Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: farmer

Messina, located at the southern entrance of the Strait of Messina, was in the 8th century B.C. founded by Greek colonists. After the First Punic War, it became Roman and after the fall of the Roman Empire, the city was successively ruled by the Goths from 476, then by the Byzantine Empire in 535, by the Arabs in 842, and in 1061 by the Norman brothers Robert Guiscard and Roger Guiscard, later known as Roger I of Sicily. In 1189 Richard I ("The Lionheart") stopped in Messina on his way to the Holy Land and briefly occupied the city after a dispute over the dowry of his sister, who was married to King William II of Sicily (= William the Good). . . Because a tectonic fault zone, the Messina Fault, runs through the Strait of Messina, earthquakes are common here. The city had to be rebuilt again and again. The Second World War brought further destruction to Messina. The church dates from the 12th century when Sicily was under Norman rule. Built on top of the ruins of an older temple dedicated to Neptune, the church is an example of Sicilian Norman architecture with its mix of different cultural elements. The church displays influences from Arab and Byzantine architecture and also contains Roman elements. In the first half of the 14th century under Louis III of Anjou (aka "Louis III of Aragon") the building was declared a royal chapel. It is one of the few structures to have survived the catastrophic earthquake in 1908 which destroyed most of Messina. As a result of the earthquake, the church is situated 3 meters below the reconstructed street level. Towards the end of the 15th century, with the unification of the Kingdom of Sicily under the unified crown of Spain, the church became the seat of the "Brotherhood of Catalan Merchants", from which it took its current name. The merchants, nobles, and knights gathered in brotherhood commissioned the construction of a crypt for the burial of the confreres. I have already uploaded a lot of photos previously taken in Sicily. Now I will add only a few. If you want to see more, follow this link:Some buildings were erected in the Art Nouveau style after the 1908 earthquake. www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1238300

Messina, located at the southern entrance of the Strait of Messina, was in the 8th century B.C. founded by Greek colonists. After the First Punic War, it became Roman and after the fall of the Roman Empire, the city was successively ruled by the Goths from 476, then by the Byzantine Empire in 535, by the Arabs in 842, and in 1061 by the Norman brothers Robert Guiscard and Roger Guiscard, later known as Roger I of Sicily. In 1189 Richard I ("The Lionheart") stopped in Messina on his way to the Holy Land and briefly occupied the city after a dispute over the dowry of his sister, who was married to King William II of Sicily (= William the Good). . . Because a tectonic fault zone, the Messina Fault, runs through the Strait of Messina, earthquakes are common here. The city had to be rebuilt again and again. The Second World War brought further destruction to Messina. The Cathedral was originally erected in the 12th century. The building had to be almost entirely rebuilt in 1919–20, following the devastating 1908 earthquake, and again in 1943, after a fire triggered by Allied bombings. The original Norman structure can be recognized in the apsidal area. The façade has three late Gothic portals, dating back to the early 15th century. Inbetween the partls are friezes. Seen here is the life of farmers. I have already uploaded a lot of photos previously taken in Sicily. Now I will add only a few. If you want to see more, follow this link: www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1238300

The "Église Sainte-Foy de Sélestat" was built in only 10 years between 1170 and 1180, succeeding an earlier ("Holy Sepulcre")church from around 1085 built by Hildegard von Egisheim. Of this church only the crypt and some carvings remained. Hildegard´s famous grandson Frederick I Barbarossa funded the construction of this new church, that was the center of a benedictine monastery, affiliated to the abbey St. Foy in Conques. Outside all around the main and the right apse runs a lombard band with carved capitals, Under the roofs here are corbels. I had taken (and uploaded) a photo of this mermaid some months ago, but then Paul G.M. asked be about the lateral carvings - and I had no photos of them. So this time, I was more carefully. This is the left lateral side, depicting a man, using a pitchfork or shovel digging. He obviously is a farmer, preparing the soil for planting. Farmer was a very usual profession in medieval times. The man is naked. This is not an individuum, but stand as a symbol for "all farmers", what means for a commoner. Do not be disturbed by the mermaid ( = lust and sin). Concentrate on your work. The posture of the farmer shows, that he is concentrated. Note that the hand of the mermaid really goes all around the tail. The fingers on the back can only seen from this angle