Giant Moreton Bay Fig playing host to a fabulous array of Staghorn ferns in the Botanical Gardens, Melbourne

In the natural landscape trees, which often host a variety of bird and other plant life, are admired for their form, their shape and their colour. It was the colour of their green, the luxuriance of their foliage, the formation of their crown, the thickness and height of their trunks that was most important to the ancients. Whether tall, stout, large or old they became symbols of life and knowledge, as old as life itself.  They are to be found naturally on great mountains, in misty river valleys, alongside lakes large and small, rivers, creeks and waterfalls. They are made of wondrous wood, hailed as nature’s building block. They provide an energy source, prevent erosion, produce an ecosystem for other plant material, as well as create shade and shelter for humans and animals.

Trees are awesome, they are nature’s fortress and humankind’s friend. At Melbourne there are some of the most sensational and beautiful specimen trees indigenous to this land, as well as exotics purposefully introduced into Australia. Many of its parks and gardens contain fabulous trees, which are now over 100 and 150 years of age. They have been given the room to grow as they would in nature and are valued and conserved.

Fawkner Park on busy Commercial Road South Yarra opposite The Alfred, one of Melbourne’s largest hospitals, was established in 1862 on 41 hectares of land owned by John Pascoe Fawkner. It remains substantially unchanged from its original design, providing a place of solace and peace for those in between appointments opposite. Running parallel to Commercial Road and its footpath there is a giant avenue of Oak Trees. Having to travel along this huge Melbourne block (blocks are much bigger than Sydney or Brisbane) the other day I veered off the footpath and traversed a huge expanse under the shade of these wonderfully mature trees.

It was pleasantly cooling, and I could not understand why those walking on the footpath had forged on when they could have entered this graceful and elegant pathway to reach the same destination. Pausing in life to ‘smell the roses’ so to speak, or just to be visually aware of the rich heritage of our surroundings in Australia today is important. So many people laboured in the past to create the beauty we now enjoy. They never expected to see the end result of years of planning, because they were visionaries planting for the future.

Each day on my walk I traverse the paths and byways of the lovely Botanical Gardens nearby the Yarra River, where some of the trees are so spectacular that they quite literally take your breathe away. Massive Moreton Bay Figs brought down from Queensland in the latter years of the nineteenth century, are getting to that wonderful ‘gnarled’ stage in their growth habit, where their branches seem to reach out like giant arms ready to enfold you in their grasp. The gardens are full of giant trees and in the months ahead I hope to visit most of them. On my way to the gardens I have to travel underneath the sole surviving Golden Elm introduced to this city.

Planted on the corner of a busy intersection near a bridge over the Yarra River, the footpath for pedestrians has been re-routed so that you completely circumnavigate this giant tree with its wide spreading habit. The underside of its cooling canopy can be observed in peace and quiet from a park bench placed strategically underneath. It is beside the path and near to the edge of where its outer branches reach.

The tree is cared for by The Friends of Elms in Melbourne. It certainly adds to the quality of life for those who live nearby (lucky people) as well as those who pass by it on foot on their daily commute. When you are underneath the sunlight in summer penetrates the dense foliage with rays of golden beams of light. It is very inspiring to look at how those conserving it have so beautifully shaped its ‘undercarriage’.

In winter it is a different story, as the leaves it carries fall and let the light of life in. At that point it looks like a giant piece of incredible architecture moulded by time and shaped by man. This is surely one of the most the perfect of all the true shade trees, with its eye-catching golden foliage that returns to its branches each spring, bright and pale lime-green.

The Golden Elm is especially renowned for its tolerance to air pollution, so it is good for sustainability. Standing on the corner of two of Melbourne’s busiest roads in excellent health would seem to prove the point.

The other day when powering by I stopped to talk to a tourist from America’s south. She was sitting on the bench with her watercolour notebook open and a small palette of gentle colours at her side, painting the view from within.

She said she was overawed by its powerful presence, and that sitting there was like being inside a giant green protective cavern, where you felt surreal and inspired and she just had to record its magnificence.

She also said what a surprise Australia was and that she had not ever realised just how close our two cultures were, especially in our preference for plant life.

One of a pair of beautifully shaped trees in the courtyard of a small shopping mall in South Yarra

At Melbourne there are also some beautifully shaped trees in the courtyard of a small shopping mall on Toorak Road at South Yarra. Haven’t been able to find out what they are yet – have asked the shopkeepers who they don’t know, so will grab a leaf next time I am going by to see if I can identify them. They provide a fabulous addition to the aesthetic of the space and their great weeping habit has been underpruned.

A true shade tree is deciduous by nature  and it is meant to be tall, with its great arching branches and dense foliage. This enables the tree to filter sun in summer when it is so intense, protecting humankind from its powerful rays and dangerous effects. It then conveniently sheds its leaves for winter, allowing the sunlight in so that our bodies can absorb supplies of Vitamin D at a time of year, when the danger to our health is at least less.

