Your City: History and Legends

Been wanting to open a topic like this for ages
Ok, here we go: I really love travelling, and collecting images and stories from the places I've been to. Even when I don't travel, I still love to search for cool places and stories.
That's where the idea for this topic came out: every place has its history and legends. I thought it would be cool to share some of them here posting pictures is welcome, too.
It could be a good occasion to discover some really cool stuff!

I thought about starting with a pretty mysterious place, here in Naples.
Here I'm going to present... Cappella Sansevero


I know, the picture is small... couldn't find anything better D:

The chapel was built in 18th century and was originally meant to be just a private chapel, but was later converted into a family burial chapel. The one who gave the chapel its definitive form was Raimondo Di Sangro, prince of Sansevero: seems he also partecipated in designing the look of the building.

The prince of Sansevero, though, was very well known to be a quite mysterious character, an alchemist, a scientist and, possibly, a sort of magician. For example, seems he was perfectly able to reproduce the "miracle of St. Gennaro", the patron saint of the city. The miracle consisted/consists in having the dried blood of the saint to melt once a year... he reproduced that, simply using a scientific method. Of course, this was considered as some sort of black magic by the people. He never said anything against the rumors about him... actually, seems he quite enjoied making people believe he was "strange". What made the legend even bigger were probably the works of art inside the chapel: some of the sculptures, in fact, were realized with very strange materials and techniques, that led to many other legends to come out.

Some examples?



The Veiled Christ made by Giuseppe Sammartino, it's the main work of art of the whole chapel, it's made out of a single block of marble, and leaves quite astonished for the realistic veil the artist reproduced on Jesus' body.
The legend says that the prince of Sansevero himself teached the artist how to make a chemical solution that would have allowed him to "transform" a real veil in marble.

...That's not true at all, the artist really worked hard to make a sculpture out of real marble, but the whole legend of "transforming" things in stone, marble or whatever does not end here



The Veiled Truth (seems they have quite a passion for veils, in this chapel ). The author this time is different, but you can see another realistic veil. What is cool about this sculpture, though, is the material that was used for it. Seems, in fact, that if the sculpture is placed under a particular angle of light, it appears to be enlightned from the inside.



Ok, no particular legend about this, it's just that I think the whole net thing is simply amazing if I'm not wrong, this one was made out of a single marble block, too...

Anyway, after the little tour of the statues (there are more than 25, but I just picked some of the coolest ), let's go underground for a moment to take a look at the lower floor of the chapel. Here are exposed two 'anatomical exhibits': remember when I talked about transforming stuff into other materials?
Well, that's the case. The two models are supposed to be an example of 'human metallization'. In few words, it is supposed that Sansevero found the way to transform human veins into some sort of 'metal', and the two bodies exposed should be the result of his studies.
They are a man and a pregnant woman. Some people said that they were Sansevero's servants, some other say that the woman was a love interest of the prince, but she rejected him and he killed her, together with the man who tried to defend her.
More probably, the two bodies are nothing more than just sculptures, but the owners of the chapel never let scientists to analyze them, so that the truth is still a mystery.

Here are a couple of pictures of the 'petrified bodies', as they are often called over here (posting links, the pictures are small, but if anybody is kinda impressionable and doesn't want to look at bones, skulls and veins everywhere, you can decide to not open the link )

http://www.daltramontoallalba.it/personaggi/immagini/sansevero9.jpg

http://www.menphis75.com/images/foto_varie/SanSevero1.jpg
(a close up of the woman. She had the fetus, too, but it was stolen )

Well... hope you enjoied the reading (especially: hope I didn't bore the hell out of you ), now it's your turn!

nice thread Doc and very intresting read..thanks for that..


"The prince of Sansevero, though, was very well known to be a quite mysterious character, an alchemist, a scientist and, possibly, a sort of magician. For example, seems he was perfectly able to reproduce the "miracle of St. Gennaro", the patron saint of the city. The miracle consisted/consists in having the dried blood of the saint to melt once a year... he reproduced that, simply using a scientific method."

this part interested me most (well,also scared the hell outta me,but i'm very interested in these kinda stuff) [quote= "Dr.Frankenstein"] It's aliiiiiiiveeeee! [/quote]


well, there are just too many places in Istanbul that i can't choose one at the moment..plus,i gotta know more about this city's enormous history so i need some time to write about one..wait till i come up with another weird story like that Doc

principia wrote:

nice thread Doc and very intresting read..thanks for that..

