Hi everybody! Finally I have a paypal account here, so I'll be able to accept commissions, donations and a couple of things more! :)

I want to thank you all for reading my journal and I hope you'll notice those commissions I tend to offer every now and then. (LJ Icons, Bagdes, Sketches ... etc.) As many people do, I want to put my "tip jar" too; donations are always welcome! ;) they'll help me in buying new art supplies. However I want to underline that's not obligatory, it's just a detail to promote an artist with his works. ;D

Thanks for your attention guys ... and thanks for your potential donations!!!

 Hi everyone ... I'm back! Sorry, but I hadn't much time to check or write new posts here on LJ; I've been kind of busy, there were more urgent tasks that needed my attention. University comes first, I passed a couple of special exams and I guess I should be proud of myself, but I still have something to do. On a side note, I hope to start working with a professor of mine (I was planning a training period at Sforza Castle or the local Basilica of St. Eustorgius and their museums).

Now I'm spending another summer in Spain with my parents and we decided to took a week to visit the region of Castilla y Leon. That's a nice region; however, even if I still prefer Andalusia, there were some wonderful cities: Burgos, Salamanca and Avila. If things go in the right way, I'll share a couple of photos too!

I confess, I'm getting kind of lazy. I don't know why, but it happens every now and then, I suppose.
BTW, sorry if my English got a bit worse than usual, but I haven't talked or written to anybody in months.

That's all for now! I'll try to keep in touch. :D

This day, 17 March 1861, it was proclaimed the Unity of Italy! After years of war, Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoia became the first King of our beloved country and Camillo Benso of Cavour, the great architect behind the indipendence, became our first Prime Minister; after centuries of foreign domination, that little piece of Europe gained a new identity.

Everything started with insurrectional movements in 1820-1821, later in 1830-1831, then in 1848; during that same year, the population of Milan expelled Austrian occupation forces in five days. After this last event, followed by many political conflicts, began the First War of Indipendence (1848-1849); however, we had to win three wars to get a complete liberation and annexation of our current regions.



Congress of Paris (1856): After the Crimean War, Piedmont tried to build new relationships to protect its plans of restoration in the Italian Peninsula; that first region was the foundation stone and starting point of a larger campaign.


Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour and General Giuseppe Garibaldi: these extraordinary men were brain and brawn in many epic feats and circumstances. They never accepted each other, their methods were way too different, but they cooperated in achieving greater purposes.


Once the Third War of Indipendence was finally concluded, the Habsburg Family gave back the Iron Crown, symbol of the ancient Kingdom of Italy built by Longobards during the VI century. (We'll talk about this in a different occasion)

Rome was conquered in 1870: Pope Pio IX had to renounce to his temporal power and territories, but refused to recognize the newborn nation. However, even if we had problems with the Holy See, the eternal city became capital one year later and we placed our parliament there; Italy became a Republic in 1946 ... many things have changed, I won't tell them all, but I'm glad to see that something lasted during 150 years. We're sons and daughters of patriots and this land is their legacy!

Listen the orchestral version of the national anthem, Fratelli d'Italia - Brothers of Italy.

His majesty, father of the fatherland, the King Vittorio Emanuele II gave a speech before the Piedmontese Parliament, when he said: "Our country, small in size and proportions, gained credibility with European Councils thanks to the greatness of its ideas and the ability to endear itself to others"

Hi everybody!!! :D I'm back here for a while, sorry if I didn't leave many comments on your Livejournals, but I've been (and I'm gonna be) kind of busy recently; I'm getting prepared for some new exams. This university won't wait for me! ;D Well, I passed three of them now ... later there will be four more on the way this semester. These are my currently passed subjects:

- Botany applied to Restoration Techniques
- Latin Literature: Authors and Concepts
- Philosophy and Simbolics

BTW, I want to thank gatcat once again for sending me that new Mad Magazine issue about SPY vs SPY! I can't wait to read it. I'm planning to see my parents as soon as possible, I'm going to pay them a short visit in March; I've already found a flight and I'm sure I'll enjoy the stay this time. :P



On a different side I started to follow some episodes from the animated series "Avatar: the last Airbender" and I discovered that I really find it interesting; in other words, I simply love it! They recently redubbed the third season in Italian and I could see it until the end. I like the symbology behind the four elements, but certain things tend to be dangerous since I had a couple of strange, yet awesome, dreams about this particular story.
I was thinking to develop a character sheet about a figure with Timebending powers; Time could be a good fifth element after all, it's immaterial, but it affects the matter itself under many points of view. I'm curious to know your opinion, because I'd like to see if you share this little fandom with me.

I'm crazy, but I like it! ;)
See you next time dear friends and readers. :)

I'm a simple guy, I tend to get happy with nothing at all ... just give me some ancient manuscripts and you'll see me changing face. This is what happened yesterday: since we are currently studying Librarianship, our teacher decided to show us a small section inside the Public Library in Como.

She allowed us to touch and examine two volumes printed in the first half of XVI century (Publisher: Aldus Manutius - Pliny the Elder's biography; Editor and illustrator: Cesare Cesariano - Vitruvius' De Architectura, A.D. 1521), a short military atlas published in XVIII century about the most important Milanese Fortifications and Sieges, two religious manuscripts composed in the second half of XIV century (A wonderful tome of Holy Bible and a prayer book for young women); both manuscripts were admirably illuminated and those military plans were just so deliciously detailed.
You can't imagine how excited I was. It's just spectacular when you can feel some parchment paper between your fingers, its weight and texture are something you can't describe; those miniatures and decorations were almost hypnotic, you could easily notice the thickness of those coloured inks too.