The Golden Elm and Plane Tree are of value in that they provide incredible shade and continue to have a role to play in Australia, alongside native trees, at least in city landscapes.

When Napoleon came into power as Emperor in France he had great avenues of trees planted on both sides of the road as well as on each side of villages. This was so that his troops, when marching on their way to and from various posts and stations, other countries and to war, could be shaded or lie down and shelter, while the village provided them with food and sustenance.

This practical application of trees has proved to be aesthetically pleasing in the nearly two centuries since. When you drive through the French countryside the first thing you notice is this ‘planned’ natural phenomenon (pictured right).

One of the greatest of the shade trees planted spectacularly in France is the Plane Tree, which was beloved by the Romans and the people of Provence in southern France, where they arch and meet creating great tunnels of green to traverse on a hot summer day.

The variety known as London Plane Trees feature dramatically here at Melbourne. They reach out and meet each other forming great arches of greenery, whose cooling effect is best felt on a plus 30 degree heat day.

The Plane tree is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and grow to 50 metres. They are very tolerant of local conditions and have adapted well to the Australian climate in Sydney and Melbourne, where they seem to thrive. They form wonderful avenues and have been a significant aspect of our cultural history.

Separation Red Gum, Botanical Gardens Melbourne

The Separation Tree in the Botanical Gardens is a large River Red Gum, a tree of the genus Eucalyptus, one of about 800 varieties. In nature it is an important shade tree in the extreme temperatures of inland Australia and plays an important role in stabilizing river banks.

It also marks the spot where on the 15th November 1850 citizens gathered to celebrate the news that Victoria was at last independent from NSW. Brisbane would follow in 1859. These were significant events in Australian history so the tree has attracted a great deal of attention. That is until 2010 when some idiot vandal ring-barked it, and it is now not expected to survive.

Symmetrical Natural Shape of a Horse Chestnut in the Botanical Gardens at Melbourne

What is it about trees that stir emotions sometimes good, sometimes bad. Fear of trees is passed down to us from mythology of the European middle ages, when criminals hiding out often in forests from the authorities placed various types of man made paraphernalia in the trees to ward off the locals and stop them from finding their lair.

It was still evident back in 1970 in Sydney when, on the day we were moving into a ‘spec built’ house my father came to help and within a few moments of his arrival passed by with an axe over his shoulder heading for a small grove of rapidly growing native eucalypt trees planted on the foot of a sloping bank near the footpath.

We had been pleased to see them when purchasing the property for we knew in years to come they would provide shade for passers and in the meantime practically hold the soil in the bank together to prevent slippage in extreme rain events.

Gnarled bark of a Horse Chestnut in Botanical Gardens at Melbourne

He was most distressed however when I stopped him, saying he did not want them to have a chance to fall on the house and kill us all. While trees have, and are blown over onto houses in storms, loss of life is minimal compared to ‘crossing the road’.

When I said we were willing to take the risk to keep them because they were a fair way away from the house he said he could not understand, but eventually gave in to my wishes. Visiting the house on Google Maps recently just a handful of the originals have survived and they are indeed now shading the footpath, but fear has probably driven a decision to fell the rest.

Hollywood Actor, Writer, Producer and Director Woody Allen (1935 – ) says, ‘Only God can make a tree’ — probably because it’s so hard to figure out how to get the bark on‘.

View the Golden Elm at South Yarra as its leaves return

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5q77noOYts

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2012

Quote* Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931), Lebanese born American philosophical essayist, novelist and poet

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2. Ancient Cedar Trees
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Claude Monet in his garden, a profusion of flowers blooming beautifully courtesy Elizabeth Murray

French Impressionist painters, like Claude Monet, paused in the countryside to capture the light of the sky in Normandy, where the intense colour of red poppies flowering in its fallow fields remind us of war and peace. They recorded the haze leaching off lovely lavender fields in the heat of a summer in Provence, as it released its heady calming fragrance into the cool night air. They floated on boats along the Seine, following the river as it meandered in circuitous routes through the city of Paris. They enjoyed picnics on its banks, while recording all sorts of places from power stations to railway stations for posterity. When they reached the seashore they scrambled over slippery moss covered rocks to capture the magic of the ocean and rugged rock formations. The turbulence of the waves echoed the up and down aspects of their life and its times. They were as unpredictable as the swelling number of tourists clamouring to see them at work, giving them a whole lot of trouble while helping establish their all-new celebrity status.

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Tea mania swept England, as it had earlier in France and Holland. Tea imports rose in weight from 40,000 pounds in 1699 to an annual average of 240,000 pounds by 1708. Hyson was so highly favoured during the 18th century the British Tea Tax was levied at a higher rate for it than any other variety. The first shipment of tea reached London via the East India Company, which Queen Elizabeth 1 had founded. Camellias, the International Camellia Society tells us were named for Georg Josef Kamel (or Camellus), a Moravian (Czech) Jesuit priest and botanist, who worked in the Far East.

