Cute Animals

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Art from Venice :)

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Murano glass masters - Art of Venice

 

History of Murano Glass

Since ancient times man has paid an almost mystic- attention to glass, attributing something magical and supernatural to this transparent material. Magicians of legend could predict the future by gazing into a crystal sphere, chemists and alchemists studied prisms in search of a stone which would turn metal into gold, magic that was born in flames and like that fire that gave life to the popular belief of the Phoenix, the mythological bird with the golden plumes, glass is synonymous with beauty. Still today, for the visitors who come to Murano, the same scenes which inspired writers and legend are represented. In fact the furnace structures have remained unaltered over time and new technology is seen only in small details. All this is because of the attachment the master glass-blowers have towards tradition. Like a clock, they seem to have stopped time in the more than one thousand years of history of glass-blowing in Venice. The glass masters "battono" (beat, i.e. use) the same glass-blowers pipes and the same instruments which were knowingly forged in the machine shops which were built up over the island which, together with other small activities, has made Murano one of the centers of Venetian commerce. The origins of the art of glass blowing in Venice go back to before the first millennium. This is confirmed by a document written by a Benedict monk, Domenico called "Fiolario", who manufactured phials for use in the home. There is no certainty as to the shape of this phial since not one, neither whole nor in pieces, survived to the present day. We can only hypothesize as to the aspect of the phial from some iconographic documents. The technique used to make the phial was that of blowing into glass using those instruments that the late Roman glass blowing activities had passed down through the ages. It is presumed that later the technique was refined in Venice more than any where else in Europe because of the trading contacts that the Venetians had with the Orient and above all with countries that already had an ancient tradition in glass blowing such as the Fenici, the Syrians and the Egyptians. Such traditions, renewed in the celebrated furnaces of Islam, were an occasion to reconstruct both Western and Oriental knowledge and techniques there by giving the Venetian production a particularness that made their glass so important throughout the world over the course of centuries. Today Venetian glass production is at it's pinnacle, and is world renowned for it's quality and form.

 Venecijos meistrų - Murano stiklo dirbiniai

 Šio nepaprastai gražaus stiklo gamybos technologija buvo šimtmečius slepiama venecijiečių. Amatininkai Murano stiklo karoliukus pradėjo gaminti ketindami imituoti brangakmenius, tačiau rezultatas buvo toks unikalus ir tuo pačiu taip skyrėsi nuo imituojamų brangakmenių, kad laikui bėgant išsivystė į atskirą meno šaką.
Kiekvienas Murano stiklo karoliukas yra individualiai gaminamas rankomis, todėl jei pirktume daugiau vienodų to paties gamintojo karoliukų, jie nebus identiški - turės nedidelių spalvos, formos ar dydžio skirtumų. Kad šie nuostabaus grožio karoliukai būtų dar elegantiškesni, amatininkai įlieja sidabro, platinos ar 24 karatų aukso folijos. Šia folija užkloja iš stiklo padarytą pagrindą ir užlieja skaidriu arba spalvotu stiklo sluoksniu. Kai kuriems dirbiniams yra sukuriamas matinis efektas, kuris juos daro dar įdomesnius ir paslaptingesnius.
Nors pavadinimas yra kilęs iš Murano salos, ilgainiui šis garsus stiklas tapo visos Venecijos įvaizdžiu. Venecijoje stiklo liejimas menamas nuo seno, tačiau pasaulyje pagarsėjo tik tryliktame amžiuje. 1291 metais visos gamyklos buvo perkeltos į Murano salą Venecijos lagūnoje, esančioje už 16km nuo miesto centro.Egzistuoja keletas teorijų dėl šio persikėlimo. Dažniausiai sakoma, kad taip buvo norima apsaugoti Veneciją nuo gaisrų, kuriuos neretai sukeldavo stiklo liejimo krosnys, kita vertus, kai kurie istorikai tiki, kad perkeldama gamyklas į atokią Murano salą, vyriausybė stengėsi išlaikyti paslaptyje stiklo gamybos technologijas.
Daugybė Europos stiklo gamintojų bandė kopijuoti venecijiečių naudojamus metodus, medžiagas bei dekoracijas, tačiau tai buvo itin sudėtinga - sindikatas ne tik draudė išduoti taip saugomas paslaptis, bet ir stengėsi užkirsti kelią savo darbininkams už šios stiklo karalystės sienų. Deja,
vienas garsiausių to meto amatininkų Antonio Neri 1612 metais išleido knygą "Stiklo menas", kurioje atskleidė visas Murano stiklo gamybos technologijas.Po šios knygos išleidimo, daugelis šalių išvystė individualų būdą kaip pasigaminti šio nuostabaus stiklo patiems. Tačiau nedaugelis sugebėjo atkartoti tikrąjį Murano stiklą, kurio didžiausia vertė yra ta, kad susilietęs su oda įgauna gilią spalvą ir ryškią šviesą. Pasaulyje venecijiečių amatininkams yra vis dar pavydima šios detalės, kurios paslaptis nebuvo atskleista iki šiol.
http://www.farwater.eu/murano-stiklas.htm

