dans ce genre...Nous avons cru ces diverses considérations suffisantes pour réunir ces plantes sous un genre nouveau que nous nommerons Petunia, à cause de son affinité avec le tabac, qui est le Petun des Brésiliens. » Et il plaça ce genre dans la famille des Solanées [Solanacées]. Il décrit et dénomme ensuite les deux plantes de l'herbier Commerson : Petunia parviflora a « une corolle très petite, débordant à peine le calice » et Petunia nyctaginiflora a une « corolle environ quatre fois plus longue que le calice, assez semblable pour la forme à cette partie que la plupart des auteurs nomment corolle dans le Nyctage ou Belle-de-nuit ».

Les pétunias sont largement cultivés pour leurs fleurs. On en retrouve de nombreuses variétés, la plupart des hybrides de Petunia axillaris (blanc) et de Petunia integrifolia (violet). De nouvelles variétés de pétunias ont été créées grâce au recours aux biotechnologies.

 

Pour la culture d'hybride horticole, le semis se fait en mars, sous serre, ou plus tard si l'exposition au soleil est bonne. Il est difficile à réaliser car les graines sont très fines (ne pas recouvrir les graines). Il faut ensuite repiquer en pots (une à deux fois). La disposition finale de la plante se fait en sols légers, pas trop riches, avec une exposition mi-ombragée (privilégiée pour les variétés retombantes) à ensoleillée. ( Wikipédia )

  

Former Bamber Bridge Motor Services (BBMS) No.4 registration number UTC672, an AEC Regent 3, was manufactured in 1955 and was taken by BBMS from a production batch intended for Huddersfield Corporation. Ironically she worked on services between Leyland Motors and Chorley, causing some resentment amongst Leyland employees! She has a rear platform sliding door, which was a prototype 'Southlanco' patent and was intended for motorisation. She worked for BBMS until 1967, then sold to Edwards of Lydbrook Company and used on private hire until 1984. Now part of the Cumbria Classic Coaches fleet, she is seen here forming a Kirkby Stephen to Barnard Castle heritage passenger service on Wednesday 22nd May 2013.

 

© Copyright Gordon Edgar - No unauthorised use

Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich, Germany.

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While felines are often depicted in Pre-Columbian art, canines are rare. Here, however, we see two dogs flanking the deity at the base of the vessel's neck. I can't identify the species to which these dogs belong. (I call them dogs because of their short tails, blunt snouts and short bodies. There are foxes in Peru, but they don't look like this. They look like foxes!)

 

Peru is home to the Peruvian hairless dog. I've seen tall and lanky hairless dogs in Peru and one little individual the size of a Scotch Terrier. What they had in common is they all wore garments to keep the sun from damaging the hairless skin on their backs.

 

The dogs on this vessel do not seem to be wearing T-shirts or natty vests like their modern counterparts.

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The Sican (also Sicán) culture is the name that archaeologist Izumi Shimada gave to the culture that inhabited what is now the north coast of Peru between about 750 and 1375. According to Shimada, Sican means "temple of the Moon".[1]

 

The Sican culture is also referred to as Lambayeque culture, after the name of the region in Peru. It succeeded the Moche culture.

 

There is still controversy among archeologists and anthropologists over whether the two are separate cultures.

 

The Sican culture is divided into three major periods based on cultural changes as evidenced in archeological artifacts.[2]

 

Archaeologist Izumi Shimada, founder of the Sican Archaeological Project, named the prehistoric culture which he discovered in northwestern Peru. They succeeded the Moche and preceded the Inca Empire, the historical civilization that encountered the Spanish explorers and conquistadors.

 

The Sican inhabited a coastal territory near the La Leche and Lambayeque Rivers. The archaeological sites span the Lambayeque region, including the Motupe, La Leche, Lambayeque, and Zaña valleys, near modern-day Chiclayo.[2] Numerous sites have been identified in the Batán Grande area of the La Leche Valley.

 

The climate of the area during Sican occupation was similar to the current climate, despite changes in landscape accumulated in the last 600 years. The drought-and-flood cycles seen in the region for the past 1500 years did not spare the Sican culture. (Goldstein and Shimada 2007, p. 49)

 

The Early Sican period began around 750 and lasted until 900. The lack of artifacts has limited the development of knowledge about this early period.

 

The Sican were probably descendants of the Moche culture, which fell around 800. Their works shows shared motifs in the artifacts recovered.[3]

 

Similar groups include Cajamarca, Wari and Pachacamac. From remains found in the archaeological locations, researchers have determined that this culture maintained commercial exchange with people from present-day Ecuador (shells and snails), Colombia to the north (emeralds and amber), Chile to the south (blue stone), and the eastern basin of the Marañón River (seeds of gold).

 

The Lambayeque culture may have been a separate trading people as well.

 

Around 800, the Sican created the city of Poma, located at Batán Grande, in La Leche Valley. Few other Early Sican sites have been discovered.

 

The Early Sican culture is known for the highly polished, black-finish ceramics found in the La Leche Valley. This black-finish ceramic style began in the Moche culture prior to the Early Sican, and shows the sharing of cultures in the region.

 

Much of the ceramics were examples of a single spout, loop-handle bottle, featuring an anthropomorphic-avian (bird) face at the spout base. The face consisted of bulging eyes, a hooked beak or triangular projection instead of a nose, stylized ears, and no mouth.

 

It appeared to be a predecessor to the related faces of the Sican Deity and the Sican Lord of the Middle Sican culture. (Shimada 2000, p. 51)

 

Aside from the shared ceramic styles, much of the Early Sican defines a distinguishable culture. While the ceramic styles and iconography show some continuity with previous cultures, the combination of all the influences is Sican.

 

The changing ceramic styles, iconography, and funerary practices reflect a change in religious ideology and cosmology that expressed the Sican culture. Most importantly, the late Early Sican period saw the accumulation of these changes in art style and iconography, coupled with other changes in organization, by which the Sican constructed monumental adobe structures, developed large-scale copper alloy smelting and metalworking, and developed the elaborate funerary tradition that would come to characterize the Middle Sican (Shimada 1985, p. 361).