Carolus Linnaeus in Laponian costume, 1853 painted by Hendrik Hollander (1823-1884) replica of a painting in Estate Hartenkamp, courtesy University of Amsterdam

Star above Star a modern variety is truly beautiful, with a soft pink flush around the edges of a creamy white flower. The stamens are rich, profuse and golden yellow while its leaves are green, glossy and its growth habit charming.Star Above Star flowers do not shatter easily. It is excellent for hedging, as a specimen tree in the ground or, in a pot. It has upright medium growth with strong foliage and flowers from mid April until September. Importantly, it can withstand morning sun in winter, unlike most of this amazing plant’s many other varieties that thrive in cooler districts of Australia.

Swedish Naturalist Carl von Linne or, Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) was the founder of the modern scientific nomenclature for plants and animals. He established the name Camellia in the system he devised for classifying all plants in the west. His Systema Naturae of 1735 was where Moravian Jesuit botanist George Joseph Kamel, or Camellus, name was recorded. In the Yunnan area of China the camellia is a floral emblem of the province holding the same place in the hearts of its people, just like the kumquat and peach fruits do in other parts of China. It blooms at the time of the lunar New Year (February/March) and is exchanged as a New Year’s gift, symbolising prosperity and long life. The first living Camellia Japonica plant did not arrive at London aboard a company ship until the very earliest years of the eighteenth century.

The first C. Japonica was produced by 1739 in the glasshouses of enthusiastic amateur Lord Petre at Thorndon Hall, Essex in England. By 1760 a plant of C. Sasanqua was flourishing in the royal gardens of the King of Naples at Caserta, and by the early nineteenth century camellia lore had become well established.

‘Just as the dawn is the harbinger of morning, and the sun does not at once reach his meridian glory, so the camellias advance upon us by degrees in beauty. We cannot but view, with admiration, the diversity and elegance of this beautiful family of plants, which the all wise and bountiful hand of God seems to have formed for the delight of mankind’ In China the camellia as a decorative plant was celebrated widely in its art forms, but mostly from the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) onward.

While the camellia plays no part in written ancient Japanese history its influence is felt strongly both in legend and tradition. The Grand Shrine of the creator-goddess Amaterasu Omikami (ancestress of the present Imperial family) is located deep in a wood of camellia trees. The Japanese borrowed a great deal from the Chinese, like the Romans did from the Greeks. They have a cultural custom of sweeping out bad spirits at New Year. In China they use a traditional branch of flowering peach to perform this ceremony. In Japan they substituted a flowering branch of camellia.  And, camellias were also used in many other ways in ritual court ceremonials.

By the 1830’s the fame of this quite beautiful flower had spread. Not only all over England, but onto the continent where it became popular in countries such as Spain, Portugal, southern France and Italy. At Chatsworth House at Derbyshire in England in 1840 gardener Joseph Paxton planted two specimens in a great glass case where they still bloom today. During the Victorian age in England, and its colonies, the camellia began to be associated with the age of formal elegance. Its cool serene beauty was very much in tune with the studied pose of a nineteenth century dandy and fashionable debutante.

The novel by Alexandre Dumas La Dame aux Camelias of 1848 also created a scandal. So that brought the flower to popular notice. Then when he made it popular as an opera by Verdi called La Traviata camellia madness reigned until around 1870 in England when quite suddenly it fell from favour nearly forgotten until following WWI. The arrival in Australia of the first camellia was heralded in engaging terms in a letter from John Macarthur Junior at London when he was writing to his sister Elizabeth.

She was outback in New South Wales where her brothers James and William were administering the estate of Camden Park. ‘I wish’ Elizabeth said in correspondence ‘to convey to you the Camellia Japonica the most magnificent flowering shrub…ever been introduced to this country. The flower, which is red as the rose or white as driven snow, is the most perfectly beautiful that can be imagined’.

The plants arrived from England in February 1831. They still flower today at Camden Park House, which became the first great source for propagating camellias in Australia. Similar to Huntington Botanical Gardens in America where many camellias grow. Camellias are quite simply spectacular when in bloom. They were prized in Japanese gardens from the 14th century. And, in the gardens of Kyoto temples there are many ancient trees estimated to be about 400 years old. Camellias are mentioned in 17th century books about how to arrange flowers. And, while known to botanists during the early eighteenth century, they were not generally seen in the west until 1869 when they were imported by Dutch traders.

Camellia Chrysantha - Golden in form and colour

In Australia, northern California and southern states of the USA camellias are a huge success in areas that resemble its natural habitat. In Australia during the 20th century artist Paul Jones recorded the Camellia Chrysantha, a gold camellia from Guanxi province in China.

This sensation of the camellia world grows from 2 to 5 metres in height with dark green quilted leaves, with flowers that bloom throughout winter a pure and golden yellow. The history of camellias in Australia  however is more aligned with Professor E.G. Waterhouse (1881-1977) a linguist by profession, who became one of the world’s foremost authorities on the camellia.

