Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: fish

Santa María de Nogueira de Miño is a Romanesque church from the second half of the 12th century. The tower and façade were renovated in the 18th century. In 2012, wall paintings from the period between 1560 and 1570 were discovered, which have since been restored. They are attributed to the so-called ‘Mestre de Nogueira.

Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region. Founded by the Etruscans, the city has been an urban center for centuries, first under the Etruscans, then under the Celts, then under the Romans, and again in the Middle Ages, when it was among the largest European cities by population. It is home to the oldest university in Europe established in 1088. Bologna is renowned for its culinary tradition. It is the home of the famous Bolognese sauce, called ragù. As in all of Emilia-Romagna, the production of cured pork meats such as prosciutto and salumi is an important part of the local food industry. Mortadella counts to the Bolognese specialities. So shopping for the Christmas dinner is very extensive here.

The Baltic Sea is known for fish and Klaipeda is famous among the tourists for freshly smoked fish.

Molfetta was probably been founded by the Greeks around the 4th century BC. Later it was Roman and after the fall of the Roman Empire, it was ruled by the Goths, who reinforced the city walls in the response of raids of Saracene pirates. The settlement developed under the alternate dominion of the Byzantines and Longobards. The Normans occupied Molfetta mid 11th century. Under the Norman rule, Molfetta became, just like Bari and Brindisi, an important starting point during the period of the crusades. Hospitals got erected to care for returning crusaders and hospices to host people heading to the "Holy Land". - The "Duomo di San Corrado" was erected between the second half of the 12th and the first half of the 13th century on a cliff overlooking the sea. First dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, it is now dedicated to "San Corrado", patron saint of Molfetta. San Conrado (aka "Conrad of Bavaria", "Konrad von Bayern") was a son of Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria. Conrad was a disciple of Bernard of Clairvaux and a Cistercian monk. He journeyed to the "Holy Land" with the purpose of living there as a hermit but had to return. Returning to Apulia he stopped near Bari, where he lived as a hermit. The Duomo is a very special example of Apulian Romanesque architecture, as it is the largest of the Romanesque churches with the central nave covered with three domes. The artists had a nice kind of humour. Here an eel lurks in the holy water stoup.

Richardis, wife of Charles III (aka "Charles the Fat") and so "Holy Roman Empress", founded the abbey in Andlau ca 880. Later she lived here (as the abbess). She was known for her piety and so she was canonised, when Pope Leo IX paid a visit to the abbey in 1049. Another frame of the frieze in Andlau depicts this naked lady, riding a giant fish. The lady does not have the typical mermaid-attribute (tail/s), but riding a fish, shows her "profession". Her feet are like duckfeet - or fins..

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 archepiscopal 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" and the adjoining cloister, the only structures of the large complex, that survived the times. The cloister (completed ~ 1200) measures 47x47 metres. Each side has 26 arches resting on columns. The carvings of the capitals (and the columns) are very detailed and complex, the themes vary and some capitals are "hard to read" and interpret. There are literally thousands of small details carved into the stones of pillars and capitals. Here are just a few of them.

The island of Corsica is one of the 18 regions of France. It was colonized the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Romans. After the Roman empire collapsed, Corsica got invaded by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. For a short while the island belonged to the Byzantine Empire, then the Franks granted the island to the Pope, in the early 11th century Pisa and Genoa together freed the island from the threat of Arab invasion. The island came under the influence of the Republic of Pisa, later it belonged to Genua for centuries. In 1755 after a long fight for independence from Genoa the independent Corsican Republic was proclaimed, but in 1769, when the island was conquered by France. As the areas near the coast over centuries have been threatened by attacks and raids of pirates many old hamlets and dwellings are wide inland, high in the mountains. So most of the old churches are in the mountains and some of them are hard to find. The small eye catching Romanesque church San Michele is easy to find, located on an isolated hill just outside Murato. It was erected from mid-12th century on and was consecrated in 1280. At that time Corsica was ruled by Pisa and so it was built in a bicolor typical Pisan style recognizable by the alternation of green (serpentine) and white (limestone) stones, very similar to the "Basilica di Saccargia" on the neighbouring island of Sardinia. The single nave church presents remarkable naive motifs on the walls that are amazing in their imagination and variety.