 

Such changes have been seen by researchers at sites in Batán Grande, including the Huaca del Pueblo site, dated to around 850-900.

 

The Middle Sican period lasted from 900 to 1100 . This is the period of the Sican's “cultural florescence,” and is marked by the emergence of various cultural innovations, some of which were unprecedented in the local area.[3]

 

The decline of the Wari Empire and the Middle Cajamarca polity enabled the resurgence in local political and religious identity and autonomy.[3]

 

The Middle Sican culture is marked by distinctive characteristics in six areas: art and ideology, crafts and technology, funerary customs, long-distance trade, religious cities and monumental temples, and the structure and authority of the state (Shimada 2000, p. 52-61; Shimada 1985, p. 365-369).

 

Together, these characteristics provide evidence that the Sicán culture had a highly productive economy, clear social differentiation, and an influential religious ideology. The religious ideology was the underpinning of the structure of their theocratic state.[3]

 

Sicán art is representational in style and religious in nature. Features such as sculptural representation and the minimization of number of colors (one to three), were common among the art of many earlier cultures that flourished on the north coast of Peru.[3] Sicán art reconfigured the motifs, conventions, and concepts of these antecedent cultures (mainly the Wari and Moche) into an overall new and unique style. The references to the old ideas, images and ways of antecedent cultures in Sicán art would have been useful in providing prestige and legitimacy to the new Sicán religion which was emerging.[3]

 

Sicán iconography is dominated by the Sican Deity[4][5] It decorates all artistic media of the Sicán, including ceramics, metal works, and textiles.[3] The icon is most commonly represented with a mask face and upturned eyes.[2]

 

Sometimes it may be shown with avian features, such as beaks, wings, and talons, which are evident in Early Sicán ceramics.[3]

 

These avian features are related to Naylamp, the key figure in Sicán mythology. The name "Naylamp" was first mentioned by the Spanish chronicler Miguel Cabello Valboa, who referred to the Moche figure "Naymlap" in his 1586 Miscelánea Antártica.

 

Later authors believe the form is Mochica Ñañlap, of which the first part is ñañ "waterfowl"; a connexion has been made between the Moche and Chimú cultures and the empire of Chimor and the Mochica language.

Sican gold cup, 850-1050

 

Naylamp was said to be the founder of the first dynasty of prehistoric kings in La Leche and Lambayeque valleys. In The Legend of Naylamp, first recorded in the 16th century by the Spanish chronicler Miguel Cabello de Balboa, Naylamp is said to have traveled on a balsa raft by sea to the Lambayeque shores. He founded a large city, and the 12 sons of his eldest son each founded a new city in the Lambayeque region.

 

When Naylamp died, he sprouted wings and flew off to another world (Nickle Arts Museum 2006, p. 18 and 65).

 

Middle Sicán art did not change the concept or representation of the icon of the Sicán Deity. Both the preceding Moche and Wari cultures feature a single dominant male figure, and the upturned eyes characteristic of the Sicán Deity are common to the art and iconography of other Pre-Hispanic societies.

 

The iconography accompanying the Sicán Deity was unique and significant (Nickle Arts Museum 2006, p. 66).

 

Iconography of the moon and the ocean may symbolize the Sicán Deity's involvement in the wellbeing of marine life and fishermen. Iconography related to water signifies the importance of irrigation and agriculture to the Sicán.

 

Other iconography, such as of the sun and moon, symbolizes the importance of duality in both human and celestial life.

 

Depictions of the Sicán Deity with tumi knives and trophy heads may indicate his omnipotent control in both human life and the celestial world (Nickle Arts Museum 2006, p. 66; Shimada 2000, p. 52-53). Through the iconography which the Sicán associated with the icon, anthropologists theorize that the Sicán Deity may have been attributed with power to control all of the celestial forces fundamental to life and abundance (Shimada 2000, p. 53).

 

The lack of representation of humans in Middle Sicán art emphasizes the omnipresence of the Sicán Deity in Sicán iconography.

 

The only exceptions are representations of the Sicán Lord, the male elite personage, and his entourage. (Shimada 2000, p. 53)

 

Iconography of the Sicán Lord is almost identical to the Sicán Deity, except that he is shown in natural settings and does not have avian features.[2][5] The Sicán Lord was probably meant to represent an earthly alter-ego of the

 

The population of Batán Grande included many skilled artisans. Craft production during the Middle Sican flourished and became one of the leading characteristics of the period.

 

The highly polished black finish ceramics from the Early Sican bloomed in this later phase, along with metallurgy; however, the ceramic technology used in the Middle Sican developed over 2500 years from local pottery production techniques (Shimada and Wagner 2001, p. 26).

 

Workshops, such as the one found at Huaca Sialupe to the west of Batán Grande, likely had both pottery and metalworking production sites (Goldsmith and Shimada 2007, p. 45).

 

Ceramics allowed for a medium to convey political and religious ideology in the forms of storage vessels, architectural ornaments, cooking vessels, sculptures of the Deity or animals, and other types proliferated during this period.[2][5]

 

The potters likely worked separately from one another, rather than in assembly-line type production. Huaca Sialupe excavations produced clusters of similar kilns using local hardwood for charcoal.

 

Field experiments indicated that the kilns were used either for ceramics or metallurgy (Shimada and Wagner 2001, p. 28).

 

The Paleteada ceramics used the paddle-and-anvil technique to form and decorate pottery, primarily with geometric designs (Cleland and Shimada 1998, p. 112).

 

The monochrome black pottery became widely popular across the region during the Middle Sican as the Sican themselves began to emphasize the black pottery, with the help of the Middle Sican religious prestige.

 

Only the geometric designs continued on the pottery into the Late Sican.[2]

 

Metallurgy is one of the Sican's greatest legacies, lasting nearly 600 years at Batán Grande (Shimada and Merkel 1991, p. 83). Some Middle Sican workshops showed multicraft production and it is likely the crafts competed for resources, such as fuel for kilns.

 

Middle- and high-status burials both contained the black ceramics, while only the social elite had access to the precious metal object; therefore, metalworking probably was given production preference by the elites (Goldsmith and Shimada 2007, p. 47).

