September 2025 – – Corvinus –
Home 2025 September| - Corvinus -
In Antiquity, the charming town of Sant’Angelo in Vado was known as Tifernum Mataurense. The last part of the name referred to the position of the town along the river Metaurus (now the Metauro). Tifernum Mataurense became a municipium, a town associated with Rome, in the early first century BCE.…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
It has been a while since I last discussed a bridge in a post. The last occasion was probably when I wrote about the Ponte degli Alpini, a famous wooden bridge across the river Brenta in the charming town of Bassano del Grappa. The post I am writing now is…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
It proved to be quite a challenge to find a restaurant in Pavia that was open for lunch. It was August and many Italians were on vacation. Fortunately, a restaurant named Miscusi on the Piazza del Duomo gave us a warm welcome. While we sat outside in the shade and…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
Our Trotter travel guide gave the immense church of Santa Maria del Carmine just one little trotter. One trotter means: a tip, but not “interesting” (two little trotters) or “not to be missed” (thr…| - Corvinus -
Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, end of the fourteenth century.| - Corvinus -
Reliquary and diptych, fourteenth century.| - Corvinus -
Madonna with Child, Anthony the Abbot and Filippo Neri – Il Sassoferrato.| - Corvinus -
A short version of the history of this church could be something along the lines of: “It survived in the past because it was mistaken for another church, and it survives in the present becaus…| - Corvinus -
The church of San Teodoro is dedicated to Saint Theodorus of Pavia, who between ca. 740 and 778 served as bishop of Pavia. The history of the church goes back to the eighth century. Originally it was dedicated to Saint Agnes of Rome, who according to tradition was martyred in…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
The church of San Michele Maggiore is the most interesting building in Pavia for those who are interested in political history. The church was closely associated with the Longobard Kingdom (568-774) and its successor, the Kingdom of Italy, which in the tenth century became part of the Holy Roman Empire.…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
Although we had parked our car fairly close by, we had to take a rather long detour to reach the fascinating church of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro. The church stands somewhat isolated, perhaps a consequence of the fact that it was originally situated outside the walls of Pavia. Three…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
Although the name Certosa di Pavia suggests that this imposing monastic complex is located in Pavia, this is certainly not the case. The distance between the castle of Pavia and the monastery is, i…| - Corvinus -
Circumcision of Christ – Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri.| - Corvinus -
Dat in augustus veel Italianen met vakantie zijn, merkten we goed bij ons bezoek aan het charmante Sassoferrato. We konden gemakkelijk een parkeerplaats vinden in het hooggelegen gedeelte van het s…| - Corvinus -
Mooi zou ik de Duomo van Fano of kathedraal van Santa Maria Assunta niet willen noemen, eerder intrigerend. Volgens mijn reisgids werd de eerste versie van de Duomo al in de vierde eeuw gebouwd.[1] Als dat klopt, ging deze kathedraal in de zesde eeuw verloren tijdens de Gotische oorlog (535-554),…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
De Romeinse oorsprong van Fano is bewaard gebleven in de naam van het stadje. Ooit heette Fano namelijk Fanum Fortunae. Fanum is het Latijnse woord voor heiligdom, en dit heiligdom was gewijd aan Fortuna, de godin van het lot en van geluk en ongeluk. Het gebied rondom Fano werd al…Continue reading| – Corvinus –
Onze tocht naar Arcevia was bepaald spannend te noemen. We vertrouwden blind op onze routeplanner, en die voerde ons over de meest hobbelige wegen naar dit charmante stadje dat op 535 meter boven z…| - Corvinus -
The cathedral of Asti, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta and San Gottardo, is located on the northwestern edge of the historical city centre. The large building – travel guides like to stress that i…| - Corvinus -
We set out from our hotel on the Place du Président Wilson and entered the centre of charming Dijon. Our plan: a walk along the most interesting churches of the city. There happen to be quite a num…| - Corvinus -
Als kind kreeg ik ooit een geschiedenisboek waarin een plaatje van het praalgraf van hertog Filips de Stoute van Bourgondië stond. Ik weet nog dat ik diep onder de indruk was. Die kleuren! Dat real…| - Corvinus -
