The first stop off on our Montenegrin road trip is to the incredible Ostrog Monastery and this entails a lot of hairpin roads….as usual! The monastery is split into an upper and lower site, and is a Serbian Orthodox Church. Its most famous sight is the upper monastery situated against an almost vertical background high upContinue reading “Ostrog Monastery”
Tag Archives: church
Lonely Church
Sometimes you stumble across something amazing, literally in the middle of nowhere and that is the case with the lovely Santissima Trinità di Saccargia. On-route from Alghero we spot this stripey marvel from the main road and can’t help but pull over for a closer look. The church is the most important Romanesque site inContinue reading “Lonely Church”
Religious art
The Cathedral of Santa Maria, or the the Cathedral of Cagliari, has an incredibly ornate interior with geometric marble inlay creating mesmerising patterns. Heading underground to the crypt you come to the Martyrs’ Sanctuary, so called because there are around 179 niches containing the relics of the martyrs of Cagliari. Heading back into the cityContinue reading “Religious art”
Quarr Abbey
We’re visiting an unexpected architectural gem on the Isle of Wight now – Quarr Abbey. It’s proper title – Abbey of Our Lady of Quarr – is a monastery that is home to a small group of Benedictine monks. Construction on the abbey started in 1911 and it was consecrated on October 12, 1912. TheContinue reading “Quarr Abbey”
Plobannalec-Lesconil
The next day heralds some rather drizzly grey weather but not to be deterred we head to the nearby town of Plobannalec-Lesconil. This little harbour town happens to be hosting its weekly farmers market. This involves fresh produce and lots of local meats as usual! Whether its mountains of spice, roasting chickens or brightly coloured wovenContinue reading “Plobannalec-Lesconil”
Stone piles, old and new
Our final few glimpses of Camaret are a little on the grey, drizzly side. As it starts to really rain we pop into Notre Dame de Rocamadour, or the Church of the Fishermen. This attractive little church is situated out on the breakwater and lost its steeple to an English canon ball in 1694 duringContinue reading “Stone piles, old and new”
Old churches and ancient stones
On a slightly grey, overcast day we all pile into the cars for a day trip from Loctudy to Camaret. On route we stop at a traditional stone church. Here we can see some of the archetypal religious architecture that is prevalent in Brittany. There are several regional features that mark out the Breton countryContinue reading “Old churches and ancient stones”
Mafra Palace
On-route back to Cascais we take a flying visit to the Palace of Mafra, a monumental Baroque and Italianized Neoclassical palace-monastery. *Wikipedia alert* The imposing façade, built of local limestone, is 220 m long and faces the town of Mafra. At each end of the façade stands a square tower with a bulbous dome, suchContinue reading “Mafra Palace”
San Giuseppe dei Teatini
San Giuseppe dei Teatini is a Baroque marvel of a church opposite the Fountain of Shame. It’s a colourful spectacle that shouldn’t be missed. The church, also close to the Quattro Canti, is considered one of the most outstanding examples of the Sicilian Baroque in Palermo. The church was built at the beginning of theContinue reading “San Giuseppe dei Teatini”
Marble church and Llandudno
It’s another grey drizzly summer day, so where better to go than North Wales! After sitting in traffic and arriving two and a half hours later than planned we were all a bit tetchy . . But first stop was the marble church of St.Margaret’s in Bodelwyddan. The church was erected by Lady Willoughby de Broke inContinue reading “Marble church and Llandudno”