He raised and named many popular varieties. He founded Sydney’s famous Camellia Grove Nursery in the suburb of St Ives (It has moved since) President also of the International Camellia Society Professor Waterhouse wrote a history of the flower in Australasia in Two Volumes, 1. Camellia Quest and 2. The Magic of Camellias, both of which have since become collector’s items. Named and propagated by him many camellias went on to world popularity and forever will be associated with his name.

At ‘Eryldene’ his now famous house at Gordon in Sydney, he raised hundreds of seedlings, achieving great success. Eryldene was nearby to a very glamorous house my family owned for a number of years. In its garden there had been fifty six camellia trees planted of various varieties, with advice from Professor Waterhouse to the then owner who was a friend.

Underlaying them were countless varieties of azaleas and over them was planted a canopy of exotic trees. The camellias and their companion plants complimented the house well. It was a Hollywood style design from the 30′s, or Art Deco period. It had a round bay window with round panes of glass, the owner being head of the time of one of Australia’s biggest glass manufacturers. We always kept camellias in a float bowl at the front door, providing a wonderful welcome for visitors and adding to a very romantic ambiance. Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2011-2012

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New Style Steel Casements Crosby Street Hotel - photo by Suzanne deChillo

Windows are not something we really think about on a daily basis. They are just there and we take them for granted. They let the light in, reveal the sun shining, reflect relentless rain when it is falling and the ever changing colour of the sky as well as the multitude of events continually happening on the street or the water outside. Evolving from a slit in the wall of a formidable defensive stone Keep to shoot arrows at enemies, ‘wind eyes’ as they were known in ancient times, have evolved through a series of interesting varieties to offering us an eye to the whole world within our vision, and all that lies beyond.

It was with interest that I read an article in the New York Times claiming that casement windows have now become a classic. And, that they are being installed in many new and renovated New York apartments as part of a contemporary architectural revival, which pays tribute to pre-war World War II buildings. NYTimes journalist Jonathan Vatner reported ‘that it was mostly down to one guy, Cary Tamarkin an architect and developer sometimes referred to as “the window guy,” because of use of distinctive casement windows in the apartments he develops’.

Although typically more expensive than conventional windows Tamarkin also said casement windows are ‘rooted in traditions of authenticity.’, which is a most intriguing statement or is it simply spin? It seems most of the window guy’s projects are in neighborhoods filled with warehouse buildings, that he converts into apartments and sells for over two million a pop so that people can “live comfortably amid their settings.” We all have choice and if what he is providing fits your dream and needs then it is certainly about the art of fine living. The fact remains however it happens, or why, the fact that someone is bravely reverting to quality opening windows must surely be good news. And if they are casements, then they are an attractive option.

Typical early English Tudor casement windows - great handmade red brickwork too

Casements are a window that allows the flow of air to be regulated easily and are a very pleasing feature, if well made. Casement windows that opened out were the norm in Europe and England for centuries, that is until the up and down style of sash window was invented around 1670.

They usually contained leaded glass in small panes at first, which became larger as time went on and glass making techniques allowed for larger panes to be produced. They were more usually hinged on the side, and opened inward allowing the occupant an uninterrupted view of the world.  The windows were also covered by functional exterior shutters, which opened outward.

This productive pair was a winning combination for centuries allowing air to circulate easily while keeping the heat of the sun out on a stinking hot day.  Casement windows made a come back in the late 20′s and 30′s in Art Deco pleasure palaces and skyscrapers but then they went out of contention following World War II with the re-emergence of the sash and all new fixed ‘picture’ (plate glass) windows.

Just the fact they are putting windows that open into any new multi storied building structure again anywhere must be a plus. For those living in apartments, or working in buildings where windows are fixed and rely only on air conditioning, it must be a liberating thought. I don’t know personally how they stand it.

French style casements and window boxes in Bleecker Street at New York where they have traditional curved 'stone headers'. Photo by Benjamin Norman

Sleeping or living with fresh air circulating for me is an absolute, but then here in Australia we are blessed with a good quality of air, even in out largest cities, which many other countries of the world don’t enjoy. And, for that we should always give thanks.

If we are to cut down on our use of energy so that it is effectual, in terms of the environment, then surely windows that open, like casement windows, must come back into contention with contemporary developers and fixed windows and air conditioners phased out.

Sara Lopergolo, a partner at Selldorf Architects in New York remarked to Vatner  at the New York Times ‘that the casement window was of interest today because “it breaks down the scale of a window opening. It frames views.” “It has a resonance with people, a character that people retain as something that belongs to an old world,”

Architects need to take responsibility by considering the way a view faces, the trajectory of the sun, winter and summer, as well as study the prevailing winds a little more before they make a decision on what windows to include in any buildings, not just high rise. There are many gurus of design blithely guiding all our futures so we must not be complacent but vigilant and, give them hell if they stuff up.