 

The greatness of Middle Sican metallurgy was the large scale smelting and diverse use of arsenical copper, which was more ductile and corrosion-resistant than pure copper.[2][5]

 

The great amounts of smelting and/or metalworking sites found in the Lambayeque region point to the convergence of major factors to allow such an occurrence: accessible ore deposits, extensive forests for hardwood to make charcoal, pottery making tradition using efficient kilns, gold working tradition that formed the basis for later metalworking technology, and a demand for goods by the elites (Shimada, Goldstein, Wagner, Bezur 2007, p. 339).

 

The large number of smelting sites also point to the amount of labor required by using their method. In modern standards, their copper-alloy smelting was inefficient, which could have led to the high number of workshops with multiple furnaces (Shimada and Merkel 1991, p. 85).

 

The precious metal objects found in Middle Sican sites reveal the unprecedented scale of their production and use.

 

Metal objects permeated all levels of society. Tumbaga, a thin sheet of low karat gold alloy, was used to wrap ceramic vessels for the lower elites, while the upper elites had high karat gold alloys.

 

Common laborers only had arsenical copper objects. The precious metal objects then clearly demonstrate a hierarchy within the society (Shimada 2000, p. 56).

 

No evidence of metalworking at the large sites has been uncovered, such as the Middle Sican capital Sican or elsewhere in the Batán Grande area, but the precious metal objects were clearly for the elites.

 

From their high status sites, the elites supervised the manufacturing of their precious metal objects for ritual or funerary purposes (Shimada and Merkel 1991, p. 86).

 

Excavations of religious sites have revealed much about the funerary practices of the Sicán people.

 

These funerary practices have helped anthropologists understand the broader organization and structure of Sicán society and religion.

 

Most of the evidence for these funerary practices has been based on excavations carried out at the Huaca Loro site in Poma by Izumi Shimada and the SAP.

 

First of all, the funerary practices at Huaca Loro reflect the social differentiation and hierarchy present Sicán society. This social stratification is revealed in varying burial types and practices, along with accompanying grave goods.

 

The most obvious difference in burial type based on social hierarchy was that commoners were buried in simple, shallow graves on the peripheries of the monumental mounds while the elite of Sicán society were buried in deep shaft tombs beneath monumental mounds, as shown in the East and West tombs at Huaca Loro.[5][6]

 

Secondly, it was found that one's social status was also a determinant of the burial position of the body; seated, extended, or flexed. For example, bodies of the High Elite were always buried in the seated position, while commoners could be buried in a seated, extended, or flexed position (Nickle Arts Museum 2006, p. 87; Shimada et al. 2004).

 

Furthermore, social differentiation is manifested even within the elite tombs at Huaca Loro, through the grouping and placement of bodies.

 

The complex internal organization of both East and West Tombs was designed according to specific social and kinship relationships (Shimada et al. 2004).

 

Recent studies that included the use of MtDNA (systematic mitochondrial DNA) analysis and inherited dental traits analysis revealed that women in the West Tomb were grouped according to their kinship ties to the principal personage and each other (Shimada et al. 2005; Shimada et al. 2004).

 

The grouping of women in the south part of the West Tomb were found to be maternally related to one another, as well as the principal personage; the grouping of women in the north part of the West Tomb were found to not only be unrelated to one another, but also unrelated to the principal personage.

 

Further, ceramics in the south part were found to be of typical Middle Sicán style, while the ceramics in the North part were of a Mochica style (Shimada et al. 2005; Shimada et al. 2004).

'

This evidence suggests that while the women of the South part of the West tomb were grouped and placed according to their kinship ties with the principal personage, the women of the North part of the West tomb had no kinship ties with the principal personage or each other therefore were placed and grouped according to some other distinct relationship to the principal personage.

 

This genetic evidence and along with the differing styles of ceramics suggests that the North-niche women of the West Tomb were perhaps descendants of a different ethnic group, the Moche, who had been integrated into Sicán society under political domination (Shimada et al. 2004).

 

While these relationships have not been proved definitively, it shows the great complexity itself of elite burial practices based on social differentiation.

 

Social stratification and hierarchy is also evidenced through the variation in quantity and quality of grave goods associated with those of different social status.

 

The elite East Tomb at Huaca Loro, contained over a ton of diverse grave goods, over two-thirds of which were objects of arsenical bronze, tumbaga (low-karat gold), silver and copper alloys, and high-karat gold alloys.[7][8]

 

Other grave goods of the elite included semi-precious stone objects, amber, feathers, textiles, imported shells (such as conus and spondylus), shell beads, and double spout bottles. (Nickle Arts Museum 2006, p. 87; Shimada 2000, p. 56; Bruhns 1994, p. 290)

 

On the other hand, commoner burials had a significantly less amount of grave goods of different types, made of less valuable materials.

 

For example, commoner grave goods at Huaca Loro were usually restricted to single-spout bottles, utilitarian plain and/or paddle decorated pottery, and copper-arsenic objects, instead of the precious metal objects of the elite tombs. (Nickle Arts Museum 2006, p. 87, Shimada et al. 2004)

 

The power of the elite of Sicán society is demonstrated not only by the amount, quality, and diversity of exotic and status goods accumulated in the tombs, but also by the amount of time and labor that would have gone into making and acquiring them. (Shimada 2000, p. 56)

 

All together, the construction of the monumental mound at Huaca Loro, the preparation of the East and West Tombs and performance of the associated rituals required careful and complex planning, and considerable material, labor resources and time, and suggests the elite's control and monopoly of power in society.[2]

 

Secondly, the funerary practices of the Sicán suggest the existence of an elite lineage that used the new Sicán religion to demonstrate and maintain their power (Shimada et al. 2004).