In other words ... it was an awesome experience!

On a side note, I'd like to point out what the New York Times said about Milan: they put our city between the 41 places you should visit in 2011; it earned the 5th position after all. Below you can find what they wrote!

"Milan - A reborn cathedral joins fashion-foward galleries and hotels.

Compared with the Italian troika of tourism - Florence, Venice and Rome - Milan is often an afterthought. But with novel, eye-catching design emerging around the city, that should soon change. For years, unsightly scaffolding obscured the Milan Cathedral; now that most of it has been dismantled, the newly scrubbed gothic masterpiece, also known as the Duomo, is worth a fresh look. Across the Piazza, the city's collection of 20th century art is now showcased at the Museo del Novecento, which opened in December in the restored Palazzo dell'Arengario.

Outside the historic center, former factories have been transformed into design studios, old warehouses have been repurposed as unconventional art venues and galleries are packed with avant-garde works. The eclectic Spazio Rossana Orlandi gallery displays the latest creations from emerging designers, while large-scale art installations from acclaimed international artists like Anselm Kiefer are exhibited at Hangar Bicocca: a cavernous art space that reopened last year.

And though fashion followers still flock to the wish-filled windows of Miu Miu and Marni, fashion in Milan now extends beyond retail and runaways. Arguably the most fashionable addition is the Hotel Milano Scala, which opened last year in a renovated 19th century mansion singing the eco-chic promise of "zero emissions hospitality". In a country where green directives are not yet widespread, it proves that Milan is, once again, on the cutting edge."

- Ingrid K. Williams

There's so much to see in Milan! (Let me know if you're planning to come for a visit)
BTW, in 2015 our city will host the Universal Exposition too!

Buon anno a tutti quanti!
Feliz año a todo el mundo!
Happy new year to everyone!

Well, that's another one: Really, I'm going to miss the recently passed year, because it was the best year I've ever spent so far (if we don't consider how it ended before Christmas); I just hope to see a good 2011 as well. Probably I'll able to survive until this summer and enjoy a new adventure with my parents! Let's see what the future has in store for us.

See you soon!!! Auguri ... ;D

Just some random news: Yesterday I decided to visit a new temporary exhibition inside the Royal Palace of Milan.

Lombardy has the honour to house until the end of january the Al-Sabah Collection, with over 350 pieces of Islamic Art; thanks to a collaboration between Italy and Sheikh of Kuwait, a good range of important cultural witnesses will be admired all around the world for a limited period of time. You can retrace over 1000 years of history and art, from Spain to India, where you can find all kinds of artefacts (like carpets, clothes, ceramics, chiselled metals, jewels, sculptures, wooden or ivory objects); there're not enough words to describe such magnificent experience, so I'll let some images speak for themselves!

Hi everybody! Today I'm here to tell you a local legend: Muggiò looks like a small city with nothing special to share, but we're all wrong, because there're few interesting places to consider; one of them is the small rural chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Chestnut Tree (also known as Our Lady of Sorrows). It has been recently restored for its 500th anniversary and now you can visit it every tuesday morning.
The chapel was founded in 1510, then reworked between the XVII and XVIII century for want of Count Giuseppe Bolagnos, who decided to make his personal gift to the local community; as you can see, it preserved its Neo Classical-Baroque characteristics until nowadays. The chapel was abandoned for many years, then restored again in 1861 and modified during the '30s by adding a porch (removed in 1971).

In 1937 the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized and consecrated the sanctuary, qualifying it as granter of indulgences.

Legends say that a farmer was walking by a small group of trees, when he saw the Virgin Mary emerging between the branches of a chestnut; the simple man, scared and enraptured by that vision, ran back to town and told everything to the Parish Priest. When they reached the tree, they found a wonderful statue of the Virgin Mary holding the body of his son Jesus Christ.
The priest ordered to move the statue inside the church, but the same night it disappeared under mysterious circumstances! It was found the day after between the branches of its chestnut tree, and then moved again inside the church; however, even if the priest ordered to patrol the area, the statue disappeared again. After finding it on the chestnut tree every morning, the priest decided to build a chapel around the tree itself!

Probably the trunk is still there, under the altar, supporting our beautiful Virgin. :)



( Dulcis in Fundo )

Hi everybody! Sorry if I didn't update this place lately, but I've been kind of busy; I hope everything is OK over there. I just wanna wish you Happy Halloween and share a recipe you could try for this special occasion: It's Risotto con la Zucca (rice with pumpkin). I'm sure you'll like it! ;D BTW, let me know what you think about it.

On a side note, I can tell you I'm finally going to upload some new photos; however, it won't be something about my summer trip to Andalusia, not yet at least. University started a couple of weeks ago and I'm very happy because I'll study Latin this year; It'll be a nice one, I suppose. (I'm planning to spend as much time as possible before a good glass of beer with my old friends, this is my current philosophy! :)

That's all for now, folks! See you tomorrow.

Hi everyone! I'm back in Italy, vacations are over for now and my university is waiting.

I'm sorry if I didn't leave any comment in these few days (I'm talking of you, wolfyu ), but I was very tired and I preferred to enjoy my free days with my parents. ;D Well, I hope to check everything as soon as possible; However, I think I'll avoid my computer for a while: it feels so good when you keep it turned off ... :P

I promise to share some photos with you when I'll have time.
I hope everything is OK over there, all around the world!

See you soon!!! :)