Stegbar Casement Windows Australia

Part of the reason for the resurgence that has made casements a classic (of acknowledged excellence) is obviously a romantic view, as well as the fact that once again in the last five years especially, window technology has improved yet again and, significantly.

Quality steel casements are now being manufactured with the label ‘energy efficient’, which means they stand up to rigorous tests relating to building codes.

New French style casements, that were historically wooden,  grace a building in Bleecker Street, New York and are made from quality steel. The design origins of the building are based in European classical architecture and so the casement windows suit it well architecturally, with its detailed curved stone headers, deep overhanging classical cornice and, the French essential projecting attic rooms.

But manufactures warn windows are complicated devices, made ever the more complicated by the fact recommended window types vary by climate.

Prior to ordering any sort of window, a classic or otherwise, you need to inform yourself about what kind of window is right for both your climate and your needs. It is no use having a fashionable French number that you cannot open simply because it faces the way gale force winds blow in your part of the world.

Claude Monet's Window at Giverny, courtesy Elizabeth Murray

If they face the more gentle breezes and the ideal north east in the southern hemisphere and south west in the northern, then a casement window, which goes from ceiling to floor, that is hinged on the outside, has no center mullion and when open allows an unobstructed view is certainly a very attractive option. Especially when you can open them up and easily attend to your herbs planted in a window box outside.

Casements + fresh herbs + French cuisine will obviously improve quality of life.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010 – 2012

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Roman fresco with banquet scene from the Casa dei Casti Amanti (IX 12, 6-8) in Pompeii

In western society we are inheritors of a legacy from Ancient Greece and Rome that despite the passing of over 2500 years is still potent. Through their ideas the desire to capture the essence of fine living was born. Today that art of living has evolved since the development of the domus in European antiquity to a residence in America and Australia, through a diverse and special mix of peoples and their cultures.

Ancient Greek gastronomy developed out of a practice of sacrificing domestic animals to a variety of gods. Afterwards, as one would expect in a democracy, the carcasses were equally proportioned and sold at market. During the fifth century before the Christ event herbs, spices and honey were added to heighten taste.

As documented in the literature of this period, cookery was considered a very important skill, because the Greeks understood it to be one of the basic arts that sustained human life. Romans of the first century embraced Greek ideas and art forms with great passion. Roman orator Cicero [106 BC -43 BC] believed that ‘to style the presence of guests at a dinner table’ lay at the heart of Roman civilised life ‘because it implied a community of enjoyment, a convivium, or ‘living together’.

Reconstruction of the Octagonal Room - Emperor Nero's Domus Aurea

Following the decline of the Republic and ascent of the Empirical system at Rome a shared meal became a vehicle for display, ostentation, rank, hierarchy and for flattering and influencing people, in a setting they could exercise the art of conversation. Roman Emperor Nero (37-68) enjoyed fine living with great gusto. When he entered his just completed residence, the Domus Aurea (or Golden House, built in 64 AD, he is said to have proclaimed, as he gazed upon its many splendours, words to the effect, ‘now at last I can live as a human being’.

Author of a first century best seller Satyricon, Gaius Petronius (27-66 A.D.), was Nero’s advisor in all matters of luxury and extravagance (his unofficial title was arbiter elegantia). He described guests arriving at a banquet as being requested to remove their shoes at the door, have their hands washed in iced water, no mean feat prior to refrigeration, while their toenails were trimmed to the sounds of a chorus singing. Perhaps today we may consider the last just a little excessive.

We do know that Nero’s guests reclined, along with their host, on couches enjoying conversation and cuisine prepared by chefs, who achieved some fame. His vast banqueting hall revolved in harmony with the rhythms of day and night, the ceiling opening to reveal the heavens as perfume and gifts showered onto guests.

The advent of Christianity created a challenge for those at the top because by now there was a well-established tradition of fine living throughout the Roman world.

The Apostle Paul struggled to attend gatherings where rich men and their friends were served different food and drink to those of a ‘lower status’. It was a dilemma he felt he could not resolve so in the end he decided the wealthy had better eat privately.

Paul advised the Corinthians [1 Corinthians 8: 9, 10] when asked should they eat meat sacrificed to idols by suggesting they should be careful about exercising freedom of choice in case it became a ‘stumbling block to the weak’. And, that if what he ate caused his brothers to fall into sin then for his part, he would never eat meat again. Powerful words with a meditative deep inner meaning that reflect Paul’s strength of mind and purpose.

There is a huge gap of reliable documentation from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, when the demise of eating in a reclining position also came about, until about the fourteenth century in Europe. Communal living by Christian monks and nuns meant communal eating, often to strict rules of silence, with an aim of feeding the soul.