One of the first printed records about this gate stated in 1859 "Of all old monuments in the Rhine valley, none as mysterious as the portal (...) near the church in Remagen". The Pfarrhoftor (= Gateway to the parish close) still is enigmatic. It may have been erected for a nearby monastery, that centered around an St. Apollinaris shrine, it may have been in deed a gate to a parish close. Actually it known since the 17th century, when parts of it were found, walled in between the rectory and the encircling wall. The parts were recovered and like pieces of a puzzle joined together. Though the cope stone was lost, the large arch was easy to reconstruct. Wether the smaller side portal originally was left or right is unclear. The 22 carved reliefs here have triggered more than a dozend different theories. I will quote some. The carving style was not appreciated by the art-historians. Already Wilhelm Bode ("Geschichte der Deutschen Plastik") wrote in 1887 that the carver was "without any artistic ambition". For me this portal has parallels in Linden and Goegging. All three portals are roughly carved - and enigmatic, blending christian, pagan and ancient icons. The only point, that is undisputed is, that the portal was erected in the second half of the 12th century. It may be, that the reliefs, seen here, are just single icons, that are not interconnected to a certain "iconographic program". This is claimed by Paul Clement (1938), Georg Dehio (1933) and Josef Minn (1942). In 1947 Albert M. Koeniger published the results of his research, interpreting the reliefs as icons of eight (!) deadly sins as described by Bishop Burchard of Worms (965-1025), author of a canon law collection (aka "Decretum Burchardi"). A bird, wearing a bearded man's face on the back, feeding on fish. The bird may be an eagle or at least a bird of prey (beak, raptorial claws). Maybe this is a fish-eagle, but a very special one, having that face on it´s back. The long haired, bearded face, reminded my on the head of John the Baptist. The fish looks like a salmon. According to Albert M. Koeniger, the fish is a carp and the sea-eagle is known for the gluttony, one of the deadly sins ("gula"). He quotes Phil. 3.18 " their god is their stomach", to explain the face...

One of the first printed records about this gate stated in 1859 "Of all old monuments in the Rhine valley, none as mysterious as the portal (...) near the church in Remagen". The Pfarrhoftor (= Gateway to the parish close) still is enigmatic. It may have been erected for a nearby monastery, that centered around an St. Apollinaris shrine, it may have been in deed a gate to a parish close. Actually it known since the 17th century, when parts of it were found, walled in between the rectory and the encircling wall. The parts were recovered and like pieces of a puzzle joined together. Though the cope stone was lost, the large arch was easy to reconstruct. Wether the smaller side portal originally was left or right is unclear. The 22 carved reliefs here have triggered more than a dozend different theories. I will quote some. The carving style was not appreciated by the art-historians. Already Wilhelm Bode ("Geschichte der Deutschen Plastik") wrote in 1887 that the carver was "without any artistic ambition". For me this portal has parallels in Linden and Goegging. All three portals are roughly carved - and enigmatic, blending christian, pagan and ancient icons. The only point, that is undisputed is, that the portal was erected in the second half of the 12th century. It may be, that the reliefs, seen here, are just single icons, that are not interconnected to a certain "iconographic program". This is claimed by Paul Clement (1938), Georg Dehio (1933) and Josef Minn (1942). In 1947 Albert M. Koeniger published the results of his research, interpreting the reliefs as icons of eight (!) deadly sins as described by Bishop Burchard of Worms (965-1025), author of a canon law collection (aka "Decretum Burchardi"). The semicircle starts with a paddling mermaid and ends on the right with a merman, presenting, what he has caught. The merman has eight fish. Following Koeninger, these fish stand for eight souls/ the eight deadly sins. He has three fish in the basket, four under his left arm and one in his right hand. In most other carvings, I have seen sofar elsewhere, the fish-icon is connected to "ichthys". Other than his "spouse" on the left, this merman has no legs.

