Cattedrale estiva di Santa Maria Assunta

Cattedrale estiva di Santa Maria Assunta (Summer Cathedraw) is a new Cathedral in Brescia, Italy. It is the largest Roman Catholic church in Brescia. The dome is 91 meter tall and was designed by Milan-born architect, Luigi Cagnola (1762-1883). 

The New Cathedral was built over the ruins of the ancient early Christian church of Saint Peter de Dom (San Pietro de Dom). The construction was launched in 1604 and took around two centuries.

During the Second World War, on 13th July 1944, the copper cover and the wooden structure of the cupola burst into flames...

The Presbytery and the Chancel

The present dome was rebuilt after its destruction during the Second World War.

The Statue of Pope Paul VI

The monument of Pope Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (1897-1978), is placed in front of the altar of the Blessed Sacrament. 

I would like to acknowledge Francesca for guiding me through the town under dehydrating and sizzling weather! Thank you very much.

Detailed info can be found here.

Crkva Svetog Marka

Photos taken in Belgrade continue but no more NATO bombing building photos...

Crkva svetog Marka (St. Mark's Church in Belgrade) is a Serbian Orthodox church located in the Tašmajdan park in Belgrade, Serbia. Actually, it's very close to Serbia TV/Radio tower building that was bombed.

It was built in the Serbo-Byzantine style by the Krstić brothers, and completed in 1940, on the site of a previous church dating to 1835, however, its interior is still not fully restored. 

St. Mark's Church is one of the largest churches in Serbia.

Have a wonderful weekend.

To be continued...

17 Years After NATO Bombing of Belgrade Part Three

Radio-televizija Srbije (Radio TV Serbia)... This is the last bombed building I've visited during my stay in Belgrade.

Found in Парк Луке Ћеловића

17 Years After NATO Bombing of Belgrade Part Two

This is a part 2 entry of scars of NATO bombing... 

17 Years After NATO Bombing of Belgrade

In May 1999 the heart of Belgrade was on fire. Several buildings such as the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, Avala TV tower (destroyed on 29th of April, 1999) as well as Chinese Embassy, were targeted by cruise missiles under the name of "Operation Allied Force - official NATO code name" or "Operation Noble Anvil - called by the US". In Yugoslavia, the operation was incorrectly called "Милосрдни анђео (Merciful Angel in English)". Please see this link for background.

Former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense

Based upon this website, the demolition started in May 2016. I am lucky to be able to eye-witness the ruins before it's fixed...

If you want to see NATO bombing scars in Belgrade, you gotta hurry up!!! 

On the other side of the street

To be continued...

St. James Church Ossuary In Brno - SPOOKY!

This is an R-rating entry! Parental advisory is required if you're a young child!!!

You may disagree with my notion of Brno but to me, Brno is a place to see Mummies in The Capuchin Crypt and "skulls and bones" in St. James Church.

The Church of St. James Church located in current Jakubské náměstí (= James' square) started its history at the beginning of the 13th century. One of the main Brno city cemeteries are founded by the church, which was surrounded by a wall that restricted its expansion. As the city grew the capacity of the cemetery soon became insufficient. That's why an exchange burial system was adopted. After a lapse of 10- 12 years from the burial the grave was opened, the remains of the deceased person were exhumed and a recently deceased was buried in the same place. The contents of the original graves were then place in the special underground structures - ossuaries.

A three-chamber crypt was established under the paved floor of St. James' Church in the 17th century. In the beginning, the crypt was filled up with stacks made up of remains from disinterred church graves, however, it was quickly filled in the mid-18th century due to plague and cholera epidemics, which literally decimated the inhabitants of the city.

The permanent lack of space for storing bones led to the extension of the ossuary in 1741. The best solution from the construction point of view was the expansion of the new ossuary below the cemetery and its connection to the church crypt. The new ossuary was filled within 6 years and the city leadership began negotiation regarding its further extension through connection to the Chapel of the Dead, which stood nearby the church. However, the connecting corridor was prematurely terminated halfway and the plan was never implemented...

When both the crypt and the ossuary under the cemetery were full, the entrance staircase from the main nave of the church was sealed with a Latin-inscribed stone slab, Josephine reforms in 1784 led to abolishing the church cemetery for hygiene reasons. The remains from the graves were placed in the crypt, the cemetery walls were pulled down, and the area around the church was paved with unnecessary tombstones.


The ossuary in Brno was forgotten for over 200 years until it was stumbled upon in 2001 when reconstruction work was done!!!

An archaeological and underground survey resulted in the finding of the existence of a large burial complex that the individual rooms were piled up with human bones with an estimation of buried people there over 50,000!!! As described earlier, the survey confirmed the bones of the victims of medieval plague and cholera epidemics, as well as casualties during the Thirty Years' War, ranking Brno Ossuary in the second largest ossuary in Europe. The biggest one is the Catacombs of Paris, holding the remains of an estimated 6 million people!!!

The accumulated humidity and mold, if left untreated, would cause the gradual decomposition of bones and the collapse of the vault less than two meters under the busy roadway of the Jakubské square. That is why the only way to preserve this unique monument was to renovate the ossuary and open it to the public. 

During the refurbishment, all remains were collected, cleaned, and returned to their last resting place. Together with other archaeological finds, the exhibition shows the way of burying in one of the largest city cemeteries in Brno.

Entrance fee: 140 CZK (adult)
Open from 9"30 to 18"00 (closed on Monday)
Of course, taking photographs is allowed.
Detailed info can be found here.