Nevsky Prospekt

The first films seen in the Russian Empire were brought in by the Lumière brothers, who exhibited films in Moscow and St. Petersburg in May 1896. That same month, Lumière cameraman Camille Cerf made the first film in Russia, recording the coronation of Nicholas II at the Kremlin.

Aleksandr Drankov produced the first Russian narrative film Stenka Razin, based on events told in a popular folk song and directed by Vladimir Romashkov. Ladislas Starevich made the first Russian animated film (and the first stop motion puppet film with a story) in 1910 - Lucanus Cervus. Among the notable Russian filmmakers of the era were Aleksandr Khanzhonkov and Ivan Mozzhukhin, who made Defence of Sevastopol in 1912. Yakov Protazanov made Departure of a Grand Old Man, a biographical film about Lev Tolstoy.

During World War I, imports dropped drastically, and Russian filmmakers turned out anti-German, nationalistic films. In 1916, 499 films were made in Russia, more than three times the number of just three years earlier.

Dresden

Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque and rococo city centre. The controversial American and British bombing of Dresden in World War II towards the end of the war killed approximately 25,000 people, many of whom were civilians, and destroyed the entire city centre. After the war restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the historic inner city, including the Katholische Hofkirche, the Zwinger and the famous Semper Oper.

Sport and horses

Originally, in general film-making usage, the "money shot" was simply the scene that cost the most money to produce. In general, a money shot (also called a money-making shot is a provocative, sensational, or memorable sequence in a film, on which the film's commercial performance is perceived to depend.The scene may or may not be a special-effects sequence, but may be counted on to become a selling point for the film. For example, in an action thriller, an expensive special-effects sequence of a dam bursting might be considered the money shot of the film. Many filmmakers read a script and look for the most dramatic or climactic moment—the money shot—in the proposed film.

Filmclub Lumiere 50 years

The development of home movie-making has depended critically on availability of equipment and media formats (film stock, video tape, etc.) at prices affordable to consumers.

Development of film formats suitable for amateur hobbyists began early in the history of cinematography. For example, the 17.5 mm "Birtac"  format was patented by Birt Acres in 1898. This format split the standard 35 mm film into two strips half as wide and was able to be loaded into the camera in daylight. Since the frames were also half the height of 35 mm frames, the Birtac format used only 25% of the amount of film stock used by 35 mm. Since the camera doubled as a printer and projector, equipment costs were also reduced.

 

Market of Madeira

Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes called the press junket or film junket, film promotion generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns, merchandising, franchising and media, and interviews with the key people involved with the making of the film, like actors and directors.[1] As with all business, it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal about half the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.

Them good old days

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. The silent film era lasted from 1895 to 1936. In silent films for entertainment, the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, mime and title cards with a written indication of the plot or key dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was made practical only in the late 1920s with the perfection of the Audion amplifier tube and the introduction of the Vitaphone system. During silent films, a pianist, theatre organist, or, in large cities, even a small orchestra would often play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would either play from sheet music or improvise; an orchestra would play from sheet music.

Welcome in our neigbourhood

A feature film is a film (also called a movie or motion picture) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole film to fill a program. The notion of how long this should be has varied according to time and place. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American Film Institute, and British Film Institute, a feature film runs for 40 minutes or longer, while the Screen Actors Guild states that it is 80 minutes or longer.

 

Spoleto

 

The Cinema of Italy comprises the films made within Italy, or by Italian directors. Since the development of the Italian film industry in the early 1900s, Italian filmmakers and performers have, at times, experienced both domestic and international success, and have influenced film movements throughout the world. As of 2013, Italian films have won 13 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, the most of any country, as well as 12 Palmes d'Or, the second-most of any country.

