- Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Old Testament by Bartolo di Fredi (~1360). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The ceiling was painted with lapis lazuli. - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
New Testament by Barna da Siena and/or Lippo Memmi (~1345). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
- Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The last judgement by Taddeo di Bartolo (1393). The hellish part. - Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico
There were several flags in the church, including this one with an angry-looking fish. Actually, the flags represent different districts (contrada) of Siena. This one represents Onda, a district of carpenters. And that is a dolphin. - Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico
Now this is a wonderful window! - Siena Cathedral
The dome is topped with Bernini's gilded lantern. - Siena Cathedral
- Siena Cathedral
- Siena Cathedral
A wonderful ceiling, but these heads are a bit creepy. - Siena Cathedral
The divine interior of the Cathedral. - Siena Cathedral
Floors in the Piccolomini Library. - Siena Cathedral
More interesting details on the ceiling of the Piccolomini Library. - Siena Cathedral
Ceiling of the Piccolomini Library, painted by Pinturicchio (1503). - Eroica bike race
They were selling old bikes. And retro jerseys. - Eroica bike race
Plenty of retro knitted jerseys. - Santa Maria Assunta
Madonna con Bambino e i Santi Agostino, Girolamo, Martino e Nicola by Matteo di Giovanni (1463). - Diocesan Museum of Pienza - Palazzo Borgia
Madonna col Bambino tra i Santi Biagio, Giovanni Battista, Nicola e Floriano by Lorenzo di Pietro - Vecchietta (1465). - Palazzo Vecchio
Officially, such decorations are called grotesque. - Palazzo Vecchio
Grotesque or not, I like them a lot. - Ponte Vecchio
THE brige across Arno. Built/destroyed several times. This one is from 1345 and still holds. Butchers used to have their shops here, but were replaced with goldsmiths because of the smell. - Arno
- Sunset
A wonderful sunset on the way back home. - View from Monte Arco (276 m)
View towards Porto Azzurro. - Chiessi
Chiessi, of course. My favourite spot on the whole island. - Isola di Pianosa
We call it the 'pancake' island. You can guess why. - Another sunset
Another lovely sunset. Taken from Capo di Stella, the sun sets behind Monte Fonza and Monte Tambone. - Marciana
- Chiessi
- Monte Renoso
Wonderful view of the mountains of Corsica. I think this is Monre Renoso (2352 m). - Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio
Hike up the Cima del Monte (515 m). A wonderful path with views of Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio. - Volterraio
Castello di Volteferraio and Moby ferry in the background. I feel we know all the ferries by now. - Towards Cima del Monte
The path (the wild boar family now gone) towards Cima del Monte (515 m). - Cima del Monte
View from the top towards Porto Azzurro and Capoliveri. And Montecristo in the back. - Cima del Monte
View towards Lacona - Cima del Monte
Portoferraio, as seen from Cima del Monte. Capo Bianco can also be seen behind Forte Falcone. - Chiessi
Do we always sit on the same rock? - Corsica
Monte Cinto (2706 m) and Monte Padro (2390 m) on Corsica. - Corsica
Monte d'Oro (2389 m) and Monte Rotondo in clouds (2622 m). - Sign in an underpass
Hmmm... - Lago di Levico
Lago di Levico was awarded Bandiera Blue for excellent water quality. - Lago di Levico
The lake is 2840 m long, 950 m wide and 38 m deep. - Lago di Levico
There is a wonderful walking path around the lake. - Lago di Levico
Ideal for swimming and paddling. - Lago di Levico
View from the other side of the lake, towards Levico Terme. - Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore
- Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore
Founded in 1276, built and re-built several times. This building is from 1876. - Levico Terme
Some artificial flowers in the town centre. - View from strada del Menador
View towards Lago di Caldonazzo (left) and Lago di Levico (right). - Ravenna
- Ravenna
After two days of sightseeing in the town, one recognises almost all the street-sign mosaics. - Ravenna
Spirito e Bellezza by Luisa Valentini (2013) - Ravenna
Not a window, actually a roof. - 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. - Ravenna
Wonderful street signs all over the town. - Dante's grave
The zone around Dante's grave is the silent zone. But there are daily readings of the Divine Comedy. - Ravenna
- 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. - Fly me to the Moon
A sculpture by J. C. Farhi (2011) at Venice airport. Is it just me - but I see Pikachu :-)