- Vézelay Abbey
The ones who have not yet received the Word of God are not quite human: some are dwarfes... - Château de Chenonceau
Lions on a 16th century Flemish tapestry. Their faces seem somewhat off. - Château de Chenonceau
Every room had its own fireplace, making the castle rather cosy. This is a detail on the fireplace in Chambre de François Ier. - Château de Chambord
The vaulted ceilings in the 2nd floor: F as the initials of François Ier and plenty of salamanders, some eating the good fire and others putting out the bad fire. Just don't know which are which. - Bayeux Cathedral
One of the many 12th century carvings in the cathedral. This one depicts a man with a monkey. - Bayeux Cathedral
I am confused. Are these dogs with their tails biting their asses? Or - more plausible - are they chimeras? - Swallows!
- Pomposa Abbey
Ah, the apocalypse. One of the seven-headed beasts. But the real beast here is you, Alesso Bersano. - Pomposa Abbey
The unfortunate ending of Saint Eustace and his family in a brazen bull. Yes, this was a torture device: one was locked in the bronze bull and then fire was lit underneath the bull... - Museo Arcivescovile
Immortal peacocks on a sarcophagus. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
The ceiling in the narthex. Plenty of different birds, most notably the famous ducks, and the white lilies. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
Narthex of the chapel depicting Christ dressed as Roman emperor, standing on a lion and a snake (Psalm 91). His book says EGO SVM VIA VERITAS ET VITA - I am the way, the truth, the life. The top part is original mosaic, the bottom part is just painted! - Saint Andrew's Chapel
I told you it was fake. Just painted on the wall. Oh well. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
Saint Mark's lion holding the thickest Gospel - despite Mark's Gospel being the shortest of all four. - Classe
I took this picture because of the lion. Then I noticed the bull... Holy cow, what did they do to its face? - Classe
The later sarcophagi were decorated with simpler patterns, like these immortal peacocks drinking from the fountain of life. - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
Capital with Daniel and the Lions by Master von Cabestany (12th century). - Detail
Detail of a lovely window grill. - Fountain
A relief on an early Renaissance water basin with the coat-of-arms of the monastery. - Phaselis
- Termessos. The tomb of Alcetas, 320 BC.
- Termessos, necropolis.
A grave with lions. - Elba aquarium
A sawfish bone - Doggo!
Another old barn transformed into a new house. Is that a dog-shaped opening? - Basilisk
Basilisk in the Schönlaterngasse 7. - Cow with glasses
Bäckerstraße 12, probably 16th century. A cow. With glasses. Playing Backgammon. With a dog. - Sea Urchin Fossil
Archaecidaris, Carboniferous, Brown County, USA - Traces of a permian reptile
Traces of a reptilian Orabates, Permian, from Bromacker, Germany. Approximately 270 million years old. - A prehistoric ray-finned fish
Gyronchus macropterus (Kugelzahnfisch), Eichstätt, Germany - Old jewellery
Some bracelets and fibulae. Sorry, forgot what it is. - Mammoth hut
A shelter made of mammoth bones and skin. Looks surprisingly comfy. - Chelydridae
Skeleton of a turtle. - Santi di Tito - Detail
Santi di Tito - Detail. Museo Civico, Sansepolcro. - Spoleto Cathedral, Interior
- Volta pinta
Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi. The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. - Volta pinta
Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi. The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. Honestly, I don't know how to feel about this image... - Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi
The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. Inspired by Nero probably explains it. - Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi
Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi. The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. Yes, Nero. - Fontana Maggiore
Fontana Maggiore (1275-1278), Perugia. Romulus and Remus and their wolf-mother. - Dragon underneath San Crescentino in front of the cathedral, Urbino
San Cresentino is the patron saint of Urbino. - Studiolo, intarsia
Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Remains of a Roman sarcophagus
Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Lantern
Lantern of what is now Higher Institute for Artistic Industries. Urbino - Napoleon's villa
First French Empire coat of arms with an eagle holding thunderbolts. - Napoleon's villa
Sala del nodo d'amore: Ceiling with the lover's knot, expressing the love between Napoleon and Maria Luisa. - Santo Stefano alle Trane
- San Rufino Cathedral
Two hungry lions at the entrance. - San Rufino Cathedral
Spider-dog! On the Assisi Cathedral! I wonder what the official explanation is. - Palazzo del Popolo
Is this a dog with a helmet? And a cow sitting on top of it? - 12-sided bell tower
Coat of arms on the 12-sided bell tower, next to Chiesa di Sant'Andrea. - Chiesa di San Pietro Extra Moenia
The two panels indicating the contrast between posthumous fates of a righteous man (above) and of a sinner (below). - Chiesa di San Pietro Extra Moenia