 

City of arts in Valencia

A truly mind-blowing confection of some of Europe's most awesome architecture, the City of Arts and Science in Valencia is fast becoming one of Spain's top tourist attractions.This futuristic "city within a city" must surely rank as one of the world's most exciting and imaginative millennium projects. The entire complex, designed to celebrate the arrival of the 21 st century, looks as though it might have been beamed down to earth from another planet.Valencia's City of Arts and Science from afar at night And it's a down to earth approach which really defines this space age cultural complex because it's all about firing the masses with enthusiasm for the arts and science. The breathtaking structures are enough in themselves to lure visitors in their millions. You don't have to be an opera buff or science boffin to enjoy a day out here - in fact if you're on a tight budget you can just wander round this incredible "city" without even buying an entrance ticket..Many Valencians admit to having visited the arts and science city scores of times without ever having bought an entrance ticket to any of its four star turns: the "Hemesferic", Planetarium, the Principe Felipe Science Museum, the Oceanarium and the Reina Sofia Arts Palace. 

Watermusic

The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames.

The Water Music is scored for a relatively large orchestra, making it suitable for outdoor performance. Some of the music is also preserved in arrangement for a smaller orchestra

Museumdorf

The Cloppenburg Museum Village and Lower Saxon Open-Air Museum (German: Museumsdorf Cloppenburg – Niedersächsisches Freilichtmuseum) located in the Lower Saxon county town of Cloppenburg is the oldest museum village in Germany. The museum is a research and educational establishment specializing in cultural and rural history.

The Lower Saxon Open-Air Museum is a non-profit organisation. Although the museum does not set out to compete for visitors, in 2009 the Cloppenburg Museum Village had more visitors than any other museum in Lower Saxony (250,000).[2] In 2004, the museum was visited by more than 60,000 students as a part of their school curriculum.

Houseboats in Holland

A houseboat (different from boathouse, which is a shed for storing boats) is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities. However, many are capable of operation under their own power. Float house is a Canadian and U.S. term for a house on a float (raft), a rough house may be called a shanty boat.

Overture Prague

In motion pictures, an overture is a piece of music setting the mood for the film before the opening credits start

Raid on Dresden

A part of a documentary i made a reconstruction of the bombing of this German city.
It is widely considered that the bombing of Dresden was excessive or at the very least regrettable. There is less support for the view that the bombing was a war crime Those who support this view often refer to the cultural significance of Dresden, a factor expressly included in the Hague Conventions Others state simply that such a large-scale direct assault of civilians constitutes a crime against humanity.
Public declarations in support began shortly after the nature and scale of the attack became known. Before the bombing, Dresden was regarded as a beautiful city and a cultural centre, and was sometimes known as Florence on the Elbe. Its notable architecture included the Zwinger Palace, the Dresden State Opera House, and the Dresden Frauenkirche, its historic cathedral. Before the war, the city's main industries had been the production of porcelain, cups and saucers, and tobacco products. British historian Anthony Beevor wrote that Dresden was considered relatively safe, having been spared previous RAF night attacks, and that at the time of the raids there were up to 300,000 refugees in the city.
The absence of a direct military presence in the centre of the city, and the devastation known to be caused by firebombing, is regarded by supporters of the war crime position as establishing their case, They contend that these points are sufficient in themselves, without considering the absence of military necessity, the civilian death toll, and Dresden's cultural significance.

Warning: contains some shocking pictures

 

Enchanted City

("Enchanted City") lies in a 20 sq. km. nature reserve, 36 km. north of Cuenca in the Jucar valley, southeast of Madrid, and resembles a ruined village with its labyrinth of unusual eroded rock formations in the Serranla de Cuenca, a stretch of mountains and green-moss rivers and pine forests. This regional park has river-washed stones in the shapes of mushrooms, bears, and human figures. According to american tourists the wonder of this place can be compared to the bizarreness of southern Utah. It is much like an ancient city, although the blocks of giant limestone here come from the erosion of millennia. The walk through the Ciudad Encantada is easy and well-worn but spectacular nonetheless. In summer, this area is covered by flowers, including rare species of orchids find their way in the deep river gorges here.

Dutch Katrina

The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday, 31 January 1953 and morning of Sunday, 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.

