1.
Palazzo del Quirinale
–
It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the highest of the seven hills of Rome. It has housed thirty Popes, four Kings of Italy and twelve presidents of the Italian Republic, the palace extends for an area of 110,500 square metres and is the ninth-largest palace in the world in terms of area. By way of comparison, the White House in the United States is one-twentieth of its size, the current site of the palace has been in use since Roman times, as excavations in the gardens testify. On this hill, the Romans built temples to several deities, from Flora to Quirinus, during the reign of Constantine the last complex of Roman baths was built here, as the statues of the twins Castor and Pollux taming the horses decorating the fountain in the square testify. The Quirinal, being the highest hill in Rome, was sought after and became a popular spot for the Roman patricians. An example of those are the remains of a villa in the Quirinal gardens, the palace, located on the Via del Quirinale and facing onto the Piazza del Quirinale, was built in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence. On the site, there was already a small villa owned by the Carafa family, the pope commissioned the architect Ottaviano Mascherino to build a palace with porticoed parallel wings and an internal court. To the latter, a tower was added according to a project by Carlo Maderno. Pope Paul V commissioned the completion of the work on the building of the palace. The Palace was also used as the location for papal conclaves in 1823,1829,1831 and it served as a papal residence and housed the central offices responsible for the civil government of the Papal States until 1870. In September 1870, what was left of the Papal States was overthrown, about five months later, in 1871, Rome became the capital of the new Kingdom of Italy. The monarchy was abolished in 1946 and the Palace became the residence and workplace for the Presidents of the Italian Republic. Still, some declined the Colle residence and kept their usual Roman residence, for example, the façade was designed by Domenico Fontana. Its Great Chapel was designed by Carlo Maderno and it contains frescos by Guido Reni, but the most famous fresco is the Blessing Christ by Melozzo da Forlì, placed over the stairs. Its grounds include a set of gardens laid out in the 17th century. The palace, in its totality has 1,200 rooms, within the Quirinals gardens lies the famous water organ built between 1997 and 1999 by Barthélemy Formentelli based on the characteristics of the previous nineteenth century organ. The organ is fed by a waterfall with a jump of 18 meters and has a keyboard of 41 notes with a first short octave. Overall, the Quirinals gardens measure a 4 hectares, under the gardens, through a trap door one can reach the archaeological excavations that have unearthed the remains of the original temple to the god Quirinus and some insulae of the imperial age
Palazzo del Quirinale
–
The Quirinal Palace,
official residence of the
President of the Italian Republic.
Palazzo del Quirinale
–
The main entrance with
Bernini 's balcony and portal
Palazzo del Quirinale
–
Sala dei corazzieri
Palazzo del Quirinale
–
US President Barack Obama and
First Lady Michelle Obama at the Quirinal Palace (July 8, 2009 at
G8 Summit) with a
Corazziere, member of a specialized company of the
Carabinieri, Guard of Honor.
2.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
–
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric prisons. Piranesi was born in Mogliano Veneto, near Treviso, then part of the Republic of Venice, from 1740 he had an opportunity to work in Rome as a draughtsman for Marco Foscarini, the Venetian ambassador of the new Pope Benedict XIV. He resided in the Palazzo Venezia and studied under Giuseppe Vasi, Giuseppe Vasi found Piranesis talent was beyond engraving. According to Legrand, Vasi told Piranesi that you are too much of a painter, my friend, from 1743 to 1747 he sojourned mainly in Venice where, according to some sources, he often visited Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a leading artist in Venice. It was Tiepolo who expanded the restrictive conventions of reproductive, topographical and he then returned to Rome, where he opened a workshop in Via del Corso. In 1748–1774 he created a series of vedute of the city which established his fame. In the meantime Piranesi devoted himself to the measurement of many of the ancient edifices, in 1761 he became a member of the Accademia di San Luca and opened a printing facility of his own. In 1762 the Campo Marzio dellantica Roma collection of engravings was printed, the following year he was commissioned by Pope Clement XIII to restore the choir of San Giovanni in Laterano, but the work did not materialize. He combined certain ancient architectural elements, trophies and escutcheons, with a venetian whimsicality for the facade of the church and this was the only time he expressed himself in actual marble and stone. In 1767 he was made a knight of the Golden Spur, in 1776 he created his best known work as a restorer of ancient sculpture, the Piranesi Vase, and in 1777–78 he published Avanzi degli Edifici di Pesto. He died in Rome in 1778 after an illness, and was buried in the Church he had helped restore. His tomb was designed by Giuseppi Angelini, the idea of Enlightenment by theorists and artists traveled all over the Europe including Paris, Dresden, and London. The developing center of the Grand Tour was Rome, Rome became a new meeting place and intellectual capital of Europe for the leaders of a new movement in the arts. The city was attracting artists and architects all over the Europe beside the Grand Tourists, dealers. While many came though official institutions such as the French Academy, others came to see the new discoveries at Heraculaneum, Piranesi was not only aware of the engineering of the ancient buildings but also the poetic aspects of the ruins from his experience in Venice. One distinctive feature of Piranesis work is based on the interpretation of Classical antiquity by adding his imagination to increase the originality, through the works of Marco Ricci and particularly Giovanini Paolo Pannini, Piranesi became familiar with the architectonic values as well as the ruin fantasy. The remains of Rome kindled Piranesis enthusiasm, some of his later work was completed by his children and several pupils. Piranesis son and coadjutor, Francesco, collected and preserved his plates, twenty-nine folio volumes containing about 2000 prints appeared in Paris
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
–
Self-portrait of Piranesi.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
–
The
Pyramid of Cestius, etching
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
–
The
Arch of Trajan at
Benevento as it appeared in the 18th century.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
–
Carceri Plate VI – The Smoking Fire.
3.
Obelisk
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An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. These were originally called tekhenu by their builders, the Ancient Egyptians, the Greeks who saw them used the Greek obeliskos to describe them, and this word passed into Latin and ultimately English. Ancient obelisks are monolithic, that is, they consist of a single stone, though this technological capacity exists today, most modern obelisks are made of several stones, some, like the Washington Monument, are buildings. The term stele is used for other monumental, upright. Obelisks were prominent in the architecture of the ancient Egyptians, who placed them in pairs at the entrance of temples. The word obelisk as used in English today is of Greek rather than Egyptian origin because Herodotus, a number of ancient Egyptian obelisks are known to have survived, plus the Unfinished Obelisk found partly hewn from its quarry at Aswan. These obelisks are now dispersed around the world, and fewer than half of them remain in Egypt, the earliest temple obelisk still in its original position is the 68-foot 120-metric-ton red granite Obelisk of Senusret I of the XIIth Dynasty at Al-Matariyyah in modern Heliopolis. The obelisk symbolized the sun god Ra, and during the religious reformation of Akhenaten was said to be a petrified ray of the Aten. It was also thought that the god existed within the structure, Benben was the mound that arose from the primordial waters Nu upon which the creator god Atum settled in the creation story of the Heliopolitan creation myth form of Ancient Egyptian religion. The Benben stone is the top stone of the Egyptian pyramid and it is also related to the Obelisk. The pyramid and obelisk might have inspired by previously overlooked astronomical phenomena connected with sunrise and sunset. The Ancient Romans were strongly influenced by the form, to the extent that there are now more than twice as many obelisks standing in Rome as remain in Egypt. All fell after the Roman period except for the Vatican obelisk and were re-erected in different locations. The largest standing and tallest Egyptian obelisk is the Lateran Obelisk in the square at the west side of the Lateran Basilica in Rome at 105.6 feet tall, not all the Egyptian obelisks in the Roman Empire were set up at Rome. Herod the Great imitated his Roman patrons and set up a red granite Egyptian obelisk in the hippodrome of his new city Caesarea in northern Judea and this one is about 40 feet tall and weighs about 100 metric tons. It was discovered by archaeologists and has been re-erected at its former site and this one stood 95 feet tall and weighing 380 metric tons. Its lower half reputedly also once stood in Istanbul but is now lost, the Istanbul obelisk is 65 feet tall. Rome is the capital of the world
Obelisk
–
One of the two
Luxor obelisks in the
Place de la Concorde in
Paris; a red granite
monolithic column, 23 metres (75 ft) high, including the base, which weighs over 250 metric tons (280 short tons).
Obelisk
–
Pylon of the Temple of Luxor with the remaining obelisk (of two) in front (the second is in the Place de la Concorde in Paris).
Obelisk
–
Obelisk of Pharaoh
Senusret I, Al-Maalla area of
Al-Matariyyah district in
modern Heliopolis.
Obelisk
–
Tip of Hatshepsut's fallen obelisk,
Karnak Temple Complex,
Luxor,
Egypt
4.
Mausoleum of Augustus
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The Mausoleum of Augustus is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The mausoleum is located on the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, near the corner with Via di Ripetta as it runs along the Tiber. The grounds cover an equivalent to a few city blocks. The interior of the mausoleum is not open to tourists, the mausoleum was one of the first projects initiated by Augustus in the City of Rome following his victory at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The mausoleum was circular in plan, consisting of concentric rings of earth and brick, planted with cypresses on top of the building and capped by a conical roof. Vaults held up the roof and opened up the spaces below. Twin pink granite obelisks flanked the entryway, these have been removed, one now stands at the Piazza dellEsquilino. The completed mausoleum measured 90 m in diameter by 42 m in height, a corridor ran from the entryway into the heart of the mausoleum, where there was a chamber with three niches to hold the golden urns enshrining the ashes of the Imperial Family. LacusCurtius claims however that The story of its plundering by Alaric in 410 has no historical foundation, in the Middle Ages the tumulus was fortified as a castle— as was the mausoleum of Hadrian, which was turned into the Castel SantAngelo— and occupied by the Colonna family. After the disastrous defeat of the Commune of Rome at the hands of the Count of Tusculum in 1167, the Colonna were disgraced and banished, and their fortification in the Campo was dismantled. It was not until the 1930s that the site was opened as an archaeological landmark along with the newly moved and reconstructed Ara Pacis nearby. Mussolini viewed himself especially connected to the achievements of Augustus, seeing himself as a reborn Augustus ready to usher in a new age of Italian dominance, res Gestae Divi Augusti Catacombs of Rome Dal Maso, Leonardo B. Lanciani, Rodolfo, Pagan and Christian Rome,1892, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London,1951. Mausoleum Augusti at LacusCurtius Images of the Mausoleum of Augustus
Mausoleum of Augustus
–
Mausoleum of Augustus
Mausoleum of Augustus
Mausoleum of Augustus
–
The entryway to the mausoleum of Augustus.
Mausoleum of Augustus
–
Cinerary urn of Agrippina which now rests in the Palazzo dei Conservatori of the
Capitoline Museums near the
Tabularium.
5.