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Thanks for the birthday greeting Olindo from Italy :)

Italy

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Bee and ladybird

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Castel Sant'Angelo

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Rome. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. More...

Piazza Navona, Rome

Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones ("games"), and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis' (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to 'in agone' to 'navone' and eventually to 'navona'. More...

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa  or simply the Tower of Pisa  is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) after the Cathedral and the Baptistry.
The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the low side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m (13.42 ft) and at the top 2.48 m (8.14 ft). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees,but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees.This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from where it would be if the structure were perfectly vertical. More...

Florence

David and Devil's Bridge,(Tuscany)

1.Michelangelo's David is kept in the Florence accademia gallery, one of the most famous museums in Florence academia gallery is best known for Michelangelos david and florence michelangelo.
The Academy of the Art of Design is an art academy in Florence, Italy.
The Florence Academia Gallery (Accademia di Belle Arti) has housed the original David of Michelangelo since 1873.
The sculpture was brought to the Accademia for reasons of conservation, it was moved from its previous outdoor location on Piazza della Signoria.
Among the notable renaissance works on display are an outstanding collection of 15th and 16th century Florentine paintings by the main artists of the renaissance in Florence.

2.Tuscany (Italian: Toscana,) is a region in Central Italy. It has an area of 22,990 square kilometres (8,880 sq mi) and a population of about 3.7 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its beautiful landscapes, its rich artistic legacy and vast influence on high culture. Tuscany is widely regarded as the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and has been home to some of the most influential people in the history of arts and science, such as Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespucci and Puccini. Due to this, the region has several museums (such as the Uffizi, the Pitti Palace and the Chianciano Museum of Art). Tuscany has a unique culinary tradition, and is famous for its wines (most famous of which are Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino).More...

My bookmark shows Ponte della Maddalena (Italian: "Bridge of Mary Magdalene") is a bridge crossing the Serchio river near the town of Borgo a Mozzano in the Italian province of Lucca.[1][2]. One of numerous medieval bridges known as Ponte del Diavolo, the "Bridge of the Devil", it was a vital river crossing on the Via Francigena, an early medieval road to Rome for those coming from France that was an important medieval pilgrimage route.

The bridge is a remarkable example of medieval engineering, probably commissioned by the Countess Matilda of Tuscany circa 1080-1100. It was renovated circa 1300 under the direction of Castruccio Castracani. The largest span is 37.8 m. The bridge is also described in a 14th century novella by Giovanni Sercambi of Lucca.

Circa 1500 it took on the name of Ponte della Maddalena, from an oratory dedicated to Mary Magdalene, whose statue stood at the foot of the bridge on the eastern bank.