Category: Haunting Graveyards

Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Modern art in Sant’Anna haunt

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Above: Richard Avedon’s 1981 photograph, “Natassja Kinski and the Serpent,” is superimposed over one of a cage protecting a cluster of bones in the crypt below Sant’Anna la Misericordia, home to Palermo’s Galleria d’Arte Moderna.

Granted this Richard Avedon photo of “Natassja Kinski” in the nude was not displayed in such close proximity to bones in the crypt of the church of Sant’Anna alla Misericordia, but, after all, nothing is more naked than bones. And churches in Italy have always been home to art, religious art that in the time of its creation was considered contemporary.

When citizens in Palermo determined they needed to have a Modern Art Museum in 1906, they boldly ventured forth to Venice in 1907 to acquire avant-garde works to supplement their Sicilian collection. Launched in 1895, the Venice Biennale quickly garnered international prestige. Ongoing buying trips through the years enabled the museum to trace the evolution of symbolism and modernism in art.

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Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Gleaming mosaics of Monreale

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Above: Byzantine-style 12th-century mosaics relate Biblical stories inside the Cathedral of Monreale

Tired from a day of hunting in the woods of Monte Caputo above Palermo, King William II (1153-1189), later known as William the Good, lay down under the shady canopy of a carob tree. He was awakened from his nap by a vision of the Virgin Mary, and she requested he build a church on that very spot in her honor.

This meant the tree had to go, but, when it was chopped down, lo and behold, a golden treasure was found amongst the roots. Gold to fund the project. According to legend.

William the Good commissioned a mammoth church and a Benedictine abbey for Monreale. He gifted the church in honor of Santa Maria Nuova, a contributing factor to his reputation as good, forever distinguishing him from his father, referred to as King William the Wicked (1120-1166).

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Postcards from Amsterdam, Netherlands: ‘Stories that Matter’ told by the brave

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Orange postage stamp featuring a profile of Queen Wilhelmina, inscribed with 'Wilhelmina 1898-1938 Nederland 5 Cent 5', with a cancellation mark dated 1938.

Above: Names of journalists and photographers killed in the line of duty memorialized at the opening exhibition of the World Press Photo 2024 Awards in the Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam

In the two decades since 2003, at least 1,668 journalists have lost their lives while trying to shed light on issues of importance to us all, according to Reporters without Borders. In 2023, another 45 names were added to that list. The list prominently displayed in Amsterdam’s New Cathedral for the opening of the World Press Photo 2024 Awards must have hit the photographers hard – names of coworkers and friends they have made while covering stories in danger zones throughout the world.

The Nieuwe Kerk is hardly “new,” having been consecrated in 1409. While the “Royal Church” is still used for royal weddings and coronations, it also serves as a venue for important exhibitions, such as this one. With its soaring vaulted ceiling, floors embedded with tombs and cherubs overlooking all, the dramatic setting emphasized the seriousness of the meaningful topics delved into by the award-winning photographers.

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