List of colossi
–
This list of the tallest statues in the world includes statues that are least 30 meters tall, which was the height of the Colossus of Rhodes. The height values in this list exclude the height of any pedestal, plinth and this list is sorted by height of the statue by default, but can also be sorted by other criteria, such as date completed or statue name. As of 2016, the table includes 132 statues of height 30 m or taller. The countries with three or more entries in the list are, The count from China includes two from Hong Kong, among other statues in planning, China and India are planning ten and eight more statues, respectively. Afghanistan, Great Buddha of Bamiyan, Vairocana Buddha, Bamiyan Province, Completed in 554 and destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Afghanistan, Minor Buddha of Bamiyan, Gautama Buddha, Bamiyan province, Completed in 507 and destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Completed in 75 with unknown date of destruction, China, Gilded Statue of Mao Zedong sitting in a chair, Tongxu county, Henan. Dismantled before completion in early January 2016, france, The Cosmoplanetary Messiah, near Castellane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Built without permit and completed in 1990, demolished by authorities in 2001, greece, Colossus of Rhodes, Rhodes island, Dodecanese region. Completed in 280 BC and destroyed by earthquake in 226 BC, Japan, Biwako Great Buddha, Buddha Amitabha standing, Nagahama, Shiga 27 m. Completed in 1937 and broken in 1992, Mongolia, Statue of Avalokiteśvara Buddha, Ulan Bator. Completed in 1913 and destroyed in 1937, Japan, Beppu Daibutsu, Buddha Amitabha sitting, Beppu, Ōita, Japan. Completed in 1927 and broken in 1989, Japan, Hōkō-ji Daibutsu, Buddha Vairocana sitting, Kyoto. Completed in 1595 and destroyed by earthquake in 1596, united States, Statue of the Republic Worlds Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago, Illinois. 20 m Completed in 1893, destroyed in 1894, a one-third scale replica stands in Jackson Park, near the original site of the statue. United States, King of Kings Jesus Statue, Monroe, Ohio,19 m Completed in 2004, destroyed in 2010 by lightning strike and fire. China, Dahui Temple Dafo, Guanyin, Beijing, Completed in 1513 and destroyed during Japanese Occupation 1943–45. 15.5 m, stood on some 15 m pedestal, Completed in 1955, destroyed in 1962
List of colossi
–
Ushiku Daibutsu
List of colossi
–
Approximate heights of various notable statues: 1.
Spring Temple Buddha 153 m (incl. 25 m pedestal and 20 m throne) 2.
Statue of Liberty 93 m (incl. 47 m pedestal) 3.
The Motherland Calls 91 m (excl. pedestal) 4.
Christ the Redeemer 38 m (incl. 8 m pedestal) 5.
Statue of David 5.17 m (excl. 2.5 m pedestal)
List of colossi
–
Laykyun Setkyar
List of colossi
–
Guan Yin of the South Sea of Sanya
6.
Castor and Pollux
–
In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux, or Kastor and Polydeuces, were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers, Castor was the son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus. Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters or half-sisters Helen of Troy. In Latin the twins are known as the Gemini or Castores. When Castor was killed, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, the pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmos fire, and were also associated with horsemanship. They are sometimes called the Tyndaridae or Tyndarids, later seen as a reference to their father and stepfather Tyndareus, the best-known story of the twins birth is that Zeus disguised himself as a swan and seduced Leda. Thus Ledas children are said to have hatched from two eggs that she then produced. The Dioscuri can be recognized in vase-paintings by the skull-cap they wear, the pilos, whether the children are thus mortal or half-immortal is not consistent among accounts, nor is whether the twins hatched together from one egg. In some accounts, only Pollux was fathered by Zeus, while Leda and this explains why they were granted an alternate immortality. It is a belief that one would live among the gods. Castor and Pollux are sometimes both mortal, sometimes both divine, one consistent point is that if only one of them is immortal, it is Pollux. In Homers Iliad, Helen looks down from the walls of Troy, the narrator remarks that they are both already dead and buried back in their homeland of Lacedaemon, thus suggesting that at least in some early traditions, both were mortal. Their death and shared immortality offered by Zeus was material of the lost Cypria in the Epic cycle, the Dioscuri were regarded as helpers of humankind and held to be patrons of travellers and of sailors in particular, who invoked them to seek favourable winds. Their role as horsemen and boxers also led to them being regarded as the patrons of athletes and they characteristically intervened at the moment of crisis, aiding those who honoured or trusted them. Ancient Greek authors tell a number of versions of the story of Castor, homer portrays them initially as ordinary mortals, treating them as dead in the Iliad, but in the Odyssey they are treated as alive even though the corn-bearing earth holds them. The author describes them as having honour equal to gods, living on alternate days due to the intervention of Zeus, in both the Odyssey and in Hesiod, they are described as the sons of Tyndareus and Leda. In Pindar, Pollux is the son of Zeus while Castor is the son of the mortal Tyndareus, the theme of ambiguous parentage is not unique to Castor and Pollux, similar characterisations appear in the stories of Hercules and Theseus. The Dioscuri are also invoked in Alcaeus Fragment 34a, though whether this poem antedates the Homeric Hymn to the twins is unknown and they appear together in two plays by Euripides, Helen and Elektra
Castor and Pollux
–
Dioscuri (Pollux or Castor), Rome, Capitol
Castor and Pollux
–
Dioscuri (Castor or Pollux), Rome, Capitol
Castor and Pollux
–
Castor depicted on a
calyx krater of ca. 460–450 BC, holding a horse's reins and spears and wearing a
pilos -style helmet
Castor and Pollux
–
Pair of Roman statuettes (3rd century AD) depicting the Dioscuri as horsemen, with their characteristic skullcaps (
Metropolitan Museum of Art)
7.
Classical antiquity
–
It is the period in which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great influence throughout Europe, North Africa and Southwestern Asia. Conventionally, it is taken to begin with the earliest-recorded Epic Greek poetry of Homer, and continues through the emergence of Christianity and it ends with the dissolution of classical culture at the close of Late Antiquity, blending into the Early Middle Ages. Such a wide sampling of history and territory covers many disparate cultures, Classical antiquity may refer also to an idealised vision among later people of what was, in Edgar Allan Poes words, the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome. The culture of the ancient Greeks, together with influences from the ancient Near East, was the basis of art, philosophy, society. The earliest period of classical antiquity takes place before the background of gradual re-appearance of historical sources following the Bronze Age collapse, the 8th and 7th centuries BC are still largely proto-historical, with the earliest Greek alphabetic inscriptions appearing in the first half of the 8th century. Homer is usually assumed to have lived in the 8th or 7th century BC, in the same period falls the traditional date for the establishment of the Ancient Olympic Games, in 776 BC. The Phoenicians originally expanded from Canaan ports, by the 8th century dominating trade in the Mediterranean, carthage was founded in 814 BC, and the Carthaginians by 700 BC had firmly established strongholds in Sicily, Italy and Sardinia, which created conflicts of interest with Etruria. The Etruscans had established control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming the aristocratic. According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21,753 BC by twin descendants of the Trojan prince Aeneas, Romulus and Remus. As the city was bereft of women, legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins and the Sabines. Archaeological evidence indeed shows first traces of settlement at the Roman Forum in the mid-8th century BC, the seventh and final king of Rome was Tarquinius Superbus. As the son of Tarquinius Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius Tullius, Superbus was of Etruscan birth and it was during his reign that the Etruscans reached their apex of power. Superbus removed and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars from the Tarpeian Rock, the people came to object to his rule when he failed to recognize the rape of Lucretia, a patrician Roman, at the hands of his own son. Lucretias kinsman, Lucius Junius Brutus, summoned the Senate and had Superbus, after Superbus expulsion, the Senate voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a republican government in 509 BC. In fact the Latin word Rex meaning King became a dirty and hated throughout the Republic. In 510, Spartan troops helped the Athenians overthrow the tyrant Hippias, cleomenes I, king of Sparta, put in place a pro-Spartan oligarchy conducted by Isagoras. Greece entered the 4th century under Spartan hegemony, but by 395 BC the Spartan rulers removed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost her naval supremacy. Athens, Argos, Thebes and Corinth, the two of which were formerly Spartan allies, challenged Spartan dominance in the Corinthian War, which ended inconclusively in 387 BC
Classical antiquity
–
The
Parthenon is one of the most iconic symbols of the classical era, exemplifying ancient Greek culture
8.
Baths of Constantine (Rome)
–
Baths of Constantine was a public bathing complex built on the Quirinal Hill in Rome by Constantine I, probably before 315. Ancient Constantinople and Arles also had known as Baths of Constantine. The frigidarium seems to have its longer axis north and south instead of east and west, the only reference to these baths in ancient literature is in Ammianus Marcellinus, though they are mentioned in Eins. The Baths of Constantine probably remained in use until the Gothic War when all, the remains were almost entirely destroyed in 1605‑1621 during the construction of the Palazzo Rospigliosi, but some traces were found a century later, and since 1870. Some of these can now be seen beneath the Palazzos casina.1929 and now in the Museo delle Terme - these belong to an earlier building, for the thermae in general, see HJ 438‑441, RhM1894, 389‑392, Jord. III.300, RE IV. 962‑963, Reber 496‑500, from Platners Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome
Baths of Constantine (Rome)
–
Remains of the Baths of Constantine in the 16th century
9.
Quirinal Hill
–
The Quirinal Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the residence of the Italian head of state. The Quirinal Palace has an extension of 1.2 million square feet and it was originally part of a group of hills that included Collis Latiaris, Mucialis, Salutaris. These are now lost due to building in the 16th century, according to Roman legend, the Quirinal Hill was the site of a small village of the Sabines, and king Titus Tatius would have lived there after the peace between Romans and Sabines. These Sabines had erected altars in the honour of their god Quirinus, some authors consider it possible that the cult of the Capitoline Triad could have been celebrated here well before it became associated with the Capitoline Hill. The sanctuary of Flora, an Osco-Sabine goddess, was here too, according to Livy, the hill first became part of the city of Rome, along with the Viminal Hill, during the reign of Servius Tullius, Rome sixth king, in the 6th century BC. In 446 BC, a temple was dedicated on the Quirinal in honour of Semo Sancus Dius Fidius, augustus, too, ordered the building of a temple, dedicated to Mars. On a slope of the Quirinal were the gardens of Sallust. On the Quirinal Hill Constantine ordered the erection of his baths and these are now lost, having been incorporated into Renaissance Rome, with only some drawings from the 16th century remaining. In the Middle Ages, the Torre delle Milizie and the convent of St, in the same palazzo were also the two statues of river gods that Michelangelo moved to the steps of Palazzo Senatorio on the Capitoline Hill. According to the division of the center of Rome, the Hill belongs to the rione Trevi. The Quirinal Hill is today identified with the Palazzo del Quirinale, before the abolition of the Italian monarchy in 1946, it was the residence of the king of Italy, and before 1871 it was, as originally, a residence of the Pope. The healthy cool air of the Quirinal Hill attracted aristocrats and papal families that built villas where the gardens of Sallust had been in antiquity, in the 18th century, Ferdinando Fuga built the long wing called the Manica Lunga, which stretched 360 meters along via del Quirinale. In front lies the sloping Piazza del Quirinale where the pair of gigantic Roman marble Horse Tamers representing Castor and Pollux, in Piranesis view, the vast open space is unpaved. The Palazzo del Quirinale was the residence of the popes until 1870, when Rome was united to the Kingdom of Italy, the Quirinale became the residence of the kings until 1946. Several collections are in this Palazzo, including tapestries, paintings, statues, old carriages, watches, furniture and it formerly housed Mussolinis ministry of colonial affairs. The hill is the site of important monuments and buildings. The Piazza and Palazzo Barberini, built by Bernini and Maderno, Palazzo Volpi di Misurata, across from San Carlino, built in the 18th century
Quirinal Hill
–
Piazza del Quirinale panorama
Quirinal Hill
–
Schematic map of Rome showing the seven hills and
Servian Wall
Quirinal Hill
–
A mid-18th century etching of the Palazzo del Quirinale by
Giovanni Battista Piranesi: The colossal Roman "
Horse Tamers " or
Dioscuri are in the foreground, but the
obelisk from the Mausoleum of Augustus (erected 1781 – 1786) has not yet been set up between them.