A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm over the North Sea caused a storm tide of the North Sea; the combination of wind, high tide, and low pressure led to a water level of more than 5.6 metres (18.4 ft) above mean sea level in some locations. The flood and waves overwhelmed sea defences and caused extensive flooding. The Netherlands, a country with 20% of its territory below mean sea level and 50% less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) above sea level and which relies heavily on sea defences, was worst affected, recording 1,836 deaths and widespread property damage. Most of the casualties occurred in the southern province of Zeeland. In England, 307 people were killed in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 19 were killed in Scotland. 28 were killed in West Flanders, Belgium.

 

 

Madeira: flower island

In this setup, each of the various shots and camera angles are taken using the same camera, which is moved and reset to get each shot or new angle. Choices can then be made during the post-production editing process for when in the scene to use each shot, and when to cut back and forth between the two (or usually more than two) angles. This also then allows parts of the scene to be removed if it is felt that the scene is too long. In practice, sometimes two cameras shooting from the same angle are used: one to capture a medium shot, the other a close-up during the same take.

Bergpark Kassel

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is a landscape park in Kassel, Germany. The area of the park is 2.4 square kilometres (590 acres), making it the largest European hillside park, and second largest park on a hill slope in the world. Construction of the Bergpark, or "mountain park", began in 1696 at the behest of the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel and took about 150 years. The park is open to the public today. Since 2013 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Evening in Prague

Prague specifics * Zizkov - ex-working class district of Prague. It's the contemporary Czech center of Prague in the sense that the Old Town and Mala Strana are occupied by foreigners. In Zizkov there are cheap pubs (perhaps the biggest concentration of pubs per kilometre in the world) and the Czechs love beer. * Prague Pubs are places where many social topics are discussed.

The greatest rival is
found in the "caf?s" (during communism they were stagnating - but are now on the rise again). In the pubs (and caf?s) topics like politics, culture, favorite TV programs and of course football and ice hockey are discussed. * Beer - most Prague pubs sell only one brand of beer on tap, which is often specific to that pub. Czech beer is popular throughout Europe, and the Czech Republic (and Prague in specific) has a rich history of beer brewing. * Praguers (the people of Prague) prefer not to be called Eastern Europeans.

Josefov: Jews in Prague

Josefov is an area of central Prague, today Czech Republic, formerly the Jewish ghetto of the town. The quarter is often represented by the flag of Prague's Jewish community, a yellow Magen David (Star of David) on a red field.Jews are believed to have settled in Prague as early as the 10th century. The first pogrom was in 1096 (the first crusade) and eventually they were concentrated within a walled Ghetto. In 1262 P?emysl Otakar II issued a Statuta Judaeorum which granted the community a degree of self administration. In 1389 one of the worst pogroms saw over 3,000 massacred at Easter. The ghetto was most prosperous towards the end of the 16th century when the Jewish Mayor, Mordecai Maisel, became the Minister of Finance and a very wealthy man. His money helped
develop the ghetto.

 

Prague; the kingsroute

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated on the Vltava river in central Bohemia, it is home to approximately 1.2 million people.Nicknames for Prague have included "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city". Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. According to Guiness World Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world.Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Prague has become one of Europe's (and the world's) most popular tourist destinations.

Prague was one of the few European cities relatively untouched during the World Wars, allowing its historic architecture to stay true to form. There are lots of old buildings, many with beautiful murals on them. It contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Art Nouveau to Baroque, Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-Classical and ultra-modern. Some of the most known sights are: * Old Town with its Old Town Square* The Astronomical Clock* The picturesque Charles Bridge * Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) with its St. Vitus Cathedral
A walk along these sights is known as the "Kings Route"Narration in dutch. Duration: 10 minutes

 

 

Down the Moldau

Video editing is the process of editing segments of motion video production footage, special effects and sound recordings in the post-production process. Motion picture film editing is a predecessor to video editing and, in several ways, video editing simulates motion picture film editing, in theory and the use of linear video editing and video editing software on non-linear editing systems (NLE). Using video, a director can communicate non-fictional and fictional events.
The goals of editing is to manipulate these events to bring the communication closer to the original goal or target. It is a visual art.

