I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Matthew 25:35
13 Comments CherryPie on Sep 29th 2024
Located in the Rione Colonna, San Lorenzo in Lucina is one of the oldest churches in Rome. The building stands on a domus, probably owned by Lucina, a wealthy Roman matron who allegedly founded an “ecclesia domestica”, a place for worship inside a private house.
A second theory connects the name of the basilica to an ancient temple dedicated to Juno Lucina, the patron goddess of childbirth: it was tradition that the women of ancient Rome drew “miraculous” water from the temple, a custom which is confirmed by the discovery of a well (still visible today in the basement) and a mosaic floor with black and white tiles, still intact, with white marble steps and frescoed walls.
Consecrated as a place of worship in 440 by Pope Sixtus III, the church was rebuilt and enlarged in the 12th century by Pope Paschal II. Even today, you can admire the elegant portico punctuated by six Ionic granite columns, inside which are a series of ancient inscriptions, the two marble lions on either side of the entrance, and the bell tower with five orders, two floors of single lancet windows and three of mullioned windows.
12 Comments CherryPie on Sep 26th 2024
8 Comments CherryPie on Sep 25th 2024
It was a welcome joy to be able to go for a walk after my afternoon volunteering at Attingham Park. It was my first walk at Attingham for several weeks. Due to planned surgery mum has had several medical appointments each week and a stay in hospital after the surgery. Mum is home now but the appointments continue…
This means I am a little behind on my Walk 1000 miles challenge but I hope to retrieve the missing steps before the end of the year.
7 Comments CherryPie on Sep 24th 2024
Spanish Steps, staircase in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna that climbs the steep slope between the plaza and the church of Trinità dei Monti above. It consists of 135 steps and was built between 1723 and 1725. Though it was funded with a bequest left by a French diplomat, it was named for the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See in the plaza.
After decades of debate over what to do with the slope between the Spanish and French plazas, the idea to build a staircase originated in the 17th century, and planning began with the diplomat’s bequest. The original design included an equestrian statue of King Louis XIV of France at the top of stairs. Papal opposition and a challenge to the bequest called a halt to the project until a compromise was reached, allowing the building work to continue. The stairway was designed by Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi. The compromise between the papacy and the French is evident on the staircase itself, which contains carvings of the fleurs-de-lis of the Bourbon family along with the checkered eagle coat of arms of Pope Innocent XIII.
At the bottom of the staircase lies the boat-shaped Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Old Boat), believed to have been designed by Pietro Bernini, father of architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and completed in 1629. The fountain is said to have been inspired by the flooding of the Tiber River in 1598, when a small, flat-bottomed boat used to carry people to safety was found on the spot after the water ebbed.
6 Comments CherryPie on Sep 24th 2024
Happiness is a vine that takes root and grows within the heart, never outside it.
Khalil Gibran
6 Comments CherryPie on Sep 22nd 2024
We got absolutely soaked on our day trip to Hay-on-Wye. Just after lunch the heavens opened and we were drenched by rain of Biblical proportions. Driving home was a little tricky to start with due to standing water on the country lanes.
Wearing soggy trousers made me feel unclean so when we got home I had a lovely refresshing soak in the bath.
12 Comments CherryPie on Sep 21st 2024
