.... imagine to be here,
enjoying this magic scenery,
this ancient villa over the world, in silence...
admiring architecture and sculpture...
the magic of the old times....

Villa Duodo,
also known as the Villa Valier, is a villa situated at Monselice near Padua in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is attributed to the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi although some later parts are known to have been designed by Andrea Tirali. The villa was built for a Venetian patrician, Francesco Duodo, circa 1592.
Sited high on the rocca of Monselice, the villa, which shows Palladian influences, is not so much a villa as a religious complex. Two "L"-shaped blocks form a rectangular courtyard. Attached to the villa is a church dedicated to San Giorgio which is the final and largest church completing a "sacred route" of pilgrimage.
Scamozzi, the villas's principal architect, had been a pupil of Palladio and was largely responsible for carrying Palladio's classicising style into the 17th century. His Idea dell'Architettura Universale, published in 1615, coupled with Palladio's I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura (1570) were to spread their classically based architecture throughout Europe and the New World.
Villa Duodo was one of Scamozzi's works of his intermediate period, designed when he was forty and fully competent in the use of perspective and proportion.

The villa, which is built on the site of an ancient castle, is constructed of rendered stone with architectural details and motifs in dressed stone. The principal wing, on two floors, centers a lightly projecting bay that resembles a two-storey triumphal arch flanked by two symmetrical bays, each with open Serlian windows decorated with rusticated stone on the ground floor; above the motif continues, however, here in place of side windows are niches containing statuary.

The complex was expanded by Nicola Duodo (1657-1742), the grandson of Francesco Duodo. His expansion included the secondary wing designed by Tirali, which was completed in 1740.
This wing, at right angles to the principal wing, is of a far simpler design, also on two floors; it has small rectangular windows relieved by a Serlian window at the centre. This wing is connected to the church by a low closed corridor. The chapel has a low dome crowned by a cupola and a campanile also completed by a cupola. The entrance to the church is through a three-arched portico. The pediment of the portico is in reality a gable to the roof of the church.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Duodo

FOR THE PLACE:
wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=45.241173&lon=11.75602...

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“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…
they are made with the eye, heart and head.”
[Henry Cartier Bresson]
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Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.
© All rights reserved

Tags:   Monselice Italy Veneto region Regione Veneto Italia Rocca di Monselice Villa Duodo Historical gardens Historical villa architecture Vincenzo Scamozzi garden amphitheater of Villa Duodo XVI century architecture 1001 Nights/THE NEW 1001 Nights/THE NEW / Magic City

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Seen and appreciatet at the Heller Foundation and Garden - Gardone Riviera (Lake Garda - Italy)
www.hellergarden.com/en/

Within 10,000 square meters there are botanical species from all over the world, from Alps to Himalaya, from Mato Grosso to New Zeland, from Japan to Australia, from Canada to Africa.
Several groups of plants are joined together by a criss crossing of paths accompanied by rest areas.

The central part of the garden re-creates an Alpine valley with pines, northern trees, cliff, gorges, crevasses, where the water springs fall from the red dolomitic peaks in the background; a 13 meters tall rocky landscape, a bonsai simulation of the dolomitic landscape that made the garden famous already during the times of Hruska.

All around are grouped ponds covered by water lilies and lotus flowers, inhabited by gigant Koi carps, and trouts and the reflection of flying butterflies and dragonflies, creeks and Zen water plays that invite to meditation, falls that flow from the rocks and water gushes from bronze heads, the gurgling and rumbling of water allow forgetting the heat and noise of the outer world, carry freshness and calm. In the dry mediterranean climate, water is a very precious good. Water bestows on the garden a peculiar atmosphere, creates living landscapes always new and animated, refreshes and enchants with mysterious reflexes and sounds.

For more informations:
www.hellergarden.com/en/


"Give every day
the chance to become
the most beutiful day
in your life"
[Mark Twain]


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“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…
they are made with the eye, heart and head.”
[Henry Cartier Bresson]

********************************************************************************

Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

© All rights reserved

Tags:   Foundation Botanical Garden Heller Gardone Lake Garda lago di Garda Italy Italia Historica garden giadino storico exotic esotico 1001 Nights/THE NEW 1001 Nights/THE NEW / Magic City garden giardino eclectic garden giardino eclettico historical garden Heller garden botanical garden botanical garden Heller Gardone Riviera exotic garden

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A unique place, an ancient country house of the seventeenth century, prestigious residence of the Doge Giustiniani.
The Villa Giustinian, typical Venetian Villa qualified by a solemn main body and two lateral side, is now owned by Ornella Molon Traverso.

The beautiful and impressive park of Villa Giustinian extends for a good 35,000 square meters. A concentration of traditions and culture, a green mirror of ancient and modern splendour, the park is often the theatre for receptions and parties, where the Veneto Villa acts as a beautiful surround.


NOTE:
The black background is the result of the correct exposure on the statue; Sun grazing light

Tags:   Villa Giustinian Villa Molon-Taverso Ville Venete Veneto Region Italy Italia architecture statue statua

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PLEASE, SEE ON BLACK

The Musée du Louvre
is one of the world's largest museums, and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). With more than 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum.
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture.[6] In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS, PLEASE, FOLLOW THIS LINK:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Louvre

The Louvre Pyramid
(Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has become a landmark of the city of Paris.


FOR THE PYRAMIDS, PLEASE, FOLLOW THIS LINK:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre_Pyramid

FOR THE AREA
PLEASE, FLOOW THIS LINK:
wikimapia.org/#lang=fr&lat=48.862301&lon=2.331398...

Tags:   Paris France Parigi Francia Musée du Louvre Pyramide Louvre

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Milan Central or Milano Centrale
is the main railway station of the city of Milan, Italy and one of the main railway stations in Europe. The station is a terminus and located at the northern end of central Milan. It was officially inaugurated in 1931 to replace the old central station (built 1864), which was a transit station but with a limited number of tracks and space, so could not handle the increased traffic caused by the opening of the Simplon tunnel in 1906.

Milano Centrale has high speed connections to Turin in the west, Venice via Verona in the east and on the north-south mainline to Bologna, Rome, Naples and Salerno. The Simplon and Gotthard railway lines connect Milano Centrale to Bern via Domodossola and Zürich via Chiasso in Switzerland.

Destinations of inter-city and regional railways radiate from Milano Centrale to Ventimiglia (border of France), Genova, Turin, Domodossola (border of Swiss Canton of Valais/Wallis), Tirano (border of Swiss Canton of Graubünden/Grisons), Bergamo, Verona, Mantova, Bologna and La Spezia.

The Milan suburban railway service, however, does not use Milano Centrale but the other mainline stations: Porta Garibaldi (northwest), Cadorna (west) and Rogoredo (east).

for more informations on the history:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Central_railway_station

For the place:
wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=45.486974&lon=9.205449...
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“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

*************************************************************************************


Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

© All rights reserved

Tags:   Milan Milano Italy Italia Stazione centrale Central Station Centrale 1001 Nights/THE NEW 1001 Nights/THE NEW / Magic City

© All Rights Reserved