 

 

Silence of Spain, siesta

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, mime and title cards. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with the perfection of the Audion amplifier tube and the introduction of the Vitaphone system. After the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, "talkies" became more and more commonplace. Within a decade, popular widespread production of silent films had ceased.

A September 2013 report by the United States Library of Congress announced that a total of 70% of American silent films are believed to be completely lost.

Our Lady of the Pillar

 

This video is 3.30 minutes (25mb)Zaragoza is the capital city of the autonomous region and former kingdom of Aragon in Spain, and is located on the river Ebro, in a great valley with a variety of landscapes, ranging from desert (Los Monegros) to thick forest, meadows and mountains. Zaragoza is linked by legends to the beginnings of Christianity in Spain. According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared miraculously to Saint James the Great in the 1st century, standing on a pillar. This legend is commemorated by a famous Catholic basilica called Nuestra Señora del Pilar ("Our Lady of the

Pillar"). The event, called "Las Fiestas del Pilar", is celebrated on October 12 which is a major fiesta in Zaragoza. Since it coincided in 1492 with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, that day is also celebrated as El Día de la Hispanidad by Spanish-speaking people worldwide. The Latin word basilica derived from Greek ,was originally used to describe a Roman public building (as in Greece, mainly a tribunal), usually located at the centre of a Roman town (forum). After the Roman Empire became officially Christian, the term came by extension to refer to a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope, it is the "highest" or "most important" place of worship in the Holy Roman Catholic Church followed by Cathedrals, Churches, and finally chapels and thus the word retains two senses today, in an architectural context and in an ecclesiastical one.

 

Redu a Belgian booktown

 

A Book Town is a small rural town or village in which second-hand and antiquarian bookshops are concentrated. Most Book Towns have developed in villages of historic interest or of scenic beauty.

 

 

Bayern : Forest

 

 

 A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. In cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly that is then placed on rails – like a railroad track. A handheld steadycam or gimbal may also be used for smaller scale productions. The camera is then pushed along the track while the scene is being filmed or moved manually when using a handheld rig. The technique is often used to follow a subject that would otherwise leave the frame (ergo, it is often called a following shot), such as an actor or vehicle in motion. In this spirit, any conveyance, such as a motorized vehicle like a car, may also be used to create a tracking shot. A handheld or Steadicam mounted camera following a similar trajectory is called a tracking shot as well. While the core idea is that the camera moves parallel to its subject, a tracking shot may move in a semi-circular fashion, rotating around its subject while remaining equidistant.

Fair debut

 Home movies are motion pictures made by amateurs, often for viewing by family and friends. When the hobby began, home movies were produced on photographic film, but availability of video cameras and camcorders and digital storage devices has made the making of home movies easier and more affordable to the average person. The boundaries between consumer movie-making and professional movie-making are becoming increasingly blurred as prosumer equipment often offers features previously only available on professional equipment."Saving our film heritage should not be limited only to commercially produced films. Home movies do not just capture the important private moments of our family's lives, but they are historical and cultural documents as well. In recent years, clips from home movies have been available to wider audiences through television series such as America's Funniest Home Videos and Internet online video-sharing sites such as YouTube. The popularity of the Internet, and wider availability of high-speed connections has provided new ways of sharing home movies, such as video weblogs (vlogs), and video podcasts.

 

Paris centre

;A flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of events to fill in crucial backstory. In the opposite direction, a flashforward (or prolepsis) reveals events that will occur in the future. Both flashback and flashforward are used to cohere a story, develop a character, or add structure to the narrative. In literature, internal analepsis is a flashback to an earlier point in the narrative; external analepsis is a flashback to a time before the narrative started.

;In movies and television, several camera techniques and special effects have evolved to alert the viewer that the action shown is a flashback or flashforward; for example, the edges of the picture may be deliberately blurred, photography may be jarring or choppy, or unusual coloration or sepia tone, or monochrome when most of the story is in full color, may be used.