Prolonged periods of peace also meant the aristocracy gentry and merchants could establish great houses in the countryside and along with it invented the concept of ‘eating outdoors’ or, having picnics, which became something new and exciting as described by fourteenth century French nobleman Gaston Phoebus Gaston III of Foix and Gaston X of Béarn (1343-1391).

He summarized his life’s achievements: “I have delighted all my days in three things. The one is arms, the next is love, and the other is hunting.” He added, “There have been far better masters of the two former than I am.” Such humility, is definitely to be applauded.

For Kings and noblemen of the fourteenth century hunting was so much more than just a sport. It was a game of chance in which the thrill of the chase was far more important than the desire to put food on the table.

An artful aristocratic diversion, the hunt ended with man proving he held power and sway over the animal kingdom. A complex event involving strategizing for success with highly valued, well trained dogs and fighting fit falcons hunts were often held on religious days.

They started with a feast for breakfast, as well as an analysis of the droppings of the potential prey to ensure it was both fit and worthy to be hunted at all. Then the hunt was on. The glorious day ended with everyone joining together in a celebratory meal and fittingly Phoebus himself died, as he should, during a bear hunt.

Fifteenth century Florentine author and philosopher Marsilio Ficino 1433 – 1499 revealed his thoughts about a meal that it ‘embraces all the parts of man, for it restores the limbs, renews the humours, revives the mind, refreshes the senses and sustains and sharpens reason’.

Throughout the fifteenth century in Italy dining at table was strongly symbolic of a good society one in which strong social relationships were forged, ideas exchanged and mutual respect established.

In England by the sixteenth century the head of a powerful household sat at the head of his table facing a fanciful portal crowned with trumpeters who heralded the exact moment the food, led by the marshal of the hall carrying a white staff appeared.

At the grandest banquets, a household officer on horseback emerged from underneath a screen that protected guests from draughts from the doorway and rode into the hall to announce that dinner was served. What fun.

At Hatfield House, home of the famous Cecil family, the ornately carved screen was crowned with the Cecil crest and family motto Sero Sed Serio “late, but in earnest’, surely one of the best mottos of all time.

Its painted decoration and a great panoply of decorative devices had been plundered from Turkish rugs and old Medieval manuscripts imposing a visual richness.

If a house during the Tudor period in England, included a Long Gallery hung with portraits of the family, famous patrons or friends it was the mark of a settled and civilized house; an Elizabethan magnate could contemplate their character or otherwise be inspired by their virtues. Owning such a house became important to practicing the art of fine living.

By the beginning of the seventeenth century the French court changed its philosophy from an ideal based on chivalry to one of refined manners.

The most influential teacher of architects in France during this period was Germain Boffrand. He revealed ‘the character of the master of a house…can be judged by the manner in which it is arranged, decorated and furnished’.

By now the art of fine living embraced a well-planned sophisticated garden as well. At Vaux le Vicomte Louis La Vau 1612-70 [architecture] Charles Le Brun 1619-90 [interiors] and Andre Le Notre 1613-1700 [gardens] spent five years building a chateau designed by the three for the glory of one, their patron and illustrious client the Minister for Finances, Nicolas Foucquet. It is at his Chateau, Vaux le Vicomte, that the French classical style was born.

Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre created this extraordinary ‘palace of the sun’ as described by the ancient Latin poet, Ovid for his patron, Apollo, The Sun King.

Here at last was the perfect place for a man of substance and his family to dwell; large, imposing, but not huge; with painted wood panelling, colourful carpets, painted illusionary ceilings, carved and gilded furniture, fabulous ceramics, superb textiles all made for the most splendid of man-made environments.  I know that when I visited to view its splendours I could have easily moved straight in. It was not over ambitious, but comfortable, cleverly disposed and in keeping with its times.

At Vaux le Vicomte Foucquet practiced the art of fine living well, eating his meat from a service that included a new fancy fangled invention called the fork, without fearing the accusation of depravity still associated with that practice only a few years earlier.

The publisher Charles de Sercy described Vaux’s gardens in 1652 as the place where ‘Foucquet made art and nature engage in a pleasant contest’. The genius of Le Notre lay not only in his invention of a new style, but in his absolute mastery of a repertoire widely used, at least in its many parts.

It was bringing them together in a controlled harmonious form that was not only pleasing but also a perfect place in which to practice the art of seduction.

Vaux was built for the enjoyment of the countryside while not giving up the pleasures of the city…something England did not emulate at this time as they concentrated on building country houses for sport and display, rather than as a place to practice the art of conversation.

The Baroque style from Vaux le Vicomte became a potent force that influenced the whole of the western world when guided by Louis XIV, he began expanding his father’s hunting lodge nearby the village of Versailles using the combined talents of Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre.

The Kings of France lived in the chateau of Versailles, which became a centre for political life from 1682 until 1789. It is today an amazing place to visit with its some 2,300 rooms and over 60 staircases. In its day it cost the equivalent price of what we would pay now for a modern city airport. It was an object of universal admiration in its time, enhancing French prestige on the world stage.

