An Ionian seaside town, Avola is a mix of old and new. The town focuses heavily on the sea, with its history as a tuna fishing port. Today, the remains of the Vecchia Tonnara at the wharf are a stone backdrop to the sandy beaches. Avola dates back to a pre-Greek people called the Sicani.…
Located about 11 kilometres north of Catania, it is the perfect little commune to visit during the ottobrata – the local festivity that occurs every October here in Sicily, celebrating the fruits of the land: frutti di terra. The first encounter went wrong already 🙂 Approaching the booth with fruit, I have noticed quince – one…
If something is worth visiting in life, it is the Aeolian islands. Becasue it makes you think about winter in the south. It makes you think about simplicity of life. And it makes you realise how not to treat the tourists: just some bags of potatoes that need to be shipped from one island to…
I haven’t had a chance to spent a bit more time discovering this city. But just a glimpse and it made me think to re-visit and make it’s due. When the time will come, I promise to update with more photos. But for now, enjoy the story 🙂 Several civilizations settled in Milazzo and left…
I didn’t expect much from this harbour city, to be honest. I knew they have a great beer – Messina cristali di sale: a great Sicilian beer brewed since 1923 and one of the most loved Italian beers. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy.…
Senlis is a city in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. Cute, medieval and charming. It offered us great peek into history: The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. Senlis is situated on the river Nonette. Senlis was known in early Roman imperial times as Augustomagus. During the 3rd century, a seven-meter…
The Scala dei Turchi is a rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle. It has become a tourist attraction, partly due to its mention series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano. The cliffs lie between two sandy beaches and are a limestone rock formation in the shape of a staircase, hence the name. The latter part…
Picture this episode: we parked on a roundabout. Some local approached us (my brother and me) – we thought because we should have not park in a roundabout, but then again they all did, so… in fact the guy just wanted to ask if we have cigarettes. Ok Sicily, episode n. At the roundabout is…
Enna or as the Sicilians would say Castrugiuvanni; is a city located roughly at the center of Sicily, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has earned the nicknames belvedere (panoramic viewpoint) and ombelico (“navel”) of Sicily. At 931m above sea level, Enna is the highest Italian provincial capital. To arrive there is not a piece of cake. Passing the two viaducts Morello and…
From its dramatic natural surroundings to its historic churches, Sicily has something to offer every traveler. The island of Sicily is a unique part of Italy. Its craggy mountains, wild vegetation, and omnipresent sea have fired the imagination of poets, wayfarers, and visitors alike. Though it is one of 20 Italian regions, its history under…
Aci Castello and the other Acis around are destinations not to be missed in Sicily, especially for lovers of Greek myths and literature. It is here that the poets Virgil and Ovid gave birth to the myth of Galatea and Aci and their love story. In the second half of 1100 the town was destroyed…
This is city is one of my favourite places in Sicily. Let me show you its magic! Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian sea, including that of Isola Bella, are accessible via an aerial tramway built in 1992, and via highways from Messina in the north and Catania in the south. In 2017 Taormina…
The Château de Chantilly is one of the finest jewels in the crown of France’s cultural heritage. It is the work of a man with an extraordinary destiny: Henri d’Orléans, […]
The Château de Chantilly is one of the finest jewels in the crown of France’s cultural heritage. It is the work of a man with an extraordinary destiny: Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of the last King of France, Louis-Philippe.
This historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency and the Grand Château, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s.
The Château survived down through the centuries and remains as it was when the Duke of Aumale gave it as a gift it to the Institut de France in 1886, making it the perfect place to take a journey back in time to the heart of a princely residence. In tribute to his illustrious predecessors, the Princes of Condé, the Duke of Aumale called the series of rooms housing his collection the “Condé Museum”.
This prince, who is considered to be the greatest collector of his time, made Chantilly the showcase for his countless masterpieces and precious manuscripts. Just wait until we enter!
Located on the 1st floor of the Château, the large suites were used as reception rooms by the Princes of Bourbon-Condé. They are a wonderful example of the ceremonial decors in fashion in the 18th century and provide a broad variety of decorative arts, furniture and Old Master paintings. These areas, which were severely looted during the Revolution, were reconfigured in the 19th century by the Duke of Aumale, who collected, acquired and inherited precious furniture and decorative arts from the royal family and the royal châteaux with which he recreated the grandeur and opulence of the time of the Princes of Condé.
The Duke of Aumale designed the art galleries as a showcase for his exceptional collections. He put together the second largest collection of antique paintings in France, after the Louvre Museum. In keeping with the Duke of Aumale’s wishes, the layout of the paintings remains unchanged since the 19th century, providing a unique possibility to travel back in time and discover the typical museography of the time.
The Château de Chantilly houses one of the most extensive libraries France. The treasures accumulated by the various owners of Chantilly were added to and enhanced with passion by the Duke of Aumale, who was the greatest bibliophile of his time. The reading room designed by architect Honoré Daumet at the end of the 19th century forms a showcase for the manuscripts of the princes of Condé and the Duke of Aumale’s treasures.
The art gallery of Chantilly is one of the largest in France. Wandering around I have found some pretty interesting masterpieces that I haven’t expect to be them here:
Rigaud – Louis XVDrouais – Marie AntoinetteBigot – The dinner in EmausPierro di Cosimo – Simonetta VespucciRaphael’s Madonna di LorettoHenri ll – King of France
Then the other halls with more notable people and more collections of noble art. The most shocking to me was the Raphael’s Three Graces. It is the sie of my hand. -.- The painting displays the three Graces, figures from Greek mythology, thought to represent beauty, creativity, and fertility. Raphael paints the three women in the nude (believed to be the artist’s first depiction of the nude female form in both front and back views, lightly embracing each other).
Francois l Raphael – Madonna with childRigaid – Louis XIVThe Three Graces by Raphael
The family was strongly affiliated with the collections of antiquity. I was pretty impressed to see the artefacts from pre-historian times, and ancient Greece and Rome.
Around the castle there is a magnificent park which also contains a French landscape garden with a cascade, pavilions, and a rustic ersatz village, the Hameau de Chantilly. The latter inspired the Hameau de la reine of Marie Antoinette in the Gardens of Versailles.
In the 17th century cook Franà§ois Vatel, who served right in the kitchens of that castle, found himself in full emergency: he had organized a banquet, which should have lasted three days, for the owner of the house, the Duke of Condè, and his cousin Louis XIV, but the food supplies ended earlier than expected, leaving the cook in a big problem. In addition, a large supply of cream was coming with an expedition, but it was a big delay. So, without being too panicky, the chef mixed the little cream available at that time with aromas, creating something new by accident and … arousing the enthusiasm of the guests! So the cream chantilly happened! We had to try it too. On a hot summer day, we combined it with local strawberries and cidre. 🙂
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