January 2014

  • Florence and Buda: two cities of learning

    Florence and Buda: two cities of learning

    It was through Matthias Corvinus (1443โ€“1490), who became King of Hungary aged 15 in 1458, that Renaissance art and Humanism was first exported outside Italy. The King’s erudition and interests linked him closely with Lorenzo il Magnifico in Florence, and they exchanged letters about their progress in forming their libraries.…

  • Thoughts on Rome

    Thoughts on Rome

    Some thoughts and insights from Karl Audenaerde: We just returned from our annual month in Rome, and as always were pleasantly amazed by all the new stuff there still is to discover. ย You may be aware of most or all of it, but in case you are not, here are…

  • Copyrighting Heritage

    Copyrighting Heritage

    I enjoyed David Milesโ€™ article on Stonehenge in this monthโ€™s Minerva magazine. I remember visiting Stonehenge in the autumn of 1978. I was almost the only person there. I donโ€™t remember any fences. I walked right up to it. I touched the stones. I took pictures of it. I have…

  • So what is the Turkish Van?

    So what is the Turkish Van?

    The Turkish Van is not a mode of transport. It is a domestic feline animal, otherwise known as the Van Cat from its home in the Van region of eastern Turkey. It is said that the cats first came to Europe from the Middle East, in the wake of returning…

  • The Honey Of Hybla

    The Honey Of Hybla

    An important preservative as well as sweetener, honey was an indispensable ingredient in the Classical kitchen. Along with the bees of Mount Hymettus and Mount Ida in Greece, the wild bees of Mount Hybla in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, were the most celebrated source of honey in Antiquity. They…

  • A Grumpy Visit to Westminster Abbey

    A Grumpy Visit to Westminster Abbey

    One of the things about London that always delights and impresses visitors from overseas is the fact that the great national museums are free. It delights and impresses me, too. Just think of the British Museum. Think of all that responsibility. The duty of the curators to all those works…

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