Aaaw, glad you like the thread!!!

principia wrote:

"The prince of Sansevero, though, was very well known to be a quite mysterious character, an alchemist, a scientist and, possibly, a sort of magician. For example, seems he was perfectly able to reproduce the "miracle of St. Gennaro", the patron saint of the city. The miracle consisted/consists in having the dried blood of the saint to melt once a year... he reproduced that, simply using a scientific method."

this part interested me most (well,also scared the hell outta me,but i'm very interested in these kinda stuff) [quote= "Dr.Frankenstein"] It's aliiiiiiiveeeee!

Yep, that's a really interesting thing... even if scary! Wonder which method did he use to do that stuff, though...
It was also a bit of a shock the first time I heard of that story, lol. That miracle is *still* one of the most important events here in the city, some people even think that if the blood doesn't melt it's a symbol of disgrace or something like that... discovering that this guy, back in 18th century, was able to reproduce it was... well, strange

Quote :

well, there are just too many places in Istanbul that i can't choose one at the moment..plus,i gotta know more about this city's enormous history so i need some time to write about one..wait till i come up with another weird story like that Doc

Aaaaw, I was sure you would have hundreds of places and stories to choose from never been in Instanbul, but saw some pics and heard the descriptions of friends that were there... wonderful place no worries and take your time, by the way!

xanthipee wrote:

Wow, Serena, what a wonderful story! Honestly, I want to believe that miracles still exist, so please, don't take that away form me by explaining that a miracle is, actually, a delusion created by a scientific method! Also, I'm going to take part in this topic, but I have to think of the most interesting legend of the part of the country I live in ... I think I have an idea ...

Aaaw, girl, I do believe in miracles, too, so surely I'm not going to take it away from you! Just like with anything else, though, I think that some 'miracle' stories might be fake ones, supported by tradition and made with the help of science and various tricks... not all of them, though. I believe that true miracles are still out there.

Glad you enjoied the story, by the way! Looking forward for your posts

THE MYSTERY OF KALEMEGDAN FORTRESS

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Kalemegdan fortress is located in the centre of Belgrade. Kalemegdan means "the castle in the battlefield" (or something like that) in Turkish (tur. kalemeydan) - Betelguese, principia, please, correct me if I'm wrong!

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It was built in the 3rd century by the Celts and it was named Singidunum. Since then it belonged to many different nations: the Romans, the Goths, the Huns, the Slavs, the Turks, the Austrians. When something is so old, there are usually many legends which one can never know if they are true or not.

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One of the legends says that the grave of Attila, the Scourge of God, lies under the walls of Kalemegdan. However, there is another legend which occupies the mind of the adventurers, artists and ordinary people. It's about the ancient Arian sect the members of which disappeared from the face of the earth a long time ago.

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The legend, however, says that the cult continued to exist and that some very important people were members of it. Also, the legend says that the sect survived to this day and that they perform their rituals in the catacombs of the ancient fortress. There's even a film about it.

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That's it. It's nothing special, actually. I told you this story because I like the film which is a very good thriller.

Now, I'm waiting for Betelguese and principia to finish their exams and tell us a new story ...

That's a very interesting story, Xan! And that castle is simply beautiful, love it

Grazie, cara! Bentornata!

Woh, perfect italian!
Grazie a te!

Sei molto brava, invece

(not a single mistake in any of your sentences... and the 'porca miseria' in the end was absolutely great, lol )

Ah, this will take too much time! Well, I'll mind posting here so soon

Quote :

I simply adore Italian. I have to brush up on my knowledge of Italian! At the moment I'm listening to Toto Cutugno's "Lasciate mi cantare".

Such a beautiful language.. I had tried to learn it when I was 11 or something, now I shall continue doing it Remember there was a 'Tiziano Ferro' (is he still around?) he was exteremely popular here in Turkey. I loved his voice color too much when I was a kid and thet's probably why I wanted to learn Italian



EDIT: Ahh memories.. :P I've searched youtube a bit, and came across this one;



I sometimes feel ashamed of my childhood tastes but what can ya do? After all, such an amazing voice should be liked me thinks
I don't understand half of the lyrics by the way, I'll go search it now

i guess it's my turn now,as i promised to write one.

i'm gonna write about Sumela Monestry,which is constructed against the side of a cliff in northern province of the city Trabzon(hey,guess what,that's my hometown ) and has probably one of the most beautiful views on earth once you dare to climb there

also,an Orthodox service was held on last sunday at Sumela Monastery (also known as Panagia Sumela or Theotokos Sumela) after 88 years,that means first time in the history of Turkish Republic. over 3000 foreign tourists came to Trabzon for the service, and only about 500 of them were let enter the monastery due to a space issue. the Orthodox service was also broadcasted for other tourists and the press from LCD screens placed just outside the building.

wasn't there that day(i'm not sure if i could enter there though,cause they say it was very crowded) and i have to admit that i've been to that beautiful place only twice ( ) but i really hope that that event took place there will really help people to "communicate" with eachother and will help to prevent conflicts and all the bullshit going on in the world(and i really hope that's the pure purpose of that event)

see the pics of the event here



anyways,here's the history:

Quote :

Founded in the year 386 AD during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I (375 - 395), legend has it that two priests undertook the founding of the monastery on the site after having discovered a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain.