France’s appearance and way of life changed forever during the reign of Louis XIV the Sun King. Many great towns throughout France underwent metamorphosis and the landscape altered forever as Louis XIV devoted himself energetically to all his building projects. Today little remains of his other splendid palaces at Saint-Germain and Marly?

Well cursed as an extravagance when it was under construction, and accused of having ruined the nation at the time of the revolution, the chateau at Versailles stands today as a monument to French achievement and the many milestones reached in its historical and cultural journey.

Over the years since it was finished the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles has reflected many great moments in the history of the world. At the time Colbert, Louis’ 1^st Minister and master of ceremonies used it to launch the Royal Mirror Company. Its success gave considerable momentum to the glazing industry in France and increasingly the public became aware of the decor possibilities of a mirror. They enhanced the art of living well.

Despite all of the work Louis was to complete at Versailles it was always called le Chateau, (which means Gentleman’s seat) never le Palais, remaining the home of a young man, grand without being pompous, full of light, air and cheerfulness just like a large country house.

According to the Oxford Dictionary the term enlightenment means to be free of prejudice, ignorance or superstition. Grand Tourists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe were busy discovering the ruins at Rome and an expansion of knowledge revealed that ancient artists and writers had been accustomed to free expression, with religion and honour paramount to society’s daily existence.

This revelation affected the social and moral values of many European societies who were travelling in ever increasing circles in ‘search of the truth’. They began striving for aesthetic perfection wanting to emulate a new ideal; classical perfection.

As a result small temples in a landscape became focal points for those wanting a place of ease and repose.

By the turn of the nineteenth interiors as described by Jane Austen in her novels, presented an image of a sublime world. China, glassware and silverware displayed the family coat of arms proving to those who sat at table with you that your lineage was not only important, but also could be traced to ancient (the inference was more important) times.

Simple white starched linens with drawn thread work were surmounted by elegant vases made of glass, filled with fresh flowers picked from the garden loosely, but consciously arranged and placed on great tables. These were made from the new rage timber, mahogany with their elegantly fluted legs inspired by the columns from a Greek classical temple.

Women’s dresses emulated Greek statuary although some, endeavouring to appear like the goddesses on Greek temples by wetting their dresses, succumbed to pneumonia… because by now death was preferable to not being seen as part of a fashionable scene involved in the art of fine living.

William Morris (1834-1896) self-professed leader of the modern movement said ‘If I were asked to say what is at once the most important product of Art, and the thing most to be longed for, I should answer, a beautiful House’.

Building a house in the country made to appear as old and as venerable as the countryside itself, was what everyone was striving for. If you couldn’t build one you clamoured to be acquainted with those who owned a wonderful old pile. The aim was to affect an invitation to join a country house weekend where the art of pleasure was a very serious business and the art of fine living practiced with confidence and style.

‘Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality’ said English author and art critic John Ruskin 1819 – 1900. He resented social injustice and the squalor that was a direct result of the ‘greed is good’ mentality that accompanied the unbridled capitalism of the Industrial Revolution. His influence on the next generation of artists and craftsmen who led the way toward establishing Le Style Moderne was to be profound.

The agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century removed land as the chief source of wealth in England and by 1901 the money to pay for a country house had to be made in urban centres of trade or, somewhere else in the Empire, like Australia, where the English style and way of life had been transported. World War 1 marked a great divide in the age of the moderns bringing artists face to face with an alternative; either a clean sweep or hope of a reformed society, or alternatively the retention of a privileged art in the service of an elite and moneyed class.

After WWII a focus on art and design coming together again was rejuvenated. At Sydney, the unofficial capital of Australia, a quiet revolution in the art of living well has meant that its interior designers have finally come into their own. Stunning textiles instead of paintings are appearing on the very best walls. Smart eye-catching antique carpets are teaming brilliantly with wide plank nailed timber floors.

Despite the GFC, storm and tempest, floods and fire most owners remain optimistic. Good old Petronius, with his eye for detail and best in life, would have loved the whole concept of a one stop shop and having access to a fabulous design resource like Residence Australia.

During the last decade those who have set the scene for an art of fine living have reinterpreted late nineteenth century European Modernism with great enthusiasm, making it appear all brand new.

Great interiors today are innovative, convenient, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, technology savvy and above all energy efficient. Sustainability, recycling and quiet elegance have become hallmarks of an interior that will both inspire and nurture its occupants, so that they can enjoy an art of living well.

Carolyn McDowall, ©The Culture Concept Circle 2011, 2012

*Quote by Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)

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Dimity Hodge, Head of Women in Leadership at Westpac said recently “Jo is not only the fashion elixir – she is an elixir of life. She is like a breath of fresh air guiding us all in fashion and style. Her passion is contagious – she wants us all to feel and look the best we can. She is stylish and creative and she just knows what works – for everyone and every body. She’s the best!” Dimity says

Jo Bayley is a Sydney girl, born and bred and we first met when she was in her early teens. With a keen eye for fashion from a young age, Jo could be found making clothes for her dolls in every spare moment. She began hairdressing at that time, developing her career in this field now spanning 25 years.

