Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: ark

Salerno (pop. ~ 130.000) is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The site has been one of the most important and strategic ports on the Mediterranean sea, yielding a rich Greco-Roman heritage. It was an independent Lombard principality in the early Middle Ages. The Normans in 1077 made Salerno the capital of their rule in all of southern Italy. In the 16th century, under the Sanseverino family, among the most powerful feudal lords in southern Italy, the city became a center of learning, culture, and the arts. Salerno has been the seat of an archbishop since 983 and the city's medical school is famous for being the first college or "university" of medieval Europe. The Diocesan Museum is best known for the "Salerno Ivories". A collection of ivory plaques from around the 11th or 12th century that contain elements of Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic art as well as influences from Western Romanesque and Anglo-Saxon art. It is the largest unified set of ivory carvings preserved from the pre-Gothic Middle Ages and depicts narrative scenes from both the Old and New Testaments. It is supposed the ivories originated in either Salerno or Amalfi, which both contain identified ivory workshops, however, neither has been definitively linked to the plaques so the city of origin remains unknown. Noah´s ark

Slavic Obodrites lived in the area, where Wismar is now, until the end of the 12th century. The exact date of the city's foundation is not clear, it had civic rights already in 1229 when migrants from Holstein and Westphalia settled here. The "Lübsches Stadtrecht" (town law) was confirmed in 1266. In 1259 Wismar joined a defensive agreement with Lübeck and Rostock, in order to counter the numerous Baltic pirates. Subsequently, more cities would agree to cooperate as commerce and trade were increasingly coordinated and regulated. These policies would provide the basis for the development of the "Hanseatic League". By the 13th and 14th centuries, Wismar had grown into a flourishing Hanseatic trading hub. In 1632, during the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered the city, and the Swedish Crown received in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 after the end of the Thirty Years' War. Swedish rule over Wismar ended de facto in 1803 when Sweden pledged the city to the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin for 99 years. Formally, Wismar reverted to Germany in 1903 and Sweden waived its right to redeem the pledge. Wismar is a typical representative of the Hanseatic League with its city-wide Brick Gothic structures and gabled patrician houses and has alongside the historical old town of Stralsund been declared the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar". The "Heiligen Geist Kirche" (Holy Spirit Church) is part of the "Heiligen Geist Hospital", which was founded in the middle of the 13th century as a hospital for the poor. In 1323, the hospital was placed under papal protection and construction of the present church began. The main altar was consecrated in 1326. Today's single-nave brick building essentially dates from the first third of the 14th century and was initially a place of worship, clinic and hostel at the same time. The painted plank ceiling of the hospital church shows a depiction of the biblical story in 26 pictures, which are depicted in medallions. The Flood ends, Noah is saved. Behind him the ark.

Beaune, in the centre of the Department "Côte-d’Or", is one of the key wine centres in France. It is the centre of Burgundy wine production. and business. The annual wine auction of the "Hospices de Beaune" is worldwide noticed and maybe the most important auction in France. The collegiate was founded in Beaune within the 10th century, the building of this church, which is parish church since the French Revolution, started in romanesque style within the 12th century. The Romanesque capitals are very detailed and have a specific "soft" style. Passengers are leaving Noah's Ark.