Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: donor

Stilo (Stilida) was part of the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century. In 982 it suffered damage from a battle between Otto II . and the Arab-Byzantine troops. The battle had begun near Crotone, but when Otto's troops thought they had won, they were placed here and defeated. Otto II died a year later from malaria in Rome. During the Middle Ages, the coastal inhabitants moved further inland and moved to where Stilo is today. Between 1065 and 1071 Stilo resisted the Norman invasion. At that time it was fortified. Today Stilo is a small town with a population of around 2500. The Cattolica was built in the 9th century when Calabria was part of the Byzantine Empire. It is located on the slope of Monte Consolino and mainly built of brick. It follows a plan with "inscribed cross", typical of the middle Byzantine age. The interior is divided by four columns into five similar spaces. The square central space and the angled ones are covered by domes. The angled ones have tambours with the same diameter, while the central dome is slightly taller and larger. Seen here may be the Annunciation. The little donor is on his knees to the left.

In the 12th century, the local voivode endowed the Church of St. Cross here. At the end of the 12th century another church, the Rotunda of St. Prokop, was built. Premonstratensian nuns had a monastery here from 1148 to 1838. The Holy Trinity Church, consecrated in 1216, was also built during this period. Strzelno fell to Prussia in 1772. After the end of the First World War Strzelno was ceded to the Second Polish Republic. In 1939 the region was occupied by the German Wehrmacht; subsequently, Strelno was reincorporated into the German Reich. In the spring of 1945, it rejoined Poland. - The "Rotunda of St. Prokop" was probably completed mid 13th century, like the neighboring church of the Premonstratensian nuns. There are three "addons": a square chancel on the eastern side, two small apses to the west, and a tall tower. with a prominent escarpment on the west side and a gallery on the first floor. During the reconstruction at the end of the 15th century, the upper part of the tower was demolished and bricked again in brick. Later, the rotunda was incorporated into the buildings of the convent as a monastery gate. In 1779 the rotunda was re-consecrated and dedicated to St. Procopius. In 1812 the church was profaned by Napoleon's soldiers and used for economic purposes. The rotunda got renovated and reconstructed in the 1890s and again in the 1920s. During WW II, the rotunda was turned into a warehouse. In 1945, the Germans planted explosives in the rotunda. The explosion and fire destroyed the upper parts of the tower and all interior fittings, while the walls survived. Conservation works were carried out in the years 1948–1952, restoring the original Romanesque character of the church. In the tympanum, there are three figures. In the center the enthroned Christ, on the left the young founder, offering the model of the rotunda to Christ, and on the right a female figure, perhaps the superior of the monastery, with an open book. The original tympanum was destroyed in 1945. Thanks to a plaster cast, which was in the Krakow National Museum, the restoration of the Romanesque tympanum was possible.

St. Mikołaja is a single-nave rural church, situated on a small hill. It was founded at the end of the 12th century by Bishop Iwo Odrowąż relative of St. Jacek Odrowąż (aka "Hyacinth of Poland"). The building, completed in the 13th century has not much changed over the centuries, it is still visible that it served as a fortified place to shelter people in times of attacks and riots. The tympanum of the church portal in Wysocice bears a mystery. In the center, there is Christ, sitting on the throne, and trampling two beasts. Christ blesses with his right hand, and in his left hand, he holds the symbol of the resurrection - across with a flag. On one side the Nativity is depicted, and on the other, a bishop is kneeling with a chalice and a monk with his hands raised. This tympanum may have been originally in a Norbertine convent from where it may have been transferred to Wysocice. In case the tympanum, probably carved in the early 13th century, was created for this church, the donor can only be Bishop Iwo Odrową.

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, has a long history, that starts around 8000 BC, but later there were Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman periods. After the Roman Empire had fallen apart the Vandals tried to take over the island but failed. Finally, the Ostrogoths took possession. Mid of the 6th century Sicily was conquered by troops of the Byzantine Empire. After the advent of Islam, Sicily got attacked by the Arab forces. Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century. A Muslim army was sent to the island in 827 but met with much resistance. So it took a century to conquer it and even later revolts constantly occurred In 1038 the Byzantines invaded the island supported by Norman mercenaries, led by Roger. In 1072, after the siege of Palermo, most of Sicily was under Norman control. Roger´s son Roger II raised the status +of the island to a kingdom in 1130. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and powerful, The court of Roger II became melting out of culture from Europe and the Middle East. This attracted scholars, scientists, artists, and artisans. Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Lombards, and Normans cooperated and created some extraordinary buildings. In 1186 the last descendant of Roger, Constance of Sicily married Emperor Henry VI, the second son of Barbarossa. So the crown of Sicily was passed on to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was crowned King of Sicily at the age of four in 1198. He became "Stupor Mundi", one of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages. - William II of Sicily built from 1172 here a fort-like complex of buildings, which included a cathedral, an archiepiscopal palace, a royal palace and a Benedictine monastery. In 1183 the monastery became the seat of the archdiocese of Monreale. The town then developed around this complex. According to a legend, William fell asleep while hunting. The Holy Virgin appeared to him in a dream, suggesting him to build a church here. After removing a tree, a treasure was found, whose coins were used to finance the construction. Well, it is much more likely that Monreale was founded in competition with the bishop of Palermo, who had commissioned the large Cathedral of Palermo. This would explain the vast dimensions and the splendour of the "Duomo di Monreale" (= "Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova"), that with the cloister, is the only building that survived the times. The interior is breathtaking, but as the cathedral is about 100 m long, there are distances here, not like inside the "Capella Palatina", where all the mosaics are so "near" - plus the visitors can sit down here - and gaze. It is overwhelming. Here are more than 6000m² of byzantine mosaics. The sides of the nave show many very strong parallels to the Cappella Palatina. Here and there probably the same workshop. Probably a large, maybe even a generation-spanning studio of Byzantine artists. Seen here is King William II of Sicily as the donor. He hands over the church to the Virgin Mary. William´s donation is blessed by God.

There are two products, this small town, near Riom is pretty famous for. There are the black stones from Volvic, used all over the Auvergne. The gothic cathedral in Clermont-Ferrand is built from the black stones, coming from Volvic. The younger product is the "Volvic" mineral water. Zillions of plastic bottles, filled with Volvic-water leave this place every week or month. Long time before Danone (Evian, Badoit, La Salvetat....) entered the stage in Volvic, this place was owned by St. Priest (aka Priest de Clermont, aka Saint Praejectus), bishop of Clermont. St. Priest was stabbed to death here in 676 and immediately was venerated as a martyr. His sucessor Avitor founded an abbey here, that later was depending from Mozac (1169). The capitals in St. Priest do not have the wonderful, sleek elegance of the carvings seen in the former abbey church in Mozac (5kms east) or Notre-Dame-Du-Port in Clermont-Ferrand (15kms south), but they use the same "icons", that are so typical all over the Auvergne: sirens, griffons, eagles.. According to Bernard Craplet ("Auvergne romane"), who could decipher the inscription running all around the capital, this depicts a donation. On the left is the young lay donor William of Bezac who gives the cleric/prior the column as a symbol for the church, that William had financed. Seen as a "next step" on the back of this capital are two angels consecrating the altar.