The Kraków Cloth Hall in Lesser Poland, dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town, it was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to barter. During its golden age in the 15th century, the hall was the source of a variety of exotic imports from the east – spices, silk and wax – while Kraków itself exported textiles and salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mine. In the immediate vicinity of the hall, the Great Weigh House and the Small Weigh House existed until the 19th century. Other, similar cloth halls have existed in other Polish as well as other European cities such as in Ypres, Belgium. Kraków was Poland's capital city and was among the largest cities in Europe from before the time of the Renaissance. However, its decline started with the move of the capital to Warsaw at the end of the 16th century; the city's decline was hastened by wars and politics leading to the Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century.
By the time of the architectural restoration proposed for the cloth hall in 1870 under Austrian rule, much of the historic city center was decrepit. A change in political and economic fortunes for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria ushered in a revival due to newly established Legislative Assembly or Sejm of the Land; the successful renovation of the Cloth Hall, based on design by Tomasz Pryliński and supervised by Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, Sejm Marshal, was one of the most notable achievements of this period. The hall has hosted many distinguished guests over the centuries and is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries, such as Charles, Prince of Wales and Emperor Akihito of Japan, welcomed here in 2002. In the past, balls were held here, most notably after Prince Józef Poniatowski had liberated the city from the Austrians in 1809. Aside from its history and cultural value, the hall still is still used as a center of commerce. On the upper floor of the hall is the Sukiennice Museum division of the National Museum, Kraków.
It holds the largest permanent exhibit of the 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture, in four grand exhibition halls arranged by historical period and the theme extending into an entire artistic epoch. The museum was upgraded in 2010 with new technical equipment, service spaces as well as improved thematic layout for the display; the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art was a major cultural venue from the moment it opened on October 7, 1879. It features late Baroque and Classicist 18th-century portraits and battle scenes by Polish and foreign pre-Romantics. Culture of Kraków Events in Kraków Official Sukiennice museum website Sukiennice at www.fodors.com Gallery of photos from Sukiennice at www.krakow4u.pl Live WebCam
Russian boot is the name applied to a style of calf- or knee-length fashion boot for women, popular in the early part of the 20th century. Russian boots fell out of favor in the 1930s, but were the inspiration for the high-leg fashion boots that returned to popularity in the 1950s and 60s. Today the term Russian boot is sometimes applied to the style of low heeled boots worn by some folk dancers; the original Russian boot was the valenki, a flat heeled, wide topped, knee-length boot worn by Russian soldiers. Designed to combat the cold Russian winters, valenki were made of thick felt; the boots' uppers were loosely constructed for convenience and comfort, which produced the style's distinctive wrinkling effect around the ankles. The term was applied to women’s boots in leather that appeared in the second decade of the 20th century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shoes with high uppers, buttoned or laced and reaching to the lower calves, were common footwear for women. Rising hemlines made longer styles of boots popular when the alternative was exposure of the leg, still considered shocking.
In 1913, Denise Poiret, wife of celebrated French couturier Paul Poiret, caused a sensation in Paris and New York by wearing knee-length boots in wrinkled Morocco leather. Designed by her husband and made by the bottier Favereau, these boots were styled with a low heel and a square toe. Poiret, these so-called "Russian boots" were becoming an outré statement by some cutting-edge fashionable women. However, no boots of any kind caught on with the general public in these years, women being accustomed to traditional high-top shoes, either laced or buttoned. Russian boots remained a forward fashion statement, adopted by stage and film stars, including Mary Pickford, Irene Castle, Cécile Sorel and Gloria Swanson, endorsed by such leading designers as the London-based Lucile, who famously wore them herself. From the mid-1910s into the early'20s, as hemlines rose from ankle length to mid-calf, high-heeled Russian boots with pointe or rounded toes, were popular, they were available in a variety of styles, calf- or knee-length, with a Cuban or Louis heel, which could be pull-on, or zip-fastened for a closer fit.
Worn with calf-length and knee-length skirts, they featured decorative features such as elaborate stitching or fur trim. Russian boots were stylish throughout the 1920s as the fashionable alternative to galoshes in winter, they somehow acquired a racy reputation, as the sort of footwear worn by girls who frequented saloon bars and speakeasies. By the mid-1920s, British shoe manufacturers were reporting record orders for high-legged women’s boots and they were so popular that they were being blamed for causing women to catch colds, have accidents in the street, injure themselves. Popular in Britain, the new boot style spread to Paris and the United States, while English women in India complained that Russian boots were not yet available in Bombay; the emergence of these tall boots for women was interpreted by some contemporary writers as a consequence of women’s transition from the “leisure class” to the world of business With increasing sales, complaints began to be made about the poor quality of leather used in the cheaper pairs which were not adequately waterproofed and had a tendency to sag around the ankle.
Where protection from the elements was needed, Russian boots were replaced by fashionable variants of the rubber Wellington boot. Mass popularity was seen as a barrier to chic women adopting boots as a fashion item. Although they were still popular as late as the beginning of the 1930s, within a few years Russian boots had fallen out of favor, it was not until the 1950s. Russian boots were the inspiration for the modern fashion boot, some of which resemble styles that first appeared in the 1920s; the term “Russian boot” is applied to the flat-heeled, calf-length boots popular with some traditions of folk dancing those from Eastern Europe. In 2009, The New York Times reported that the original felt valenki was being reinvented as a fashion item in Russia Boot Fashion boot Valenki 1920s in fashion
Alexandros Panayi, born in Nicosia, Cyprus is a Greek Cypriot singer, lyricist, vocal coach, vocal arranger. He is best known for having represented his country twice at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1995 & 2000. Alex Panayi grew up in a family of musicians and artists, took his first musical steps under the guidance of his father Panayiotis Panayi, his mother Klairy Panayi. By the age of 18 he had established himself as one of the leading singers and songwriters of his country, moving on to study music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, sponsored by the Fulbright Scholarship. During his five-year stay in the United States he had the opportunity to perform with artists such as Gary Burton, Peter Erskine, The Manhattan Transfer, The New York Voices and Billy Joel, he toured the US as a member of The Vocal Summit – an a capella free improvisation vocal group – gaining the "Outstanding Musicianship Award" from the International Association of Jazz Educators. Alex's involvement with the Eurovision Song Contest includes: backing vocals for the 1989 Cypriot entry "Apopse As Vrethoume".
