Juni 2016 - 101cityscapes

30. Juni 2016Jörg Dietrich

Genoa | Italy | Via XX Settembre | Week 26

Genoa [italian: Genova; latin, german: Genua; french: Gênes], oldest references from the 6th century BC as (a probably greek city) Stalia in Liguria but might have been inhabited much earlier. Lies on the mediterranean coast at the centre of the ligurian coastal arch, south of Milan and in the centre of a triangle with Marseille (west, 300 km), Zürich (north, 325 km) and Rome (southeast, 400km). 6th largest city in Italy, 69th largest city in europe.

Population: 587.000 [2015] | 679.000 [1991] | 591.000 [1931] | 378.000 [1901]

Genoa, also called La Superba (the proud one), is especially known for its glorious past. The Romans renamed it Genua and gave it municipal rights. The city had its golden times as the Maritime Republic of Genoa, especially from the 12th to the end of the 14th century. During that time it was one of the leading maritime powers in the Mediterranean with colonies in the Middle East, the Aegean, Sicily and Northern Africa. It controlled Liguria, Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica and Nice and had trade outposts in many places, especially in Spain and Constantinople. It had another golden time from the 16th century to the French Revolution when the genoese banks collaborated closely with the spanish crown. A famous son of the city was Christopher Columbus, born here in 1451. During the 19th and 20th century Genoa established itself as a ship-building and industrial powerhouse of Italy. Its Palazzi dei Rolli and the Le Strade Nuove („the new streets“) gave the city an UNESCO world heritage site and in 2004 it was a european capital of culture.

Our streetline presents a section of the southside of Via XX Settembre in Genoa. This major east-west street from the city centre (at Piazza de Ferrari) towards the East and San Vincenzo developed in the late 19th century. The street is crossed by the bridge Ponte Monumentale in its middle, which we can see at the left edge. It is a major shopping and promenading street of the Genoese and lined by representative buildings from the period, especially some of the finest Art Nouveau buildings in the region.

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We documented many more streets and places in Genoa. Find some unfinnished examples below.

Via Garibaldi | Strada Nuova

Piazza Caricamento

Palazzo San Giorgio

23. Juni 2016Jörg Dietrich

Avignon | France | Palais des Papes | Week 25

Avignon [latin: Avenio], founded in the 6th century BC as Aouenion by greek settlers from Massalia (Marseille). Lies on the left bank of the Rhône river ca. 80 km north of Marseille and 200 km south of Lyon. Avignon is the largest city of the Department Vaucluse, the 5th largest in the Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Nr. 46 in all of France.

Population: 90.000 [2013] | 87.000 [1990] | 57.000 [1931] | 47.000 [1901]

Avignon has always been situated at the border of different countries, it belonged amongst others to the Greek, the Romans, the Franks, the Kingdom of Provence and Arles, the german Holy Roman Empire, the Papal State and finally to France following the French Revolution. Once in history Avignon became an important political centre – that was after the Pope decided to move its seat from Rome to Avignon in 1309, chosen for its proximity to the papal ruled Comtat Venaissin. For about 70 years the city was the centre of Christianity and served seven popes and two antipopes. Afterwards it still served as a second centre of the pope who sent a papal legate to rule the city. Today the cityscape is still dominated by the gothic 14th century Papal Palace and together with the cathedral and the famous Pont St. Bénézet bridge it earned the city UNESCO world heritage status in 1995.

The short papal rule in Avignon shaped the city more than anything else in its 2.500 years of history, especially with the errection of the Palais des Papes (english: Papal Palace). It was built between 1335 and 1370 by the ruling popes, the main architects were Pierre Poisson (old palace) and Jean de Louvres (new palace). Up until today the palace remains the largest gothic style building in europe. In this panoramic view we see the new palace (Palais-neuf) with the main entrance in the right half, the old palace (Palais-vieux) left of it a little bit to the back and the Avignon Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon) left of the Papal Palace. The palace gradually lost its importance and after the french revolution it was used as a military barracks and prison which resulted in the damage of most of its interior and frescos. Since 1906 it is a national conservation project and undergoes restoration ever since.

The Avignon Cathedral was originally built in the 12th century and serves as the seat of the archbishop of Avignon. After restoration in the 19th century a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary was placed atop in 1859.

Find more streetviews and cityscapes from France in our France overview.

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16. Juni 2016Jörg Dietrich

Barcelona | Spain | Passeig de Gracia | Week 24

Barcelona [latin: Barcino; greek: Varkelóni] founded by the Laietani as Barkeno sometime before 250 BC, later restructured by the Carthaginians and Romans. Lies on the mediterranean coast in north-east spain, about 500 km east of Madrid, 900 km south of Paris and 300 km south-west of Marseille. Second largest city in Spain and 17th largest city in europe.

Population: 1.605.000 (2015) | 1.707.000 (1990) | 1.006.000 (1930) | 544.000 (1900)

Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous spanish region Catalonia and its economic centre. It has always played an important rule as a major harbour on the mediterranean coast and is the seat of the Union for the Mediterranean, an organization of european, african and arabian countries. In 1992 it hosted the Olympic Games and it is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site with works by the modernisme architects Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Gaudís magnum opus, the Basilica Sagrada Familia which was started in 1882 and is scheduled to be finnished in 2026, is a major tourist attraction of europe.

The Passeig de Gràcia is regarded the most elegant street of Barcelona and runs through the Eixample from the Placa de Catalunya in the south to the Gràcia district in the north. Here the leading modernisme architects created several representative buildings in the later 19th and early 20th century. Amongst the architects that worked on this street block we find Lluís Domènech i Montaner with the Casa Lleó-Morera at the left edge, Antoni Gaudí with the famous Casa Batlló, the second last on the right and Josep Puig i Cadafalch with the Casa Amatller on its left side. With all these architects and their distinct styles so close to each other this street block was later famously called the Mansana de la Discordia – meaning at the same time Apple or Block of discord and referencing greek mythology in view of this built competition of Modernisme. Find more infos and detail views in our archive or look for other Barcelona streetlines.

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