Alexander der Grosse at the Lokschuppen in Rosenheim

Dear Friends
as announced, I visited the exhibition Alexander der Grosse at the Lokschuppen in Rosenheim (DE). The exhibition is of high quality and presents artifacts coming from the region of the empire that he conquered. Alexander was described by his contemporaries as a cruel person, inclined to the drunkness and thirsty of conquest and glory. It was said that he wanted to conquer all the land up to the Ocean at the end of Asia. But the exhibition permits to appreciate that he was also someone of different. He did not established a Macedonian empire but tried to fuse together all the different cultures and peoples of his empire, although the hellenism perfused all. His glory, after his short life, was also greather. Julius Cesar, Augustus, Traian, Hadrian and Caracalla visited his tomb in Alessandria (Egypt) and sometime opened his sarg to see his momie. Misteriuosly, the tomb disappeared in the 4th century A.D. Because, take images at the exhibition was not allowed, I can only propose you images of the exterior of the exhibition. Many information about Alexander, superstar of the Antiquity, and the exhibition at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great
http://www.lokschuppen.de/alexander-der-grosse/ueber-die-ausstellung.html
Please, let me know your opinion.
Salutations
Giancarlo

 

Helsinki - Atheneum, Luomus

Dear Friends
in Helsinki we visited two important museums: the Atheneum - the gallery of modern art and the Luomus - the museum of Natural History. At the Atheneum it was not allowed to take images, so that I can propose you only the images of the Luomus. The Luomus presents mainly animals living in the Northern environment and the Artic Ocean as well as a very interesting collection of fossils and dinosaurs - see the images. More info about the Atheneum and the Luomus at:
http://www.ateneum.fi/en and  http://www.luomus.fi/english/ .
Please, let me know your opinions.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Helsinki

Dear Friends
on the last day of our visit in Finland it was possible to visit Helsinki. The town appears modern and dynamic protending toward the sea. With our surprise, the core of the town with its Neo-Classic buildings, the Lutheran cathedral and the Orthodox cathedral remind well the atmosphere of Saint Petersburg. The images give you an impression of the Neo-Classic and dynamic aspect of the town. More info about Helsinki at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki
Any comment from you are welcomed.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Finland Etno-activities

Dear Friends
as already said the wether in Ivalo was always good during the day such that it was possible to perform various activities in view of deepen our knowledge about the Sami peoples and the environment of North Finlandia. The Sami peoples started to colonise gradually the North Europe at the retrait of glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age about 8-9 thousend ybp following the raindeers and other animals which, adapted to the cold wether, followed the glaciers in retrait. Their languages are Ugro-Finnish, as our guides explained us, they are living on an extended territory shared by Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, they have their own Parliament which have only a consultative power. We enjoyed the sleeping environment covered by snow and familiarized with the means used by these peoples to move: sleighs trained by reindeers or husky dogs, motorbikes and skis - see the attached images.
Any comment from your side is welcomed.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Aurorae 2013

Dear Friends
as you know Jean-Luc and me took part to the EurAstro - M.Polo mission Aurorae 2013.
Main goal of the mission was the observation of the Northern Lights or Aurorae Borealis and the comet C/2011L4 Pannstars. Let me say that, contrary to the meteo forecast of the departure, the wether in Ivalo (North Finlandia) was always good in the day and during the night so that we was allowed to enjoy this unique performance of the nature. The particles of the solar wind, mainly electrons and protons, are obliged by the magnetic field of our planet to move along specific paths and breaked. This combined effects give to the northern lights the colours and the evolving shapes that we observed - see the following images by Jean-Luc. More information about Aurorae 2013, the northern ligths and the comet Panstarr at:
http://eurastro.blogspot.nl/2013/03/eurastro-en-finlande.html
and:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2011_L4
Any comment from your side is welcomed.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Da Botticelli a Matisse - Volti e Figure

Dear Friends
in my last journey to Verona I had just the time to visit the exhibition: Da Botticelli a Matisse - Volti e Figure. The exhibition proposes a great number of portraits made by great artists concerning common peoples. My opinion is that the art of portrait has evolved a lot in passing from Botticelli to Matisse and if you want Modigliani. At the beginning the realistic somatic reproduction of the visage of the people permitted to appreciate the character and the emotions of the person reproduced but with the evolution the somatic characters has loosed importance and attempt to communicate emotions has taken major importance. Taken images at the exhibition was not allowed, but the following images taken from panels outside the exhibition can give you an idea of said evolution.
Salutations
Giancarlo