mezquita.

I definitely knew the Alhambra was going to wow the socks off me (although I wasn't prepared for the numerous tourists), but the Mezquita's beauty was a delightful surprise. The complex was truly magical and my favorite part of the trip. The Mezquita was once a huge mosque, then turned to Christian hands. Rather than tear the complex down, the Christians decided to insert a cathedral into the plan (16th cen).

exterior

forest of columns of the mosque

beautiful double arches

side chapel incorporating original columns

cathedral high altar

alhambra.

Nasrid Palace

From the numerous details to the way the complex deals with water, this place was amazing. Although I had to elbow hundreds (thousands?) of Spanish tourists to capture these photos.

alcázares reales de sevilla.

I can tell I'm my father's (okay, and mother's) child for the love of all things green. May I present the Alcázares Reales de Sevilla, or at least the garden.

sevilla cathedral.

entrance to the Cathedral

entrance to the Cabildo (Chapter House) - I think...

I was so excited to go to Andalucía and actually see some art and architecture that wasn't overly Classical in nature. Yet somehow one of the most compelling (or so I think) photos of mine is of the ONE Renaissance addition to the otherwise Gothic Cathedral of Sevilla. I could go into an explanation for this, but it'll probably just bore the socks off of you. Regardless, the architecture, art and ornament found throughout Andalucía is pretty spectacular, even if the photos I took do not record it fully. All of it, whether Moorish or Gothic, drips with detail and ornament, and is less severe than its northern Gothic brethren in France and Germany.

ciao roma.

All quiet on the western front here - I was in the midst of finals. However, come tomorrow I'll be in Spain (Andalucía specifically) and I'll overwhelm you with more photos... stay tuned.

thanksgiving.

I thought this photo was fitting for today. It's from my junior year of undergrad and part of my first-ever photography show. Enjoy and have a fabulous Thanksgiving everyone!!

borromini.

Admittedly, I was kind of hating on architecture for awhile. What can I say? It's that time of the quarter! You know, that point when the level of frustration is at its highest, productivity is at its lowest and confidence is so low that it floats within the viscous tides of the earth's mantle. And then you see something that renews your faith in certain life choices. Or at least cheers you up. Borromini and his genius did that for me, with two tiny churches of his - S. Ivo and S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. His work is incredibly sculptural and remarkably restrained considering he lived within the height of the Baroque.

dome of S. Ivo

dome of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

scala santa.

Tradition has it that Jesus ascended these very steps on his way to Pontius Pilate and now devout Catholics, and perhaps naughty heathens, climb these stairs on their knees as a pious act. St. Helena (Constantine's mother), brought the stairs from Jerusalem to Rome in 326, continuing a long habit of christians - stealing holy things from other people and other places.

mosaic.

And in the meantime:

fellowship.

It's time now to crack down on my fellowship work. I would love it if you visited my (constantly updating) flickr page to see the work in progress. In essence, I'm attempting to photo document early christian churches. I'm not sure if I'll be able to investigate this thoroughly as I'm not sure if there is enough evidence, but I'm really interested in the development of early christian churches - surely there wasn't a set church "template" from the beginning, just as there wasn't a set dogma from the beginning. We'll see. Comment and let me know what you think thus far! I'll be continuing to add to it as I continue to find early christian gems to photograph...

ps: and I apologize, they're kind of boring - sorry!

protest.

These aren't pretty images by any means, but I feel they're appropriate to post. One of the many things I love about Italy is its enthusiasm to protest, something we need more of in the States. Tonight's was about women's rights. And they were selling 1 euro beer and blasting Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin out of a van. Respect yo.

villa lante.

More gardens and architecture in the landscape...

la navata nuova del duomo di siena.

One thing lacking in the US is the evidence of a history bygone. There are no ruins, nor are there incomplete projects - everything is tidy. Italy (and presumably a vast majority of the world) exhibits the opposite. There's lots of overlapping and built records of history. One of the most extraordinary examples of this is the nave addition to Siena's Cathedral. In 1348 the plague thwarted Siena's ambitions, including the completion of the nave. What's left, well you can see below.

view from atop the nave wall of the Duomo di Siena

pienza.

