- Convento de Cristo in Tomar
The Romanesque round church was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Knights Templar. - Room of discoveries
Ceiling in the Room of Discoveries by Bernardo António de Oliveira Góis (c. 1770-c. 1820) and Cyrillo Volkmar Machado (1748-1823). - Marble Hallway
- Abbaye de Lérins
What a tranquil place. - The fortified monastery
Built in the 11th century and being rebuilt now. - Church of St. Michael (Sv. Mihovil)
The "new" church was built from the remains of the old one. - Mexuar
Tiles on the wall of the Mexuar Council Hall, which served as the entrance to the Nasrid palace. Plus Ultra was the motto of king Charles V. - Mosaic in Nasrid palace
- More mosaic
Mosaic in Comares Palace, part of the Nasrid Palaces. Begun by Isma'il in the early 13th century and modified by Yusuf I and Muhammad V. - Court of the Myrtles
Court of the Myrtles with the Comares Tower in the background. The name of the Court comes from the myrtle hedges. Built in the 14th century. - Zellij in Alhambra
More wonderful zellij pattern in the palace. - Stucco in Alhambra
Detail of stucco on the wall indicating that the decorations were indeed colourful. - Alhambra palace
Alhambra palace from Mirador de San Nicolas. With Sierra Nevada in the background. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
The ceiling in the Room of the Poor is an upside-down boat-skiff shape. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
Such lovely beams under the ceiling. I think the inscription says Seule * as seule etoile, meaning the founder's wife. - Tapestry
A magnificent almost 8 m long "thousand flowers" tapestry is from the 16th century. What an interesting motif... - Beaune Polyptych
The Polyptych altarpiece of the Last Judgement by Rogier van der Wayden, dating from ~1446. Opened central panel shows Christ on a rainbow and Archangel Michael below him with the scale to weigh souls, with heaven being on the left and hell on the right. - Château de Chenonceau
Chambre de Diane de Poitiers. - Château de Chambord
The queen's bedchamber is furnished as a 17th century bedroom. - Mont Dol
What a lovely house - with a curved corner. - Mont Saint-Michel
Virgin and the child, 13th century. - Le Fort du Guesclin
As everything in Brittany, this place is also full of history. Romans, destroyed, fortress in 800s, destroyed, fortified castle built by Bertrand du Guesclin in 1100, destroyed in 1598, this one built in 1756... - Cairn of Barnenez
Art exhibition by local kids. Love it! - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
My favourite part of the ceiling. So intense. Unfortunately, the illumination of the whole mausoleum was almost nonexistent... - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Deer drinking water. At first I thought they were eating watermelons :-) And then there are two more apostles around the chi-rho-alpha-omega sign. - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Either Saint Lawrence or Saint Vincent. And come fantastic decorative mosaics. - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Each side has two apostles and a pair of doves. - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Above the entrance, there is the mosaic of the Good Shepherd. - DSC 4622
Abel sacrificing a lamb to God, and the King of Salem, Melchizedek, offering a loaf of bread. And another God's hand coming from the blue and pink clouds. Heh, Abel has a cottage and Melchizedek a palace. - Basilica of San Vitale
More apostles. And more fish :-) - Basilica of San Vitale
The apostles, decorated with fish! Fish! - Basilica of San Vitale
Part of the Sanctuary. - Basilica of San Vitale
A young Christ, two angles, St Vitalis on the left and bishop Ecclesius on the right. The bishop offers the church to the Christ, while St Vitalis, covering his hands with a veil, receives the crown of martyrdom. Christ holds a scroll closed with the seven seals of the Apocalypse. - Basilica of San Vitale
Under the arch: Abraham and Sarah feeding the three strangers at Mambre and the Sacrifice of Isaac, with God's hand stopping Abraham from killing Isaac. Over the arch: the prophet Jeremiah, two angels holding a shield, Moses receiving the Law on Mt Sinai. - The Arian Baptistery
The medallion shows the young Christ in the middle, river Jordan on the left (with red crab claws?) and John the Baptist on the right. Above Christ is a dove (the Holy Spirit). One does not often see a naked Christ. - The Arian Baptistery
Only the ceiling remains decorated - but what decoration it is! Basically: the baptism of Jesus and twelve apostles. - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Andrew - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Bartholomew - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Jacob - The Orthodox Baptistery
Lush decorations - The Orthodox Baptistery
The central image depicts the Baptism of Christ, Saint John the Baptist on the left and a small Jordan on the right. The bearded heads are not original though. And the apostles are named. Funnily, some have golden tunics with white pallium and other vice versa. - The Orthodox Baptistery
What a masterpiece this is! Multiple circles of mosaic depict the central baptism, followed by the twelve (named!) apostles and the outer circle shows richly decorated thrones and altars. This mosaic is a few decades older than the Arian one. - The Orthodox Baptistery
Hm, is this an optical illusion? Because sometimes I see birds and sometimes fish. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
The dome is decorated with four angels pointing towards IX, and the four symbols of the evangelists. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
I wonder if the red and blue were always that pale or were they more vibrant. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original). Spring on the left, Autumn with the crown is in the front, Winter in the back and Summer is missing. A personification of Time plays a pan flute. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original), the musician. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original), Autumn. - Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
The cylindrical campanile dates to the 9th-10th century. - Classe
The 6th century abse depicts: - a cross on the sky with 99 stars - the hand of God - Elijah and Moses - three lambs representing Saint Peter, Saint James and Saint John.