South by East: Notes of Travel in Southern Europe (page 1/3)

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Frontispiece: Cathedral o Messina

This engraving was published in 1877; since then, the cathedral was damaged in an earthquake in 1919 and mostly rebuilt, only to be bombed in the Second World War and again partly rebuilt. [more...] [$]

Portrait of Michael Angelo

“Memorials of Michael Angelo meet one at every turn in Florence. His city is justly proud of him. Mrs. Oliphant speaks of him as “the greatest Florentine master, he who stands alone among the crowd, exceeding all as his gigantic statues tower over all other works, alone at once in greatness and in [...] [more...] [$]

The Catacombs of Naples

The Catacombs of Naples are of great interest even after those of Rome; they are said to extend for several miles underground; and they consist of broad arched passages hollowed out of the rock, containing on either side niches which once contained the bodies of the dead. They were without doubt [says Rodwell] excavated by the early Christians; many [...] original fresco has been covered with a coating of plaster, and a second fresco has been painted over the first, occasionally even a third. (p. 141) [more...] [$]

Decorative chapter head with winged creatures

A decorative woodcut used at the start of the chapter on Milan; there are dragons, or possibly gryphons but with tails like serpents, and in the centre a face with hair done in pigtails; the whole is [...]sarcophagus. [more...] [$]

Milan Cathedral

A very fine engraving of the exceptionally beautiful Milan Cathedral; the scaled-down versions don’t do it justice. [$]