Quirinal Hill
–
An etching of the Hill, crowned by the mass of the Palazzo del Quirinale, from a series ' I Sette Colli di Roma antica e moderna published in 1827 by
Luigi Rossini (1790–1857): His view, from the roof of the palazzo near the
Trevi Fountain that now houses the
Accademia di San Luca, substituted an imaginary foreground garden for the repetitious roofscape.
10.
Rome
–
Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
11.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
Napoleon
–
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, by
Jacques-Louis David, 1812
Napoleon
–
Imperial coat of arms
Napoleon
–
Napoleon's father
Carlo Buonaparte was
Corsica 's representative to the court of
Louis XVI of France.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte, aged 23, Lieutenant-Colonel of a battalion of Corsican
Republican volunteers
12.
Italian language
–
By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
Italian language
–
Dante Alighieri (above) and
Petrarch (below) were influential in establishing their
Tuscan dialect as the most prominent literary language in all of
Italy in the
Late Middle Ages
Italian language
–
The geographic distribution of the Italian language in the world: large Italian-speaking communities are shown in green; light blue indicates areas where the Italian language was used officially during the Italian colonial period.
Italian language
Italian language
–
Pietro Bembo was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language from the Tuscan dialect, as a literary medium, codifying the language for standard modern usage
13.
Marly-le-Roi
–
Marly-le-Roi is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the suburbs of Paris,18.4 km from the centre of Paris. Marly-le-Roi was the location of the Château de Marly, the famous leisure residence of the Sun King Louis XIV which was destroyed after the French Revolution, the park of the now destroyed château has been restored with its waterways and lawns. The inhabitants are called Marlychois or less commonly Marlésiens, Marly-le-Roi is served by Marly-le-Roi station on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line
Marly-le-Roi
–
The main street in Marly-le-Roi
14.
Saint Petersburg
–
Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
Saint Petersburg
–
Top left to bottom right:
Peter and Paul Fortress on
Zayachy Island,
Smolny Cathedral,
Moyka river with the
General Staff Building,
Trinity Cathedral,
Bronze Horseman on
Senate Square, and the
Winter Palace.
Saint Petersburg
–
The
Bronze Horseman, monument to Peter the Great
Saint Petersburg
–
Palace Square backed by the General Staff arch and building, as the main square of the Russian Empire it was the setting of many events of historic significance
Saint Petersburg
–
Map of Saint Petersburg, 1903
15.
Phidias
–
Phidias or Pheidias was a Greek sculptor, painter, and architect. His statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Phidias was the son of Charmides of Athens. The ancients believed that his masters were Hegias and Ageladas, Phidias is often credited as the main instigator of the Classical Greek sculptural design. Today, most critics and historians consider him one of the greatest of all ancient Greek sculptors, although no original works exist that can be attributed to Phidias with certainty, numerous Roman copies of varying degrees of fidelity are known to exist. Almost all classical Greek paintings and sculptures have been destroyed, and only Roman copies or notes of them exist, the ancient Romans frequently copied and further developed Greek art. In antiquity Phidias was celebrated for his statues in bronze and his chryselephantine works, in the Hippias Major, Plato claims that Phidias seldom, if ever, executed works in marble, though many of the sculptures of his times were executed in marble. Plutarch tells us that he superintended the works ordered by Pericles on the Acropolis. Ancient critics take a high view of the merits of Phidias. What they especially praise is the ethos or permanent moral level of his works as compared with those of the later so called pathetic school, demetrius calls his statues sublime, and at the same time precise. Of his life we know little apart from his works and his first commission created a group of national heroes with Miltiades as a central figure. Pericles used some of the money from the maritime League of Delos, to rebuild, inscriptions prove that the marble blocks intended for the pedimental statues of the Parthenon were not brought to Athens until 434 BC, which was probably after the death of Phidias. It is therefore possible that most of sculptural decoration of the Parthenon was the work of Phidias workshop including pupils of Phidias, such as Alcamenes, the Golden Ratio has been represented by the Greek letter φ, after Phidias, who is said to have employed it. The Golden Ratio is an irrational number approximating 1.6180 which has special mathematical properties, the golden spiral is also said to hold aesthetic values. The earliest of the works of Phidias were dedications in memory of Marathon, at Delphi he created a great group in bronze including the figures of Greek gods Apollo and Athena, several Attic heroes, and General Miltiades the Younger. On the Acropolis of Athens Phidias constructed a bronze statue of Athena, the Athena Promachos. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and warriors and the protector of Athens, at Pellene in Achaea, and at Plataea Phidias made two other statues of Athena, as well as a statue of the goddess Aphrodite in ivory and gold for the people of Elis. Both sculptures belong to about the middle of the 5th century BC, a number of replicas and works inspired by it, both ancient and modern, have been made. Phidias left Athens in about 438 BC, on completion of the Athena Parthenos, accused by a fellow worker of embezzlement, and unable to account for the amount of gold used in separate parts of the statue, he voluntarily underwent exile rather than face public humiliation
Phidias
–
Phidias Showing the
Frieze of the
Parthenon to his Friends (1868) by
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Phidias
–
In this replica painting by artist Charles Béranger, located in the Walters Art Museum, Phidias is depicted in the center of the auditorium.
Phidias
–
The
Acropolis of Athens
Phidias
–
A Roman period, 2nd century CE sculpture found near the
Varvakeion school reflects the type of the restored Athena Parthenos presently in the
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
16.
Praxiteles
–
Praxiteles of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude form in a life-size statue. Some writers have maintained that there were two sculptors of the name Praxiteles, one was a contemporary of Pheidias, and the other his more celebrated grandson. Though the repetition of the name in every other generation is common in Greece. Plinys date,364 BC, is probably that of one of his most noted works, the subjects chosen by Praxiteles were either human beings or the less elderly and dignified deities such as Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite rather than Zeus, Poseidon or Themis. Praxiteles and his school worked almost entirely in marble, at the time the marble quarries of Paros were at their best, nor could any marble be finer for the purposes of the sculptor than that of which the Hermes from Olympia was fashioned. Some of the statues of Praxiteles were coloured by the painter Nicias, later opinions have varied, reaching a low with the sculptor Aristide Maillol, who railed, Its kitsch, its frightful, its sculpted in soap from Marseille. The sculpture was located where Pausanias had seen it in the late 2nd century AD, Hermes is represented in the act of carrying the child Dionysus to the nymphs who were charged with his rearing. The uplifted right arm is missing, but the possibility that the god holds out to the child a bunch of grapes to excite his desire would reduce the subject to a genre figure, C. Waldstein noted in 1882, remarking that Hermes looks past the child, the statue is today exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. Opposing arguments have been made that the statue is a copy by a Roman copyist, since the Romans adopted much of Greek culture and art, this is a possibility. Mary Wallace suggested a 2nd-century date and a Pergamene origin on the basis of the sandal type, other works that appear to be copies of Praxiteles sculpture express the same gracefulness in repose and indefinable charm as the Hermes and Infant Dionysus. Among the most notable of these are the Apollo Sauroktonos, or the lizard-slayer, several Roman copies from the 1st century are known including those at the Louvre Museum, the Vatican Museums, and the National Museums Liverpool. On June 22,2004, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the work is alleged to be the only near-complete original work by Praxiteles, though the dating and attribution of the sculpture will continue to be studied. The Apollo Lykeios or Lycian Apollo, another Apollo-type reclining on a tree, is attributed to Praxiteles. It shows the god resting on a support, his right arm touching the top of his head, and his hair fixed in braids on the top of a head in a haircut typical of childhood. It is called Lycian not after Lycia itself, but after its identification with a lost work described by Lucian as being on show in the Lykeion, one of the gymnasia of Athens. The Resting Satyr of the Capitol at Rome has commonly been regarded as a copy of one of the Satyrs of Praxiteles, moreover, the style is hard and poor, a far superior replica exists in a torso in the Louvre
Praxiteles
–
Medaillon representing Praxiteles
Praxiteles
–
Hermes bearing the infant
Dionysus, by Praxiteles,
Archaeological Museum of Olympia
Praxiteles
–
The Louvre Apollo Sauroctonos
Praxiteles
–
This marble statue of a satyr pouring wine is a Roman copy after a once celebrated (but now lost) statue by Praxiteles, c. 370–360 BC.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
17.
Late Antiquity
–
Late antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages in mainland Europe, the Mediterranean world, and the Near East. The development of the periodization has generally been accredited to historian Peter Brown, precise boundaries for the period are a continuing matter of debate, but Brown proposes a period between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Generally, it can be thought of as from the end of the Roman Empires Crisis of the Third Century to, in the East, the early Islamic period, following the Muslim conquests in the mid–7th century. In the West the end was earlier, with the start of the Early Medieval period typically placed in the 6th century, beginning with Constantine the Great, Christianity was made legal in the Empire, and a new capital was founded at Constantinople. The resultant cultural fusion of Greco-Roman, Germanic and Christian traditions formed the foundations of the subsequent culture of Europe, the term Spätantike, literally late antiquity, has been used by German-speaking historians since its popularization by Alois Riegl in the early 20th century. Concurrently, some migrating Germanic tribes such as the Ostrogoths and Visigoths saw themselves as perpetuating the Roman tradition, Constantine confirmed the legalization of the religion through the so-called Edict of Milan in 313, jointly issued with his rival in the East, Licinius. Monasticism was not the only new Christian movement to appear in Late Antiquity, notable in this regard is the topic of the Fifty Bibles of Constantine. Within the recently legitimized Christian community of the 4th century, a division could be distinctly seen between the laity and an increasingly celibate male leadership. Celibate and detached, the clergy became an elite equal in prestige to urban notables. The Late Antique period also saw a transformation of the political and social basis of life in. The later Roman Empire was in a sense a network of cities, archaeology now supplements literary sources to document the transformation followed by collapse of cities in the Mediterranean basin. Burials within the urban precincts mark another stage in dissolution of traditional urbanistic discipline, overpowered by the attraction of saintly shrines, in Roman Britain, the typical 4th- and 5th-century layer of black earth within cities seems to be a result of increased gardening in formerly urban spaces. A similar though less marked decline in population occurred later in Constantinople. In Europe there was also a decline in urban populations. As a whole, the period of antiquity was accompanied by an overall population decline in almost all Europe. Long-distance markets disappeared, and there was a reversion to a degree of local production and consumption, rather than webs of commerce. The degree and extent of discontinuity in the cities of the Greek East is a moot subject among historians. In the western Mediterranean, the new cities known to be founded in Europe between the 5th and 8th centuries were the four or five Visigothic victory cities
Late Antiquity
–
The
Barberini ivory, a late
Leonid /
Justinian Byzantine ivory leaf from an imperial
diptych, from an imperial workshop in
Constantinople in the first half of the sixth century (
Louvre Museum)
Late Antiquity
–
Modern statue of
Constantine I at
York, where he was proclaimed
Augustus in 306.