The flower is the poetry of reproduction.
It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.
Jean Giraudoux

birds.

birds at s. biagio

Technically I shouldn't be posting this, nor technically should you read the following, however I'll consider this free advertisement...? I thoroughly enjoyed his pigeon poetry as well.

Into the Sun
Andrew Mealey

Spreading wings, soaring into the sky
Warming light lifting higher and higher
Sounds becoming infinitely softer in flight
Never fearing melting pinions of joyous desire
Come with me next time

paestum.

Temple of Hera

Somewhere amid the election chaos, I forgot to post about Paestum. And my apologizes to color enthusiasts in regards to my blog as of late... And because I'm procrastinating, I found some modern Greek poetry that may or may not have anything to do with the above photo. And reminds me of Faucault (doooork).

The Veil

A man locked in a labyrinth never looks for the truth
but only for his Ariadne.
Truth is not unveiling which destroys the secret;
it is the revelation which does it justice.
Our experience remains the captive of a knowledge
which is no longer our experience;
our knowledge is embarrassed by an experience
which has not yet become knowledge.
We must weave new intellectual patterns,
searching for the potential spaces of a "truth"
that would be neither true nor false;
for a "truth" that would be
implausible

improbable

incredible

thereby making error (pathos)
the thread of life.

Haris Vlavianos, POETRY Greece, January 2000

il tempietto.

The High Renaissance's perfect little building.

hadrian's villa.

I seem to be more into sculpture than architecture these days... Hadrian's Villa is just a short ride out of Rome and well-worth the trip. Assuming you enjoy ancient ruins poking out of a vast landscape...

vatican gardens.

I've always been one who appreciates irony. Including following an Obama entry with one concerning the Vatican.

il mondo cambia.

translated: the world is changing

Damn straight.

vote.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

capisci?

villa rufolo.

or at least the vines growing on it.

il cimitero di amalfi.

Located high above the town of Amalfi, one can find this beautiful cemetery. The following is a series of "portraits" of the family burial alcoves nestled into the hillside.

tarquinia.

Necropoli di Tarquinia

Beneath the mounds of earth are Etruscan tombs with surprisingly preserved frescoes. Slightly creepy (especially when the viewing lights go out on you), but mostly pretty sweet.

santo stefano di sessanio.

It's amazing how even the smallest of labyrinths is still a labyrinth, including this beautiful medieval town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio (located in the Abruzzan Apennines).

rocca calascio.

I had the pleasure of being given the grand tour of Abruzzo, or at least the few kilometers surrounding Chieti, thanks to Chris' gracious hospitality. The footage shall follow.

church upon Rocca Calascio

and the one time patrons of above church

porta octavius.

Rome, Italy, Europe - the datum of beauty. And yet, with every shot I take, the pictures are overwhelmingly cliché. So, while I struggle to photograph something "original," I'll turn those clichés into greyscale clichés.

Porta Octavius

palladian countryside.

The following is actually about love, or more specifically, Cupid (or Eros), but I felt it fitting for the subject of the photo.

Sonnet I

Ancient, winged god, thou who didst first draw breath
With sun and stars together at one birth,
Thou who to all things givest life and death,
Flying by devious pathways through the earth,
My heart which languish thee in bitter pain,
Seeking for thorny and malignant grief
A thousand remedies, but all in vain,
In thee, O Time, alone findeth relief
Thought thou uprootest, with forgetfulness
Healest our wounds, and lastly dost dispel
The mists which have these royal cloisters sealed;
Truth in her pure, unveilèd loveliness
Thou hast uplifted even from the well
Where she lay hid, and to all eyes revealed.

Torquato Tasso, 1544-1595
(Palladio and Tasso were contemporaries)

edificio arsenale.

pretty.

la biennale di venezia.

... architecture is not building. Buildings are objects and the act of construction leads to such objects, but architecture is how we think and talk about buildings, how we represent them, and how we build them. More generally, architecture is a way of representing, shaping and offering critical alternatives to the built environment. In a tangible sense, architecture is that which allows us to be at home in the world. In our society, buildings are too often the residue of the desire to make another world - a better world, open to possibilities beyond the everyday.

Aaron Betsky, Out There: Architecture Beyond Building, 11th Director

Danish Pavilion

Swiss Pavllion

Hong Kong Exhibit

Arsenale Building