The church is the heart of the Shrine, the place where the conversion of the young St. Francis occurred. Built at different times the oldest part is towards the altar with the off-centre apse. The choir dates to1506. Dedicated to Saint Damian the shrine was enriched around 1150 by the Siro-byzantine icon of the crucified Christ which spoke to Francis. The crucifix is...
Learn More45 menhirs are spread out in an oval array in the Neolithic site Clendy, on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel near Yverdon-les-Bains. Put up 6,000 years ago. These 45 erratic blocks – Alpine rocks swept along by the Rhône glacier – were cut into human shape. Some of them are 4.5 m high and weigh 5 tons. They are comparable to the carved statues of the Mediterranean...
Learn MoreChampvent Castle is located in an isolated spot outside the village, on the farthest point of a luxuriant hill rising above the small valley between Mathod and Montagny-près-Yverdon. The building ranks among the best preserved medieval fortresses in the Lake Geneva Region. It was built in the 13th century by the powerful lords of Grandson and is a model of the...
Learn MoreThe Church of “San Fortunato” was started between the thirteenth and fourteenth century, with the construction of the choir and two of the four arches; then the work resumed in the early fifteenth century, ending in the second half of the fifteenth century. The Church, dedicated to the Patron Saint of the city, is characterized by an unfinished façade, a work by...
Learn MoreParticular intense geological and geothermic events have determined the structure of the current basalts. It seems that in the prehistorical period a river ran over clayey sediments. Then great volcanic eruptions canalized in the riverbed a fluid magma which sank in the most clayey places, forming the current basaltic colonnades … Read more...
Learn MoreThe vineyards of the medioeval town of Montfalco in Umbria at sunset, Autumn. Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG wines are named after the Sagrantino grape from which they are made. Cultivated for centuries on the hills of Umbria, Sagrantino is considered autochthonous, although there are various theories as to its origin. Some believe it to have come from Spain, others say...
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