 

Champs-elysees

What is a video transition?Transitions are the mechanism used to change from one shot to the next in a video production. There are a vast number of transition types but basically they can be broken into three categories. First, most often used is the cut, it is the simplest and best for seamless unnoticed edits. A cut transition is created when one clip ends and the next one begins with no overlap or effect. Next we have the dissolve which is generally used to show the passage of time or cover an awkward shot change. A dissolve is when the two shots overlap for a period of time and the first shot dissolves into the second shot. At the mid-point of a dissolve both clips can be seen equally well. Dissolves are sometimes called fades. All other transitions can be grouped as effects. Effects include pushes, page peels, spirals, irises and any and all other imaginable effect transitions.

Habour district Amsterdam

Docufiction (or docu-fiction), often confused with docudrama, is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film.

It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) and which simultaneously introduces unreal elements or fictional situations in narrative in order to strengthen the representation of reality using some kind of artistic expression.

More precisely, it is a documentary contaminated with fictional elements, in real time, filmed when the events take place, and in which the main character or characters — often portrayed by non-professional or amateur actors — are essentially playing themselves, or slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, in a fictionalized scenario. In this sense, docufiction may overlap to an extent with some aspects of the mockumentary format, but the terms are not synonymous.

Weddingcake in Rome

In 1885 construction of the monument started after a design by Giuseppe Sacconi, winner of an architectural contest. The northern slope of the Capitoline Hill was cleared to make way for the monument. Roman ruins and medieval churches were destroyed in the process.

The Victor Emmanuel Monument is not exactly known as one of Rome's most beautiful structures. It is considered too monumental and the bright white color does not fit well into the ochre color of its surroundings. The monument has been given nicknames such as 'typewriter' and 'wedding cake'.
The monument is nevertheless well worth the visit, even if only for the great views from the top.

 

Sound and Vision Netherlands

The treasure-houses of the Netherlands Institute for Sound en Vision: the collective memory of the Netherlands.The Netherlands Institute voor Sound and Vision looks after, and releases, 70 per cent of the Dutch audio-visual heritage. In total, around 700,000 hours of television, radio, music and film, making Sound and Vision one of the largest audio-visual archives in Europe. But the institute is more than just a collection. Sound and Vision is the business archive of the national broadcasting corporations, a cultural history institute and also a unique media experience for its visitors. Programme makers use the collections for new programmes and the archive is a unique source of information for research, not only for students and academics, but also for journalists.

Colours of the Provence

Quality of computer images.Once a computer has imported DV footage, it keeps the original source files on the hard disk and creates a series of preview frames to display in the video editing application. These preview frames are created by removing much of the video and color information that  televisions require, and simply displaying the frames as they will best appear on your computer monitorAlthough these images will appear blocky, fuzzy, or more muted than those seen through the viewfinder of a camcorder, don't  worry: These screen images are simply low-resolution stand-ins for the real footage. Once formatted, these preview frames will appear at full screen and full motion, and display much faster than the higher-resolution images of an uncompressed video stream.Previews make the long and arduous task of editing infinitely more bearable by speeding the response time of video playback. Without these low-res substitutes, even the fastest computers would be unable to display motion pictures in real time. Meanwhile your full-quality original footage remains locked inside the clip by the DV codec until you are ready to export your final movie in all its glory.

Civil guardians

The famous dutch painter Rembrandt painted the civil guards "in action"  in a period when this no convention. Later on the edges of the painting were cut. The main figures are now in the middle in stead of to the right which was more dynamic and intended by the artist.A key ingredient of cinematography is framing. This refers to the edges of a shot, in that framing determines both what is included and what is excluded. There is indeed a close link between framing, composition and mise en scene. Mise en scene refers to what is to be filmed and how it is arranged and therefore in effect defines what the framing will be; however, strictly speaking the framing is only realized when the shot is filmed through the camera lens.

Dutch walk

SHOTSIZEShot size is determined by the framing. (see else There are many possible choices of shot but we can think in terms of five basic shot sizes with intermediate shots in between. Shot sizes can be closely tied to narrative development, notably to the progression of scenes. Typically a film, and often a scene, will begin with an extreme long shot Just as the story tend to begin slowly in order to acquaint us with characters and locations, so films visually use an establishing shot to place things in context. It allows us to see a subject in relation to her/his surroundings.

