Tag Archives: Architecture
The Continual Creepiness (and Twice-Yearly Epiphany) in Turin’s Real Chiesa di San Lorenzo
I’m not sure why anyone would deliberately make a church creepy, but around 1670, architect Guarino Guarini thought that was a great idea. From the exterior, Real Chiesa di San Lorenzo is discreet and unchurch-like. And, on the inside, not the kind of church I’m all that excited about, but still nice to see that […]
Palmanova: a Renaissance ideal city should have a public bathroom
I love love love love love an ideal city so—duh!—I went to Palmanovo while I was in northeast Italy. The best way to understand the layout of Palmanova would be from above. Here’s the next best way: a map. Why this shape? Apparently, back in 1593, folks in this area were pretty concerned about invasion […]
Janky (but lovable) spolia in Trieste’s San Giusto cathedral
There’s an architectural term—spolia—which basically means “janky combination of material scavenged from various historical periods”. A perfect place to see spolia in action is the Cathedral of San Giusto in Trieste, Italy. If you look at it from the perspective of early Christian builders, it makes sense. Your religion is new and you’ve got to […]
Wells Cathedral: in case of emergency, apply scissors
The view of the English countryside during my 90 minute bus ride from Bath to Wells—with frost outlining the shingles on stone cottages and sheep finding patches of the rising sun to stand in—distracted me from an increasingly desperate need to pee. Fortunately, Wells Cathedral (and its restroom) was close to the bus stop. Like […]
Well, of course I went to Hamlet’s castle!
Shakespeare called it Elsinore, but he never actually visited the real life Kronberg Castle in Helsingør. Some actors from his company performed there, then must have told him about it, and he used that for the setting of Hamlet. The dude is King Frederick II and here is is with his bride (and first cousin—eww!) […]
Hot Liver and Honey Cake Picnic at the Moravian Church of Christiansfeld, Denmark
Two parallel streets with a church in the center: that’s plan of Christiansfeld. This is the planned city of the Moravian religion in Southern Denmark. Moravianism is an early form of Protestantism out of Bohemia. You know these Protestants aren’t going for fancy—what you get here in Christiansfeld is symmetry, order and pruned trees. And […]
The Bendy Pillars of Perfection at the Acropolis
There was a guy who would occasionally drop into my reading group. He was smart but seemingly unfamiliar with the Western canon. We’d read a Shakespeare play and he’d be like “Oh, actually this was quite good—that Shakespeare fellow, I think he was on to something!” It was refreshing and in a way I was […]
Dublin’s Georgian Architecture as Social History
Let’s just get the doors over with. Alrighty, here are some Georgian doors in Dublin. Everybody happy? If you’re like me and interested in architectural heritage and planning a trip to Dublin you’re going to encounter a lot of references to these doors, which are nice I guess but being honest I found them sort […]
Teatro all’Antica, Sabbioneta: ideal city as theater
Vespasiano I Gonzaga had a lot going on for him; he was a duke, he had an awesome name, and if this statue of him is realistic, he was a total hottie. But was he satisfied? Nuh uh—Duke Hottie Gonzaga wanted his very own ideal city, so in the mid 1500’s he commissioned Sabbioneta. Sabbioneta […]
Find the rooks (and a dorky bat) in The Rookery
Hey, WOB, how do I find The Rookery in Chicago? Well, dearest reader, you will find The Rookery on LaSalle, between Adams and Quincy. If you’re me—meaning you’re lucky—you can visit on your lunch break. Easy enough just to casually walk by and check it out from across the street. You’re probably going to want […]
