 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken through a window of the Capitoline Museums in Rome. The window is old, which I think is why it is textured, rippled, and uneven. Or maybe the antique glass blower wanted it that way. I don't know.
In any case, after the jump is the same scene through a modern glass window.
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of Bigfoot, or rather a big foot because we're not in the forests of North America. We're in the Capitoline Museums in Rome.
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Vatican Museums. It's plural because there is a seemingly endless number of interconnected galleries, each more marvelous than the last. They all lead to the Sistine Chapel, the most extraordinary of all. But they don't allow photographs to be taken inside the Sistine Chapel, so you'll have to be satisfied with my photo of a different gallery.
A panoramic photo is after the jump.
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of tourists posing in front of the most photographed ruin the world — the Colosseum in Rome. I don't usually fill these pages with snapshots of tourists posing in front of tourist attractions, but it's important to me this time. You never know when it might be your last such photo.
Two bonus photos are after the jump.
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Colosseum in Rome. According to Wikipedia, "It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world, despite its age. Construction began under the Emperor Vespasian (r. 69-79 AD) in AD 72 and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir, Titus (r. 79-81)." The Arch of Titus is near the Colosseum. So, two of the most memorable buildings in ancient Rome today are connected to the emperor Titus, whose reign lasted only two years.
Two bonus photos are after the jump.
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Arch of Titus in Rome. I've seen photos of this arch in travel books and history books my whole life, but I've never learned its own history. It's a history that reverberates down to today's headlines.
More text and a bonus photo are after the jump.
"Forum far below,
Empire sprawls in ruined grace
'neath Palatine Hill."
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Roman Forum from the Palatine Hill. The Palatine Hill, "relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called 'the first nucleus of the Roman Empire.' Imperial palaces were built there, starting with Augustus."
A bonus photo (by Dessy) of Ellen and me on the Palatine Hill is after the jump.
"Past and present meet,
Where love was once deified,
Another two stand."
— h/t ChatGPT
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of John and Dessy posing in front of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina in the Roman Forum. "The temple was constructed by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, beginning in 141 AD. It was initially dedicated to his deceased and deified wife, Faustina the Elder. Because of this, Faustina was the first Roman empress with a permanent presence in the Forum Romanum. When Antoninus Pius was deified after his death in 161 AD, the temple was re-dedicated to both Antoninus and Faustina by his successor, Marcus Aurelius."
"First night together,
Rome glows with celebration.
Chestnuts crack and steam."
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of Piazza Navona in Rome. It was the first night of our whole family being together to celebrate Christmas in Rome. A holiday tradition all over Italy (and in plenty of other places in the world) is roasting chestnuts (castagne arrosto) over open charcoal braziers. They are served piping hot in paper cones. Here, a stranger enjoys the tradition.
A bonus photo is after the jump.
"Now the square holds us,
not in flesh, but in recall.
Rome keeps what we lost."
 |
| From 2024 12 22 Rome |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of Piazza Navona in Rome. It was the first night of our whole family being together to celebrate Christmas in Rome. Little did we know it was to be the last such family vacation. We ate at an outdoor restaurant in the piazza. The piazza "is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the agones ('games'), and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis' ('competition arena')."
Bonus photos are after the jump.
"Framed through palace glass,
marble rising from the sea.
Bells ring over waves."
— h/t ChatGPT
 |
| From 2024 09 11 Venice |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy. The photo was taken through the windows at the Doge's Palace. The island of "San Giorgio is now best known for the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by Palladio and begun in 1566. The belltower has a ring of 9 bells in C#."
This view makes a good bookend to the opening POTD of Venice (Venice by Sea). With that, we say ciao to Venice. Next stop, Rome.
"Gold mosaics shine,
stories looted from the East,
Faith wrapped in conquest."