 

The Sicán elite used funerary practices as a way to symbolize their relationship to the divine. The sheer size and grandeur of the monumental mounds built above the elite tombs would have been awe-inspiring to Sicán citizens and a symbol the divine nature of the figures buried below. (Shimada et al. 2004)

 

Colorful murals with religious iconography decorated ceremonial precincts in the temples of the mounds, establishing the sanctity of the ritual space, and reaffirming this connection of the buried elite below to the divine. (Nickle Arts Museum 2006, Shimada et al. 2004)

 

Also, the principal personage of the East Tomb at Huaca Loro wears a mask identical to the Sicán Deity, which is another reference to his relationship to the Deity and the divine. (Shimada et al. 2004, p. 389)

 

The construction itself of these monumental mounds served as a reminder of the elite's power and endurance, and combined with the symbolic use of Sicán religious iconography to justify the divine merits of the elite lineage, was an attempt by the Sicán elite to “preserve the status quo of inherited rights.” (Shimada et al. 2004, p. 370)

 

The funerary rites and rituals performed by the living lineage members served to further reinforce their lineage identity and the three-way relationship between the divine, the dead, and the living elite. (Shimada et al. 2004, p. 389)

 

The variety of grave goods suggests the wide range of power of the Middle Sican elite.

 

They not only received the most grave offerings, but also the best quality and exotic offerings.

 

None of the metalworking sites showed evidence of on-site mining of any of the materials.

 

In addition, the spondylus shell, emeralds, feathers, and other minerals were imported to the area. Their materials came from mainly the northern Andes, such as Ecuador (from the Manteno and Milagro cultures), Peru, Colombia, but could have also reached as far south as the Tiwanaku empire in the south-central Andes and east to the Marañón River, a major tributary of the Amazon River.[2][5][9]

 

The Middle Sican trade networks appear to be unprecedented in range and goods involved, which helped to insure the spread of Sican religion and polity outside of the Lambayeque and La Leche valleys (Shimada 2000, p. 58).

 

They also could have controlled the transport methods in addition to the goods being traded. The breeding and herding of llamas on the North Coast since the time of the Moche could have been utilized by the Sican to provide the goods as well as a caravan of llamas to transport the goods considerable distances (Shimada 1985, p. 391).

 

The Sicán culture is characterized by the establishment of religious cities with monumental temples.[2][5]

 

The religious capital city and cultural center of the Middle Sicán is referenced as the Sicán Precinct. (Bruhns 1994, p. 293).

 

This T-shaped area is defined by monumental mounds of Huaca Loro, El Moscón, Las Ventanas, La Merced, and Abejas built between around AD 900 and 1050.[5][10] The pyramidal monumental mounds were used as both burials sites for the elite and places of worship and ritual.[2][10]

 

The construction of the monumental mounds required considerable material, labor resources and time, indicating the Sicán elite's control and monopoly over the society's resources and manpower.

 

They are a dramatic symbol of the power, wealth and permanence of the Middle Sicán elite and their theocratic state that dominated much of the north coast.[2]

 

Two types of mounds are found in the Lambayeque Valley dating to the Sicán. The first type is the T-shaped mound, which is a relatively low mound with a short, central ramp providing direct access to the top of the mound.

 

The second type is a relatively tall mound with steep sides and a zig-zagging ramp to provide circuitous access to the mound top. This second type also featured an enclosed structure at the top of the mound, likely for private rituals, whereas the first type of mound was likely for public rituals (Shimada 2000, p. 60; Shimada, Shinoda, Farnum, Corruccini, Watanabe 2004, p. 388).

 

The mounds also covered and protected the shafts of tombs of elites underneath.

 

The Sicán used a walled-chamber-and-fill technique (which first appeared on the North Coast during Moche V) for constructing the monumental mound where the walls were created by adobe bricks and mortar in conjunction with chambers of superimposed lattices filled with refuse and other readily available materials.[2][5][11]

 

Marks on the adobe bricks used to make the mounds are indications of the patrons donating materials and/or labor for the construction of the temples (Shimada 2000, p. 60).

 

This construction technique required “large-scale, unified construction with centrally pooled materials and labor force” (Shimada 2000 p. 60). It allowed for rapid erection of monumental buildings while minimizing labor and material investment and promoted the centralization of political and religious power in order to plan and complete these monumental mounds.[2][12]

Agriculture and canals

 

While the Sican ceramics and metallurgy are vastly studied, agriculture during the Middle to Late Sican may have been linked to their increasing craft production.

 

Shimada suggests that the canals at Pampa de Chaparri were developed by the Sican as part of an agro-industrial complex marked by an increase in mining and smelting operations, settlement growth, and the expansion of agriculture.[13] Along the canals, 39

Middle Sican sites and 76 Late Sican sites were identified; however, few sites were located in the irrigation fields.

 

This Sican occupation at the irrigation system points to its construction during the Middle Sican. The construction of this irrigation system, as well as the association of hierarchical social units and canal branches, coincides with the rapid and dramatic growth of the Middle Sican. Irrigation for agriculture was a necessity for the Sican elite to produce a surplus of food to feed artisans and laborers, who in turn support the elites.[14]

 

The Late Sican period began around 1100 and ended with the conquest of the Lambayeque region by the Chimú kingdom of Chimor circa 1375.

 

Around 1020, a major drought lasting 30 years occurred at Sican. At the time of the drought, the Sican Deity, so closely tied to the ocean and water in general, was at the center of Sican religion. The catastrophic changes in weather were thus linked to the Sican Deity, mainly to the failure of the Sican Deity to mediate nature for the Sican people.[15]

 

The Sican ceremonies (and temples/mounds on which they were performed) were supposed to ensure that there was an abundance of nature for the people.

 

The elites were the mediators between the common people and the Sican Deity, as the Sican Deity was the mediator between nature and the Sican people.[15]

 

After 30 years of uncertainty in respect to nature, the temples that were the center of Middle Sican religion and elite power were burned and abandoned between 1050 and 1100.

 

Perhaps the ancestor cult and aggrandizing of the elites caused too much resentment. Coupled with the drought that surely weakened agriculture in the area, the tolerance of the common population plummeted, forcing the removal of the political and religious leadership at Sican to save the people.[2]

 

There was little or no repair of the destruction of Sican, and further damage was inflicted by El Nino floods around 1100.

 

The burning and abandonment of the previous capital meant that a new capital needed to be built. Túcume or "el Purgatorio" was constructed as the new Late Sican capital at the juncture of the La Leche and Lambayeque Valleys.

