D'aquillo

20/03/2023

Persepolis was the seat of government of the Achaemenid Empire, though it was designed primarily to be a showplace and spectacular centre for the receptions and festivals of the kings and their empire. The terrace of Persepolis continues to be, as its founder Darius would have wished, the image of the Achaemenid monarchy itself, the summit where likenesses of the king reappear unceasingly, here as the conqueror of a monster, there carried on his throne by the downtrodden enemy, and where lengthy cohorts of sculpted warriors and guards, dignitaries, and tribute bearers parade endlessly.

20/03/2023

The Peanut Lady
Sculpted by: Lorenzo Orengo
There is a section of the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno that is reserved for the wealthy bourgeoisie – the richest of the rich. So how is it that an illiterate nut-seller has a lovely monument there?
Caterina Campodonico (1804 – 1881) was an independent woman who traveled from city to city selling her reste (translated as hazelnuts, chestnuts, or peanuts) necklaces made of nuts and homemade bread.
As the story goes, her family thought she was too independent for her own good – at a time when women did not own or run their own businesses – and she often felt judged by them. But she toiled away year after year.
By the age of 76, Caterina was feeling the effects of aging and fell ill. As death seemed inevitable, Caterina’s family members began arguing about how they would distribute her wealth after she died.
Caterina overheard this but surprised them all by recovering from her illness. Then – true to her independent nature – she determined that she would not leave her hard-earned money to any of them. Rather, she would commission the most prominent sculptor of the time to create a gravesite monument for herself.
Caterina asked the sculptor to carve the finest of clothing on her marble statue – the type of clothing she had never been able to wear in life.
And, like the entrepreneurs and hawkers of her day, she asked that a symbol of her means to wealth be carved as well. In her case, it was circular twists of bread and chains of hazelnut necklaces.
Her hands show the reality of her hard life. They are rough and worn from years of hard work.
Caterina’s epitaph was written by a fine poet and while it sounded better in Italian, it is still a fine tribute in English:
“By selling necklaces of nuts and sweets at the Sanctuaries of Acquasanta, Garbo and St. Cipriasso, defying wind, sun, and water coming down in buckets, in order to provide an honest loaf for my old age; among the little money laid by myself to the furthest ends of time, with this monument, which I Caterina Campodonico (called the Peasant) an authentic inhabitant of Portoria, have erected while still alive. 1881.
Oh, you who pass close to this, my tomb, if you will, pray for my peace.”
Yes, she had it erected while she was still alive! And it is said that in the months before she died, she delighted in standing next to it – in her peasant’s clothes – to listen to the reactions of visitors when they saw her likeness looking like a princess.

20/03/2023

Cave di Cusa was an ancient stone quarry in Sicily, that was the source of stone used to build the temples in the ancient Greek city Selinunte. This site was quarried beginning in the 6th century BC until it was abandoned in 409 BC when the city was captured by the Carthaginians

21/02/2023

Le château de Carn Brea,
(Cornouailles, Royaume-Uni)

Vestige des Cornouailles perché depuis plus de 600 ans sur sa colline, ce château semble avoir été construit à même les pierres de la colline

Situé sur la pointe sud-ouest de l’Angleterre dans la région de Cornouailles, le château de Carn Brea domine les villes de Redruth, Caborne et Pool. Le château a été construit vers 1379 sur la colline qui lui a donné son nom. Bénéficiant d’un point de vue imprenable, il est situé à 215m de hauteur. Toutefois, malgré ce que son nom laisse présager, le château n’aurait pas toujours été un château.

À l’origine, le lieu était une chapelle ou un oratoire dédié à Saint-Michel, mais ses origines demeurent incertaines et assez obscures. Des traces laissées par des flèches et des incendies témoignent cependant du passé du lieu et prouvent qu’il a été attaqué à plusieurs reprises au cours de son histoire.

Peu d’informations attestent de l’histoire de Carn Brea. Néanmoins, le château fait reparler de lui au XVIIIe siècle, précisément dans les années 1780. À cette époque, la famille Bassett transforme le château car il se trouve au milieu de leur domaine. Selon les historiens, le lieu devient comme une résidence secondaire pour la famille : une « maison de plaisance » qui aurait également servi de pavillon de chasse. En s’appropriant les lieux, les Bassett le transforment en décorant l’intérieur dans un style gothique.

L’emplacement stratégique de Carn Brea lui permet de profiter d’une vue très dégagée à la fois sur les côtes nord et sud de l’Angleterre. Cela a notamment permis aux marins de l’utiliser comme balise de détresse pour la navigation même s’il est à l’intérieur des terres.

Pendant le XIXe siècle, le château servit à sa manière de phare car une des fenêtres situées sur la façade nord du château était toujours allumée. S’il a ainsi guidé les marins, le monument s’abîme de plus en plus. Il faudra attendre la fin des années 1970 pour que Carn Brea fasse enfin l’objet d’une rénovation. Aujourd’hui, le château reste un lieu touristique très apprécié notamment car il est construit sur d’énormes pierres semblant le soutenir.

14/01/2023

Crow Woman:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1034257379/digital-image-high-resolution-instant?click_key=c04349afcdbd57c07d6b28b8cf61d531ef240914%3A1034257379&click_sum=0658537c&ref=shop_home_active_11&pro=1

08/01/2023

27/12/2022