The interiors of the Baroque churches in Palermo seem to have been created by people with a clear ’horror vacui’, fear of emptiness. Every surface has been filled with statues, paintings and ornamentation. From a North European viewpoint, the Sicilian Baroque is really something else. Saints and biblical stories naturally dominate the narrative of theContinue reading “Over-the-top Baroque”
Tag Archives: travel
Normans in Sicily
As is well known, Normans (i.e. descendants of Vikings from Northern France) conquered Sicily from 999 onwards. They established the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo as their headquarters and built this originally Arab defensive fortress into a royal palace (title picture and below). Obviously later occupants have expanded and changed it considerably. Some of theContinue reading “Normans in Sicily”
Scipione Borghese’s art
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”
Paquebots in Nantes
The ’Normandie’ was the pride of French naval construction, so it is no wonder that it is the star of an exhibition on ocean liners at the Nantes Art Museum. In the 1930s, ocean liners were the epitome of luxury travel and were outfitted in the decorative styles of their time. The Normandie reflected lateContinue reading “Paquebots in Nantes”
Rails, wines, worlds 