Stage director for Fabrizio Faniello, with the song "I do" – vocal coach for the Greek entry "Everything" Anna Vissi in 2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens, Greece Performing the song "There Is Love" in the Cypriot National Final 2009. He is a vocal producer and vocal coach in other European countries working with performers such as Helena Paparizou, Philipp Kirkorov and with producers such as Bruce Lowe, Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Uwe Fahrenkrog, he has performed on occasion at the "Herodion" Theatre of the Acropolis and has been Regional Music Supervisor for Disney, Buena Vista. Alex has been the official Greek voice of many Disney characters such as Tigger and has starred in more than 40 movies such as Lion King 2, Simba's Pride, Mulan, Brother Bear, many TV shows – he has the role of Johnny in the Greek production of Disney's Johnny and the Sprites, Captain Monogram, Irving, Norm, Roger in Disney's Phineas and Ferb. In 1998 he performed the singing voice of Jethro in the first classic animated movie of DreamWorks, The Prince of Egypt.
He has performed in Musical Theatre productions in Athens such as Grease in the rôle of Kennickie, the Nikos Karvelas musical "Mala" in the rôles of Moses & Abraham. Alex was producer and manager of the group Triimitonio releasing the album Triimitonio and the single "Hamogela" He is the lead vocalist and co-producer of the album Native Hue, featuring him reinterpreting several classic Eurovision songs through different genres. Alex was a teacher of vocal arts at the "Fame Studio" free study music school in Athens, assists various TV and live music shows as artistic director, he has participated in many TV shows in Greece and Cyprus as a vocal coach, judge, co-host and panellist – X-Factor, "Get on Stage", "DanSing for You", "The Music Box". He has written the script to, directed and written music and lyrics for the hit musicals "Feggaromberdemata", "Esmeralda", "Mia Mera Tou Dekemvri", all staged in Cyprus, he was commissioned by UNESCO to write a new musical to celebrate the presidency of Cyprus to the EU.
The musical named "Di-mentia" premiered in Paris on 15 October 2012. The musical "Gourouniasmata" for young viewers and their families premiered on December the 22nd 2012, played sold-out performances throughout Cyprus and preparations are under way to transfer the production to Athens and the former Soviet states, adapted in Russian; the sequel "Gourouniasmata 2. In June 2012 he co-founded in Cyprus, an international production co
Jennifer Maestre is a Massachusetts-based artist. She is best known for her pencil sculptures. Maestre was inspired by the form and function of the sea urchin. In her artist statement, she writes: "The spines of the urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, serve as an explicit warning against contact; the alluring texture of the spines draws the touch in spite of the possible consequences. The tension unveiled, we feel push and pull and repulsion; the sections of pencils present aspects of sharp and smooth for two different textural and aesthetic experiences... There is true a fragility to the sometimes brutal aspect of the sculptures, vulnerability, belied by the fearsome texture."Maestre uses a variety pencils and stitching to make the sculptures. She takes hundreds of pencils, cuts them into small 1-inch sections, drills a hole in each section, sharpens them all and sews them together, her work is in the permanent collections of the New Britain Museum of American Art. The Krannert Art Museum, the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park.
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The Fortunato Anselmo House is a historic house built in Late Victorian style located at 164 South 900 East in Salt Lake City, United States. The house was built in 1903 by a carpenter and contractor named Silas B. Wood at $4,000 in cost. In 1920, it became home for Fortunato and Anna Anselmo, who owned it until 1950, it became significant as the residence of the country of Italy's "vice consul for Utah and Wyoming". Fortunate Anselmo of Grimaldi, had become a spokesperson of Italian community as a newspaper owner, but sold the newspaper in 1915 upon being appointed vice consul, he continued to serve as an agent of the Bank of Naples, sending money orders from Italian-Americans of Salt Lake City back to their home country. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 1979, for having a state-wide significance. National Register of Historic Places listings in Salt Lake City
The Grandview Park Music Pavilion is a historic structure located in Sioux City, United States. The Monahan Post Band raised money in 1930 to build a modest music shell in the park. Construction was underway when the park's neighbors objected to the design; the project was put on hold as the band sought a more suitable design. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration in 1933, the city applied to have the new music shell included in Sioux City's projects. Henry L. Kamphoefner, an unknown Sioux City architect at that time, drew up the plans for the structure; the sculptural plaques on the front of the pavilion were designed by Herschel Elarth. The CWA approved the project on February 26, 1934 as CWA Project Number 217; the construction project required 52 tons of reinforcing steel, 4,200 bags of Portland cement, 300 bags of white cement, it was completed on October 17, 1934. Seating was constructed for 5,000 in the natural amphitheater; the pavilion was built using $47,436 from Federal Relief funds and $3,800 in materials from the city.
It was dedicated in the spring of 1935. The Monahan Post Band continued to play here until 1948, when they became the Sioux City Municipal Band, they continue the summer-time tradition. The music pavilion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011