 

Túcume became the new religious and ceremonial center of the Sican. The religious and iconographic legacies of the Middle Sican abruptly disappeared. It is at this juncture, when the Sican Deity and Sican Lord disappear from art, is when the Late Sican begins.

 

Other mythical depictions from the Middle Sican continued in the Late Sican and reflect the revitalization of the religion going back to tradition relationships with nature. Icons include felines, fish, and birds that were secondary to the Sican Deity during the previous era, but were also linked to previous cultures in the area.

 

Sican material culture, such as ceramics and metallurgy, unrelated to religion or politics did not suffer a severe change during the Middle Sican to Late Sican transition.[2][5][15][16]

 

Agriculture and irrigation were also not affected by the transition of political and religious power, as evidenced by the lack of effects on Pampa de Chaparri and numerous large urban hill-side settlements.[14][17]

 

Túcume took on the religious and ceremonial prestige as the site of Sican claimed during the Middle Sican. The mounds and temples from the Middle Sican were continued into the Late Sican since the idea of mounds were not associated with the fall of the Middle Sican, only those mounds in Batán Grande.

 

The same types of ceremonial and religious artifacts made from the same materials were found at Túcume.

 

The site grew enormously during its 250-year Late Sican occupation. By the time of the Chimú conquest of the Lambayeque region in 1375, there were 26 major mounds and enclosures.

 

The site is built on 220 hectares around the La Raya Mountain. Túcume is seen as the reorganization and reunification of the Sican elite and Sican population as a whole until the fall of the Sican to the Chimú.[17]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sican_culture

Prohibition in the early to mid-20th century was fueled by the Protestant denominations in the United States.Pietistic churches in the United States sought to end drinking and the saloon culture during the Third Party System. Liturgical ("high") churches (Catholic, Episcopal, and German Lutheran) opposed prohibition laws because they did not want the government redefining morality to a narrow standard and criminalizing the common liturgical practice of using wine.The Volstead Act specifically allowed individual farmers to make certain wines "on the legal fiction that it was a non-intoxicating fruit-juice for home consumption",[119] and many did so. Enterprising grape farmers produced liquid and semi-solid grape concentrates, often called "wine bricks" or "wine blocks".[120] This demand led California grape growers to increase their land under cultivation by about 700% during the first five years of Prohibition. The grape concentrate was sold with a warning: "After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine"The Volstead Act specifically allowed individual farmers to make certain wines "on the legal fiction that it was a non-intoxicating fruit-juice for home consumption",[119] and many did so. Enterprising grape farmers produced liquid and semi-solid grape concentrates, often called "wine bricks" or "wine blocks".[120] This demand led California grape growers to increase their land under cultivation by about 700% during the first five years of Prohibition. The grape concentrate was sold with a warning: "After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine"Supporters of the Amendment soon became confident that it would not be repealed. Revivalism in Second Great Awakening and the Third Great Awakening in the mid-to-late 19th century set the stage for the bond between pietistic Protestantism and prohibition in the United States: "The greater prevalence of revival religion within a population, the greater support for the Prohibition parties within that population."[80] Historian Nancy Koester argued that Prohibition was a "victory for progressives and social gospel activists battling poverty".[81] Prohibition also united progressives and revivalists..The temperance movement had popularized the belief that alcohol was the major cause of most personal and social problems and prohibition was seen as the solution to the nation's poverty, crime, violence, and other ills.[83] Upon ratification of the amendment, the famous evangelist Billy Sunday said that "The slums will soon be only a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs." (Compare Christianity and alcohol.) Since alcohol was to be banned and since it was seen as the cause of most, if not all, crime, some communities sold their jails.The nation was highly optimistic and the leading prohibitionist in the United States Congress, Senator Morris Sheppard, confidently asserted that "There is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a hummingbird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail.One of its creators, Senator Morris Sheppard, joked that "there is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a humming-bird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail.In January 1917, the 65th Congress convened, in which the dries outnumbered the wets by 140 to 64 in the Democratic Party and 138 to 62 among Republicans. With America's declaration of war against Germany in April, German Americans, a major force against prohibition, were sidelined and their protests subsequently ignored. In addition, a new justification for prohibition arose: prohibiting the production of alcoholic beverages would allow more resources—especially grain that would otherwise be used to make alcohol—to be devoted to the war effort. While wartime prohibition was a spark for the movement,[36] World War I ended before nationwide Prohibition was enacted.

Four and twenty Yankees, feeling very dry,

Went across the border to get a drink of rye.

When the rye was opened, the Yanks began to sing,

"God bless America, but God save the King!

Edward, Prince of Wales, returned to the United Kingdom following his tour of Canada in 1919, he recounted to his father, King George V, a ditty he had heard at a border town.

 

