Category: monuments
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Києво-Печерська лавра), also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051, the Lavra has been a preeminent center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint Sophia Cathedral, it…
Mezhyhirya Residence, Ukraine
While we were in Kiev (Kyiv), we had a choice of visiting either Chernobyl (the site of the nuclear reactor accident) or Mezhyhirya (the residence of Ukraine’s ousted ex-president). They were both available as a day trip and one day was all we had. We took the safe option to view this monument of corruption.…
Abbey of Saint Gall, St. Gallen
We spent a day in St Gallen, a historic town located in the northeast of Switzerland. It is best known for its university and the Abbey of Saint Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. The collection of buildings in the abbey precinct including its magnificent Baroque cathedral form a unique historical ensemble. The appearance of…
Cardiff Castle, Wales
In June, we went to Cardiff to see the Champions League final match between Real Madrid and Juventus. Real won. We stayed an extra day and visited the famous Cardiff Castle which is in the middle of the city. It was also used as to host hospitality services to sponsors of the match and their…
Foro Italico, Roma, Italy
Foro Italico, formerly Foro Mussolini, is a Fascist-era sports complex in Rome, Italy. I(Chris) saw this as a part of a tour of modern Italian architecture. The forum was built between 1928 and 1938 as the Foro Mussolini (literally Mussolini’s Forum) under the design of Enrico Del Debbio and, later, Luigi Moretti (according to Wikipedia). At…
Piazza San Marco, Venezia
In October, we spent almost a week in Venice, primarily to attend the Biennale. We have not been to Venice since moving to the continent and the last time I(Chris) came to Venice was more than 20 years ago. We stayed on the island in the sestieri Canneregio (not far from the Ponti di Rialto). We explored…