During its long history, the monastery fell into ruin several times and was restored by various Emperors. During the 6th Century AD, it was restored and enlarged by General Belisarius at the behest of Justinian.

It reached its present form in the 13th century after gaining prominence during the reign of Alexios III (1349 - 1390) of the Komnenian Empire of Trebizond (established in 1204). At that time, the monastery was granted an amount annually from imperial funds. During the time of Manuel III, son of Alexius III, and during the reigns of subsequent princes, Sümela gained further wealth from imperial grants. Following the conquest by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1461, it was granted protection by order of the Sultan and given rights and privileges which were renewed by following sultans. Monks and travelers continued to journey there through the years, the monastery remaining extremely popular up until the 19th century.

The Monastery was seized by the Russian Empire during the occupation of Trabzon in the years 1916-1918. The site was finally abandoned in 1923, following the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey after the Treaty of Lausanne. In 1930, the miraculous icon of the Panagia Soumelá, as well as other sacred treasures of the monastery, were transferred to the new Panagia Soumela Monastery, on the slopes of Mount Vermion, near the town of Naousa, in Macedonia, Greece.

Today the monastery's primary function is as a tourist attraction. Its place overlooking the forests and streams below, makes it extremely popular for its aesthetic attraction as well as for its cultural and religious significance. Currently restoration work funded by the Turkish government is taking place. It is currently enjoying a revival in pilgrimage from Greece and Russia.

There has been some controversy among Orthodox Christians as the divine liturgy has usually been forbidden in or near the monastery. On 15 August 2010 divine liturgy was allowed outside the monastery.

ps. wish i could share my pics but i took some veery long time ago and i'm not sure i still have them(and of course i didn't have a digital cam back then and tbh,i was too small to take good pics )
yeah,i'm too lazy to go and visit there again

Betelguese wrote:

Quote :

I simply adore Italian. I have to brush up on my knowledge of Italian! At the moment I'm listening to Toto Cutugno's "Lasciate mi cantare".

Such a beautiful language.. I had tried to learn it when I was 11 or something, now I shall continue doing it Remember there was a 'Tiziano Ferro' (is he still around?) he was exteremely popular here in Turkey. I loved his voice color too much when I was a kid and thet's probably why I wanted to learn Italian

Woah, I noticed these posts only now! Well, if you girls want any help with italian, feel free to ask! I would love to learn some more about your languages, as well! I'm a foreign languages freak and I love learning new stuff! (I was thinking about opening a topic about foreign languages here in the fireplace, but I'm lazy and I forgot to do that )

By the way... aaaaaaaaw, Tiziano Ferro!!! He was the first singer I've ever been a fan of, when I was in high school I absolutely love his voice, and yes, he's still around I didn't know he was so famous over there, that's cool!

Sere Nere was one of my drugs, together with the whole album... that song was so popular that some friends of mine started to call me "SereNere" instead of Serena, at the time (and they *still* do that nowadays )

Aaaaaaaand now... that place Monestry is simply beautiful, principia!
By the way, I googled for some pictures of Trabzon, and I must say that the whole city looks beautiful! Lovely landscape, the first time I saw it I was like this:

I think that reaching that place must be hell, though I can truly believe if you don't feel much like going there so many times! Still, wonderful place and wonderul view

And a pretty interesting story, too!

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also,an Orthodox service was held on last sunday at Sumela Monastery (also known as Panagia Sumela or Theotokos Sumela) after 88 years,that means first time in the history of Turkish Republic. over 3000 foreign tourists came to Trabzon for the service, and only about 500 of them were let enter the monastery due to a space issue. the Orthodox service was also broadcasted for other tourists and the press from LCD screens placed just outside the building.

wasn't there that day(i'm not sure if i could enter there though,cause they say it was very crowded) and i have to admit that i've been to that beautiful place only twice ( ) but i really hope that that event took place there will really help people to "communicate" with eachother and will help to prevent conflicts and all the bullshit going on in the world(and i really hope that's the pure purpose of that event)

Yep, that would be really great if something like this could happen... =)

(Took a look at the pics, by the way... WOAH! So. Many. People. )

