Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: carillon

Orvieto was annexed by Rome in the third century BC. Because of its site on a high, steep bluff, the city was virtually impregnable. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the episcopal seat was transferred from Bolsena, and the city was held by Goths and by Lombards before its self-governing commune was established in the 10th century. Orvieto's relationship to the papacy has been a close one. By the thirteenth century, three papal palaces had been built. Orvieto controlled the road between Florence and Rome. It was a large town with a population of about 30,000 at the end of the 13th century. From 1201 Orvieto governed itself through a podestà, who was as often as not the bishop, however, acting in concert with the "captain of the people". In the 13th century feuds divided the city, which was at the apogée of its wealth but found itself often at odds with the papacy. Pope Urban IV stayed at Orvieto from 1262 to 1264. The city became one of the major cultural centers of its time when Thomas Aquinas taught there. A small university had its origins in a studium generale that was granted to the city by Pope Gregory IX in 1236. The territory of Orvieto was under papal control long before it was officially added to the Papal States and it remained a papal possession until 1860, when it was annexed to unified Italy. The construction of the cathedral lasted almost three centuries with the design and style evolving from Romanesque to Gothic as construction progressed. The construction started around 1300 and was entrusted to "capomastro" Fra Bevignate di Perugia (aka Bevignate da Gubbio). The cathedral was initially designed as a Romanesque basilica with a nave and two side aisles. However, when Giovanni di Uguccione succeeded Fra Bevignate, the design was transformed into Italian Gothic forms. Construction continued slowly until, in 1309, the Sienese sculptor and architect Lorenzo Maitani was commissioned to work on the church and solve several issues concerning the load-bearing capabilities of the building, especially of the choir. He substantially changed the design and construction of the building, increasing the similarity of the building to Siena Cathedral. Starting in 1310 he created the current façade up to the level of the bronze statues of the symbols of the Evangelists. The Gothic façade of the Cathedral is a masterpiece. The three-gable design is attributed to Maitani, who apparently had been influenced for the façade by the style of the Siena Cathedral by Giovanni Pisano and the plan for façade of the Florence Cathedral by Arnolfo di Cambi. The signature elements are the large bas-reliefs and statues with the symbols of the Evangelists created by Maitani and collaborators (between 1325 and 1330). This relief certainly refers to an Old Testament passage, but I have not been able to find out which one. A man plays a carillon while on the right a woman has a child on her lap. The carillon rotates, driven by a small water wheel.

Porto is with a population of about 250.000 is the largest city in Northern Portugal. In "Greater Porto", the metropolitan area, live even more than 1.7 million people. The historical center of Porto was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Port wine is named after Porto, since the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia on the southern banks of the river Douro are the centers for packaging, transport and export of the fortified wine. Some years ago I had been here for a couple of days before I started the "Camino Portugues" here. The center of Porto has lots of large, fantastic art-deco buildings. The "Edificio Palladium" is known for the clock and the carillon.

Perugia was an Umbrian settlement that became a Roman colonia around 250 BC. In 547 Totila´s Ostrogoth troops looted the city after a long siege. Legends tell, that Perugia´s bishop Herculanus, who negotiated with Totila in behalf of his folks, got beheaded by the Ostrogoths, making St. Herculanus (aka "Sant' Ercolano") to the city´s patron saint. In the 9th century it passed under the popes, but within the 11th it century gained independency. After a long conflict, in 1370 the city signed a treaty accepting a papal legate, but already 5 years later the vicar-general of the Papal States was expelled by a popular uprising. During the Italian Wars Perugia passed through many hands until Condottiero Braccio da Montone reached a concordance with the Papacy. It did not bring peace to the city, but led to the "Salt War" in 1540, that had started as a protest against paying new taxes on salt. The papal troops forced a surrender. - The Fontana Maggiore is located on the "Piazza IV Novembre" (ex "Piazza Grande") between the cathedral (background) and the Palazzo dei Priori (my POV). It was created between 1277 and 1278 by the famous sculptors Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni Pisano, known for their works in Pisa and Siena. Once the place was occupied by the bishop´s citadel. After the demolition of the citadel, the fountain got erected here as a symbol of the free city. The Fontana Maggiore is considered one of the finest still existing medieval fountains. On the twenty-five sides of the lower basin are sculptures representing prophets and saints, the labors of the months, the signs of the zodiac, scenes from Genesis, and events from Roman history. Here are two of the seven liberal arts ("septem artes liberales"). To the left, holding a compass, is the GEOMETRIA. To the right, playing a carillon, is the MUSICA.

