Blogtrotters across Europe: January 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Aragonese Castle in ORTONA

Hi everybody,

we are the students from 3I of the Istituto Comprensivo n.2. Our school is commonly known as “Largo Castello” because it is located just opposite the Aragonese Castle. This Castle stands on a hill dominating the Harbour of Ortona; in fact it was a fortress by the sea. It was built in the XVth century under the reign of King Alfonso of Aragon.

Originally the castle had a trapezoidal base characterized by cylindrical towers at the corners. The main entrance was in the south-west tower while the west side was occupied by a residential building.

During the World War II the castle was damaged and in 1946, due to a landslide, it lost a large part of the north-west walls. Of the four original towers, today visitors can see only three of them.

In 2009, after a long and complex restoration, the castle was finally opened to the public. Visitors can enjoy a wonderful view of the rocky and sandy coastline, the harbour and the long Eastern Walk, an avenue where people can have a stroll both in summer and winter, but at night the landscape in the moonlight can blow your mind!

The Aragonese Castle is a symbol of the city; in fact it’s represented on the city banner.

Soon our new photos!

This photos below was taken by Tommaso, Marco and Nicolò of second F!

Ortona ... heart of Costa dei Trabocchi - ITALY

GREETINGS TO ALL FRIENDS eTWINNERS !!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

A glimpse in the past with old postcards of Thessaloniki

Dear blogtrotters,
Serfing on Internet we found old postcards of Thessaloniki. We let these postcards travel us back in the past. Come with us in this trip and compare sights of our city in the past and today.

We hope you enjoyed our trip in the past.

You can download or watch our Powerpoint presentation with all these cards if you click on the following link :

A glimpse in the past

Greetings from

Katerina and Asimenia

members of the Greek team

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

reportage from Ravenna - italian students Giuseppe e Mattia

VI century AC

Even MATTIA 1D was in Ravenna

these are his photos collage

from the bottom clockwise, Mattia in front of the tomb of Dante, then the Basilica of San Vitale and the splendid mosaics of the Baptistery

up Sant Apollinare in classe

down Basilica of San Vitale

the Cupola of Battistero

Basilica di San Vitale

In 402 Honorius, son of Theodosius I, decided to move to Ravenna the residence of the Western Roman Empire.

Ravenna was chosen as the new capital because he enjoyed a better strategic position and defensibility given his status as a maritime city.

In a short time Ravenna became cosmopolitan city... political, cultural and religious center.

After Honorius' death the city passed to Valentinian III, but given his young age ruled his mother Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius.

Between 493 and 526 Theodoric establishes his court in Ravenna .

Italy comes into contact with the Byzantine culture when, in the middle of the sixth century, Ravenna became the seat of the exarch (governor) of Constantinople.

The Basilica of St. Apollinaris in Classe, one of the best preserved buildings in Ravenna, is
also of the sixth-century . Inside, there are mosaics of different ages.

In the sixth century, the city is thriving. The beautiful Church of San Vitale

rises in this period.

Entering into the Basilica of San Vitale one is struck by the play of light and every corner offers a particular view of the "sparkle" of the golden mosaics so much so that seems to live in a supernatural dimension. This is typical of the Byzantine imperial court, while other elements are the result of the experiences Italian, so it is assumed that in the basilica worked both local artists and artists come from the east.

Ravenna was declared a World Heritage Site (Patrimonio mondiale dell'umanità)
by UNESCO

bye bye

Giuseppe e Mattia