Island of flowers

 

Film colorization (American English; or colourisation (British English), or colourization (Canadian English and Oxford English)) is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia, or other monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, to "modernize" black-and-white films, or to restore color films. The first examples date from the early 20th century, but
colorization has become common with the advent of digital image processing. 

 

Intermezzo Roma

Many roadshow presentations of films from the 1950s through to the 1970s were provided with entr'actes that took the form of overtures to the second part, including most of the adaptations of Broadway musicals released at that time, but the practice soon spread to drama films. In many cases it was the same piece as was used for the overture (as in Lawrence of Arabia in 1962 and 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968), but others such as Ben-Hur (1959) and How the West Was Won (1962)

Vacations for beginners

This is my very first vacation movie shot op super 8 in 1975 in Switzerland Home videos are priceless records of our personal histories. They help us to keep our memories alive, or to share important events with friends and family. Most of us don't have the time or equipment necessary to properly shoot, light, and edit our videos, but that doesn't mean our videos can't look great and be entertaining for all our friends and family. Silent film actors emphasised body language and facial expression so that the audience could better understand what an actor was feeling and portraying on screen. Much silent film acting is apt to strike modern-day audiences as simplistic or campy. For this reason, silent comedies tend to be more popular in the modern era than drama, partly because overacting is more natural in comedy.

Trajans column

Trajan's Column is a monument in Rome raised by order of emperor Trajan. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Finished in 113, the spiral bas-relief commemorates Trajan's victory in his military campaigns to conquer Dacia.The structure is about 30 meters in height, 38 including its large pedestal. The shaft is made from a series of 18 colossal Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 40 tons, with a diameter of about 4 metres. The 200 meter frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top.Originally, a statue of Trajan would have stood atop the column. In 1588, it was replaced by a statue of St. Peter The relief portrays Trajan's two victorious military campaigns against the Dacians; .The scenes on the frieze are continuous. The imagery is not realistic as the sculptor pays little attention to perspective. Often a variety of different perspectives are used in the same scene, so that more can be revealed The scenes depict mostly the Roman army in military activities such as setting out to battle and engaging the Dacians, as well as constructing fortifications and listening to the emperor's address. In all, 2500 figures are shown. It was traditionally thought that the Column was a propagandistic monument, glorifying the emperor's military exploits. But because the structure would have been generally invisible, surrounded by other buildings in Trajan's Forum, and simply the difficulty involved in following the frieze from end to end, it is now considered to have had much less propagandistic value.Based on the inscription, the column may have been a measuring guide for the construction of the forum.

Avignon city of arts

 

 

The Avignon Film Festival celebrates French, European and American independent film at the Cinema Vox in Place d'Horloge. There are premières, retrospectives, round-tables on pertinent issues with industry experts and interviews, along with awards for emerging filmmakers and cinematographers.Features, short films and feature-length documentaries are screened in French, English and other European languages. All French films are subtitled in English and European-language films are subtitled in English or French. Directors, producers, screenwriters and actors from invited films come to discuss their work with festival-goers.Related InformationWebsite:Avignon Film Festival Websitehttp://www.avignonfilmfest.com\

 

Hessen

Situated in west-central Germany, Hesse state borders the German states of (starting in the north and proceeding clockwise) Lower Saxony, Thuringia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Most of the population of Hesse is in the southern part in the Rhine Main Area. The principal cities of the area include Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Offenbach, Hanau, Gießen, Wetzlar, and Limburg. Other major towns in Hesse are Fulda in the east, and Kassel and Marburg an der Lahn in the north. The densely populated Rhine-Main region is much better developed than the rural areas in the middle and northern parts of Hesse.

The most important rivers in Hesse are the Fulda and Eder Rivers in the north, the Lahn in the central part of Hesse, and the Main and Rhine in the south. The countryside is hilly and the numerous mountain ranges include the Rhön, the Westerwald, the Taunus, the Vogelsberg, the Knüll and the Spessart.