In spite of its impressive name, Domrémy-la-Pucelle is just a tiny village. Nowadays it has less than a hundred inhabitants. Nevertheless, Domrémy is world-famous, as it is the birthplace of Joan o…| - Corvinus -
In onze Trotter reisgids kreeg de immense kerk van Santa Maria del Carmine maar één trottertje. Dat wil zeggen: een tip, maar niet ‘interessant’ (twee trottertjes) of ‘niet te missen’ (drie trotter…| - Corvinus -
Hoewel de naam Certosa di Pavia wellicht doet vermoeden dat dit imposante kloostercomplex zich in Pavia bevindt, is dit zeer zeker niet het geval. Vanaf het kasteel van Pavia is het, in een rechte …| - Corvinus -
From our pleasant agriturismo it was about 50 minutes by car to the charming town of Jesi, birthplace of the great medieval monarch Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250), a man who was both Germ…| - Corvinus -
It is one of the most famous double portraits in history: that of Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482) and his second wife Battista Sforza (1446-1472), painted by Piero della Francesca (ca. 1415-149…| - Corvinus -
Een bezoek aan de kerk van San Francesco kan worden beschouwd als het hoogtepunt van iedere trip naar Arezzo. De kerk zelf is niet erg bijzonder. Ze werd gebouwd in de tweede helft van de dertiende…| - Corvinus -
Vanaf onze prettige agriturismo was het ongeveer 50 minuten rijden naar het charmante stadje Jesi, de geboorteplaats van de grote middeleeuwse vorst Frederik II van Hohenstaufen (1194-1250), een ma…| - Corvinus -
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250) can be counted among the greatest monarchs spawned by the European Middle Ages. He was King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, but also a crusader and a patr…| - Corvinus -
The Piazza Federico II in Jesi is named after the most famous man ever to have been born in this town in the Marche: Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250), King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor.…| - Corvinus -
We parked our car in the free parking garage called Parcheggio Mercantini and climbed the hill where the gorgeous church of San Marco is situated. The church and adjacent convent have been used by …| - Corvinus -
Ancient Bibracte was an important fortified settlement (oppidum) of the Gallic tribe of the Aedui. According to the Roman general Gaius Julius Caesar it was their largest and most prosperous city.[…| - Corvinus -
The fine arts museum in Dijon is housed in the former palace of the Burgundian dukes. It opened to the public as early as 1787, even before the French revolution, which makes it one of the oldest m…| - Corvinus -
The churches of Sassoferrato were beautiful and its museums interesting, but the real reason I wanted to visit the town was that in its vicinity the famous ancient town of Sentinum was situated. Th…| - Corvinus -
One of the most important museums in Sassoferrato rather oddly does not use the word “museum” in its name. The Civica Raccolta d’Arte is, apparently, first and foremost a raccolta or collection. Th…| - Corvinus -
The male Franciscans settled in Sassoferrato in the thirteenth century, and so did their female counterparts the Poor Clares. In 1253, just a stone’s throw away from the church of San Francesco, th…| - Corvinus -
Many Italians are on holiday in August. That became very clear to us when we visited the charming town of Sassoferrato. We could easily find a spot to park our car in the high part of town and then…| - Corvinus -
We parked our car in the Viale della Repubblica and continued on foot to the historical centre of Fossombrone. During the Middle Ages the town was part of the Papal States. The Pope in Rome had app…| - Corvinus -
Just outside the built-up area of Fossombrone lie the remains of the town to which Fossombrone owes its name: the Roman colony of Forum Sempronii.[1] The colony was founded along the Via Flaminia, …| - Corvinus -
In the more distant past the monastery of Champmol was situated a bit outside Dijon, but nowadays the former monastic terrain is firmly within the city. Our trip to Champmol from the city centre pr…| - Corvinus -
By far the most spectacular room in the Musée des Beaux Arts in Dijon is the Hall of the Guard (salle des Gardes). Here we find the funerary monuments of dukes Philip the Bold and John the Fearless…| - Corvinus -
As a child I was once handed a history book that had an image of the tomb of Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy. I still vividly remember how deeply impressed I was. Those colours! That realism! Was …| - Corvinus -
On a beautiful sunny morning in January of 2023 I visited the famous cathedral of Cefalù that rises along the north coast of Sicily. The trip by train from Palermo to Cefalù was comfortable and qui…| - Corvinus -
