SIRACUSA - The Cathedral - Font Baptismal

SIRACUSA - The Cathedral- Font Baptismal

Anon publisher
In good condition; unused
187

Description:

“Greek vessel as a large baptism font”

The Cathedral of Syracuse is on the island of Ortigia, on the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Athena. In VII century it was transformed into a church by the bishop Zosimus, a church in the Byzantine style, dedicated to the Nativity of Mary. During the earthquake of 1728 it was largely destroyed before being rebuilt in Baroque style. Important chapels that are inside, like that of the Baptistery, which contains a baptismal font made with a marble vase from the Hellenistic period, and that of the Crucifix, which houses a painting depicting St. Zosimus the work of Antonello da Messina.

Sources: Trip Advisor dot com; Villa La Rosina dot it

MARSALA - The Cathedral

MARSALA - The Cathedral

Published by GM Natural Colours
In excellent condition; unused
MAR 48/69

Description:

The Cathedral (Cathedral Church or “Madrice”), built in the Norman period, but rebuilt in 700, is dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury and holds numerous sculptures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and numerous paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as a treasure with gold and silver objects are not exposed to the public.
The church has an imposing façade embellished with statues and tufa developed on two levels: the bottom is mannerist-baroque, the top is a later period.

Source: Salinara dot com

MONREALE (PA) - The Cathedral

MONREALE - (PA) - The Cathedral

Published by Garami/OK Spedisci Qualita
In good condition; unused
PAL 117/103

Description:

The Duomo (Cathedral) - one of the world’s most stunning architectural treasures.

The story of how this splendid cathedral came into being starts when the Arabs took control of Palermo in 831. They transformed the cathedral into a mosque and banished the Bishop of Palermo from town. Not wishing to venture too far from his beloved cathedral, the Bishop settled in a small village in the hills overlooking Palermo, the site of modern-day Monreale. There, he built a modest church to keep the flame of local Christian worship alive.

Source: The Thinking Traveller dot com

SIRACUSA - Catacombs of St. John

Published by OK Spedisci
In excellent condition; unused
(27)

Description:

The Catacombs of St. John in Siracusa contain some 20,000 Early Christian tombs - honeycombed tunnels of empty coffins that were long ago looted of their "burial riches" by plundering grave robbers. They are entered through the evocative ruins of a Norman church.

History of Catacombs of St. John

In Roman times, Christians were not allowed to bury their dead within the city limits, so they went outside the boundaries of Syracuse to create burial chambers in what had been used by the Greeks as underground aqueducts. The early Christians recycled these into chapels.

Syracuse has other subterranean burial grounds, but the Catacombs of St. John are the only ones open to the public. You enter the "world of the dead" from the Chiesa di San Giovanni, now a ruin. St. Paul is said to have preached on this spot, so the early Christians venerated it as holy ground.

Source: Sacred-Destinations dot com

MONREALE - Capitals in the Benedictine Cloister

Description:

Published by OK Spedisci Qualita
In good condition; unused (502)

The capitals in the cloister of the abbey of Monreale were carved from white marble, but over time has acquired a thick, sandstone patina that covers them almost entirely.

Episodes from the life of Samson constitute the central theme of this capital. The west side of the double capital combines two separate incidents: On the left is the wedding feast where Samson tells his riddle -“Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet” - the answer to which is extorted from his wife. On the right Samson slaughters the Philistines, an event that he will repeat later on using the jaw bone of a ass. The name SANSON is inscribed several times on the capital. The Philistines are also designated with an inscription - FILIIS STEIS - and the east side of the capital also bears the inscribed caption: PO / NA / ANI / MA / ME / R. (Source: The Cenobium Project).

Judges 14,12-13 (King James Version) 12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: 13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.

Source: Wonders of Sicily dot com

MONREALE - the Benedictine Cloister

Description:

MONREALE - Benedictines Cloister - Loggia

Published by OK Spedisci Qualita
90133 Palermo
In good condition; unused

Description:

The Benedictine Cloister at Monreale was completed c. 1200. It measures 47x47 metres and is located on the south side of the cathedral. Each side has 26 arches resting on columns. The splendid capitals include narrative cycles from the Old and New Testaments.

Source: Wonders of Sicily dot com

SIRACUSA - The Cathedral

Published by OK Spedisci Qualita
In excellent condition; unused
SIR 10/80

The Magnificent Cathedral (Duomo) in Syracuse

The cathedral in Syracuse (Siracusa) was built by bishop Zosimo in the 7th century over the Temple of Athena (5th century BC). This was a Doric temple with columns that still can be seen incorporated in the walls of the current church. The roof of the nave is from Norman times, as well as the mosaics in the apses. The façade was rebuilt (1725–1753) by Andrea Palma (1664–1730), with statues by Ignazio Marabitti (1719–1797). The most interesting pieces of the interior are a font with marble basin (12th–13th century), a silver statue of Santa Lucia by Pietro Rizzo(1599), a ciborium by Luigi Vanvitelli (1700–1773), and a statue of the Madonna della Neve ("Madonna of the Snow", 1512) by Antonello Gagini.

Source: Wonders of Sicily dot com

CEFALU - The Cloister of the Cathedral XII Century

Reproduction by OK Spedisci Qualita
In excellent condition; unused (55110)

God's Garden - Cloister of Cefalù Cathedral
by Carlo Trabia

The recently-restored cloister garden courtyard of CefalùCathedral is the greatest in Sicily after Monreale's, even if only half of it remains standing to lift its voice to Heaven.

