1411, 3357 ROMANIA (Botoşani) - Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889)

1411 Mihai Eminescu at 19 year, in Prague, in 1869

Posted on 17.01.2015, 15.01.2020
On 15 January 1850 was born in the village of Ipoteşti, near of Botoşani (then located in the Principality of Moldavia), Mihail Eminovici, the seventh of eleven children of George and Raluca Eminovici. He spent his childhood in Botoşani and Ipoteşti, then he attended school in Cernăuţi, in Bucovina (then in  Austria-Hungary). The first evidence of Eminescu as a writer is from 1866, when he published the poem La mormântul lui Aron Pumnul (At the Grave of Aron Pumnul) in a booklet issued by the students on the occasion of the death of their teacher.

3357 The cover of the only volume
printed during Eminescu's life (1883)

Another poem was published in Iosif Vulcan's literary magazine Familia in Pest, and this began a steady series of published poems. Iosif Vulcan, who disliked the Slavic suffix "-ici" of the poet's last name, chose for him the more Romanian "nom de plume" Mihai Eminescu. Since 1867 he joined to some theatrical troupes as a clerk and prompter, and at long last he settled in  Bucharest, where became a clerk and copyist for the National Theater. He continued to write and publish poems, and began his novel Geniu pustiu (Wasted Genius), published posthumously in 1904.

3354 UNITED KINGDOM (Scotland) - Scott Monument - part of Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (UNESCO WHS)

Placed in Princes Street Gardens in New Town, opposite the Jenners department store on Princes Street, the Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to famous Scottish author Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832), designed by George Meikle Kemp and inaugurated in 1846. Sitting proudly at the base of the monument is Sir Walter himself, carved in Carrara marble by Sir John Steell. This monumental statue, fashioned from a single piece of marble weighing 30 tons, took the sculptor six years to complete. It features Scott and his beloved hound Maida.

3244, 3304 IRELAND - Irish writers

3244

3304

Posted on 12.01.2018, 24.12.2019
For a comparatively small place, the island of Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution to world literature in all its branches, in both the Irish and English languages. The island's most widely known literary works are undoubtedly in English. Three of the four Nobel prize Irish winners (William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney) were born in Dublin, making it the birthplace of more Nobel literary laureates than any other city in the world.

0549, 2030, 3253 IRELAND (Leinster) - Trinity College - part of The Historic City of Dublin (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

2030 Dublin - Trinity College

Posted on 11.03.2013, 13.11.2015, 01.02.2018
Probable that Dublin no longer looks as it was presented in Dubliners by Joyce, but certainly that Trinity College, the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin, hasn't changed much since Beckett studied there, from 1923 to 1927. Founded in 1592 as the "mother" of a new university, and modelled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and of Cambridge, it's one of the seven ancient universities of the British Isles, and was originally intended to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland, being seen as the university of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history.

0549 Dublin - The Long Room from
Trinity College Library (1)

Although Roman Catholics and Dissenters had been permitted to enter in college since 1793, the professorships, the fellowships and the scholarships were reserved for Protestants until 1873, and the Catholic Church forbade its adherents from attending, without permission of their bishop, until 1970. Its library is the largest research library in Ireland, and a legal deposit library for the UK and Ireland, so it receives a copy of every book published in Great Britain and Ireland, which means 100,000 new items every year. It contains circa five million books, including significant collections of manuscripts, maps, and printed music.

3253 Dublin - The Long Room from Trinity College Library (2)

The Book of Kells, created by Celtic monks ca. 800, is by far its most famous book and is located in the Old Library. As is writes on the postcard, "The main chamber of the Old Library, the Long Room, is nearly 65m in length, and houses around 200,000 of the Library's oldest books. In 1860 the roof was raised to allow the construction of the present barrel-vaulted ceiling and gallery bookcases. Marble busts are placed down either side of the room which also contains the oldest surviving harp in Ireland." It's about the Brian Boru harp, one of the three surviving medieval Gaelic harps, and a national symbol of Ireland (used also on the Irish Euro coins), received by the college in the 18th century.