We parkeerden onze auto in de Viale della Repubblica en wandelden van daar het historische centrum van het stadje in. In de Middeleeuwen was Fossombrone onderdeel van de Pauselijke Staat. De paus h…| - Corvinus -
Even buiten de bebouwde kom van Fossombrone liggen de restanten van het stadje waaraan Fossombrone haar naam dankt: de Romeinse kolonie Forum Sempronii.[1] De kolonie werd gesticht aan de Via Flami…| - Corvinus -
De kerken van Sassoferrato waren mooi en de musea interessant, maar de echte reden dat ik het stadje wilde bezoeken was dat in de buurt ervan in de Oudheid het beroemde Sentinum lag. Dit was de ple…| - Corvinus -
Een van de belangrijkste musea in Sassoferrato heeft vreemd genoeg niet het woord ‘museum’ in de naam. De Civica Raccolta d’Arte is kennelijk in de eerste plaats een raccolta of verzameling. De ove…| - Corvinus -
Waar de mannelijke Franciscanen in de dertiende eeuw in Sassoferrato neerstreken, gold dat ook voor hun vrouwelijke tegenhangers van de Clarissen. Zij stichtten in 1253 op een steenworp afstand van…| - Corvinus -
Opinions about the cathedral of Palermo are quite divided. Some people think that the building is magnificent, and that the mixture of architectural styles presents us with an intriguing summary of…| - Corvinus -
“Signore, fiori?” On my way to the famous church of Santo Spirito in Palermo I was asked that question at least five times: whether I wanted to buy flowers. The question is not that odd, as the chu…| - Corvinus -
The Castello dell’Imperatore was built on the spot previously occupied by a stronghold of the local Alberti family. In the eleventh century the settlement that had sprung up around this Castrum Pra…| - Corvinus -
The area in Naples where we find the church of Santa Maria del Carmine is bristling with history. The church adjoins the Piazza del Carmine, which is in fact an extension of the larger Piazza del M…| - Corvinus -
In januari 2017 keerde ik terug naar de San Paolo fuori le Mura (Sint Paulus buiten de Muren), een van de vijf pauselijke basilieken in Rome.[1] Ik had de basiliek eerder bezocht in 2011 en was ero…| - Corvinus -
De Santa Maria in Trastevere is met afstand mijn favoriete kerk in Trastevere. Altijd als ik naar Rome ga, probeer ik wat tijd vrij te maken om deze specifieke kerk te bezoeken. De Santa Maria zou …| - Corvinus -
Deze zeer oude kerk in de rione Trastevere is beslist een bezoek waard. De kerk is gewijd aan Sint Cecilia, die beschouwd wordt als de beschermheilige van de muziek en van wie de feestdag 22 novemb…| - Corvinus -
“Signore, fiori?” Op weg naar de beroemde kerk van Santo Spirito in Palermo werd mij die vraag wel vijf keer gesteld: of ik bloemen wenste te kopen. De vraag is niet zo gek, want de kerk staat op e…| - Corvinus -
Het Castel Sant’Angelo (de Engelenburcht) is een van de opvallendste bouwwerken langs de rivier de Tiber. Het is moeilijk voor te stellen dat deze imposante cilindervormige trommel op een gro…| - Corvinus -
It is clear that the church of San Francesco, which adjoins the eponymous square in Prato, wants to welcome foreign tourists: most of the information panels in the building are in both Italian and …| - Corvinus -
Unlike many other Italian cities, Prato does not really have any roots in Antiquity. It was preceded by the medieval village of Borgo al Cornio, which had a small church (pieve) dedicated to Saint …| - Corvinus -
The two towers of Bologna are the Torre degli Asinelli and Torre Garisenda. Together they are the emblematic icons of this city of students. In the past, Bologna had dozens of similar towers. These…| - Corvinus -
The basilica of San Petronio is by far the largest church in all of Bologna, and also one of the largest in Italy. The building is 132 metres deep and 60 metres wide. The façade reaches a height of…| - Corvinus -
The church of San Francesco is an immense basilica in the centre of Bologna that stands about 500 metres west of the famous Piazza Maggiore. The apse of the edifice is a rather conspicuous part of …| - Corvinus -
The Pantheon is one of Rome’s most famous landmarks. In its current form, it dates from the second century. What is special, is that it is still more or less in one piece and that it has neve…| - Corvinus -
The San Giovanni in Laterano is the most important Roman Catholic church in the world. It is the seat of the Pope as bishop of the diocese of Rome and is therefore the city’s cathedral. It ra…| - Corvinus -
This very old church in the Rione of Trastevere is certainly worth a visit. It is dedicated to Saint Cecilia, who is considered a patron saint of music and whose feast day is on 22 November. On tha…| - Corvinus -
