Richard Meyer: church of Rome

Richard Meier’s Rome church is one event originally planned to mark the celebrations of the Jubilee of AD 2000. This was initiated by the Pope in 1994 when he called for a Special Consistory to prepare for the Great Jubilee at the starting point of the third millennium involving the Catholic world as a whole.
Meier’s project is the 50th church to be inaugurated in the Vatican’s Millennium Project. Each church has a community centre and they are built in various parish districts throughout Rome.
The Jubilee Church commission was the result of an international competition, and the Vatican’s shortlist included Meier, Gehry, Behnisch, Calatrava, Eisenman and Ando.
The award of the project to Meier was controversial from the outset, in that Meier as a Jew would be working with the foremost Catholic client – the Vatican itself. However, the relationship and the resultant complex are a triumph of this collaboration, and entirely successful in architecture of outstanding optimism.
The church, named Dio Padre Misericordioso (God our Merciful Father) by Pope John Paul II, was consecrated and inaugurated on 26 October 2003 by Cardinal Camillo Ruini in a four-hour service of celebration, music and ritual. This was attended by a huge congregation both within the church itself and externally on the church piazza.
The church is in an ordinary 1970s 10-storey housing quarter at Tor Tre Teste, a suburb at some distance from the centre of the city. Taken together, church and community centre form a spectacular new focus in an otherwise low-key suburban environment, and define both a religious precinct and a heartening sense of place.
Meier has said that ‘… expression of aspiration, hope and belief, as well as openness and transparency are all aspects of the ideas behind the design of this church’. It is a wonderful gift to the whole community of more than 25 000 people.
The fan-shaped site is approached directly from the east across a travertine paved entrance piazza (sagrato), which extends as a base to the church on the south and west of the precinct. The entrance is marked by several external features including a silver cross, and a campanile with exposed bells – the tower marking out both the church to the south and the community centre to the north. The generous entrance hall, defined by a travertine screen wall, is partly enclosed within by a raised organ loft. Once in the nave, the main altar is immediately visible at
the west end. Although unconventional, this position is a logical result of the frontal eastern entrance. Plan-form and section are extremely clear. Three circles of equal radius create three
concrete shells to the south and together with a thick spine wall to the north, the main space of the church nave is contained. In a contrasting, plain L plan around a sunken courtyard, is the community centre, on four levels. The centre is separated from the main church by a linear top-lit atrium.
The plan of the church is essentially traditional with nave, altar, side chapel and confessional booths. Introduction of the three shells transforms the project and implies the Holy Trinity. Natural light is the major theme, with skylights between each shell and over the main space, creating ever changing patterns within. Meier has referred to this as ‘… a luminous spatial experience … the rays of sunlight serve as a mystic metaphor of the presence of God’.

Pisa

The 14th-century Romanesque Leaning Tower is of course Pisa’s main attraction (it has 294 stairs) and really seems to overturn any moment. The tower reopened in November 2001, and as of October 2003 tickets to climb the tower were 15 Euros. A fortification project has made some progress in stopping the increase in inclination and even managed to pull the tower back a bit (40 centimetres). The Leaning Tower belongs to an ensemble of four impressive buildings all located on "Campo dei Miracoli" (square of miracles): the cathedral Santa Maria Assunta, the campanile (leaning tower that was actually a bell tower), the baptistry (looks like a huge "baci" chocolate, that is a delicious Italian candy) and the Camposanto cemetery.

Should time permit stop at Palazzo dei Cavalieri, walk down Via Santa Maria towards the river banks of Arno, where the small Gothic chapel of "Santa Maria della Spina" is located and the National Museum of San Matteo (excellent collection of 12th-through 15th-century art).

We also suggest taking a taxi/bus or bicycle ride to the Church of "San Michele degli Scalzi" to see the other leaning tower of Pisa; completed in the 13th century this seldom-visited tower is worth a look even though it’s not as impressive as the famous one.

It’s also fun just to walk around Pisa (pop. 104 000). The city is very compact with many narrow streets, small markets, hidden treasures and a great ambience; we suggest seeing it on a day trip from Florence perhaps in combination with Lucca just 13 mi/20 km northeast. Another possible stop is Pistoia which has a cathedral and baptistery in the Pisan-Romanesque style and the Ceppo Hospital (L’Ospedale de Ceppo) which has a brightly painted terra-cotta frieze.