3107 ROMANIA (Bacău) - George Bacovia Memorial House in Bacău

George Bacovia Memorial House is the starting point for any cultural itinerary in Bacău,  a city situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River. George Bacovia (true name - Gheorghe Vasiliu; 17 September 1881 - 22 May 1957) is the most important Romanian symbolist poet, precursor of Romanian Modernism, and one of the most important interwar Romanian poets.

0367, 2986 CZECH REPUBLIC (Prague) - Old Town Square - part of the Historic Centre of Prague (UNESCO WHS)

0367 Prague - Old Town Square

The Old Town Square of Prague and the surrounding quarter is lined with wonderful buildings in different architectural styles, from Gothic to Baroque. The Church of Mother of God before Týn, probably the most recognizable church in Prague, dominates the square. Its construction started in the 14th century in the late Gothic style, but the spires were finished in 1511. In front of the church is the historic Týn School, an arcaded Gothic building that gives access to the church.

2986 Prague - Church of Mother of God before Týn

 

To the left of the church can be seen the House At The Stone Bell, built in Gothic style in the second half of the 13th century, and rebuilt later into Baroque and Neo-Baroque style. A difficult reconstruction in the 1980s return the Gothic image to the house. Its front face is considered one of the most beautiful ones in Europe, illustrating the magnificence in the times of Charles IV, who transformed Prague into an imperial capital, the third-largest city in Europe, after Rome and Constantinopole.

2925 RUSSIA (Pskov Oblast) - The Old Mill in Mikhailovskoye

Located in the heart of the Pskov Oblast, on the spurs of the Valdai Hills, not far from Pskov and the border of Latvia, the State museum-reserve of Alexander Pushkin «Mikhailovskoye» is a unique monument of Russian culture of national significance. In Russian history Mikhailovskoye, Trigorskoye, Petrovskoye, Pushkinskie Gory (or Holy Hills) are connected with life and creative activity of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799-1837), probably the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.

2836 UNITED KINGDOM (England) - China Miéville

China Tom Miéville is an English fantasy fiction author, comic writer, political activist and academic. He often describes his work as weird fiction and specifically to the loosely associated movement of writers sometimes called New Weird. Born in Norwich, Miéville was brought up in Willesden, northwest London, and has lived in the city since early childhood. He grew up with his sister Jemima and mother Claudia, a translator, writer and teacher. By virtue of his mother's birth in New York City, Miéville holds dual American and British citizenship.

2766 ROMANIA (Iași) - Mihail Sadoveanu (1880-1961)

Mihail Sadoveanu was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure. Often seen as the leading author of his generation, and generally viewed as one of the most representative Romanian writers, he was also believed to be a first-class story-teller, and received praise especially for his nature writing and his depictions of rural landscapesbut also he is remembered mostly for his historical and adventure novels. An exceptionally prolific author by Romanian standards, he published over a hundred individual volumes, and his career spanned five decades.

2688 ROMANIA (Sibiu) - Octavian Goga (1881-1938)

Known in Romania more as poet and politician, Octavian Goga was also playwright, journalist, and translator. He was born on April 1, 1881 in the village Răşinari, near Sibiu (in Transylvania, back then in Austro-Hungary), as son of Joseph Goga, an Orthodox priest, and Aurelia, teacher. In 1900, after the high school graduation, he joined the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy at the University of Budapest, then continued his studies in Berlin.

2667 SPAIN (Community of Madrid) - The monument to Cervantes in Madrid

As is well known, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He owes his fame to Don Quixote, considered to be the first modern novel, and one of the best works of fiction ever written. In Plaza de España (Spanish for Square of Spain), located in central Madrid, is a monument to Cervantes, designed by architects Rafael Martínez Zapatero and Pedro Muguruza and sculptor Lorenzo Coullaut Valera.

0652, 0653, 1120, 2666 ITALY (Tuscany) - Historic centre of Florence (UNESCO WHS)

0652 Images of Florence

Posted on 21.05.2013, 27.06.2014, 25.07.2016
Founded by Romans as a settlement for veteran soldiers and named Fluentia, because it was built between two rivers, then successively ruled by Ostrogoths, Byzantines, and Lombards, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774, but it surpassed the status of minor settlement only around 1000 A.D., after Margrave Hugo chose it as residency. From the 14th century to the 16th century, it was, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, one of the most important cities in Europe and the world, of political, economic and cultural point of view.