Doctor Ruin wrote:

Aaaaaaaand now... that place Monestry is simply beautiful, principia!
By the way, I googled for some pictures of Trabzon, and I must say that the whole city looks beautiful! Lovely landscape, the first time I saw it I was like this:

I think that reaching that place must be hell, though I can truly believe if you don't feel much like going there so many times! Still, wonderful place and wonderul view

yeah,i'm one of the luckiest creatures on earth cause i was born in this beautiful nature,could smell the lovely flowers and sea(yeah,i love the smell of the sea),my beloved grandpa(RIP ) and i used to take long walks in the forests and gardens and he would tell me many stories about many things,i touched and felt lots of plants and animals,talked to them,felt their heartbeats and heard them. that's why i'm such a nature and a creature lover.

i know you're like me Serena,just like Bet, and i really hope to see you in my little hometown some day. oh and of course with our lovely Mom
we'd have lots of fun as nature freaks and i tell ya; "Garden of Gray" is here,in this little town

Doctor Ruin wrote:

Yep, that would be really great if something like this could happen... =)

(Took a look at the pics, by the way... WOAH! So. Many. People. )

i wish that more than anything.



btw,what i meant to say by this sentence is [(and i really hope that's the pure purpose of that event)];
as you can see,my hometown has a long Greek history and i tell it sometimes that there are still many people in my family who *still* speak (Pontos) Greek. Trabzon was the capitol of the Kingdom of Pontos for a very long time and just like Istanbul,it was a very important city in Hellenistic,Roman and Byzanthine culture. of course,many nations lived there after and before the Greeks and Turks(yeah,it was once the land of the Amazons ) but the thing is,there are still some conspiracy theories going on about the city and its importance(and i'm currently reading a book about it,one of our neighbours who is a retired soldier and a writer[more likely a conspiracy theorist but still] wrote it and gave it to me while we were having a conversation about the region's ancient times)

i'm not sure about anything(i'm never interested in politics or little things such as nationalism or the dark pages of history,i do care about people,what's going on on this world and the universe as a whole) but i never wanted to offend anyone,if anyone is offended of course i just wanted to clarify that

*yeah,i know i think too much about things and i wrote too much about a little thing but that's just me,can't help it *

Thanks for the beautiful story, principia. I hope I'll visit the place when I come to Turkey again.

Serena, I'D ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO LEARN ITALIAN! Hurry up with posting the topic about the languages. Since we all speak more than one language, we'll all help you and take an active part in it.

By the way, it would be a real challenge for me to learn some Turkish, since I already know many words!

xanthipee wrote:

Thanks for the beautiful story, principia. I hope I'll visit the place when I come to Turkey again.

i take that as a promise then and i'll be waiting

xanthipee wrote:

Serena, I'D ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO LEARN ITALIAN! Hurry up with posting the topic about the languages. Since we all speak more than one language, we'll all help you and take an active part in it.

yeah, i was thinking about such a topic for a long time! go for it!

xanthipee wrote:

By the way, it would be a real challenge for me to learn some Turkish, since I already know many words!

we'll help ya Xan,it won't be hard
and yeah,there are many common or similar words..let's see what we all can do

Aaaaaw, going with the languages topic now, so!

principia wrote:

yeah,i'm one of the luckiest creatures on earth cause i was born in this beautiful nature,could smell the lovely flowers and sea(yeah,i love the smell of the sea),my beloved grandpa(RIP ) and i used to take long walks in the forests and gardens and he would tell me many stories about many things,i touched and felt lots of plants and animals,talked to them,felt their heartbeats and heard them. that's why i'm such a nature and a creature lover.

i know you're like me Serena,just like Bet, and i really hope to see you in my little hometown some day. oh and of course with our lovely Mom
we'd have lots of fun as nature freaks and i tell ya; "Garden of Gray" is here,in this little town

Aaaaw, that's really beautiful living in the city, I can't exactly say I had many occasions to stay in huge contact with nature like that, but it sounds really great!
I can totally understand you about the sea thing, though! Although gardens and forests are almost non-existant in the centre of Naples, we still have the sea, and I love having long walks over there, with the smell of the sea and the sunlight reflecting on water!

Pity that if you try to enter in that fucking water you risk to get out of it as a shiny radioactive green monster

Aaaand... thanks for the invitation, dear I love travelling, and I'd really love to visit your place, sure it would be lots of fun!
And it would be great to see you girls here in Naples, as well!