Prohibition was an important force in state and local politics from the 1840s through the 1930s. Numerous historical studies demonstrated that the political forces involved were ethnoreligious.[28] Prohibition was supported by the dries, primarily pietistic Protestant denominations that included Methodists, Northern Baptists, Southern Baptists, New School Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, Congregationalists, Quakers, and Scandinavian Lutherans, but also included the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America and, to a certain extent, the Latter-day Saints. These religious groups identified saloons as politically corrupt and drinking as a personal sin. Other active organizations included the Women's Church Federation, the Women's Temperance Crusade, and the Department of Scientific Temperance Instruction. They were opposed by the wets, primarily liturgical Protestants (Episcopalians and German Lutherans) and Roman Catholics, who denounced the idea that the government should define morality.[29] Even in the wet stronghold of New York City there was an active prohibition movement, led by Norwegian church groups and African-American labor activists who believed that prohibition would benefit workers, especially African Americans. Tea merchants and soda fountain manufacturers generally supported prohibition, believing a ban on alcohol would increase sales of their products.[30] A particularly effective operator on the political front was Wayne Wheeler of the Anti-Saloon League, who made Prohibition a wedge issue and succeeded in getting many pro-prohibition candidates elected. Wheeler became known as the "dry boss" because of his influence and powerProhibition represented a conflict between urban and rural values emerging in the United States. Given the mass influx of migrants to the urban centers of the United States, many individuals within the prohibition movement associated the crime and morally corrupt behavior of American cities with their large, immigrant populations. Saloons frequented by immigrants in these cities were often frequented by politicians who wanted to obtain the immigrants' votes in exchange for favors such as job offers, legal assistance, and food baskets. Thus, saloons were seen as a breeding ground for political corruption.In a backlash to the emerging reality of a changing American demographic, many prohibitionists subscribed to the doctrine of nativism, in which they endorsed the notion that America was made great as a result of its white Anglo-Saxon ancestry. This belief fostered resentments towards urban immigrant communities, who typically argued in favor of abolishing prohibition.[33] Additionally, nativist sentiments were part of a larger process of Americanization taking place during the same time period..Two other amendments to the Constitution were championed by dry crusaders to help their cause. One was granted in the Sixteenth Amendment (1913), which replaced alcohol taxes that funded the federal government with a federal income tax.[35] The other was women's suffrage, which was granted after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920; since women tended to support prohibition, temperance organizations tended to support women's suffrage.In the presidential election of 1916, the Democratic incumbent, Woodrow Wilson, and the Republican candidate, Charles Evans Hughes, ignored the prohibition issue, as did both parties' political platforms. Democrats and Republicans had strong wet and dry factions, and the election was expected to be close, with neither candidate wanting to alienate any part of his political base.In January 1917, the 65th Congress convened, in which the dries outnumbered the wets by 140 to 64 in the Democratic Party and 138 to 62 among Republicans. With America's declaration of war against Germany in April, German Americans, a major force against prohibition, were sidelined and their protests subsequently ignored. In addition, a new justification for prohibition arose: prohibiting the production of alcoholic beverages would allow more resources—especially grain that would otherwise be used to make alcohol—to be devoted to the war effort. While wartime prohibition was a spark for the movement,[36] World War I ended before nationwide Prohibition was enacted.A resolution calling for a Constitutional amendment to accomplish nationwide Prohibition was introduced in Congress and passed by both houses in December 1917. By January 16, 1919, the Amendment had been ratified by 36 of the 48 states needed to assure it passage into law. Eventually, only two of those states—Connecticut and Rhode Island—opted out of ratifying it.[37][38] On October 28, 1919, Congress passed enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act, to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment when it went into effect in 1920.Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide constitutional ban on the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages that remained in place from 1920 to 1933. It was promoted by the "dry" crusaders, a movement led by rural Protestants and social Progressives in the Democratic and Republican parties, and was coordinated by the Anti-Saloon League, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Prohibition was mandated under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act, set down the rules for enforcing the ban and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited. For example, religious uses of wine were allowed. Private ownership and consumption of alcohol were not made illegal under federal law; however, in many areas, local laws were stricter, with some states banning possession outright. Nationwide, Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, on December 5, 1933.Prohibition marked one of the last stages of the Progressive Era. During the 19th century, alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling addiction, and a variety of other social ills and abuses led to the activism to try to cure the perceived problems in society. Among other things, this led many communities in the late 19th and early 20th century to introduce alcohol prohibition, with the subsequent enforcement in law becoming a hotly debated issue. Prohibition supporters, called dries, presented it as a victory for public morals and health. Anti-prohibitionists, known as wets, criticized the alcohol ban as an intrusion of mainly rural Protestant ideals on a central aspect of urban, immigrant, and Catholic life. Although popular opinion believes that Prohibition failed, it succeeded in cutting overall alcohol consumption in half during the 1920s, and consumption remained below pre-Prohibition levels until the 1940s, suggesting that Prohibition did socialize a significant proportion of the population in temperate habits, at least temporarily.[1] Some researchers contend that its political failure is attributable more to a changing historical context than to characteristics of the law itself.[2] Criticism remains that Prohibition led to unintended consequences such as the growth of urban crime organizations. As an experiment it lost supporters every year, and lost tax revenue that governments needed when the Great Depression began in 1929.The U.S. Senate proposed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 18, 1917. Upon being approved by a 36th state on January 16, 1919, the amendment was ratified as a part of the Constitution. By the terms of the amendment, the country went dry one year later, on January 17, 1920.On November 18, 1918, prior to ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment, the U.S. Congress passed the temporary Wartime Prohibition Act, which banned the sale of alcoholic beverages having an alcohol content of greater than 2.75%.[6] (This act, which had been intended to save grain for the war effort, was passed after the armistice ending World War I was signed on November 11, 1918.) The Wartime Prohibition Act took effect June 30, 1919, with July 1, 1919, becoming known as the "Thirsty-First".On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, the popular name for the National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The act established the legal definition of intoxicating liquors as well as penalties for producing them.[9] Although the Volstead Act prohibited the sale of alcohol, the federal government lacked resources to enforce it. By 1925, in New York City alone, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs.While Prohibition was successful in reducing the amount of liquor consumed, it stimulated the proliferation of rampant underground, organized and widespread criminal activity.