Late Antiquity
–
The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius, 1883:
John William Waterhouse expresses the sense of moral decadence that coloured the 19th-century historical view of the 5th century.
Late Antiquity
–
View west along the Harbour Street towards the Library of Celsus in
Ephesus. The pillars on the left side of the street were part of the
colonnaded walkway apparent in cities of Late Antique
Asia Minor.
18.
Pope Sixtus V
–
Pope Sixtus V or Xystus V, born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Bishop of Rome from 24 April 1585 to his death in 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where he displayed talents as a scholar and preacher, and enjoyed the patronage of Pius V, the cost of these works was met by heavy taxation that caused much suffering. His foreign policy was regarded as over-ambitious, and he excommunicated both Elizabeth I of England and Henry IV of France and he is recognized as a significant figure of the Counter-Reformation. Felice Peretti was born on 13 December 1521 at Grottammare, in the Papal States, to Pier Gentile, Felice later adopted Peretti as his family name in 1551, and was known as Cardinal Montalto. He himself claimed that he was nato di casa illustre — born of an illustrious house, according to Isidoro Gatti, the Peretti family came from Piceno, todays Marche, in Italy. According to another source, his father came from Montalto, a nearby village, there is a theory that he was of Dalmatian Slavic origin, and according to Sava Nakićenović, he hailed from the Svilanović family from Kruševice in the Bay of Kotor. The theory that his family originated in Kruševice is supported by the fact that the Pope used three pears for his coat of arms, according to this theory, Peretti may be an Italian rendition of the Slavic surname, as Peretti itself links to pears. About 1552 he was noticed by Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Protector of the Franciscan order, Cardinal Ghislieri and Cardinal Caraffa and he was sent to Venice as inquisitor general, but was so severe and conducted matters in such a high-handed manner that he became embroiled in quarrels. The government asked for his recall in 1560, the violent dislike he conceived for Boncampagni exerted a marked influence upon his subsequent actions. He hurried back to Rome upon the accession of Pius V, who made him vicar of his order. The first phase was enlarged after Peretti became pope and was able to clear buildings to open four new streets in 1585–6, the villa contained two residences, the Palazzo Sistino or di Termini and the casino, called the Palazzetto Montalto e Felice. Cardinal Montaltos other concern was with his studies, one of the fruits of which was an edition of the works of Ambrose. As pope he personally supervised the printing of an edition of Jeromes Vulgate – said to be as splendid a translation of the Bible into Latin as the King James version is into English. Though not neglecting to follow the course of affairs, Felice carefully avoided every occasion of offence and this discretion contributed not a little to his election to the papacy on 24 April 1585, with the title of Sixtus V. The story of his having feigned decrepitude in the conclave, in order to win votes, is pure invention, one of the things that commended his candidacy to certain cardinals may have been his physical vigour, which seemed to promise a long pontificate. The terrible condition in which Pope Gregory XIII had left the ecclesiastical states called for prompt, Sixtus proceeded with an almost ferocious severity against the prevailing lawlessness. Thousands of brigands were brought to justice, within a time the country was again quiet. It was claimed there were more heads on spikes across the Ponte SantAngelo than melons for sale in the marketplace
Pope Sixtus V
–
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
–
A statue of Sixtus V in the
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.
Pope Sixtus V
19.
Domenico Fontana
–
Domenico Fontana was an Italian architect of the late Renaissance, born in todays Ticino. He worked primarily in Italy, at Rome and Naples and he was born at Melide, a village on the Lake Lugano, at that time joint possession of Swiss cantons of the old Swiss Confederacy, and presently part of Ticino, Switzerland, and died at Naples. He went to Rome in 1563, before the death of Michelangelo and it is a marvellously well-balanced structure, notwithstanding the profusion of detail and overloading of rich ornamentation, which in no way interferes with the main architectural scheme. It is crowned by a dome in the style of S. Mario at Montepulciano. After the cardinals accession as Sixtus V, he appointed Fontana Architect Of St. Peters, bestowing him, among other distinctions. He added the lantern to the dome of St. Peters, Fontana also designed the transverse arms separating the courts of the Vatican. In 1586 he erected the 327 ton obelisk in the Square of St. Peters and this feat of engineering took the concerted effort of 900 men,75 horses and countless pulleys and meters of rope. He gives an account of it in Della transportatione dellobelisco Vaticano e delle fabriche di Sisto V. The astronomer Ignazio Danti is known to have assisted Fontana in this work, after his patrons death, he continued for some time in the service of his successor, Pope Clement VIII. Soon, however, dissatisfaction with his style, envy, and the charge that he had misappropriated public moneys, caused him to be dismissed from his post, there he accepted the appointment of architect to the Viceroy, the count of Miranda. In addition to designing canals, he erected the Palazzo Reale and he died in 1607, and was buried in the church of SantAnna dei Lombardi. Domenicos brother Giovanni Fontana was also an architect, and his son Giulio Cesare succeeded him as Royal Architect in Naples, Della transportatione dellobelisco Vaticano e delle fabriche di Sisto V. Online edition, from New York Public Library, online edition, from Rare Book Room
Domenico Fontana
–
Re-erection of the obelisk on Saint Peter's Square in 1586.
Domenico Fontana
–
Domenico Fontana
Domenico Fontana
–
Fountain in the pedestal of the
Lateran obelisk, designed by Fontana
Domenico Fontana
–
San Giovanni: north facade.
20.
Roman Forum
–
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, here statues and monuments commemorated the citys great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has called the most celebrated meeting place in the world. Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum, the Roman kingdoms earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as the Umbilicus Urbis and this is where the Senate—as well as Republican government itself—began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials, over time the archaic Comitium was replaced by the larger adjacent Forum and the focus of judicial activity moved to the new Basilica Aemilia. Some 130 years later, Julius Caesar built the Basilica Julia, along with the new Curia Julia, eventually much economic and judicial business would transfer away from the Forum Romanum to the larger and more extravagant structures to the north. The reign of Constantine the Great saw the construction of the last major expansion of the Forum complex—the Basilica of Maxentius and this returned the political center to the Forum until the fall of the Western Roman Empire almost two centuries later. This is the case despite attempts, with success, to impose some order there, by Sulla, Julius Caesar, Augustus. By the Imperial period, the public buildings that crowded around the central square had reduced the open area to a rectangle of about 130 by 50 metres. Its long dimension was oriented northwest to southeast and extended from the foot of the Capitoline Hill to that of the Velian Hill, the Forums basilicas during the Imperial period—the Basilica Aemilia on the north and the Basilica Julia on the south—defined its long sides and its final form. The Forum proper included this square, the buildings facing it and, sometimes, originally, the site of the Forum had been a marshy lake where waters from the surrounding hills drained. This was drained by the Tarquins with the Cloaca Maxima, because of its location, sediments from both the flooding of the Tiber and the erosion of the surrounding hills have been raising the level of the Forum floor for centuries. Excavated sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the hills was already raising the level in early Republican times. As the ground around buildings rose, residents simply paved over the debris that was too much to remove and its final travertine paving, still visible, dates from the reign of Augustus. Excavations in the 19th century revealed one layer on top of another, the deepest level excavated was 3.60 metres above sea level. Archaeological finds show human activity at that level with the discovery of carbonised wood, an important function of the Forum, during both Republican and Imperial times, was to serve as the culminating venue for the celebratory military processions known as Triumphs. Victorious generals entered the city by the western Triumphal Gate and circumnavigated the Palatine Hill before proceeding from the Velian Hill down the Via Sacra, from here they would mount the Capitoline Rise up to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the summit of the Capitol
Roman Forum
–
Roman Forum (Forum Romanum)
Roman Forum
–
The Forum Romanum. View facing North East from above the
Portico Dii Consentes.
Roman Forum
–
Map of the Roman Forum. Structures of Republican Rome are shown in red, those of Imperial Rome in black. From Platner's Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome, 1904. (Adjusted)
Roman Forum
–
A detailed archeological layout of the Forum. (From Platner, 1904.)
21.
Alexander the Great
–
Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty and he was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of historys most successful military commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16, after Philips assassination in 336 BC, he succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his fathers Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia, in 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Following the conquest of Anatolia, Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of battles, most notably the battles of Issus. He subsequently overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety, at that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He sought to reach the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea and invaded India in 326 BC and he eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city that he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexanders surviving generals, Alexanders legacy includes the cultural diffusion which his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt, Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and he is often ranked among the most influential people in human history. He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his wife, Olympias. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his wife for some time. Several legends surround Alexanders birth and childhood, sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wifes womb with a seal engraved with a lions image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of dreams, that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and it was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception
Alexander the Great
–
"Alexander fighting king
Darius III of Persia ",
Alexander Mosaic,
Naples National Archaeological Museum.
Alexander the Great
–
Bust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era,
British Museum
Alexander the Great
–
Aristotle tutoring Alexander, by
Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
Alexander the Great
–
Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father.
22.
Bucephalus
–
Bucephalus or Bucephalas was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous actual horses of antiquity. Ancient accounts state that Bucephalus died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC, in what is now modern Pakistan, another account states that Bucephalus is buried in Phalia, a town in Pakistans Mandi Bahauddin District, which is named after him. Bucephalus was named after a branding mark depicting an oxs head on his haunch, a massive creature with a massive head, Bucephalus is described as having a black coat with a large white star on his brow. He is also supposed to have had an eye. However, Alexander was, and he offered to pay himself should he fail to tame it, Alexander was given a chance and surprised all by subduing it. He spoke soothingly to the horse and turned it towards the sun so that it could no longer see its own shadow, dropping his fluttering cloak as well, Alexander successfully tamed the horse. Plutarch says that the incident so impressed Philip that he told the boy, O my son, look out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself. Philips speech strikes the only false note in the anecdote, according to AR Anderson, the Alexander Romance presents a mythic variant of Bucephaluss origin. In this tale, the colt, whose heroic attributes surpassed even those of Pegasus, is bred and presented to Philip on his own estates, as one of his chargers, Bucephalus served Alexander in numerous battles. The value which Alexander placed on Bucephalus emulated his hero and supposed ancestor Achilles, poseidon gave them to my father Peleus, who in his turn gave them to myself. Arrian states, with Onesicritus as his source, that Bucephalus died at the age of thirty. Other sources, however, give as the cause of death not old age or weariness, Alexander promptly founded a city, Bucephala, in honour of his horse. It lay on the west bank of the Hydaspes river, the modern-day town of Jalalpur Sharif, outside Jhelum, is said to be where Bucephalus is buried. The pair forged a sort of cult in that, after them, it was all, Bucephalus is referenced in art and literature. Paintings of Charles Le Bruns Alexandrine subjects, including Bucephalus, survive today in the Louvre, one in particular, The Passage of the Granicus, depicts the warhorse battling the difficulties of the steep muddy river banks, biting and kicking his foes. One interpretation of the ancient statue group The Horse Tamers in the Piazza del Quirinale in Rome is Alexander, Bucephalus Media related to Bucephalus at Wikimedia Commons
Bucephalus
–
Seleucus I coin depicting Bucephalos.
