The Bronze Door Of The Cathedral Of Salerno

What you see on the photo is the yard of the Cathedral of Salerno. And one of the most important manufacts of this Dom and of the Middle Ages generally is it's bronze door (in center).

This door was made in Constantinople at the end of the XI century. There are not many similar doors in Europe and the first of them were made in Constantinople.

The very first was the door of Pantheon in Rome made by Romans in 125. This one inspired merchants resident of Amalfi, Pantaleone and his son, and they donated similar door to the cathedral of Amalfi in 1060. The other they ordined for the abbey of Montecassino in 1066. The cathedral of Salerno was a copy of that of Montecassino. It's clear that it had to have similar door too. So one of the rich donators, Landolfo Butromile, ordined this door in Constantinople . This last is more beautiful as previous. It contains figures of the Saints. Near S. Mattheus you can see the figures of the donators, Landolfo and his wife, Gisana.



I was very curious why there are so many churches in Salerno and so many donated pieces.
In Middle Ages, the people believed they will go in the paradise if they donatre something important to the God. The cathedral needed this door, and so Landolfo and his wife could live happily insured their places in paradise.

After the death, both were burried in the cathedral, and you can see their gravestones preserved near the door they donated, today.

Glory Of Palmira

«Тени былого величия» на Яндекс.Фотках

When I was younger, I heard many times Leningrad (S.Petersburg today) was called Nothern Palmira. Sincerely I've never thought about these words. Yesterday I could listen to it's story, of Palmira, told by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, historian and very successful writer (probably you've read his book "The Last Legion" -my translation of the title- and I know that they told about a movie)

There were reconstruction of the city in the documentary. It was a city of incredible beauty and very very big. Enormous. Manfredi said, there were different millions of residents there! And it was so antient that even the Bible tells about it!

In the times when Roman Empire had great problems, there was a young and beautiful queen Zenobia in Palmyra that was so courageous to rebell against Romans. She was not very happy in her ribellion. One of the Roman Emperors (the name originaly means "head of the military troups"), Aurelian, captured her and brought in Rome...

I thought, he, Aurelian, loved Zenobia, so as Giulius Cesare loved Cleopatra, because Manfredi said, Aurelius had something special in mind for her...
...but the truth is absolutely not romantic. He wanted her to walk in chains (golden chains) through the streets of Rome for his triumphal return home.

The plant on the photo has the name of queen Zenobia. It is Zenobia pulverulenta (Honeycup) and the residents of Carolina and Virginia (US) maybe know it.

So, if you plan to go in Syria, don't forget to visit Palmira and remember this rebelle woman...

«Крепость Крак де Шевалье» на Яндекс.Фотках

War As A Tourist Attraction

«день за днём» на Яндекс.Фотках

Everybody is free to chose the own way to go in vacation. It's clear. Some people find strainge ways. Today I knew about this one.

Some persons go in the dangerous zones of the Earth. Those, where there is war.

And there are not one or two of them. They create entire groups, and the best entertainment for them is to pass from point A to point B through the zones where they shoot. I read a report of one of them, where a retiree-war tourist tells how their group passed from airport to the hotel trough the dangerous zone. The militars did not want to allow them to go there but they did it.

Extreem tourism...


«Дорога на Бамиан.» на Яндекс.Фотках