Cefalù's cathedral is stylistically similar Saint Etienne in Normandy, featuring early Gothic accents in a solid Romanesque structure whose long, narrow nave externally is more aesthetic than Monreale's - especially when viewed from the rocky mountain next to it. The story of the church's foundation by Roger II following his shipwreck along Cefalù's coast during a storm in 1131 may well be imparted with legend, but the date is correct.

The cathedral is not quite "Romanesque Gothic," an Italian style that reached its fullness during the next century. The cloister itself is, with Monreale's, one of the two largest in Sicily.

Source: Best of Sicily dot com

MARSALA - Panorama

Reproduction by Alterocca Terni-Italy (70853)
In good condition; unused

Description:

Marsala is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. (Wikipedia)

CASTELVETRANO (TP) - St. John Church - Queen Margaret Square

In excellent condition; unused
Published by in (CAS 4/24)

Description:

Castelvetrano is an Italian town and comune in the province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 31,824. The archeological site of Selinunte is located within the municipal territory.

History:

The first recorded mentions of Castelvetrano in the historical record date back to the 1100 and 1200s. By the 1400s, records exist of a federation of local cities, which include Castelvetrano. The church of St. John, outside the city walls, dates back to this period and was founded in 1412. (Wikipedia)

ERICE - (TP) - OLD "Baglio" and Monte Cofano's View

Published by Rotalcolor/Rotalfoto
Foto by G. Butera
In excellent condition; unused
In white border (35281 C)

Description:

Monte Cofano is a monolitic, impressive mountain, built up by limestones, standing directly at the north coast in the western part of Sicily. Situated in the province of Trapani between Trapani and Monte Erice to the west and Capo San Vito and the mountain range of Parco Naturale dello Zingaro to the east, Monte Cofano rises 659 m above the sea level.

The north half of the mountain is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea. To the south Monte Cofano is linked by a narrow col with the marble quarries of Custonaci.

Source: Summit Post dot org

SIRACUSA - City view and Maniace Castle

Reproduction by GP - permagraphicolor (RIMINI)
In good condition, unused (4945)

Description:

Maniace Castle, locally known as Castello Maniace, lies in the city of Syracuse, in the province of Syracuse on the island of Sicily in Italy.

Maniace Castle was built between 1232 and 1240 during the rule of Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor. It is situated at the extreme point of the island of Ortygia, on which the ancient city of Syracuse was located. Together with the, now disappeared, Marchetto Castle it controlled the harbour and city of Syracuse. It was built on the spot of an earlier fort, built by George Maniakes, the Byzantine Greek general who had conquered Sicily from the Arabs in 1038. Hence the castle was named after him.

During the 13th century Maniace Castle was used as a royal residence. After the Sicilian Vespers it was resided in by the new King of Sicily; Peter III of Aragon and his wife Constance of Sicily.
In 1300 the castle was the place where a truce was signed between Frederick III of Sicily, King of Sicily, and Robert of Anjou, King of Naples.

In 1302 it became the seat of the Royal Chamber, a feudal domain given by Frederick III to his wife Eleanor of Sicily as a royal dowry. It remained a hereditary domain of the Queens of Sicily until 1537.

Source: Castles dot nl

SIRACUSA - Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco

Description:

In good condition, unused
#204
No publisher

Brief History

Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco on the rectangular square of Syracuse lays in front of the Cathedral which was constructed by using the pillars of a temple as the four angles.

The building dates from the Middle Ages, but the building you can see today dates mostly from the late 18th century, when it was largely rebuilt in the Sicilian Baroque style. Built around an enclosed courtyard, the palazzo is a perfect example of baroque architecture. The canted facades are adorned with twin columns, putti, and statuary, all given extra dramatic effect by the architect's skillful use of chiaroscuro.




The Palazzo



The building housed the British Admiral Horatio Nelson at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, and King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. The theatrical late Baroque courtyard, paved with flagstones and pebbles, is considered among the most beautiful of Syracuse.


Source: Private Sicily dot com

CATANIA - Crociferi Street

Reproduction by OK Spedisci Qualita
In excellent condition, unused (24832)

Description:

Via Crociferi is one of the oldest Catania streets in the heart of the city, it starts in Piazza San Francesco D’Assisi (crossing Via Vittorio Emanuele II) through the famous St. Benedict triumphal arch.

This street is considered the symbol of Baroque in Catania, because there are some of the most beautiful eighteenth-century churches of the city.

Source: City Map Sicilia dot it

ACIREALE - Saint Sebastiano Basilica

Reproduction by OK Spedisci Qualita
In good condition, unused (24838)

Description:

The Basilica di San Sebastiano is one of Acireale's finest baroque buildings. Guarded by statues of Old Testament characters, the basilica lifts the spirit with its luminous facade, whimsically lined with putti (cherubs). Inside, splendid frescoes recount episodes from the life of St Sebastian.

Source: Lonely Planet dot com

CATANIA, Sicily - Duomo Square

Description:

Reproduction by OK Spedisci Qualita
In good condition, unused

Duomo Square. A splendid circuit of Sicilian Baroque masterpieces characterizes the scene in the Piazza del Duomo at the heart of Catania. Rebuilt in 1700, on the site of the older medieval piazza, the present piazza has much the same role as centre of the city as it had in the past.

The Piazza del Duomo is the main square of Catania and is also home to the landmark of the city: the Fontana dell'Elefante - the elephant fountain made of black lava rock.

Source: Italy Guides dot it; Zainoo dot com