Bucephalus
–
Alexander taming Bucephalus
Bucephalus
–
A statue by
John Steell showing Alexander taming Bucephalus
Bucephalus
–
Alexander and Bucephalus in combat at the
battle of Issus portrayed in the
Alexander Mosaic
23.
Dioscuri
–
In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux, or Kastor and Polydeuces, were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers, Castor was the son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus. Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters or half-sisters Helen of Troy. In Latin the twins are known as the Gemini or Castores. When Castor was killed, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, the pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmos fire, and were also associated with horsemanship. They are sometimes called the Tyndaridae or Tyndarids, later seen as a reference to their father and stepfather Tyndareus, the best-known story of the twins birth is that Zeus disguised himself as a swan and seduced Leda. Thus Ledas children are said to have hatched from two eggs that she then produced. The Dioscuri can be recognized in vase-paintings by the skull-cap they wear, the pilos, whether the children are thus mortal or half-immortal is not consistent among accounts, nor is whether the twins hatched together from one egg. In some accounts, only Pollux was fathered by Zeus, while Leda and this explains why they were granted an alternate immortality. It is a belief that one would live among the gods. Castor and Pollux are sometimes both mortal, sometimes both divine, one consistent point is that if only one of them is immortal, it is Pollux. In Homers Iliad, Helen looks down from the walls of Troy, the narrator remarks that they are both already dead and buried back in their homeland of Lacedaemon, thus suggesting that at least in some early traditions, both were mortal. Their death and shared immortality offered by Zeus was material of the lost Cypria in the Epic cycle, the Dioscuri were regarded as helpers of humankind and held to be patrons of travellers and of sailors in particular, who invoked them to seek favourable winds. Their role as horsemen and boxers also led to them being regarded as the patrons of athletes and they characteristically intervened at the moment of crisis, aiding those who honoured or trusted them. Ancient Greek authors tell a number of versions of the story of Castor, homer portrays them initially as ordinary mortals, treating them as dead in the Iliad, but in the Odyssey they are treated as alive even though the corn-bearing earth holds them. The author describes them as having honour equal to gods, living on alternate days due to the intervention of Zeus, in both the Odyssey and in Hesiod, they are described as the sons of Tyndareus and Leda. In Pindar, Pollux is the son of Zeus while Castor is the son of the mortal Tyndareus, the theme of ambiguous parentage is not unique to Castor and Pollux, similar characterisations appear in the stories of Hercules and Theseus. The Dioscuri are also invoked in Alcaeus Fragment 34a, though whether this poem antedates the Homeric Hymn to the twins is unknown and they appear together in two plays by Euripides, Helen and Elektra
Dioscuri
–
Dioscuri (Pollux or Castor), Rome, Capitol
Dioscuri
–
Dioscuri (Castor or Pollux), Rome, Capitol
Dioscuri
–
Castor depicted on a
calyx krater of ca. 460–450 BC, holding a horse's reins and spears and wearing a
pilos -style helmet
Dioscuri
–
Pair of Roman statuettes (3rd century AD) depicting the Dioscuri as horsemen, with their characteristic skullcaps (
Metropolitan Museum of Art)
24.
Campidoglio
–
The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was known as Mons Saturnius, dedicated to the god Saturn. The word Capitolium first meant the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus later built here, Ancient sources refer the name to caput and the tale was that, when laying the foundations for the temple, the head of a man was found. Some sources even saying it was the head of some Tolus or Olus, the Capitolium was regarded by the Romans as indestructible, and was adopted as a symbol of eternity. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, influenced by Roman architecture and Roman republican times, the word Capitolium still lives in the English word capitol. The Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. is widely assumed to be named after the Capitoline Hill, at this hill, the Sabines, creeping to the Citadel, were let in by the Roman maiden Tarpeia. For this treachery, Tarpeia was the first to be punished by being flung from a cliff overlooking the Roman Forum. This cliff was named the Tarpeian Rock after the Vestal Virgin. The Sabines, who immigrated to Rome following the Rape of the Sabine Women, the Vulcanal, an 8th-century BC sacred precinct, occupied much of the eastern lower slopes of the Capitoline, at the head of what would later become the Roman Forum. The summit was the site of a temple for the Capitoline Triad, started by Romes fifth king, Tarquinius Priscus and it was considered one of the largest and the most beautiful temples in the city. The city legend starts with the recovery of a human skull when foundation trenches were being dug for the Temple of Jupiter at Tarquins order, recent excavations on the Capitoline uncovered an early cemetery under the Temple of Jupiter. There are several important temples built on Capitoline hill, the temple of Juno Moneta, the temple of Virtus, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus is the most important of the temples. It was built in 509 BC and was nearly as large as the Parthenon, the hill and the temple of Jupiter became the symbols of Rome, the capital of the world. The Temple of Saturn was built at the foot of Capitoline Hill in the end of the Forum Romanum. According to legend Marcus Manlius Capitolinus was alerted to the Gallic attack by the geese of Juno. Vespasians brother and nephew were also besieged in the temple during the Year of Four Emperors, the Tabularium, located underground beneath the piazza and hilltop, occupies a building of the same name built in the 1st century BC to hold Roman records of state. The Tabularium looks out from the rear onto the Roman Forum, the main attraction of the Tabularium, besides the structure itself, is the Temple of Veiovis. During the lengthy period of ancient Rome, the Capitoline Hill was the geographical and ceremonial center, however, by the Renaissance, the former center was an untidy conglomeration of dilapidated buildings and the site of executions of criminals
Campidoglio
–
The Capitoline Hill cordonata (centre of picture) leading from Via del Teatro di Marcello to Piazza del Campidoglio.
Campidoglio
–
Schematic map of Rome showing the Seven Hills and Servian wall
Campidoglio
–
View from the Piazza del Campidoglio
Campidoglio
–
Piazza del Campidoglio at night
25.
Guillaume Coustou the Elder
–
See also, Guillaume Coustou the Younger, nephew of Guillaume the Elder Guillaume Coustou the Elder was a French sculptor and academician. Coustou was the brother of French sculptor Nicolas Coustou and the pupil of his mothers brother. Like his brother, he was employed by Louis XIV and Louis XV, returning to Paris, he assisted his uncle in executing the monumental equestrian sculptures of Fame and Mercury for Marly—which were to be replaced by his own Horse Tamers. They were commissioned by Louis XV in 1739 and installed in 1745 at the Abreuvoir at Marly, the familiar versions at the entrance to the Champs-Élysées, Paris are cast reproductions. In 1714 for Marly he collaborated in two marble sculptures representing Apollo Chasing Daphne, in which Nicolas Coustou sculpted the Apollo and Guillaume the Daphne, a number of his sculptures were for the Tuileries Gardens, most notably a bronze Diane à la biche. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Louvre website, Guillaume I Coustou, Hippomène Guillaume Coustou the Elder in American public collections, on the French Sculpture Census website
Guillaume Coustou the Elder
–
Horse tamer, one of the Chevaux de Marly
Guillaume Coustou the Elder
–
Hercule sur le bûcher, 1704
Guillaume Coustou the Elder
–
Daphne chased by Apollo, Louvre
26.
French Revolution
–
Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
French Revolution
–
The
August Insurrection in 1792 precipitated the last days of the monarchy.
French Revolution
–
The French government faced a fiscal crisis in the 1780s, and King Louis XVI was blamed for mishandling these affairs.
French Revolution
–
Caricature of the Third Estate carrying the First Estate (clergy) and the Second Estate (nobility) on its back.
French Revolution
–
The meeting of the Estates General on 5 May 1789 at Versailles.
27.
Saint Petersburg Manege
–
The Manege is a former riding hall for the Imperial Horse Guards fronting on Saint Isaacs Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was built in 1804-07 to Quarenghis austere Neoclassical design, one of his last commissions and it replaced a disused canal connecting the Admiralty to the naval warehouses. The Horse Guards Boulevard takes its name from the building, the Manege is a low, rectangular block with arched openings and lunettes. According to the Companion Guide, it mimics a 5th-century BC Athenian temple with a portico of eight Doric columns bearing a pediment, the marble statues of the Dioscuri standing beside their horses were patterned by sculptor Paolo Triscornia after the Fontana dei Dioscuri in Rome. After the Russian Revolution the riding academy was rebuilt to accommodate a NKVD garage, a second floor was added to the building in 1931. Since the latest reconstruction campaign, the Saint Petersburg Manege has housed the main exhibition hall
Saint Petersburg Manege
–
As seen from the upper collonnade of
St. Isaac's Cathedral
28.
Neoclassicism
–
The main Neoclassical movement coincided with the 18th-century Age of Enlightenment, and continued into the early 19th century, laterally competing with Romanticism. In architecture, the style continued throughout the 19th, 20th, European Neoclassicism in the visual arts began c.1760 in opposition to the then-dominant Baroque and Rococo styles. Each neo-classicism selects some models among the range of classics that are available to it. They ignored both Archaic Greek art and the works of Late Antiquity, the Rococo art of ancient Palmyra came as a revelation, through engravings in Woods The Ruins of Palmyra. While the movement is described as the opposed counterpart of Romanticism. The case of the main champion of late Neoclassicism, Ingres, demonstrates this especially well. The revival can be traced to the establishment of formal archaeology, the writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann were important in shaping this movement in both architecture and the visual arts. With the advent of the Grand Tour, a fad of collecting antiquities began that laid the foundations of many great collections spreading a Neoclassical revival throughout Europe, Neoclassicism in each art implies a particular canon of a classical model. In English, the term Neoclassicism is used primarily of the arts, the similar movement in English literature. This, which had been dominant for decades, was beginning to decline by the time Neoclassicism in the visual arts became fashionable. Though terms differ, the situation in French literature was similar, in music, the period saw the rise of classical music, and Neoclassicism is used of 20th-century developments. Ingress coronation portrait of Napoleon even borrowed from Late Antique consular diptychs and their Carolingian revival, much Neoclassical painting is more classicizing in subject matter than in anything else. A fierce, but often very badly informed, dispute raged for decades over the merits of Greek and Roman art, with Winckelmann. The work of artists, who could not easily be described as insipid, combined aspects of Romanticism with a generally Neoclassical style. Unlike Carstens unrealized schemes, the etchings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi were numerous and profitable and his main subject matter was the buildings and ruins of Rome, and he was more stimulated by the ancient than the modern. Neoclassicism in painting gained a new sense of direction with the success of Jacques-Louis Davids Oath of the Horatii at the Paris Salon of 1785. Despite its evocation of republican virtues, this was a commission by the royal government, David managed to combine an idealist style with drama and forcefulness. David rapidly became the leader of French art, and after the French Revolution became a politician with control of government patronage in art
Neoclassicism
–
Antonio Canova 's
Psyche Revived by Love's Kiss
Neoclassicism
–
Henry Fuseli, The artist moved to despair at the grandeur of antique fragments, 1778–79
Neoclassicism
–
Johann Joachim Winckelmann, often called "the father of archaeology"
Neoclassicism
–
Print of a drawing by
John Flaxman of a scene in
Homer 's
Iliad, 1795
29.