— h/t ChatGPT
 |
| From 2024 09 11 Venice |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy. "It is dedicated to and holds the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of the city...The present structure is the third church, begun probably in 1063 to express Venice's growing civic consciousness and pride. Like the two earlier churches, its model was the sixth-century Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople...Middle-Byzantine, Romanesque, and Islamic influences are also evident, and Gothic elements were later incorporated. To convey the republic's wealth and power, the original brick façades and interior walls were embellished over time with precious stones and rare marbles, primarily in the thirteenth century. Many of the columns, reliefs, and sculptures were spoils stripped from the churches, palaces, and public monuments of Constantinople as a result of the Venetian participation in the Fourth Crusade. Among the plundered artefacts brought back to Venice were the four ancient bronze horses that were placed prominently over the entry."
"City of canals
built its dreams in travertine.
Why not Richardson?"
— h/t ChatGPT
 |
| From 2024 09 11 Venice |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Doge's Palace in Venice, Italy.
"The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and the residence of the Doge of Venice, the elected authority of the former Republic of Venice. It was originally built in 810, rebuilt in 1340 and extended and modified in the following centuries."
Imagine if the new City Hall being built by the City of Richardson had an interior design resembling this. Imagine if the new City Hall being built by the City of Richardson was being built to last a millennium. The last City Hall didn't last 50 years. We live in a throwaway society. That includes our architecture.
"Bridges often join,
but this one parts soul from sun.
Venice once wept here."
— h/t ChatGPT
 |
| From 2024 09 11 Venice |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Venice, Italy. It shows the famous Bridge of Sighs connecting "the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace...It was built in 1600...The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge's English name was bestowed by Lord Byron in the 19th century as a translation from the Italian "Ponte dei sospiri", from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells."
"Replicas above,
but inside the real ones prance,
bold, undefeated."
 |
| From 2024 09 11 Venice |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Venice, Italy. It shows the original Horses of Saint Mark's Basilica. According to Google and ChatGPT, the horses are "from antiquity (believed to be Classical Greek, 2nd or 3rd century AD). But some say the evident technical expertise and naturalistic rendering of the animals suggest they were made in Classical Greece of the 5th and 4th centuries BC. They were looted from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and brought to Venice. They stood atop the main balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica for centuries. In 1797, Napoleon took them to Paris after conquering Venice; they were installed atop the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. They were returned to Venice in 1815, after Napoleon's defeat. In 1981, due to conservation concerns, the original horses were replaced with modern replicas, and the originals were moved indoors to the Museo di San Marco, where they can still be viewed today."
A bonus photo is after the jump.
"Acqua Alta comes.
Tourists tiptoe through water,
leaving small ripples."
 |
| From 2024 09 11 Venice |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Venice, Italy. It shows the central square, Piazza San Marco. In yesterday's POTD, I described the city as "Venice floating low," referring to the city's penchant for flooding. The Piazza San Marco is not meant to be submerged, but it often is, due to climate change, high tides and sinking land. The day we were there started with one small puddle (small in relation to the huge size of the square). But during the afternoon, it had grown to fill most of the square. That's not good for the city. That's not good for tourism. But it is good for capturing photos like this.
A bonus photo is after the jump.
"Venice floating low.
An old painting comes to life,
aged and elegant."
— h/t ChatGPT
 |
| From 2024 09 11 Venice |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Venice, Italy, a city "built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are linked by 438 bridges." This photo shows San Giorgio Maggiore. It's one of the first views most people have gotten of Venice for centuries, arriving by sea.
"Tour boats glide softly,
beneath cafés and willows,
boys balance with joy."
 |
| From 2024 09 10 Ljubljana |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Ljubljana, Slovenia. It shows river scenes in the heart of the country's capital city. Needless to say, I love how Ljubljana's downtown features its river.
Bonus photos are after the jump.
"Containers at rest.
Order pressed against the sky.
Stacked intentions wait."
— h/t ChatGPT
 |
| From 2024 09 10 Ljubljana |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Ljubljana, Slovenia. It shows stacked shipping containers at the port where our cruise ship docked. No story here, just a captivating image of geometric regularity imposed by humans on a natural landscape.
"One small capital
turns a climate tale around —
Slovenian green."
 |
| From 2024 09 10 Ljubljana |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Ljubljana, "the capital and largest city of Slovenia, located along a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region, inhabited since prehistoric times. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center." It's also progressive regarding its movement away from fossil fuels, judging by these snapshots from around town.
More photos after the jump.