The main portal with the reliefs of a peacock pecking grapes (top), a grazing cow (middle), and a man driving a yoke of oxen, while his dog jumps up in front (bottom). - Chiesa di San Pietro Extra Moenia
The story about the lion and the woodcutter. - Street sign
- La Fontana Maggiore
The fountain was built in 1275-1278. And it's still standing in the main square. Here we see: The she-wolf that fed Romulus, Remus and their mother Rea Silvia; Two of Aesop's fables (the fox and the crane and the wolf and the lamb); January (a gentleman and his wife at the hearth - Aquarius) - La Fontana Maggiore
Here we see: May (two Knights on Falconry - Gemini); June (the harvest and flailing - Cancer); July (the threshing and the division of wheat - Lion). - La Fontana Maggiore
Here we see: The Lion Guelph and the Griffin of Perugia; with a bit of December on the left and a bit of Grammar and Dialectic on the right. - Palazzo Vecchio del Podestà
Interesting coat of arms on the town hall walls. - Siena Cathedral
She-wolf of Siena, surrounded with emblems of confederate cities, dating from 1373. - Siena Cathedral
The Hellespontine Sibyl (detail) by Neroccio di Bartolomeo. She was known for her prediction of Crucifixion. The wolf and the lion represent Siena and Florence. - Siena Cathedral
A lion on the exterior of the cathedral. I am a bit intrigued by his eyes... - Loggia della mercanzia
- Fonte Gaia
The first fountain was built in 1342, this one was made in 1419 by Jacopo della Quercia. - Fonte Gaia
The original statues are kept in a museum, these are some (old) copies. - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
The exterior is full of funny creatures. - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
Capital with Daniel and the Lions by Master von Cabestany (12th century). - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
Another lovely creature on the church. - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
- Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
I did say a lot of strange creatures, right? - Palazzo Avignonesi
Built between 1542 and 1572 by Jacopo Barozzi, known as the Vignola. Now a hotel. - Palazzo Bucelli
The bottom part of this palace is decorated with plenty of Etruscan and Roman remains. Some are quite interesting. - Palazzo Bucelli
A fish biting a pegasussnake? - Pozzo dei Grifi e dei Leoni
Two griffons and two lions holding the Medici coat of arms. - Palazzo Vecchio
A lion in the Palazzo Vecchio. No, this time we didn't enter it, just walked around the palace a bit. - Detail
Street lamps in Florence have very interesting bases ;-) Oh, and they are of course three-legged. - Gargoyle in the cloister
A rather interesting gargoyle. - Court of the Lions
The Lion Fountain that gives the name to the Court. On the rim of the fountain, there's a poem by Ibn Zamrak, describing the beauty of the fountain. - Court of the Lions
The Court was built by Muhammad V around 1380. - 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 detail
Another lovely detail of the Beaune altarpiece. A piglet hiding behind the painted statue of Saint Anthony. - Château de Chenonceau
Another magninficent fireplace, this one is in the Salon Louis XIV. The salamander and the ermine are the symbols of Francis I and his wife Claude of France. - Château de Chambord
One of the famous Flemish tapestries commissioned by Francis I in 1532. It depicts the story of Scipio Africanus, the Roman General who defeated Carthage. The oxen are taken to the temple of Jupiter to be sacrificed, while the elephants and camels carry the wealth brought back from Africa. - Château de Chambord
Lapidary deposit. This is a part of the original lantern tower. Obviously showing more salamanders. - Bayeux Cathedral
12th century carving. I see a lion and an eagle carrying a fish. But it may also be a lion and a griffin. - Bayeux Cathedral
Some more lions/griffons/creatures higher up, but the most notable are the Bayeux lovers underneath them. - Pointe du Grouin
Some art on a WWII bunker. - Ack!
Nope, nope, nope. - Pomposa Abbey
What a lovely peacock. A peacock is apparently considered incorruptible, representing the yearning for heavenly beatitude. - 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. - Basilica of San Vitale
The apostles, decorated with fish! Fish! - Basilica of San Vitale
The Lamb of God, supported by four angels standing on blue globes. And plenty of animals, my favourite being peacocks. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
The dome is decorated with four angels pointing towards IX, and the four symbols of the evangelists. - Museo Arcivescovile
Pulpit - ambo (597) shows plenty of animals as well as Saints John and Paul. Made out of a reused old sarcophagus. - Museo Arcivescovile
- Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
The Good Shepherd, depicted as a pretty well-off young man with fancy shoes and stockings. This mosaic was found on a different (older) level that the previous ones. - Classe
What an idyllic scene. - Classe
My guess would be that the difference in green background also means the border between the original and restored mosaics. - Classe
More idyllic scenery. Not all of it is completely original though, but I don't know which part is and which isn't.