Saint-Genès, erected in the 11th and 12th century, was the church of the priory Saint-Etienne, dependent from the important Abbaye Notre-Dame in Déols. This abbey, now in ruins, had been founded in 917 and developed into one of the most powerful regional institutions. It was one of the first in the Cluniac network. Odo of Cluny (+ 942) was abbot of three monasteries: Cluny, Massy and Deols. This is important, as Saint-Genès has architectural parralells to Cluny II and Cluny III. The building got severely damaged, when Louis VII (aka "Louis le Jeune", 1. husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine) burnt down the town in 1152 during a feud with Abbo II de Déols, a supporter of Henri Plantagenêt (aka Henry II, "Curtmantle", 2. husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine). In 1569 the Huguenots set fire here - and many restorations followed that. During the French Revolution the bell tower was destroyed and the church became a "Temple of Reason". The carvings inside were created by (at least) two different workshops. There are rough and archaic capitals, that are probably older than the more elaborated, "sophisticared" ones. This one is probably from a third workshop. A hellish creature is just about to devour the person in the center. What thought to be a "helmet" over the wrinkeld face - is the giant mouth of that creature. To the left a bird swallows a fish, probably a symbol, of how easy it is for a devil, to devour a soul. To the right a devil bites into the shoulder of a large sitting person, who himself bites into a apple..

As I waited for the friendly person to unlock and open the "hôpital", I had time to walk around and see the many graffiti, scratched in by pilgrims centuries ago. I had been here before, but there are so many.. Here is a large a fish (pike?) and (right) triangels and a hatchet, used by carpenters.

Mozac Abbey is one of the oldest monasteries in the Auvergne, dating back into Merovingian times. A legend tells that it was founded by Calminius (later Saint Calmin). He must have been pretty important and well off, as his name is connected to the foundations of three abbeys. He introduced the benedictian rules to the area, and brought (from Rome)a relic of Saint Peter and (from Agen) a relic of Saint Caprasius to Mozac. He got buried in the crypt of this church together with his wife Saint Namadie. Within the 9th century relics of Saint Austremonius, the first bishop of Clermont were transferred to Mozac, so already before Santiago de Compostella was on the map, this was a place of pilgrimage. In 1095 Mozac abbey got affiliated to Cluny, but was important enough, to have Hugue of Semur, nephew of Hugue of Cluny here as abbot. He was followed by Eustachius, brother of Petrus Venerabilis. Three churches could be traced here by archeologists, what can be seen today is "Mozac 3", a great church built within the first half of the 12th century. As most of "Mozac 3" got destroyed by a number earthquakes between 1437 and 1490. Actually only ruins can be seen. Apses, choir, ambulatory, radial chapels, transept and clerestorys were beyond repair, when the early reconstruction started - in gothic style. Most pillars and capitals of "Mozac 3" are still in place (in situ). Some / Most of the carvings here are so "perfect", that they seem to be much younger, even baroque, but all are - 12th century - romanesque. - The Book of Jonah "... Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." On the left side of the capital the story continues: "... And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." There is an obviously important city on the shore, having a wall with towers and a city gate. Jonas seems petrified from the shock. The tree behind him has heart-shaped leaves.

Mozac Abbey is one of the oldest monasteries in the Auvergne, dating back into Merovingian times. A legend tells that it was founded by Calminius (later Saint Calmin). He must have been pretty important and well off, as his name is connected to the foundations of three abbeys. He introduced the benedictian rules to the area, and brought (from Rome)a relic of Saint Peter and (from Agen) a relic of Saint Caprasius to Mozac. He got buried in the crypt of this church together with his wife Saint Namadie. Within the 9th century relics of Saint Austremonius, the first bishop of Clermont were transferred to Mozac, so already before Santiago de Compostella was on the map, this was a place of pilgrimage. In 1095 Mozac abbey got affiliated to Cluny, but was important enough, to have Hugue of Semur, nephew of Hugue of Cluny here as abbot. He was followed by Eustachius, brother of Petrus Venerabilis. Three churches could be traced here by archeologists, what can be seen today is "Mozac 3", a great church built within the first half of the 12th century. As most of "Mozac 3" got destroyed by a number earthquakes between 1437 and 1490. Actually only ruins can be seen. Apses, choir, ambulatory, radial chapels, transept and clerestorys were beyond repair, when the early reconstruction started - in gothic style. Most pillars and capitals of "Mozac 3" are still in place (in situ). Some / Most of the carvings here are so "perfect", that they seem to be much younger, even baroque, but all are - 12th century - romanesque. - A very surrealistic scene. A man is riding a giant fish through a vineyard. This may refer to the "Book of Tobit" (Apocrypha). Tobias is attacked by a big fish, kills it and produces medicine from the organs of the beast. The bag may be the bladder of the fish.

