If you are an art lover, it helps to get a collection going if your uncle is the pope and nepotism is the order of the day. Becoming a cardinal, getting the necessary income and influence happen just like that – and before you notice, you have a huge collection, a large villa and aContinue reading “Scipione Borghese’s art”
Tag Archives: Paris
Gutenberg in Paris
No, the guy himself never visited, but his spirit is at the excellent Bibliothèque national (BnF) exhibition ‘Imprimer! L’Europe de Gutenberg’ at their F. Mitterrand site (below right). Of course, both of the Gutenberg bibles that the BnF owns are displayed (title picture). To emphasise the status of Gutenberg, a 1831 painting depicts him asContinue reading “Gutenberg in Paris”
Bourse de Commerce: the lives of a building
Good buildings can have many lives over the centuries – they can store grain, merchants or art, depending on the needs of the population. The Bourse de Commerce in central Paris started its life as a grain storage facility. The growth of Paris made the previous facilities too small, but upholding public order required havingContinue reading “Bourse de Commerce: the lives of a building”
Rails, wines, worlds 