[11] Many were astonished and disenchanted with the rise of spectacular gangland crimes (such as Chicago's Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929), when prohibition was supposed to reduce crime. Prohibition lost its advocates one by one, while the wet opposition talked of personal liberty, new tax revenues from legal beer and liquor, and the scourge of organized crime.On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Cullen–Harrison Act, legalizing beer with an alcohol content of 3.2% (by weight) and wine of a similarly low alcohol content. On December 5, 1933, ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment. However, United States federal law still prohibits the manufacture of distilled spirits without meeting numerous licensing requirements that make it impractical to produce spirits for personal beverage use.Consumption of alcoholic beverages has been a contentious topic in America since the colonial period. In May 1657, the General Court of Massachusetts made the sale of strong liquor "whether known by the name of rum, whisky, wine, brandy, etc." illegal.In general, informal social controls in the home and community helped maintain the expectation that the abuse of alcohol was unacceptable. "Drunkenness was condemned and punished, but only as an abuse of a God-given gift. Drink itself was not looked upon as culpable, any more than food deserved blame for the sin of gluttony. Excess was a personal indiscretion."[15] When informal controls failed, there were legal options.Shortly after the United States obtained independence, the Whiskey Rebellion took place in western Pennsylvania in protest of government-imposed taxes on whiskey. Although the taxes were primarily levied to help pay down the newly formed national debt, it also received support from some social reformers, who hoped a "sin tax" would raise public awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol.[16] The whiskey tax was repealed after Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party, which opposed the Federalist Party of Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, came to power in 1800.Benjamin Rush, one of the foremost physicians of the late eighteenth century, believed in moderation rather than prohibition. In his treatise, "The Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits upon the Human Body and Mind" (1784), Rush argued that the excessive use of alcohol was injurious to physical and psychological health, labeling drunkenness as a disease.[18] Apparently influenced by Rush's widely discussed belief, about 200 farmers in a Connecticut community formed a temperance association in 1789. Similar associations were formed in Virginia in 1800 and New York in 1808.[19] Within a decade, other temperance groups had formed in eight states, some of them being statewide organizations. The words of Rush and other early temperance reformers served to dichotomize the use of alcohol for men and women. While men enjoyed drinking and often considered it vital to their health, women who began to embrace the ideology of "true motherhood" refrained from consumption of alcohol. Middle-class women, who were considered the moral authorities of their households, consequently rejected the drinking of alcohol, which they believed to be a threat to the home.[19] In 1830, on average, Americans consumed 1.7 bottles of hard liquor per week, three times the amount consumed in 2010.The 1898 Congressional Record, when reporting on a proposed tax on distilled spirits (H.R. 10253), noted that the relationship between populations, tax on distilled spirits (made from things other than fruit), and consumption was thus: (The Aggregates are grouped by tax rate)The American Temperance Society (ATS), formed in 1826, helped initiate the first temperance movement and served as a foundation for many later groups. By 1835 the ATS had reached 1.5 million members, with women constituting 35% to 60% of its chapters.The prohibition movement, also known as the dry crusade, continued in the 1840s, spearheaded by pietistic religious denominations, especially the Methodists. The late nineteenth century saw the temperance movement broaden its focus from abstinence to include all behavior and institutions related to alcohol consumption. Preachers such as Reverend Mark A. Matthews linked liquor-dispensing saloons with political corruption.Some successes were achieved in the 1850s, including the Maine law, adopted in 1851, which banned the manufacture and sale of liquor. However, it was repealed in 1856. The temperance movement lost strength and was marginalized during the American Civil War (1861–1865).Following the war, the dry crusade was revived by the national Prohibition Party, founded in 1869, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in 1873. The WCTU advocated the prohibition of alcohol as a method for preventing abuse from alcoholic husbands via education.[22] WCTU members believed that if their organization could reach children with its message, it could create a dry sentiment leading to prohibition. Frances Willard, the second president of the WCTU, held the aims of the organization were to create a "union of women from all denominations, for the purpose of educating the young, forming a better public sentiment, reforming the drinking classes, transforming by the power of Divine grace those who are enslaved by alcohol, and removing the dram-shop from our streets by law".[23] While still denied universal voting privileges, women in the WCTU followed Frances Willard's "Do Everything" doctrine and used temperance as a method of entering into politics and furthering other progressive issues such as prison reform and labor laws.In 1881 Kansas became the first state to outlaw alcoholic beverages in its Constitution. Carrie Nation gained notoriety for enforcing the state's ban on alcohol consumption by walking into saloons, scolding customers, and using her hatchet to destroy bottles of liquor. Nation recruited ladies into the Carrie Nation Prohibition Group, which she also led. While Nation's vigilante techniques were rare, other activists enforced the dry cause by entering saloons, singing, praying, and urging saloonkeepers to stop selling alcohol.[25] Other dry states, especially those in the South, enacted prohibition legislation, as did individual counties within a state.Court cases also debated the subject of prohibition. Although there was a tendency to support prohibition, some cases ruled in opposition. In Mugler v. Kansas (1887), Justice Harlan commented: "We cannot shut out of view the fact, within the knowledge of all, that the public health, the public morals, and the public safety, may be endangered by the general use of intoxicating drinks; nor the fact established by statistics accessible to every one, that the idleness, disorder, pauperism and crime existing in the country, are, in some degree...traceable to this evil."[26] In support of prohibition, Crowley v. Christensen (1890), remarked: "The statistics of every state show a greater amount of crime and misery attributable to the use of ardent spirits obtained at these retail liquor saloons than to any other source.Proliferation of neighborhood saloons in the post-Civil War era became a phenomenon of an increasingly industrialized, urban workforce. Workingmen's bars were popular social gathering places from the workplace and home life. The brewing industry was actively involved in establishing saloons as a lucrative consumer base in their business chain. Saloons were more often than not linked to a specific brewery, where the saloonkeeper's operation was financed by a brewer and contractually obligated to sell the brewer's product to the exclusion of competing brands. A saloon's business model often included the offer of a free lunch, where the bill of fare commonly consisting of heavily salted food meant to induce thirst and the purchase of drink.[27] During the Progressive Era (1890–1920), hostility toward saloons and their political influence became widespread, with the Anti-Saloon League superseding the Prohibition Party and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union as the most influential advocate of prohibition, after these latter two groups expanded their efforts to support other social reform issues, such as women's suffrage, onto their prohibition platform.One of the main reasons why Prohibition did not proceed smoothly was the inefficient means of enforcing it. From its inception, the Eighteenth Amendment lacked legitimacy in the eyes of the public who had previously been drinkers and law-abiding citizens. In some instances the public viewed Prohibition laws as "arbitrary and unnecessary", and therefore were willing to break them. Law enforcement found themselves overwhelmed by the rise in illegal, wide-scale alcohol distribution. The magnitude of their task was unexpected and law enforcement agencies lacked the necessary resources. Additionally, enforcement of the law under the Eighteenth Amendment lacked a centralized authority. Many attempts to impose Prohibition were deterred due to the lack of transparency between federal and state authorities. Clergymen were sometimes called upon to form vigilante groups to assist in the enforcement of Prohibition.