Thanks for the guide in English to world66. Pictures are mine ;-)

Trento

Surrounded by mountains, this beautiful little city, founded by the Romans on
the banks of the Adige River, definitely has an Alpine flair. It spent most of its
history, from the 10th century though 1813, as a German-Austrian bishopric.
Trento offers to the tourist numerous desitinations of artistic interest, architectonic and cultural: from Castle of the Buonconsiglio that raised, imposing and attractive, on the town with harmonious merge oneself periods of edification (from the XI at the XVI century) and contained from a city-walls with bastions that delimits a wonderful garden, accomodates a museum collection; on the south side erises the Torre of the Aquila, at the inside of that can be admired a magnificent fresco of the first years of the '400 ordered by the Bishop Giorgio of Lichtenstein at a bohemian teacher: "Il Ciclo dei Mesi".
Continuing toward the historic centre, along Clesio road and road of the Suffragio, well-known also for the historic porticos, there is the seventeenth-century Trautmannsdorf Palace that is appeared on Raffaello Sanzio square and on Mostra square and on its facades has 149 masks, one different from the other with numerous expressions. Then along Antonio Manci road, where is situated Salvadori Palace, works of Lucio di Pietro of the beginnings of Sixteenth century, at whici is opposed the Mirana Tower seat of numerous events and exhibitions. Continue toward Duomo square along the Belenzani road, true treasure of architecture with the facades of Thun Palace, Geremia Palace and Alberti Colico Palace. In square of the Cathedral dedicated at San Vigilio and delimited from the other sides from walls of Pretorio Palace with the Tower and the Castelletto, primitive invigorated episcopal residence and Balduini Palace, can be admired the eighteenth-century Fontana del Nettuno work of Francesco Antonio Giongo.
The historic centre made precious from a pedestrian block that fills Pasi square, Oss Mazzurana road (seat of the Teatro Sociale), San Pietro road and largo Giosuè Carducci, animated square and well-known place of meeting.
The provincial territory of Trento fills the southern portion of the region and offers at the tourist a variegated landscape that soars from mild hills, at small lakes set between imposing peaks: from the northern offshoots of the Lake of Garda, true paradise for surfisti and the passionates of sail at the valleys to scour also in winter with rackets at the foots for unforgettable trips at contact with a pure nature (Val di Non, Val di Sole, Valsugana) and from which start modern installations of climb that allow to ski over a immense circuit (Madonna di Campiglio, Pinzolo, Altopiano della Paganella, Val di Fassa, Altipiani di Folgaria, Lavarone and Luserna). In summer the landscape changes its colours and the pure white of the snow is replaced from the luxuriant green of the pastures and of the woods, where lovers of the nature find their ideal habitat.

FESTIVALS & MARKETS In May and June, churches around the city are
the evocative settings of performances of the Festivale di Musica Sacra (Festival
of Sacred Music). Its final performances coincide with Festive Vigiliane, a
medieval pageant for which townspeople turn up in the Piazza del Duomo
appropriately decked out. Call the tourist office (& 0461-839-000) for performance
dates.
An ambitious program aptly named Superfestival stages musical performances,
historic dramas, and reenactments of medieval and Renaissance legends
in castles surrounding Trent; it runs from late June through September.
A small daily food market covers the paving stones of Piazza Alessandro Vittorio
every day from 8am to 1pm. A larger market, this one with clothing, crafts,
and bric-a-brac as well, is held Thursday 8am to 1pm in Piazza Arogno near the
Duomo; this same piazza hosts a flea market the third Sunday of every month.

ZeroDelta.net :: Index

Travel Forum

Read more at www.zerodelta.net/i-for...

What a shame!

My blog! My most beautyfull blog! I abandoned it! Shame on me!!!!

But I have good news for my readers: I've found wonderfull text to post and a lot of pictures. Coming soon, very soon. This time it's true!

Bergamo

Bergamo is a wonderfull city in the North of Italy. Not far from Milan you can easily reach Bergamo by car, train or plane (there's a small airport, Orio al Serio, close to the city and often used by low cost companies).
Bergamo is a clean, interesting and not so crowded gem in Italy. I like very much the "città alta" (high city) that is the ancient and interesting part of the city.
To get in "città alta " is not a good idea to use the car because usually it's difficult to park; it's better to take the "funiculare" and walk.
If you plan to visit the north of I taly I sugest to spend a day in Bergamo. you could stay in the daytime in the low part of the city, visiting and shopping, and than go to città alta for dinner.
Nighttime sight from the walls of città alta is a really mustsee!

welcome to my blog!

I finally did it!
usually I am too lazy to post something in English. Perhaps I am the too much typical italian, I like to speak but I am too lazy to write something, even in my language.
Now I found bolgspot and I discovered the power of this site and this software. My idea is to show you something about italy without any commercial goal.
I am italian, I live in Italy and I work with internet and tourism to live but (and this is a very important but) I don't have an hotel, I don't a website for hotel reservations, I am not interested in the web booking system of any kind. I am just interested in toourism, I love my country and I think I can give some usefull information here and some nice picture (that's easy for me since I am here). That's all.
Now I'll play a bit with the blog settings, I promise I'll start serious posting as soon as possible (next week, it's a promise!)