by Valerie | Jun 15, 2015 | Uncategorized
Every spring I traipse into a thirteenth century castellated building and follow the signs to ‘Tributi’. For many years I climbed up worn stone steps to the second floor, but now they have fitted a slim lift into the stairwell following decades of complaints... by Valerie | May 23, 2015 | art, General interest, history
For some time I have been excluded from my own emails, treated as an intruder on my own life, or as a negative alien. Hence my blog silence. This happens the moment I take my notebook away from its home base in Beverley. It starts playing up like a recalcitrant child.... by Valerie | May 1, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, people
Every spring I traipse into a thirteenth century castellated building and follow the signs to ‘Tributi’. For many years I climbed up worn stone steps to the second floor, but now they have fitted a slim lift into the stairwell following decades of complaints from the... by Valerie | Apr 1, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Of all portraits of popes that fascinate me, one stands out above all others. Shudder at the sheer power and frustration of Titian’s gnarled Farnese Paul Iii , and the fear of the cardinals around him, now in the museum in Naples. He was the pope who ordered the... by Valerie | Mar 8, 2015 | General interest, history, poetry
A week ago I read about the documentary India’s Daughter and decided I would email my Indian friend in Delhi so we could both watch it today, International Women’s Day, and discuss it. But on the 10 o’clock news last Wednesday, I saw that Prime Minister Modi had...
Recent Comments