The Rhine borders Hesse on the southwest without running through the state, only one old arm – the so-called Alt-Rhein – runs through Hesse. The mountain range between the Main and the Neckar Rivers is called the Odenwald. The plain between the rivers Main, Rhine, and Neckar, and the Odenwald Mountains is called the Ried.

Hesse is the greenest state in Germany, as forest covers 42% of the state.

Winterpalace Hermitage 1

The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1754 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items (including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors.

Forum Romanum

The current image of the Forum Romanum is a result of the changes made by Julius Caesar as pontifex maximus and dictator, which included the construction of the Basilica Julia where the Basilica Sempronia stood, the building of a new Curia and the renovation of the Rostra, the speakers platform. Caesar didn't see all his plans realised before his death, but most was finished by his successor Augustus, including the Temple of Divus Julius, dedicated to Caesar deified.
In imperial times the importance of the Forum as a political centre diminished, but it remained a centre of commerce and religious life. Construction and restoration continued, but now mostly in the form of honorary monuments, such as the Arch of Augustus, the Arch of Titus and the Arch of Septimius Severus.
After the fall of the empire in the west, the area was abandoned. A few buildings were converted into churches, including the Curia, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the Temple of Divus Romulus; the rest was left to shepherds and their animals, to the extent that the popular name of the area became Campo Vaccino, the cattle field.

When in Rome

Rome is called L'Urbe (The City), Caput mundi (head of the world), Città Eterna (eternal city), and Limen Apostolorum (the threshold of the apostles).
Some proverbs about the Eternal City:
* When in Rome, do as the Romans do. * All roads lead to Rome.
* Rome wasn't built in a day.
During its long history, Rome has always had a scarcity of native inhabitants, so by tradition a "true" Roman is one whose family has lived in Rome for no fewer than 7 generations: this is the original "Romano de Roma"
Piazza Navona is a square in Rome. The piazza follows the plan of an ancient Roman circus, the 1st century Stadium of Domitian, where the Romans came to watch the games : today's name stems from the corruption of the latter in in agone. Defined as a square in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred here from the Campidoglio, Piazza Navona is now the pride of Baroque Rome. It has sculptural and architectural creations: by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in the center; by Francesco Borromini
The traditional market was moved in 1869 to Campo de' Fiori, but the square has also a traditional role in housing theatrical and costume shows, horse races, buffalo jousts.
Campo de' Fiori is an informal rectangular piazza near Piazza Navona in Rome, on the edge of rione Parione . Campo de' Fiori means "field of flowers", a reminder of its nature as a grassy space in the Middle Ages. A "Flora", a woman loved by Pompey, who built his theater close to the square, is probably imaginary: the name is medieval rather than ancient.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon, from Greek Pantheion, meaning "Temple of all the Gods") is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the state religion of Ancient Rome, but which has been a Christian church since the 7th century.
It is the best-preserved of all Roman buildings and the oldest important building in the world with its original roof intact. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. Although the identity of the Pantheon's primary architect remains uncertain, it is largely assigned to Apollodorus of Damascus.

The original Pantheon was built in 27 BC-25 BC under the Roman Empire, during the third consulship of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and his name is inscribed on the portico of the building. The inscription reads M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT, "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, having been consul three times, built this." It was originally built with adjoining baths and water gardens.

In fact, Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a fire in AD 80, and the current building dates from about 125, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, as date-stamps on the bricks reveal. It was totally reconstructed, with the text of the original inscription added to the new facade, a common practice in Hadrian's rebuilding projects all over Rome.
Hadrian was a cosmopolitan emperor who traveled widely in the east and was a great admirer of Greek culture. He seems to have intended the Pantheon, a temple to all the gods, to be a kind of ecumenical or syncretist gesture to the subjects of the Roman Empire who did not worship the old gods of Rome, or who (as was increasingly the case) worshipped them under other names.

(The dome is made of concrete contrary to what my italian source says)