Dance and Travel

Is Paris still impressionist? Yes, despite time passing by, it has somehow conserved the allure of Impressionism which still attracts a lot of tourists all around the world coming to visit Paris, and Montmartre neighbourhood, in particular. Antoine Blanchard - Le Moulin Rouge, Place Blanche a Montmartre Recently, I have spent 2 months working in Paris, and living in Montmartre. One of my favourite hobbies was wandering among Montmartre neighborhood streets, got lost in them, discovering ancient building, restaurants or cafes, and learning their history. Impressionism has always been my favourite artistic movement, and Montmartre is its birthplace. What a perfect combination for me! However, what is “Impressionism”? According to the Collins dictionary Impressionism is a style of painting developed in France between 1870 and 1900 chiefly by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley, which concentrated on showing the effects of light on things rather than on clear and exact deta...

Cemeteries, in particular monumental ones, has always fascinated me, of that kind of fascination which is difficult to explain. I would say it is a mix of sense of sacred and beauty, with a bit of respect and fear. I believe that cemeteries represent the soul and history of the city thanks their art. Yes, because cemeteries are full of art, full of great masterpieces made by local and international artists, the most of the time before they become famous, like the Italian Naturalist Sculptor Giulio Monteverde . For sure my fashination is also linked to the “romantic” suggestion of the silent landscape and the presence monuments and architectures, which are connected very tightly to each other and creates at the same time a sacred and mystic atmosphere. Cementery of Staglieno: nature and architecture It is because this hidden and romantic charm that every time I visit a city, I visit its cemetery as well. I do this also to know better about the history of the city and its peo...

Why Cemeteries are so important? They are important because visiting them will help you to know the history of the city and the nature of its people, since they represent the heritage of a place. In this case The Poblenou Cemetery (in Catalán “Cementiri de Poblenou”) is the most ancient cemetery of Barcelona. It is located in Poblenou district in Barcelona and it is an authentic open air museum waiting for a restoration necessary to preserve its artistic and historical richness. Historically it was conceived as a solution to the  unhealthiness of the parish graves present inside the city. It was inaugurated in 1775, but destroyed few years later by the Napoleonic troops. In 1813, it was request to a young Italian architect, Antonio Ginesi, to build the outdoor area. The Neoclassical style reflects the tastes and the political aspiration of the new emerging classes of the city,  the businessman and the  indianas  manufactures. In 1821 it was used in almost its...

« Et toi, Marseille, assise aux portes de la France, comme pour accueillir ses hôtes dans tes eaux. » (O Marseille, established at the gateway of France, as if to welcome its guests in your waters) cit. Alphonse de Lamartine Marseille is the second largest city in France, after Paris. Historically was the most important trade center in the region and it is still the France's largest city on the Mediterrean coast and the largest commercial port. Actually for me is more than this, for my it was the door for the Orient, the Near East with its smell and mix languages. A mixture of cultures where Arabs and French coexist together since generations. However, it is not an easy coexistence: in the Sixties the so called “Pieds-noirs” from the former French Algeria come back to France and they had to be integrated in a country new for them, the first city they met was Marseille, most of them decided to stay there. Besides, a lot of Algerians after the Second World War come to...