The Caledonian Mining Expedition Company: March 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Villa Medicea La Petraia

It is amazing that, while researching on the internet, one finds conflicting facts about certain things. For example with regard to the Villa Medicea La Petraia, one site claims that Cosimo Daddi (a late Renaissance painter active mainly around Volterra and Florence) was responsible for the fresco decoration of the Villa Petraia for the Medici family. And that Baldassare Franceschini (one of his pupils) also contributed to the frescoes. Another site claims that after Ferdinando I de’ Medici restructured the castle belonging to the Brunelleschi family in the 16th Century, Volterrano completed the frescoes dedicated to the Medici family on the walls of the inner courtyard. Later, the Savoy family turned the castle into a summer residence, adding pieces from other royal residences and today visitors can see the Savoy room which is equipped with parlour games. Either way whoever was responsible (perhaps all), the enclosed courtyard must be one of the most glorious in all of Europe...

Via here

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Monday, March 25, 2013

I'm Back

It has been an exhausting four days at a national swim meet with my daughter. What was even more cool was competing against Namibia and Kenya. Anyway, now it is back to a semblance of normality and some serious skin rehab after an onslaught of high humidity and being covered in chlorine condensation...