Richard Westmacott
–
Sir Richard Westmacott RA was a British sculptor. Westmacott studied with his father, also named Richard Westmacott, at his studio in Mount Street, on returning to England in 1797, he set up a studio, where John Edward Carew and Musgrave Watson gained experience. Westmacott had his own foundry at Pimlico, in London, where he cast both his own works, and those of other sculptors, including John Flaxmans statue of Sir John Moore for Glasgow. Late in life he was asked by the Office of Works for advice on the casting of the reliefs for Nelson’s Column and he exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1797 and 1839. His name is given in the catalogues as R. Westmacott, Junr. until 1807, when the Junr. was dropped. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1805, and an academician in 1811, his diploma work. He was professor of sculpture at the academy from 1827 until his death and he received his knighthood on 19 July 1837. His statue of Horatio Nelson, Birmingham was the first statue of Nelson in Britain. There are other monuments to the admiral by Westmacott at Bull Ring, Birmingham, in Liverpool there is also an equestrian statue of King George III sculpted by Westmacott, which was unveiled in 1822. He was responsible for the statue of the agriculturalist and developer Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford in Russell Square, and the one of the Duke of York on top of the column in Waterloo place. His Achilles in Hyde Park, a copy of an antique sculpture from Monte Cavallo in Rome, is a tribute to the Duke of Wellington. He created a group for the marble arch of the Cumberland Gate to Hyde Park. Westmacott lived and died at 14 South Audley Street, Mayfair and his son, also called Richard Westmacott, followed closely in his footsteps also becoming a notable sculptor, a Royal Academician and professor of sculpture at the academy. Westmacott is buried in a tomb at St Marys Church at Chastleton, Oxfordshire, chisholm, Hugh, ed. Westmacott, Sir Richard. Richard Westmacott Collection of Letters finding aid from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, consisting primarily of letters written to Westmacott
Richard Westmacott
–
John Locke by Richard Westmacott
Richard Westmacott
–
Statue of
Achilles (1822) on the
Wellington Monument at
Hyde Park Corner, London.
Richard Westmacott
–
Nelson and his ship, The Bull Ring, Birmingham
Richard Westmacott
–
Blue plaque at 14 South Audley Street, London
30.
Duke of Wellington
–
His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britains military heroes. Wellesley was born in Dublin, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland and he was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive Lords Lieutenant of Ireland. He was also elected as a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons and he was a colonel by 1796, and saw action in the Netherlands and in India, where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Battle of Seringapatam. He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and, as a newly appointed major-general, following Napoleons exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the army which defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellesleys battle record is exemplary, he participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career. Wellington is famous for his defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive commanders of all time, after ending his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as part of the Tory party, from 1828 to 1830 and he oversaw the passage of the Catholic Relief Act 1829, but opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued as one of the figures in the House of Lords until his retirement. As such, he belonged to the Protestant Ascendancy and his biographers mostly follow the contemporary newspaper evidence in saying that he was born 1 May 1769, the day that he was baptised. He was most likely born at his parents townhouse,24 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, but his mother Anne, Countess of Mornington, recalled in 1815 that he had been born at 6 Merrion Street, Dublin. He spent most of his childhood at his familys two homes, the first a house in Dublin and the second Dangan Castle,3 miles north of Summerhill on the Trim Road in County Meath. In 1781, Arthurs father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his fathers earldom and he went to the diocesan school in Trim when at Dangan, Mr Whytes Academy when in Dublin, and Browns School in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton, where he studied from 1781 to 1784, moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time. In 1785, a lack of success at Eton, combined with a shortage of funds due to his fathers death, forced the young Wellesley. Until his early twenties, Arthur showed little sign of distinction and his mother grew concerned at his idleness, stating. A year later, Arthur enrolled in the French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers, where he progressed significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, upon returning to England in late 1786, he astonished his mother with his improvement
Duke of Wellington
–
Wellesley spent much of his early childhood at his family house in
Dangan Castle, engraving 1842.
Duke of Wellington
–
The Duke of Wellington, by
Sir Thomas Lawrence. Painted in 1814, a few months before the
Battle of Waterloo.
Duke of Wellington
–
Beginning in 1787, Wellesley served at
Dublin Castle (pictured) as
aide-de-camp to two successive
Lords Lieutenant of Ireland.
Duke of Wellington
–
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Wellesley, aged 26, in the
33rd Regiment.
31.
Hyde Park Corner
–
Hyde Park Corner is an area of London, located around a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park. Six streets converge at the junction, Park Lane, Piccadilly, Constitution Hill, Grosvenor Place, Grosvenor Crescent, Hyde Park Corner tube station, a London Underground station served by the Piccadilly line, is located at the junction, as are a number of notable monuments. Immediately to the north of the junction is Apsley House, the home of the first Duke of Wellington, several monuments to the Duke were erected in the vicinity, both in his lifetime and subsequently. In the mid-nineteenth century, the space that is now the Hyde Park Corner traffic island was not entirely surrounded by roadway, in its centre stands the Wellington Arch, designed by Decimus Burton and planned as a northern gate to the grounds of Buckingham Palace. In execution it was out as a gate into the Green Park, and was originally sited directly opposite Burtons Ionic Screen. Originally, the Arch was topped with a statue of the Duke by Matthew Cotes Wyatt. The Arch was moved south because of congestion, and realigned to the axis of Constitution Hill in 1883. The boundary of Buckingham Palaces garden was moved south, and a new road named Duke of Wellington Place was created, at this time, the large equestrian statue was removed to Aldershot. It was subsequently replaced with work, entitled The Angel of Peace descending on the Quadriga of Victory, dated 1912, by the sculptor Adrian Jones. Following the passage of the Park Lane Improvement Act 1958, Park Lane was widened in the early 1960s and this left Apsley House on an island site. The InterContinental London hotel was built on the cleared site between the new route of Park Lane and Hamilton Place. At part of the scheme, a tunnel was constructed beneath the junction to allow traffic to flow freely between Knightsbridge and Piccadilly. As a result, the area around the Arch became a traffic island, mostly laid to grass, and accessible only by pedestrian underpassess. Subsequent changes to the layout in the 1990s reinstated a route between Hyde Park and the Green Park for pedestrians, cyclists and horseriders using surface-level crossings. The term is often used for Speakers Corner, which is located at the north-eastern corner of Hyde Park. The 1935 film Hyde Park Corner takes its name from the area, Hyde Park Corner was used as a codeword to announce to the government the death of King George VI in 1952
Hyde Park Corner
–
Hyde Park Corner in 1842, looking east towards
Piccadilly. The entrance to
Hyde Park through
Decimus Burton 's Ionic Screen is on the left, and behind it, in darker stone, is
Apsley House.
Hyde Park Corner
–
The
Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
–
Decimus Burton 's Ionic Screen at Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
–
Australian War Memorial
32.
Apsley House
–
Apsley House, also known as Number One, London, is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park and it is a Grade I listed building. It is sometimes referred to as the Wellington Museum, the house is now run by English Heritage and is open to the public as a museum and art gallery, exhibiting 83 paintings from the Spanish royal collection. The 9th Duke of Wellington retains the use of part of the buildings and it is perhaps the only preserved example of an English aristocratic town house from its period. The practice has been to maintain the rooms as far as possible in the original style and it contains the 1st Dukes collection of paintings, porcelain, the silver centrepiece made for the Duke in Portugal, c. It was set up for a time in the Louvre and was bought by the Government for Wellington in 1816, Apsley House stands at the site of an old lodge that belonged to the crown. During the Interregnum newer buildings were erected between what is now Old Regent Street and Hyde Park Corner, in the 1600s after the Restoration they were leased by James Hamilton and renewed by Elizabeth his widow in 1692 on a 99-year lease. Immediately before Apsley House was built the site was occupied by a called the Hercules Pillars. The house was built in red brick by Robert Adam between 1771 and 1778 for Lord Apsley, the Lord Chancellor, who gave the house its name. Some Adam interiors survive, the semi-circular Staircase, the Drawing Room with its end. The house was given the nickname of Number One, London. It was originally part of a line of great houses on Piccadilly, demolished to widen Park Lane, its official address remains 149 Piccadilly. The second phase, started after Wellington had become Prime Minister in 1828, included a new staircase, the red-brick exterior was clad in Bath stone, and a pedimented portico added. Wyatts original estimate for the work was £23,000, the Waterloo Gallery is, of course, named after the Dukes famous victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. A special banquet is still served annually to celebrate the date –18 June 1815, the Dukes equestrian statue can be seen across the busy road, cloaked and watchful, the plinth guarded at each corner by an infantryman. This statue was cast from guns captured at the battle, the family apartments are now on the north side of the house, concentrated on the second floor. The notable collection of 200 paintings includes 83 paintings which were acquired by the first Duke after the Battle of Vitoria, in 1813, in nowadays Vitoria-Gasteiz. The paintings were in Joseph Bonapartes baggage train and were part of what was called the biggest loot in history, Lord Maryborough, brother of the duke, catalogued 165 of the finest paintings to have arrived to the duke of Wellingtons residence from Vitoria-Gasteiz
Apsley House
–
Apsley House, as it is today, Hyde Park Corner, London.
Apsley House
–
Apsley House in 1829 by TH Shepherd. The main gateway to Hyde Park can be glimpsed on the left.
Apsley House
–
Apsley House on an 1869 map. The neighbouring houses were demolished in the post
World War II period to allow Park Lane to be widened. The
Wellington Arch has been moved since this time.
Apsley House
–
The Waterloo Gallery at Apsley House by
Joseph Nash, 1852.
33.
Christian Friedrich Tieck
–
Christian Friedrich Tieck, often known only as Friedrich Tieck, was a German sculptor and a brother of Ludwig and Sophie Tieck. Tieck was born in Berlin, the brother of the writers Ludwig. He was taught by Johann Gottfried Schadow in Berlin and David dAngers in Paris, in 1801-05 he was employed at Weimar, where he associated with Goethe, and designed his bust, which he afterwards also executed in marble for the Walhalla temple. In 1805 he went to Italy, returning to Germany in 1809, for this patron he executed at Munich and Carrara a large number of busts, including those of the Prince himself, of Schelling, of Alexander von Humboldt, and of his brother Ludwig. Based on a concept by Schinkel, Tieck created the tomb of General Gerhard von Scharnhorst at Berlins Invalidenfriedhof in 1822 and he also created a bust of Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder and a lion made of bronze after a model by Christian Daniel Rauch. Tiecks monument to Nicolaus Copernicus was erected posthumously in Thorn, Tieck was one of the principal representatives of the school founded by Rauch. His technique, however, was less naturalistic than that of Rauch and he died in Berlin in 1851. Wilhelm Bernhardi, Tieck, Christian Friedrich, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie,38, Leipzig, Duncker & Humblot, pp. 247–251 Gilman, thurston, H. T. Colby, F. M. eds. Media related to Christian Friedrich Tieck at Wikimedia Commons Christian Friedrich Tieck in the German National Library catalogue
Christian Friedrich Tieck
–
C. F. Tieck:
Clemens Brentano, 1803
Christian Friedrich Tieck
–
Tomb of General
Gerhard von Scharnhorst
Christian Friedrich Tieck
–
Monument to
Nicolaus Copernicus, sponsored by
Leopold Prowe, erected in
Toruń in 1853
34.