For centuries this town was known as "Le Montet-aux-Moines" but after the French Revolution the name was shortened. Archambault II of Bourbon founded a Benedictine monastery here, as a burial ground for himself and his successors. This priory, dependent on Saint-Michel-de-la-Cluse in Piedmont ("Sacra di San Michele" near Turino, Italy) developed well and was soon after one of the largest of the area. The vast former abbey-church dates to the 12th century, it got modified in the 14th century and severely damaged in 1567, when during the Wars of Religions Huguenot troops burned down and sacked town and convent. The church was in very bad conditions after the Revolution and in 1871 the large apse, the ambulatory and the radiating chapels were pulled down. The building lost nearly half of its former length. The nave has some extraordinary capitals. Here is one capital - from three different angles. From the information given here, I learned, that this capital may depict "Feeding the multitude". Either 5000 (Matthew 14:13-21) or 4000 (Mark 8:1-9) Seen are loaves of bread, handed over by a woman (?) and on the left a man, holding a basket and a fish. If the person in the center is a woman, I doubt the interpretation.

The parish church Saint-Sulpice in the village of Marignac was erected within the 12th century as part of a priory, founded here by the Charroux Abbey (120kms southeast). The church has a remarkable cloverleaf layout. The eastern part with the side chapels and the apse and the western portal still date back to the first church here, while the outer walls of the nave have been rebuilt, after destruction by war. - As I have uploaded already many photos taken here previously, I will just add a few "new" ones. - A smiling mermaid holding a fish - and a large bird stealing a juicy morsel.

The first cathedral here was consecrated by St. Zeno around 380 AD. This was replaced by a larger building already two centuries later. An earthquake and/or fire destroyed that structure. The basilica that got rebuilt was destroyed by the earthquake in 1117, that wrecked so many buildings in Veneto and Lombardy. The present "Cattedrale Santa Maria Matricolare" was built in 1117-38, but many renovations were made later. Here is the left side of the cathedral´s side portal. A very sportive atlas holds the weight of the portico. Dragons fight on the left side.

San Bartolomé is the oldest church of Logroño. The construction dates back to the 12th century. Though it got altered largely in the 16th century, the Romanesque structure is still visible. During the time of "La Desamortización", when mid 19th century many monastic properties got sold, the church was used as a warehouse and workshop. It was even discussed to demolish the building. The porch was created in the 13th century. Below the large vignettes themed about Saint Bartholomew's life and death are small, very nice scenes. Here are two strange and weathered mermaids. The right one is fighting her colleague with a sword. The left one has a very nice tail, but the upper body seems completely lost. This one even has two legs. A very rare species!

San Bartolomé is the oldest church of Logroño. The construction dates back to the 12th century. Though it got altered largely in the 16th century, the Romanesque structure is still visible. During the time of "La Desamortización", when mid 19th century many monastic properties got sold, the church was used as a warehouse and workshop. It was even discussed to demolish the building. The porch was created in the 13th century. Below the large vignettes themed about Saint Bartholomew's life and death are small, very nice scenes. Here is one of two strange and weathered mermaids. The tail of the mermaid got lost (maybe there were two tails). She wears a nice girdle and may be hunting. She just caught the second fish with her right hand. Her facial expression is either shows high concentration - or unhappiness.