[58] Furthermore, American geography contributed to the difficulties in enforcing Prohibition. The varied terrain of valleys, mountains, lakes, and swamps, as well as the extensive seaways, ports, and borders the United States shared with Canada and Mexico made it exceedingly difficult for Prohibition agents to stop bootleggers given their lack of resources. Ultimately it was recognized with its repeal that the means by which the law was to be enforced were not pragmatic, and in many cases the legislature did not match the general public opinion.The second Ku Klux Klan talked a great deal about denouncing bootleggers and threatened private vigilante action against known offenders. Despite its large membership in the mid-1920s, it was poorly organized and seldom had an impact. Indeed, the disgrace of the Klan after 1925 helped disparage any enforcement of Prohibition.[Prohibition was a major blow to the alcoholic beverage industry and its repeal was a step toward the amelioration of one sector of the economy. An example of this is the case of St. Louis, one of the most important alcohol producers before prohibition started, who was ready to resume its position in the industry as soon as possible. Its major brewery had "50,000 barrels" of beer ready for distribution since March 22, 1933, and was the first alcohol producer to resupply the market; others soon followed. After repeal, stores obtained liquor licenses and restocked for business. After beer production resumed, thousands of workers found jobs in the industry again.[Prohibition created a black market that competed with the formal economy, which came under pressure when the Great Depression struck in 1929. State governments urgently needed the tax revenue alcohol sales had generated. Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932 based in part on his promise to end prohibition, which influenced his support for ratifying the Twenty-first Amendment to repeal Prohibition.Most economists during the early 20th century were in favor for the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment.[86] Simon Patten, one of the leading advocates for prohibition, predicted that prohibition would eventually happen in the United States for competitive and evolutionary reasons. Yale economics professor Irving Fisher, who was a dry, wrote extensively about prohibition, including a paper that made an economic case for prohibition.[87] Fisher is credited with supplying the criteria against which future prohibitions, such as against marijuana, could be measured, in terms of crime, health, and productivity. For example, "Blue Monday" referred to the hangover workers experienced after a weekend of binge drinking, resulting in Mondays being a wasted productive day.[88] But new research has discredited Fisher's research, which was based on uncontrolled experiments; regardless, his $6 billion figure for the annual gains of Prohibition to the United States continues to be cited.[Making moonshine was an industry in the American South before and after Prohibition. In the 1950s muscle cars became popular and various roads became known as "Thunder Road" for their use by moonshiners. A popular ballad was created and the legendary drivers, cars, and routes were depicted on film in Thunder Road.Illegal sales are not officially reported or measured, but there are indirect estimates using alcohol related deaths and cirrhosis, a liver disease specifically tied to ongoing alcohol consumption.[94] Scholars estimate that consumption dropped to a low of about 60% of pre-prohibition levels around 1925, rising to almost 80% before the law was officially repealed.[citation needed] After the prohibition was implemented, alcohol continued to be consumed. However, how much compared to pre-Prohibition levels remains unclear. Studies examining the rates of cirrhosis deaths as a proxy for alcohol consumption estimated a decrease in consumption of 10–20%.[95][96][97] However, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's studies show clear epidemiological evidence that "overall cirrhosis mortality rates declined precipitously with the introduction of Prohibition," despite widespread flouting of the law.[98] One study reviewing city-level drunkenness arrests came to a similar result.[99] And, yet another study examining "mortality, mental health and crime statistics" found that alcohol consumption fell, at first, to approximately 30 percent of its pre-Prohibition level; but, over the next several years, increased to about 60–70 percent of its pre-prohibition level.Organized crime received a major boost from Prohibition. Mafia groups limited their activities to prostitution, gambling, and theft until 1920, when organized bootlegging emerged in response to Prohibition.[102] A profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished. Prohibition provided a financial basis for organized crime to flourish.In a study of more than 30 major U.S. cities during the Prohibition years of 1920 and 1921, the number of crimes increased by 24%. Additionally, theft and burglaries increased by 9%, homicides by 12.7%, assaults and battery rose by 13%, drug addiction by 44.6%, and police department costs rose by 11.4%. This was largely the result of "black-market violence" and the diversion of law enforcement resources elsewhere. Despite the Prohibition movement's hope that outlawing alcohol would reduce crime, the reality was that the Volstead Act led to higher crime rates than were experienced prior to Prohibition and the establishment of a black market dominated by criminal organizations.[104] The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre produced seven deaths, considered one of the deadliest days of mob history.Furthermore, stronger liquor surged in popularity because its potency made it more profitable to smuggle. To prevent bootleggers from using industrial ethyl alcohol to produce illegal beverages, the federal government ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols. In response, bootleggers hired chemists who successfully renatured the alcohol to make it drinkable. As a response, the Treasury Department required manufacturers to add more deadly poisons, including the particularly deadly methyl alcohol. New York City medical examiners prominently opposed these policies because of the danger to human life. As many as 10,000 people died from drinking denatured alcohol before Prohibition ended.[106] New York City medical examiner Charles Norris believed the government took responsibility for murder when they knew the poison was not deterring people and they continued to poison industrial alcohol (which would be used in drinking alcohol) anyway. Norris remarked: "The government knows it is not stopping drinking by putting poison in alcohol... [Y]et it continues its poisoning processes, heedless of the fact that people determined to drink are daily absorbing that poison. Knowing this to be true, the United States government must be charged with the moral responsibility for the deaths that poisoned liquor causes, although it cannot be held legally responsible.As a result of Prohibition, the advancements of industrialization within the alcoholic beverage industry were essentially reversed. Large-scale alcohol producers were shut down, for the most part, and some individual citizens took it upon themselves to produce alcohol illegally, essentially reversing the efficiency of mass-producing and retailing alcoholic beverages. Closing the country's manufacturing plants and taverns also resulted in an economic downturn for the industry. While the Eighteenth Amendment did not have this effect on the industry due to its failure to define an "intoxicating" beverage, the Volstead Act's definition of 0.5% or more alcohol by volume shut down the brewers, who expected to continue to produce beer of moderate strength.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States

find adrenaline waiting to rise up

both justifiable and lackluster

too on fire to keep it on the cuff

in rising anger I cannot trust her

in aggravation she evades patience

from reason she is distancing her force

between loss and lies, a correlation

a slap in the face, his lack of remorse

the thought of the fortunate drenched in greed

the memory of the long empty days

a world of kids not getting what they need

all of mankind locked in their evil ways

these concepts bring a bright and livid storm

and in these evils, resentment is born