Postcard from Piedmont

Normally, when I send you a Postcard, I tell you the name of the town where the image was taken or painted or sketched. To be honest, I can’t remember the name of the little town where I found these churches. Piedmont is the name of the region in Northern Italy where this little town and many others exist. Piedmont is known for its sophisticated cuisine and wines such as Barolo. It is also home to many other small wineries that produce some of Italy’s finest wines.

I and my wife Susan stayed in a private home up in the hills near the town of Canale. From there we would venture out to the little hill towns that dot the landscape of this fabulous wine growing region. Here, towns and homes were built on hills rather than on the flat land where the wine grapes grew. We visited one town after another without a map. We could always see the towns in the distance and all we had to do was find the road to it. That was great fun!

We always purchased our lunch in the morning, including a bottle of local wine, from a delightful little deli in Alba, run by two women who spoke no English. They always sold us wonderful meats and bread for our picnic…and excellent wine at very reasonable prices. Then we would venture out to the countryside to see these wonderful little towns. That was a week both of us will always remember.

As I said, I found these churches in one of the little towns along the way. Churches are a major going concern in Italy…all Catholic, of course. And you find them everywhere, often in close proximity like these churches. Once in Torino, I would find a church on every block, sometimes across the street from each other…or close together like here.

I think this digital pastel-style painting turned out quite well. The vibrant colors may be a slight exaggeration (artist license), but those are the colors. I called this painting, “Three Churches,” because I can see three crosses on three different architectural styles (count ‘em). However, there may actually be only two churches. In Italy, you will sometimes see modern facades added to old churches. Actually I have seen a couple of those here in America.

But it was such a lovely scene that I had to photograph and paint it. I hope you find it pleasing.     

Postcard from Saluzzo, Italy

Cloister

by Charles Leo O'Donnell

" Show me your cloister, " asks the Lady Poverty of the friars. And they, leading her to the summit of
a hill, showed her the wide world, saying: " This is our cloister: O Lady Poverty! "
Well, that were a cloister: for its bars
Long strips of sunset, and its roof the stars.
Four walls of sky, with corridors of air
Leading to chapel, and God everywhere.
Earth beauteous and bare to lie upon,
Lit by the little candle of the sun.
The wind gone daily sweeping like a broom —
For these vast hearts it was a narrow room.

 

Digital Sketch by J.R. Corkrum – “Monastery Quadrangle”

Postcard from Minneapolis

Believe it or not, this is a football stadium. I know it doesn’t look like one, which was my first impression when I first laid eyes upon it. This is US Bank Stadium, the new home of the Minnesota Vikings. As much as I enjoy football, I look at this stadium more as an architectural wonder. I enjoy photographing architectural elements…you may be aware of that if you are a long-time reader of this blog. In this case, the element is the whole structure.

You may notice that it is not quite completed in this photo. Well, I took it just over a month ago, and from what I read it is now finished. As I write, the grand opening is in two weeks. The first Viking preseason game to be played there is on August 28th…with the first regular season game scheduled for September 18 against Green Bay on Sunday Night Football. It will also host the Super Bowl in 2018. 

Here are a few interesting details about it: Its a fixed roof stadium, with the roof made being a strong translucent plastic material spanning 240,000 square feet. The walls are also made of the same materials allowing fans to see outside, including views of downtown Minneapolis. There are also wall panels that open to the outside allowing people inside to experience some of the outdoor elements while being protected from rain and snow. If you look just above the elevated walkway, you can see the outline of a couple of these wall panels.

The truth is that the Viking ownership wanted to build an outdoor stadium, but state and local governments would only provide funds if it were an indoor stadium so it could host other events. I can’t image watching a Super Bowl in February if it were an open stadium.

The stadium sits on the site of the on the site of the now-demolished Metrodome. You may remember that stadium as it was also a covered but the roof was an inflatable fiberglass roof that was held in place by air pressure. In its latter stages, it was not well maintained and eventually became a safety hazard. On November 19, 1981, a rapid accumulation of over a foot of snow caused the roof to collapse, requiring it to be re-inflated. It deflated the following winter on December 30, 1982, again because of a tear caused by heavy snow.

The beginning of the end occurred on December 12, 2010 at about 5:00 a.m., the roof had a catastrophic collapse as three panels tore open. They continued to try and repair it, but it was not worth doing. Demolition initially began in 2014. It was the home for both baseball and football, but this new stadium will only be for football. The baseball stadium, Target Field, is only a couple of miles away. 

I didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Minneapolis, but I sure am glad I got to see this amazing piece of architecture. I look forward to seeing a football game on TV so I can see the inside of this place.

Postcard from Notre Dame

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you the photo I took of the famous Golden Dome that sits on top of the Administration Building at Notre Dame University. I hope you saw it. Anyway, a graduate student I met at the library told me I definitely needed to see the dome from the inside. I am glad I took his advice. What you see in this photo is directly underneath the dome, looking up. In some ways, it reminds me of many state capitals I’ve been in as well as some other buildings that have domes. But, like all domes, this has its own uniqueness. 

The painting was done by Italian painter and Notre Dame professor Luigi Gregori. It represents Religion, Philosophy, Science, History, Fame, Poetry and Music, all subjects taught at Notre Dame. There is a legend that if a student ascended the steps before graduation, that student was doomed never to graduate. This legend stems from traditionalist smoking rituals. Students were not deemed worthy to climb the steps and smoke with their professors until they received their degrees and were educational equals.

The administration building itself was built in 1879 to replace a previous one that had burned down. The dome was the last feature they added in 1882. The building also houses the Columbus Murals, a group of large paintings depicting the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, also done by Gregori.

It was a wonderful day wandering around this legendary university. It is quite special. If you would like to see a view of the campus from the top of the Golden Dome, just click on this link. I will have some other photos from Notre Dame in future editions. It is indeed a photographer’s playground.