0653 Panorama of Florence (1)

Wealthy and brilliant, but with a turbulent history, furrowed by numerous religious and republican revolutions, Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance. It was home for the famous Medici family and Savonarola, but also for Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Giotto, Boccaccio, Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei and many others. Because Historic Centre of Florence "attests in an exceptional manner, and by its unique coherence, to its power as a merchant-city of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance", in 1982 it became an UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the postcard 0652 can be seen:

2666 Panorama of Florence (2)

 

• Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) - a Medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, noted for still having shops built along it.
• A general view of Historic Centre.
• Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower), Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistry of St. John) and, in back, Campanile di Giotto (Giotto’s Campanile).
• Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) - the principal Franciscan church in Florence, the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini.

1120 The Baptistery of Saint John and Giotto’s Campanile

• Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) - the town hall of the city, built in the 13th century.
• Basilica of Santa Maria Novella - the first great basilica in Florence, and the city's principal Dominican church. Especially famous are frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance.
• San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) and the Bishop's Palace - placed on one of the highest points in the city, it has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most beautiful churches in Italy.

2598 UNITED STATES (Massachusetts) - Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

2598 Emily Dickinson - The daguerreotype
taken at Mount Holyoke, December 1846
or early 1847, the only authenticated portrait
of Emily Dickinson later than childhood.

Unrecognized in her own time, the reclusive Emily Dickinson is now almost universally considered one of the most significant of all American poets, being highly appreciated for her unusual use of form and syntax. He was born at the family's homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, and died 55 years later, on May 15, 1886, in the same house. Although part of a prominent, but not wealthy, family with strong ties to its community, Dickinson lived much of her life highly introverted.

2454, 2455 ROMANIA (Prahova) - Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912)

2454 Portrait of Ion Luca Caragiale

Ion Luca Caragiale was short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist but before all this, and primarily, playwright, the greatest in Romanian language and literature. Doesn't exist in Romania theater plays more often staged than those of Caragiale, and doesn't exist Romanian who may not be able to recognize some catchphrases from his plays, entered in folklore, because even today, after more than a century, they are equally alive and relevant as when they were first presented. His characters live among us, true archetypes socio-professional, and their shortcomings are perennial and recognizable.

2455 "Ion Luca Caragiale" Museum in Ploieşti

Born on February 13 1852 into a family of Greek descent in the village of Haimanale, Prahova County (the present-day I. L. Caragiale commune, Dâmboviţa County), Caragiale was educated in Ploieşti, which he considered his hometown. In 1870 he moved to Bucharest, where, among other, he worked as prompt at the National Theater, whose manager will become later, and which today bears his name. Ion Luca made his literary debut in 1873, at the age of 21, but he writed its first play in 1878, O noapte furtunoasă, which was staged in early January 1879 by the National Theater.

2290 UNITED KINGDOM (England) - Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Gardens

Anne Hathaway's Cottage is a twelve-roomed farmhouse where Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, lived as a child in the hamlet of Shottery, Warwickshire, England, about 1.6km west of Stratford-upon-Avon. The earliest part of the house was built prior to the 15th century; the higher part is 17th century. It had more than 36 hectares of land attached to it, being known as Hewlands Farm in Shakespeare's day, so to call it a cottage is a misnomer, as it is much larger than the term usually means.

2206 FRANCE (French Guiana) - Îles du Salut

The Îles du Salut (Islands of Salvation), so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland, are a group of small islands about 11 km off the coast of French Guiana in the Atlantic Ocean. Although closer to Kourou, they are part of Cayenne commune. Between 1852 and 1953 the islands were part of a notorious penal colony, for only the worst criminals of France. Nowadays the islands are a popular tourist destination.

2104 UNITED STATES (Missouri) - Mark Twain Cave

Located near Hannibal, Mark Twain Cave is the oldest operating show cave in the state, giving tours continuously since 1886. It plays an important role in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain and is named in honor of the Hannibal native. While it's possible that Native Americans may have been aware of the cave, its documentation claims its discovery in the winter of 1819-1820 by a local hunter, Jack Simms.