A lot of blood has been shed here, in this house that Vespasian built. Too bad he never got to see the end product. It was completed a year after his death, in A.D. 80. Titus, Vespasian’s son, welcomed the completed arena in style and held games that lasted 100 days and nights. During the […]
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Chiesa del Gesù
Get your sunglasses out! Entering Rome’s most important Jesuit church, Chiesa del Gesù, is like looking directly at the sun. This overwhelming, stunning gold and marble interior was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, a pupil of Michelangelo’s. The centerpiece is the ceiling fresco, designed by Giovanni Battista Gauli, who also frescoed the cupola, including […]
The Pantheon
Romans love their domes, and this is the mother of them all. This was the largest dome in the world until the 15th century. Don’t feel too bad, though, since it’s still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The Pantheon originated in 27 B.C., when a temple was ordered by Marcus Agrippa. In […]
Musée Rodin
There’s nothing quite like a visit to Musée Rodin on a sunny day. While the permanent collection is impressive and the temporary exhibits are interesting, the garden is the real draw. It’s thrilling to sit amidst The Thinker and The Gates of Hell with the golden dome of Hôtel des Invalides poking above the treetops. […]
Musée Gustave-Moreau
Upon entering small, serene Musée Gustave-Moreau, you will not only be transported back more than a century, but you will also be overtaken by your inner artist. You’ll be inspired to pick up a pencil or paintbrush and create! This museum displays the life and work of French symbolist painter Gustave Moreau. Even if the […]
Eglise de la Trinité
What a nice surprise to come upon this beautiful Roman Catholic church tucked behind Gare St-Lazare in the 9th arrondissement. It was built in the late 1800’s and was designed by Théodore Ballu as part of Haussmann’s beautification effort. Figures of Faith, Hope and Charity adorn the exterior, and the bell tower is topped with […]
Eglise St. Jean Baptiste, Arras, France
This small Catholic church peeks above the rooftops. When this church was built in the 12th century it was called Saint Nicolas des Fosses since it was constructed on the site of Bastion Saint Nicolas. In the1560’s, that church was demolished and rebuilt. During the French Revolution, most churches were sold as national property and […]
La Carriére Wellington, Arras, France
It’s hard to believe these medieval chalk quarries served as a strategic base and living quarters for 20,000+ British soldiers while they prepared to attack the invading Germans in the Battle of Arras. Conveniently, vast quarries were spread throughout this front-line area, so it only made sense to put them to use. In 1916, British […]
Les Boves
You would never know that a vast underground circuit of cellars and passages runs underneath Place des Héros! These tunnels originated in the 10th century as limestone quarries. By the 12th century, when extractions stopped, the cool, dark cellars stored merchants’ unsold produce. The miles of tunnels turned out to be useful for other purposes, […]
Abbaye Sainte-Vaast
The 18th-century Benedictine Abbaye Sainte-Vaast is a grey-stone classical building pockmarked by shrapnel from both world wars. The abbey was originally founded in the seventh century, at which time it marked the birth of the town of Arras. Its generous size indicates the important spiritual and economic role it played. Today, the Musée des Beaux-Arts […]