A previous church at this place was once part of the castle, erected by the Earls of Bourbon on a rocky headland overhanging a meander of the Bouble. In 937 Odo of Cluny, who was the second abbot in Cluny, added this place as a priory to the cluniac sphere. The still existing romanesque church of the "Abbaye Saint-Vincent de Chantelle", was built within the 12th century. Monastic life declined later and after the French Revolution was sold. Mid 19th century it was "bought back" by the abbey of Pradines. Since 1890 ist is a monastery again. The nuns living and working here, produce herbal cosmetics - and sell the worldwide. www.benedictines-chantelle.com/ A carillon with only two bells is a very small instrument, but every artist starts off in a small way. Maybe this person was called "The Master of the Bells" some years later.

Lucca existed already in Etruscan times and became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The Diocese of Lucca dates back to the first century, legends tell, that St. Paulinus, a disciple of St. Peter, was the first Bishop of Lucca. In medieval times Lucca was the residence of the Margraves of Tuscany. After the death of Matilda of Tuscany (1115), Lucca constituted itself as an independent republic. Actually the "Republic of Lucca" existed from 1160 to 1805. "San Salvatore" belonged to a convent, that was founded within the 8th century. Sponsored by the Carolingians (Louis the Pious), the nunnery was the richest in Lucca during medieval times. The convent existed upto 1808, when under the reign of Napoleon´s eldest sister Elisa Bonaparte, Princess of Lucca and Piombino and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, all convents in Lucca got secularized. For a while it served as the local hospital. The church, seen here, was built within the 12th century, but got renovated in remodeled a couple of times, especially during the 19th century. Some carvings of the old structure survived the centuries. Here is a lintel, that I cannot "read". Two saints (halos) distribute food to the nobility (left) and to the commoners (right). ?? Or do the saints bless the food?

There have been five cathedrals on this site. One was destroyed by Visigothic troops mid of the 8th century. The successive cathedral was burnt down by Vikings ("Danes") in 858. The carolingian structure that was erected within the next decades was burnt down in 962 by troops led by Richard I of Normandy (aka "Richard the Fearless", "Richard Sans-Peur"). The rebuilding started again, but whatever was completed got destroyed by a fire, caused accidently, in 1020. The erection of a Romanesque cathedral started and most of the still existing crypt dates back to that building. In 1134, another fire damaged the town and large parts of the cathedral. The towers got repaired and rebuilt and the portal between them got created. Another blaze hit the town in June 1194. The cathedral was burnt down. Construction works started the same year. The western towers and the undamaged western portal ("Portail Royal") got integrated into the new building. The nave was already vaulted in 1220, the transept and the stained windows were completed in 1260. On 24 October 1260, only 66 years after the start of construction, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame was consecrated in the presence of Louis IX of France (aka "Saint Louis", "le Prudhomme"). Since Charles the Bald, Louis the Pious´ son, had given the "Sancta Camisia" to the cathedral in 876. Because of this "Veil of the Virgin" Chartres developed into a very important Marian pilgrimage center in medieval times. The "Portail Royal" is part of the cathedral´s western façade. This portal survived the fire, that destroyed the preceding cathedral in 1194. The portal was carved by 1150, a visible transition from Romanesque to Gothic style. The upper part of the Royal Portal´s right portal is seen here. This portal is the entrance for thousands of visitors every day. The lintel is carved in two registers. The lower one depicts (from left to right) the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity (ox and ass have lost their heads), the Adoration to the Shepherds. The Presentation in the Temple is seen on the upper register. The tympanum is seen as a "Sedes Sapientiae", Virgin and Child enthroned, flanked by two censing angels. The archivolts, surrounding the tympanum, are carved with personifications of the Seven Liberal Arts. "Music" (inner archivolt, right side) holds vielle and organum and plays a carillon.

Notre-Dame de Confort was erected in Gothic style 1528-1544 the church altered and enlarged several tomes and is in a perfect state. Next to the colorful, carved beams of the ceiling is an antique carillion.