Church of Santa Engrácia, Igreja de Santa Engrácia, Lisbon, Portugal There is an old joke in Portugal; if something is never completed, it’s like the Santa Engrácia works (Obras de Santa Engrácia). The poor Santa Engrácia. Construction started in 1681… and wasn’t finished until 1966. That is quite an achievement in procrastination. There is a legend explaining why the church was so…
Continued from Part Three In Geneva, Switzerland; 9th/10th December 2017 On Sunday 10th December, Saturday’s events celebrating the Escalade are repeated, and in the evening the weekend’s celebrations reach their climax. Over 800 people form a procession that marches through old Geneva, looking truly majestic in the dark, with flickering torchlight to guide their way. It was raining most of…
Continued from Part Two In Geneva, Switzerland; 9th/10th December 2017 As there were going to be some re-enactments for the Escalade just outside Geneva Cathedral, we made sure we were in the Square in time. First we were treated to a sword fight. The man on the right was also explaining what they were doing, which was interesting, in that…
Continued from Part One In Geneva, Switzerland; 9th/10th December 2017 The City of Geneva began to celebrate the Escalade in earnest in 1898 with the formation of a Geneva Patriotic Association, renamed in 1926 as the Company of 1602. The group is in charge of the commemorations, ensuring that all is dignified and accurate, and they organise the reenactments in the…
In Geneva, Switzerland; 9th/10th December 2017 Let us go back to the year 1602; to the days when Geneva was a wealthy little city-state, getting on with making money and becoming one of the main economic hubs of late Renaissance Europe. Life was good in the Rome of the North – so good it was the cause of envy. One…
““ÇA COULE DE SOURCE!”: Aqueduc et histoires d’eau dans la Nyon romaine” at the Roman Museum of Nyon, Musée romain de Nyon, Nyon, Switzerland Running until June 2019, the Roman Museum in Nyon has an interesting, thoughtful exhibition on the use of water in the Roman world. Anyone who likes the Roman world will, in part, be basing their positive…
Roman Museum of Nyon, Musée romain de Nyon, Nyon, Switzerland As you walk around the museum, it is very striking to see just how intertwined the town’s Roman heritage is with its present. Not only is the structure of the museum actually within the foundations of the Roman basilica, but many of the objects on display name the street that they…
Basel Art Museum, Basel Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland I had been looking forward to visiting Basel’s Art Museum ever since I first read about it in a guide book. Apart from the fact that it has a formidable group of works by the city’s son, Holbein the Younger, the museum also supposedly has one of the largest and best collections in…
Queen: The Studio Experience, Montreux, Switzerland Thanks to having a mother who has always had the radio on throughout my life, I have a pretty eclectic taste in music. If it’s an oldie on BBC Radio 2, I probably like it. But with Queen, it’s been a bit different. Mama-Chickpea was a fan. Sister-Chickpeas were also fans, so I kind…
Les Charbonnières, Switzerland The last few weeks of September and the first few of October are significant times in Switzerland: it’s time for the désalpe, or the alpabzug. The cows, which have been feasting on the rich grasses and herbs of the mountains during the summer, are brought down to winter pastures back in the village. While some areas just…
Nyon Castle, Château de Nyon, Nyon, Switzerland On a dark and stormy afternoon, on the banks of Lake Geneva, the castle perched on the hill in Nyon looked imposing and cold. The white walls and pointy turrets looked promising, and the thunderbolts that were shooting down all around us made it necessary that we take shelter there regardless. The castle’s…
…Continued from Part One… Greece and Rome The stars of the collection are in the upstairs galleries. The Roman art is, frankly, extraordinary. Jacobsen had an agent in Rome who helped him acquire some of the most beautiful and delicate works of art – and the range of busts is even more amazing. But let’s begin with a lion, who…