De immense kerk van San Domenico Maggiore behoort tot de interessantste in Napels. Bijzonder aan de kerk is dat ze haar hoofdingang feitelijk aan de achterzijde heeft. De meeste bezoekers betreden …| - Corvinus -
Sant’Eligio Maggiore is de eerste kerk in Napels die de nieuwe dynastie van de Angevijnen in de stad liet bouwen. Stichter van de dynastie was Karel van Anjou (ca. 1226-1285), de jongere broer van …| - Corvinus -
De omgeving van de kerk van Santa Maria del Carmine bruist van de geschiedenis. De kerk staat aan de Piazza del Carmine, die in feite een uitloper is van de grotere Piazza del Mercato. Dit plein we…| - Corvinus -
De fraaie kerk van Sant’Angelo a Nilo is gewijd aan de aartsengel Michael. De toevoeging ‘a Nilo’ verwijst naar een liggend beeld van de riviergod Nijl dat in de Oudheid voor Egyptische kooplieden …| - Corvinus -
Het is niet precies bekend wanneer er voor het eerst een kerk op deze plek werd gebouwd. Mogelijk was dit al in de twaalfde eeuw, maar zekerheid hebben we niet. In elk geval stond hier in de zestie…| - Corvinus -
De naam “Brera” is klaarblijkelijk afgeleid van een Germaans woord, braida, dat “grasveld” betekent. In deze Milanese wijk wonen niet alleen veel kunstenaars, we vinden er o…| - Corvinus -
I have many travel guides about Italy. Almost all of them contain information about Bologna, but remarkably not a single one of them discusses the cathedral of the city. Apparently the Duomo of Bol…| - Corvinus -
Together with Franciscus of Assisi, Dominicus de Guzmán can be counted among the most important church reformers of the thirteenth century. He was born around the year 1170 in the kingdom of Castil…| - Corvinus -
When discussing the early history of Venice, we should always keep in mind that settlement in the Rialto archipelago – now the nucleus of Venice – did not start in earnest until the ear…| - Corvinus -
Our trip to Cesenatico was, in many respects, a trip down memory lane. As a seventeen-year-old my better half had spent a vacation with the girls there and she was curious how much of the town she …| - Corvinus -
From our hotel in Piacenza it was a 35-minute drive to the picturesque town of Castell’Arquato. The town was highly praised in our travel guide because of its beauty and panoramic views, and once w…| - Corvinus -
My two visits to the Palazzo Pretorio in Prato both got off to a rather bad start. In the summer of 2020 my better half and I arrived just too late to visit the museum. All we could do was have a l…| - Corvinus -
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is the church of the Servites in Florence. This Order of Servants of Mary was founded in 1233 by seven Florentines who had simultaneously experienced a visi…| - Corvinus -
The Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the richest churches in Rome. There is so much to see and so much to tell about the history of this church and its treasures, that one could easily write mul…| - Corvinus -
The stately Palazzo Mazzetti stands along the long Corso Vittorio Alfieri, named after the famous playwright and poet (1749-1803) who was born in Asti. The history of the palazzo goes back to the M…| - Corvinus -
We do not really know whether Saint Secundus can be considered historical. According to tradition he was a Roman soldier who was martyred in the year 119, during the reign of the emperor Hadrianus,…| - Corvinus -
Het is een van de beroemdste dubbelportretten uit de geschiedenis: dat van Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482) en zijn tweede vrouw Battista Sforza (1446-1472), geschilderd door Piero della Frances…| - Corvinus -
In 2020 moest ik de Pinacoteca Nazionale helaas aan me voorbij laten gaan, aangezien het museum toen vanwege de coronacrisis was gesloten. Toen ik bijna vier jaar later terug was in Bologna, was ik…| - Corvinus -
De kerk en het klooster van San Domenico bevinden zich niet in het centrum van Fiesole, maar in het lagergelegen gedeelte van het stadje. Het is dan ook leuk om na een bezoek aan de bezienswaardigh…| - Corvinus -
In true Sicilian style I travelled to the world-famous cathedral of Monreale: on a rattling bus with no number. The bus departed from the Piazza Indipendenza in Palermo, directly behind the Palazzo…| - Corvinus -
Inmiddels heb ik het charmante stadje Siena al vele malen bezocht. In alle voorgaande gevallen nam ik de auto of de trein, maar tijdens mijn meest recente bezoek in januari van dit jaar besloot ik …| - Corvinus -
Perhaps I had underestimated a bit how important the feast of Epiphany is for the people of Palermo. I found a lot of tourist attractions in the city closed on that day, but the Palazzo Abatellis i…| - Corvinus -
Together with the palace of La Zisa, discussed previously, La Cuba is one of the summer residences of the Norman kings of Sicily outside Palermo. The palace was built in 1180 by King William II “th…| - Corvinus -