(May your grandpa rest in peace, by the way... )

principia wrote:

btw,what i meant to say by this sentence is [(and i really hope that's the pure purpose of that event)];
as you can see,my hometown has a long Greek history and i tell it sometimes that there are still many people in my family who *still* speak (Pontos) Greek. Trabzon was the capitol of the Kingdom of Pontos for a very long time and just like Istanbul,it was a very important city in Hellenistic,Roman and Byzanthine culture. of course,many nations lived there after and before the Greeks and Turks(yeah,it was once the land of the Amazons ) but the thing is,there are still some conspiracy theories going on about the city and its importance(and i'm currently reading a book about it,one of our neighbours who is a retired soldier and a writer[more likely a conspiracy theorist but still] wrote it and gave it to me while we were having a conversation about the region's ancient times)

i'm not sure about anything(i'm never interested in politics or little things such as nationalism or the dark pages of history,i do care about people,what's going on on this world and the universe as a whole) but i never wanted to offend anyone,if anyone is offended of course i just wanted to clarify that

*yeah,i know i think too much about things and i wrote too much about a little thing but that's just me,can't help it *

Haha, no worries, it was an interesting read and I always like to discover new stuff =) didn't know anything about that, by the way!
And no offence at all! =)

"btw,what i meant to say by this sentence is [(and i really hope that's the pure purpose of that event)];
as
you can see,my hometown has a long Greek history and i tell it
sometimes that there are still many people in my family who *still*
speak (Pontos) Greek. Trabzon was the capitol of the Kingdom of Pontos
for a very long time and just like Istanbul,it was a very important city
in Hellenistic,Roman and Byzanthine culture. of course,many nations
lived there after and before the Greeks and Turks(yeah,it was once the
land of the Amazons
) but the thing is,there are still some conspiracy theories going on
about the city and its importance(and i'm currently reading a book about
it,one of our neighbours who is a retired soldier and a writer[more
likely a conspiracy theorist but still] wrote it and gave it to me while
we were having a conversation about the region's ancient times)

i'm
not sure about anything(i'm never interested in politics or little
things such as nationalism or the dark pages of history,i do care about
people,what's going on on this world and the universe as a whole) but i
never wanted to offend anyone,if anyone is offended of course i just wanted to clarify that "


Who could be offended? Does this refer to me? If it does, I have to tell you that I really have no reason to be offended by this story or anything you've said in it. I don't hold you responsible for the fall of the Byzantine Empire. For God's sake, it happened five centuries before you and I were born! Even if you wanted to give Constantinople back to the Greeks, you couldn't for the obvious reasons! Actually, I think we all have a lot to return to Serena, because she is the heiress of the tradition of the Holy Roman Empire and the
Roman Empire occupied the whole Europe, northern Africa and a part of Asia! So, Serena, we, the barbarians, apologize to you for taking your land away from you! Jokes aside, I've written this to get one thing straight: I hate taboos and as far as I am concerned, we can talk about anything you want. We are all polite and civilized women and we do not insult one another. If anything like this happens, we'll apologize to one another and everything we'll be just fine! Cheers!

xanthipee wrote:

I hate taboos and as far as I am concerned, we can talk about anything you want. We are all polite and civilized women and we do not insult one another. If anything like this happens, we'll apologize to one another and everything we'll be just fine! Cheers!

Let's talk about anything we want then!


YAY Wally!

xanthipee wrote:

Actually, I think we all have a lot to return to Serena, because she is the heiress of the tradition of the Holy Roman Empire and the
Roman Empire occupied the whole Europe, northern Africa and a part of Asia! So, Serena, we, the barbarians, apologize to you for taking your land away from you!

Actually, Naples was founded by Greeks, too, so, even though the Roman Empire later included our city in the dominion, we still owe a lot to Greeks (not to mention that the ancient romans copied *a lot* from the greek culture ).

...All of which would still mean that, as a neapolitan with a latin name and probably indian and/or somewhat asian influences somewhere in the family, I'm just a random strange mixture and I don't really know how do I fit in all of this inheritance thing

"...(not to mention that the ancient romans copied *a lot* from the greek culture )..."

Exactly! Bad Serena!

"...All of which would still mean that, as a
neapolitan with a latin name and probably indian and/or somewhat asian
influences somewhere in the family, I'm just a random strange mixture
and I don't really know how do I fit in all of this inheritance thing "

Don't bother, honey, it's all bullshit anyway!

Xan,i do care about what people think about what i say and i don't want anyone to misunderstand or misinterpret what i say..just that,nothing more

as i said,i didn't think anyone would be offended but thinking that you're an Orthodox(as far as i know) i thought my last sentence might offend you and i try to be very careful about what i say. i'm always like that.

thanks for your post. love ya for that

Betelguese wrote:

Let's talk about anything we want then!


YAY Wally!

oh yeah