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
–
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings and his most famous buildings are found in and around Berlin. Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of Brandenburg, when he was six, his father died in the disastrous Neuruppin fire of 1787. He became a student of architect Friedrich Gilly and his father, David Gilly, after returning to Berlin from his first trip to Italy in 1805, he started to earn his living as a painter. When he saw Caspar David Friedrichs painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog at the 1810 Berlin art exhibition he decided that he would never reach such mastery of painting, after Napoleons defeat, Schinkel oversaw the Prussian Building Commission. From 1808 to 1817 Schinkel renovated and reconstructed Schloss Rosenau, Coburg and he also rebuilt the ruins of Chorin Abbey. He believed that in order to avoid sterility and have a soul, a building must contain elements of the poetic and the past and his most famous extant buildings are found in and around Berlin. He also carried out improvements to the Crown Princes Palace and to Schloss Charlottenburg, Schinkel was also responsible for the interior decoration of a number of private Berlin residences. Later, Schinkel moved away from classicism altogether, embracing the Neo-Gothic in his Friedrichswerder Church, Schinkel died in Berlin, Province of Brandenburg. Schinkel, however, is noted as much for his theoretical work and these and other designs may be studied in his Sammlung architektonischer Entwürfe and his Werke der höheren Baukunst. He also designed the famed Iron Cross medal of Prussia, with essays by Kurt W. Forster and Wolfgang Pehnt, ISBN 0-86559-105-9. Matthes & Seitz, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-88221-866-4, die Geschichte vom Leben und Sterben des Baumeisters Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Christoph von Wolzogen, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Unter dem bestirnten Himmel, edition Fichter, Frankfurt 2016, ISBN 978-3-943856-33-0. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Schinkel, Karl Friedrich, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, The Last Great Architect. Prefatory essay from Collection of Architectural Designs including those designs which have been executed and objects whose execution was intended by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
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Schinkel in 1836
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
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A stamp with Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
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Castle by the River (Schloß am Strom)
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
–
Gotische Kirche auf einem Felsen am Meer
35.
Anichkov Bridge
–
The Anichkov Bridge is the oldest and most famous bridge across the Fontanka River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The current bridge, built in 1841-42 and reconstructed in 1906-08, as well as its four famous horse sculptures, the bridge has some of the most celebrated ornate iron railings in Saint Petersburg. The structure is mentioned in the works of Pushkin, Gogol, the first bridge was built in 1715-16 by order of Peter the Great, and named after its engineer, Mikhail Anichkov. The bridge was made of wood with several spans built on piles of supports lying just above the Fontanka River and it was designed by Domenico Trezzini. Nothing remains of this first bridge, as the city grew and river traffic increased, plans were unveiled in 1721 to create a new drawbridge. At that time, the Anichkov Bridge was a popular attraction on Nevsky Prospekt, as well as a popular subject for illustrations. By the 1840s the 18th-century design, especially its large towers, was deemed unsuitable for the amount of traffic passing over the Anichkov Bridge along Nevsky Prospekt. In 1841-42 a grander structure, more appropriate to the width of Nevsky Prospekt, was built on the site under the supervision of Lt. General A. D. Gotman, the new bridge was made of stone, and had three spans closed off with gently sloping arches. However, the stone arches were a continual source of problems. The Horse Tamers, designed by the Russian sculptor, Baron Peter Klodt von Jurgensburg and they rank among the citys most recognizable landmarks. The theme derives from the colossal Roman marbles, often identified with the Dioscuri, prominently sited on the Quirinal Hill, guillaume Coustous baroque marble horse tamers for Marly-le-Roi, the Chevaux de Marly, were resited at the opening to the Champs-Elysées, Paris, at the Revolution. The St Petersburg sculptures have an interesting history, Petersburg lore tells of Peter Klodts death immediately upon embarrassing discovery that tongues had been omitted on two of the four sculptural horses. Another urban legend has it that Klodt depicted his powerful enemys face under the tail of one of the bronze stallions. In 1941, during the Second World War, when the bridge came under fire from German artillery. The bridge suffered damage during the war, but has been fully restored. As a memorial, the pedestal of one of the statues retains the effects of artillery fire, prior to the tercentenary of Saint Petersburg, the statues were removed from the bridge again and underwent thorough restoration
Anichkov Bridge
–
The
Fontanka River at the Anichkov Bridge.
Anichkov Bridge
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View across the bridge towards
Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (1850s).
Anichkov Bridge
–
Anichkov Bridge in 2015.
Anichkov Bridge
36.
Peter Klodt von Urgensburg
–
Baron Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg, known in Russian as Pyotr Karlovich Klodt, was a favourite sculptor of Nicholas I of Russia. Stemming from a family of Baltic Germans, the Clodt von Jürgensburgs, Klodt started his career as a professional artillery officer. He attended the classes at the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts, where his mastery in depicting horses eventually won him the rank of academician, as a legend has it, Nicholas I remarked to Klodt that he creates horses finer than any prize stallion does. Klodts most famous group of sculptures, the Horse Tamers, was installed at the Anichkov Bridge in 1851. He was also responsible for the statue of Ivan Krylov in the Summer Garden. It was the first monument to a poet erected in the Russian Empire, Klodt collaborated with Vasily Demut-Malinovsky on the statue of Saint Vladimir in Kiev and the statuary for the Narva Triumphal Gate. He also sculpted a quadriga above the portico of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, even the Bolsheviks, who destroyed all the memorials to Nicholas I across Russia, did not dare to demolish this unique statue. Klodt died in his estate in the Grand Duchy of Finland on 20 November 1867 and his son and nephew Mikhail continued the artistic traditions of the family and became notable painters of the Peredvizhniki school
Peter Klodt von Urgensburg
–
Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg
Peter Klodt von Urgensburg
–
The monument to
Nicholas I of Russia in
St. Petersburg, late 19th century photochrome print.
Peter Klodt von Urgensburg
–
The monument to
Nicholas I of Russia, modern view.
Peter Klodt von Urgensburg
–
The monument to
Nicholas I of Russia, close-up.
37.
Brooklyn
–
Brooklyn is the most populous borough of New York City, with a Census-estimated 2,636,735 residents in 2015. It borders the borough of Queens at the end of Long Island. Today, if New York City dissolved, Brooklyn would rank as the third-most populous city in the U. S. behind Los Angeles, the borough continues, however, to maintain a distinct culture. Many Brooklyn neighborhoods are ethnic enclaves, Brooklyns official motto, displayed on the Borough seal and flag, is Eendraght Maeckt Maght which translates from early modern Dutch as Unity makes strength. Since 2010, Brooklyn has evolved into a hub of entrepreneurship and high technology startup firms. The history of European settlement in Brooklyn spans more than 350 years, the neighborhood of Marine Park was home to North Americas first tidal mill. It was built by the Dutch, and the foundation can be seen today, however, the area was not formally settled as a town. Many incidents and documents relating to this period are in Gabriel Furmans early compilation, what is today Brooklyn left Dutch hands after the final English conquest of New Netherland in 1664, a prelude to the Second Anglo–Dutch War. The English reorganized the six old Dutch towns on southwestern Long Island as Kings County on November 1,1683 and this tract of land was recognized as a political entity for the first time, and the municipal groundwork was laid for a later expansive idea of Brooklyn identity. On August 27,1776 was fought the Battle of Long Island, the first major engagement fought in the American Revolutionary War after independence was declared, and the largest of the entire conflict. British troops forced Continental Army troops under George Washington off the heights near the sites of Green-Wood Cemetery, Prospect Park. The fortified American positions at Brooklyn Heights consequently became untenable and were evacuated a few days later, One result of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 was the evacuation of the British from New York City, celebrated by residents into the 20th century. The New York Navy Yard operated in Wallabout Bay for the entire 19th century, the first center of urbanization sprang up in the Town of Brooklyn, directly across from Lower Manhattan, which saw the incorporation of the Village of Brooklyn in 1817. Reliable steam ferry service across the East River to Fulton Landing converted Brooklyn Heights into a town for Wall Street. Ferry Road to Jamaica Pass became Fulton Street to East New York, Town and Village were combined to form the first, kernel incarnation of the City of Brooklyn in 1834. Industrial deconcentration in mid-century was bringing shipbuilding and other manufacturing to the part of the county. Each of the two cities and six towns in Kings County remained independent municipalities, and purposely created non-aligning street grids with different naming systems and it later became the most popular and highest circulation afternoon paper in America. The publisher changed to L. Van Anden on April 19,1842, on May 14,1849 the name was shortened to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, on September 5,1938 it was further shortened to Brooklyn Eagle
Brooklyn
–
Clockwise from top left:
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn brownstones,
Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch,
Brooklyn Borough Hall,
Coney Island
Brooklyn
–
Currier and Ives print of Brooklyn, 1886.
Brooklyn
–
Brooklyn Museum - Hooker's Map of the Village of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
–
A typical dining table in the Dutch village of Brooklyn, c. 1664, from
The Brooklyn Museum.
38.
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
–
Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and the largest public park in Brooklyn. The park is situated between the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas Park and Windsor Terrace, as well as Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park is run and operated by the Prospect Park Alliance and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway, Prospect Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux after their completion of Manhattans Central Park. There is also a private Society of Friends cemetery on Quaker Hill near the ball fields, the area was originally forested, but became open pasture after two centuries of European colonization. Significant stands of trees remained only in the peat bogs centered south of Ninth Street and Flatbush Avenues, and in a large bog north of Ninth Avenue and contained chestnut, white poplar, and oak. Some of these stands were preserved in the Parks Ravine and have been popularized as The Last Forest of Brooklyn, during the American Revolution the Park was a site of the Battle of Long Island. American forces attempted to hold Battle Pass, an opening in the terminal moraine where the old Flatbush Road passed from Brooklyn to Flatbush and it fell after some of the heaviest fighting in the engagement, and its loss contributed to George Washingtons decision to retreat. Even though the Continental Army lost the battle, they were able to hold the British back long enough for Washingtons army to escape to Manhattan, there are plaques north of the zoo that honor this event. The City of Brooklyn built a reservoir on Prospect Hill in 1856, preserving the Battle Pass area and keeping the lots around the reservoir free of buildings were two reasons for establishing a large park in the area. This was due to Brooklyn becoming the worlds first commuter suburb, during this time, concepts concerning public parks gained popularity. In 1858 Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created Central Park in Manhattan and it became the first landscaped park in the United States. He also believed that a park would attract wealthy residents. Of the seven sites mentioned in their February,1860 proposal, by the end of 1860, land had been purchased for Vieles plan, but the Civil War stopped further activity. Vaux included a plaza at the northern end of the park. It would be incorporated as Mount Prospect Park in 1940, the change in plans was not without consequences. The lots, however, constitute just over five percent of the parks acreage, much of this very expensive acreage houses the maintenance yards and is rarely seen by the public. Despite the repercussions of Vauxs revisions, Stranahan championed the plan, Vaux recruited Olmsted and formally presented their proposal in January 1866 and it was accepted in May, with work commencing in June. The park commissioners opened the park to the public on October 19,1867, work continued for another six years until it was substantially complete in 1873, though certain facets of the original design were never undertaken
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
–
Prospect Park
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
–
Prospect Park in 1880
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
–
Bike sign for Prospect Park
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
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The Battle Pass area, an etching circa 1792
39.
Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)
–
Ocean Parkway is a 4. 86-mile boulevard in the west-central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is inventoried by the New York State Department of Transportation as New York State Route 908H, Ocean Parkway extends over a distance of about five miles, running almost north to south from the vicinity of Prospect Park to Brighton Beach. The parkway runs roughly parallel to Coney Island Avenue, an important commercial avenue several blocks to the east and it consists of a central bidirectional avenue of seven lanes, two small parallel side streets, and two medians with trees, benches, and pedestrian paths. The west median, part of the Brooklyn–Queens Greenway, also has a bike path, frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux suggested Ocean Parkway to Brooklyn park commissioners in reports prepared during the 1860s. They drew up a plan for the parkway, inspired by boulevards in Berlin, in 1868 the land was acquired by the City of Brooklyn, work began in 1874 and was completed in 1880. The resulting parkway is similar to Eastern Parkway, with a roadway, and complementary grassy median-pedestrian path. Trees, playing tables, and benches line the pedestrian path, the parkway begins at Park Circle at the southern entrance of Prospect Park, and passes through Windsor Terrace and what is present-day Kensington. The pedestrian path was split in 1894 to create the first bike path in the United States, around 1900, homes were constructed along the perimeter of the parkway, and during World War I, many mansions were built. Buyers came to Ocean Parkway from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Heights, in the 1920s, apartment complexes and one- and two-family homes were constructed, the northernmost portion of the parkway became the site of luxurious, elevator-equipped apartment buildings. Apartments began to replace homes in the vicinity of the parkway after World War II. Horse racing took place on the parkway until 1908, when a ban on open betting took effect, until the parkway zoning was changed and restoration was carried out in the 1970s, bridle paths existed as well. The bridle paths were on the side of Ocean Parkway, equestrians could rent horses near Prospect Park. Although one can rent horses at the nearby Kensington Stables. In 2016 an overhaul of traffic regulations at major intersections was proposed, the regulations were unpopular among residents, but have gone into effect at Kings Highway and Avenue J. The project is expected to finish in the autumn of 2017, the entire route is in New York City borough of Brooklyn. New York Roads portal NYC Parks and Recreation Ocean Parkway Page Traffic Comes to a Halt, and a Kitten Is Saved, New York Times, January 25,2016
Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)
–
Ocean Parkway
Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)
–
Building: 629 Ocean Parkway at 18th Ave.
Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)
–
Admiral's Row
40.
Frederick MacMonnies
–
Frederick William MacMonnies was the best known expatriate American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school, as successful and lauded in France as he was in the United States. He was also an accomplished painter and portraitist. He was born in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York, three of MacMonnies best-known sculptures are Nathan Hale, Bacchante and Infant Faun, and Diana. In 1880 MacMonnies began an apprenticeship under Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and was promoted to studio assistant. MacMonnies studied at night with the National Academy of Design and The Art Students League of New York, in Saint-Gaudens studio, he met Stanford White, who was turning to Saint-Gaudens for the prominent sculptures required for his architecture. In 1884 MacMonnies traveled to Paris to study sculpture at the École des Beaux-Arts, in 1888 he opened a studio in Paris and began to create some of his most famous sculptures, which he submitted annually to the Paris Salon. In his atelier, he mentored such notable artists as Janet Scudder, the life-size Nathan Hale was the first major commission gained by MacMonnies. Erected in 1890 in City Hall Park, New York, it stands near where the actual Nathan Hale was thought to have been executed. The Metropolitan Museum has a copy, as do the Art Museum at Princeton University, the National Gallery of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, choate, at Naumkeag, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His long-term residence was at Giverny and this large decorative fountain piece became the focal point at the Exposition and established MacMonnies as one of the important sculptors of the time. In 1894, Stanford White brought another prestigious and highly visible commission, the complicated figural groups occupied him for the next eight years. MacMonnies began the work in 1906, and the work was unveiled in 1911, the monument features a depiction of Kit Carson, and it marks the end of the Smoky Hill Trail, a popular route to Colorado Territory taken by gold-seekers, located near the Smoky Hill River. Meanwhile he was creating portraits and his 1904 full length painting of his student Mabel Conkling was said to be his finest. Commissioned in 1908, his Princeton Battle Monument, created in collaboration with architects Carrere & Hastings, located in Princeton, returning to New York after 1915, he continued his stylish work with the colossal group, Civic Virtue, a fountain for New York City Hall. It was the subject of controversy because it depicts a man trampling several female figures. This resulted in public criticism. The statue was moved in 1941 to distant Queens Borough Hall, called, in French, La Liberté éplorée the statue, located in Meaux, France, is over seven stories tall, at 22 metres. While work started on the statue in 1924, it was not finished until 1932, at the time of its dedication, it was the worlds largest stone monument
Frederick MacMonnies
–
Self-portrait, 1896, Terra Foundation for American Art
Frederick MacMonnies
–
Tabletop-sized copy of Nathan Hale, in the
National Gallery of Art
Frederick MacMonnies
–
Reduced versions of his Pan of Rohallion became part of MacMonnies' stock in trade
Frederick MacMonnies
–
Columbian Fountain, 1893
41.
City of New York
–
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
City of New York
–
Clockwise, from top:
Midtown Manhattan,
Times Square, the
Unisphere in
Queens, the
Brooklyn Bridge,
Lower Manhattan with
One World Trade Center,
Central Park, the
headquarters of the United Nations, and the
Statue of Liberty
City of New York
–
New Amsterdam, centered in the eventual
Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year
England took control and renamed it "New York".
City of New York
–
The
Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the
American Revolution, took place in
Brooklyn in 1776.
City of New York
–
Broadway follows the Native American Wickquasgeck Trail through Manhattan.
42.
Long Island
–
Long Island is an island located just off the northeast coast of the United States and a region within the U. S. state of New York. Stretching east-northeast from New York Harbor into the Atlantic Ocean, the island comprises four counties, Kings and Queens to the west, then Nassau, more generally, Long Island may also refer collectively both to the main Island as well as its nearby, surrounding outer barrier islands. North of the island is the Long Island Sound, across from which lie the states of Connecticut, across the Sound, to the northwest, lies Westchester County on mainland New York. To the west, Long Island is separated from the Bronx and the island of Manhattan by the East River. To the extreme southwest, it is separated from the New York City borough of Staten Island and the U. S. state of New Jersey by Upper New York Bay, the Narrows, to the east lie Block Island and numerous smaller islands. Its population density is 5,595.1 inhabitants per square mile, Long Island is culturally and ethnically diverse. Some of the wealthiest and most expensive neighborhoods in the Western Hemisphere are located on Long Island, nine bridges and 13 tunnels connect Brooklyn and Queens to the three other boroughs of New York City. Ferries connect Suffolk County northward across Long Island Sound to the state of Connecticut, the Long Island Rail Road is the busiest commuter railroad in North America and operates 24/7. At the time of European contact, the Lenape people inhabited the western end of Long Island, giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to record an encounter with the Lenapes, after entering what is now New York Bay in 1524. In 1609, the English navigator Henry Hudson explored the harbor, adriaen Block followed in 1615 and is credited as the first European to determine that both Manhattan and Long Island are islands. Native American land deeds recorded by the Dutch from 1636 state that the Indians referred to Long Island as Sewanhaka, sewan was one of the terms for wampum, and is also translated as loose or scattered, which may refer either to the wampum or to Long Island. The name t Lange Eylandt alias Matouwacs appears in Dutch maps from the 1650s, later, the English referred to the land as Nassau Island, after the Dutch Prince William of Nassau, Prince of Orange. It is unclear when the name Nassau Island was discontinued, the very first settlements on Long Island were by settlers from England and its colonies in present-day New England. Lion Gardiner settled nearby Gardiners Island, the first settlement on the geographic Long Island itself was on October 21,1640, when Southold was established by the Rev. John Youngs and settlers from New Haven, Connecticut. Peter Hallock, one of the settlers, drew the long straw and was granted the honor to step ashore first and he is considered the first New World settler on Long Island. Southampton was settled in the same year, Hempstead followed in 1644, East Hampton in 1648, Huntington in 1653, and Brookhaven in 1655. While the eastern region of Long Island was first settled by the English, until 1664, the jurisdiction of Long Island was split, roughly at the present border between Nassau County and Suffolk County. The Dutch founded six towns in present-day Brooklyn beginning in 1645 and these included, Brooklyn, Gravesend, Flatlands, Flatbush, New Utrecht, and Bushwick
Long Island
–
A mansion on Long Island's
Gold Coast
Long Island
–
The c. 1806
Old Hook Mill in
East Hampton is one of eleven extant windmills in
Suffolk County.
Long Island
–
The
Old House in
Cutchogue, built 1649, is the oldest English-style house in New York State.
Long Island
–
Battle of Long Island
43.
Nicholas I of Russia
–
Nicholas I was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. He was also the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland and his biographer Nicholas V. Riasanovsky says that Nicholas displayed determination, singleness of purpose, and an iron will, along with a powerful sense of duty and a dedication to very hard work. He saw himself as a junior officer totally consumed by spit. A handsome man, he was nervous and aggressive. Trained as an engineer, he was a stickler for minute detail, in his public persona, says Riasanovsky, Nicholas I came to represent autocracy personified, infinitely majestic, determined and powerful, hard as stone, and relentless as fate. His reign had an ideology called Official Nationality that was proclaimed officially in 1833 and it was a reactionary policy based on orthodoxy in religion, autocracy in government, and Russian nationalism. He was the brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas inherited his brothers throne despite the failed Decembrist revolt against him and his aggressive foreign policy involved many expensive wars, having a disastrous effect on the empires finances. He was successful against Russias neighbouring southern rivals as he seized the last territories in the Caucasus held by Persia by successfully ending the Russo-Persian War and he ended the Russo-Turkish War successfully as well. Later on, however, he led Russia into the Crimean War with disastrous results, historians emphasize that his micromanagement of the armies hindered his generals, as did his misguided strategy. Fuller notes that historians have concluded that the reign of Nicholas I was a catastrophic failure in both domestic and foreign policy. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its zenith, spanning over 20 million square kilometers. Nicholas was born at Gatchina Palace in Gatchina to Grand Duke Paul, five months after his birth, his grandmother, Catherine the Great, died and his parents became emperor and empress of Russia. He was a brother of Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who succeeded to the throne in 1801. Riasanovsky says he was, the most handsome man in Europe, Nicholas was not brought up to become the Emperor of Russia, he had two elder brothers. However, as both of them failed to produce sons, Nicholas remained second in the line of succession, in 1825, when Alexander I died suddenly of typhus, Nicholas was caught between swearing allegiance to his second-eldest brother, Constantine Pavlovich, and accepting the throne for himself. The interregnum lasted until Constantine, who was in Warsaw at that time, additionally, on 25 December, Nicholas issued the manifesto proclaiming his accession to the throne. That manifesto retroactively named 1 December, the date of Alexander Is death, during this confusion, a plot was hatched by some members of the military to overthrow Nicholas and to seize power
Nicholas I of Russia
–
Portrait by
Franz Krüger
Nicholas I of Russia
–
Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich (ca. 1821).
Nicholas I of Russia
–
Nicholas I "Family Ruble" (1836) depicting the Tsar on the obverse and his family on the reverse:
Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (center) surrounded by
Alexander II as
Tsarevich,
Maria,
Olga,
Nicholas,
Michael,
Konstantin, and
Alexandra [2]
Nicholas I of Russia
–
Monument to Nicholas I on
St. Isaac's Square
