Church of St Mary of Belém, Igreja Sta. Maria Belém, Lisbon, Portugal The first view you get of the inside of the church is from the viewing platform at the back, which you reach from the staircase leading to the second floor of the cloisters of the Jerónimos Monastery. You look down on the nave and get to really appreciate…
Jerónimos Monastery, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisbon, Portugal One of most famous sites of Lisbon is the Jerónimos Monastery – a late Gothic “Manueline” style building that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s big. It’s grand. It’s odd. The monastery was built on a site occupied by a church dedicated to Santa Maria de Belém. Its monks were members of the Order of Christ…
St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland About half way down the Royal Mile is St Giles’ Cathedral, dedicated to the patron saint of Edinburgh. It has been an important part of religious life in the city for almost 900 years and some of that rich history is still visible – albeit submerged under 19th century renovation. During the Middle Ages, the…
The Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland Every great capital city needs a great art gallery and so it makes sense that Edinburgh, which is a great city, has a great art gallery. There is a formidable mix of Scottish and international paintings and sculptures, in a nicely ‘old-fashioned’ setting, and the quality and range of what’s on display can probably…
…continued from Part One…. Gothic Ivories Gulbenkian first became interested in medieval ivories at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900 – but it took him 14 years to get his hands on one. In the end, he created a lovely little collection that was fascinating to look at. European Painting Only about half of the 200 paintings that Gulbenkian…
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal While America is littered with museums built around the varied collections of their millionaire founders, this sort of thing is much rarer in Europe. The Armenian Calouste Gulbenkian, who made his fortune from oil, put his money to good use and amassed an amazing little collection of objects from across the ages which…
…continued from Part One… Getting Ready for the Joust So. The main reason I wanted to come to this fair was so I could see the joust. I’ve always wanted to see jousting. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I went to the two shows – which is why my photos are from a couple of angles. Now, the…
Les Grandes Médiévales d’Andilly, Andilly, France Quite by chance, Sister-Chickpea came across an exciting looking event that was held not far from home. It was a Medieval spectacle, over two weekends in May, and although I wasn’t sure what to expect – or whether it was worth the hefty €25 fee – I had the most amazing time. Andilly is a…
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark The name Carlsberg is synonymous with beer. It’s quite funny that with every bottle of beer that got guzzled, the Carlsberg family was able to amass a fortune which was put towards buying art. Next time you want a beer that supports the fine arts, buy Carlsberg. But seriously, the history of the Carlsberg beer…
…continued from Part Two… The Mediterranean Museum has a very fine Egyptian collection. It contains objects which were brought to Sweden in the 1700s by merchants and seamen who collected pottery, amulets and papyrus as souvenirs. In the 1800s, scientists and explorers traveled along the Nile and often donated objects to the Royal collection, as did the Consul General of…
…continued from Part One… Stockholm houses one of the largest archaeological collections from Cyprus. This is in large part thanks to the excavations undertaken in 1927-1931 by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition. They dug in about twenty locations and discovered material from the Stone Age to the Roman era. The team were also notable for their scholarship in that they not…
The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden Clearly if a town has a museum dedicated to the ancient world, I’m there. And I’ll probably be there for a long time. And I was at the Mediterranean Museum for much longer than I expected – and still didn’t see the entire collection. I totally missed the Islamic section,…