Travelling through Europe extensively has ignited the passion for fashion, style and exotic locations, and she particularly enjoyed working with menswear at London in the late 90′s. Jo also devotes much time and energy to volunteering for Look Good Feel Better, which is a social profit institution that runs workshops in hospitals nationwide. Look Good Feel Better helps women going through cancer treatment to learn about skin care, makeup, and how to best use hats, scarves and wigs.

Jo believes fashion can be the elixir we all need to take the boredom out of everyday life. And anyone can be fabulous armed with the right tools (shoes, hot dress and iconic handbag!)

Jo will be providing tantalizing tales of style, travel and fashion, here in Australia, and the rest of the globe. She says ‘Life would be so boring without a bit of escapism. Lusting over the perfect shoe, an idyllic island holiday or, that fabulous little black dress can make the day seem so much brighter’. It’s good to have her on board. I am sure that like me, you will look forward to her many musings.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2012

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   Join us and the world will never look quite the same again

Gustave Klimt, leading artist of the Vienna Secession - Judith 1901 Oil on Canvas

The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century as it progressed rapidly changed the face of the western world. By the beginning of the twentieth century in Europe, England and America immense wealth generated a youthful society, one who had very different priorities and objectives than their parents or grandparents. They were clamouring for the best that life could offer. Their aspirations and expectations were different, their views less dogmatic, manners much smoother, prose lighter and morals and codes of conduct easier. At the time England was indisputably the greatest and richest nation in the world with no rivals seriously threatening its trade and industry. The upper and middle classes were enjoying supremacy.

Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality author and art critic John Ruskin 1819 – 1900 declared. A moral guide or prophet, if you like during the latter years of the nineteenth century in England Ruskin resented social injustice and the squalor that was a direct result of the ‘greed is good’ mentality that accompanied the unbridled capitalism brought about by the Industrial Revolution. His influence was profound on his both his contemporary colleagues and the next generation of artists and craftsmen. They would lead the way towards establishing Le Style Moderne.

Window from Hill House by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Vienna’s art world in the latter years of the nineteenth century, finally accepted the leadership role of the United Kingdom. in the world of innovation and design. Arts and Crafts leader William Morris and Scottish creative Charles Rennie Mackintosh fought to combat goods produced by machines by championing hand manufacturing. Charles Rennie Mackintosh cultivated a rigorous formal economy of design, which appealed to members of the newly established Viennese Secession.

They were a group of primarily young artists, painters, sculptors and architects in Vienna who seceded from the prestigious Kunsterhaus (Artists House) to set up a Society of Austrian Artists – the Vienna Secession. in I897. It included painted and illustrator Gustav Klimt. His brilliant individualism would dominate the era and his paintings set a stylistic tone that would resonate in far off places. His paintings lining the grand ascending staircase of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum reveal his movement towardthe hallmarks of a style that would become known as Art Nouveau.

The Secession staged their first exhibition in March 1898. Their aims were purely aesthetic and founded in Coffeehouse culture and the decorative arts magazine The Studio, which was devoured in all the capital’s stylish cafes.

Detail of the Secession building in Vienna, constructed by Joseph Maria Olbrich. It is one of the best known examples of Secessionist style of modern architecture.

Members of the Secession Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffman and Josef Maria Olbrich were so impressed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s austere aesthetic they invited him to come to Vienna and exhibit at the eighth Vienna Secession exhibition, which he did to critical acclaim.  Secession artists by their very nature were all fierce individuals striving to create a new style, one that would inform and help to imagine the future.

Vienna was struggling to leave behind its reputation for conservatism and the impact of the repressive political climate of their immediate past. Its citizens eagerly sought to embrace contemporary ideas and change under the influence and leadership of its artists, intellectuals and scientists.

Josef Hoffman in 1905-11 designed the Palais Stoclet in Brussels for Belgian industrialist Alfred Stoclet. It was a Villa built for a private financier who ‘wanted a large house, he loved the arts and gave us an entirely free hand’ said Hoffman.

It has been described as a universal, complete, flawless masterpiece of a thousand years of architectural history.

Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffman combine to produce the design and style of the Palais Stoclet's Dining Room

Modernism demanded a distinction between interior architecture and decoration and a preference for open planned living.

Modernist interiors were meant to be devoid of applied decoration. They seek to concentrate solely on geometry, uninterrupted lines and form.

At the Villa Stoclet the Dining Room contained murals by Gustav Klimt and furniture by Josef Hoffman. Harmony governed every facet of this total work of art and it became the extreme statement of Viennese avant-garde design.

It was ambitious, an accomplished achievement of the Wiener Werkstatte, (Vienna Workshops) founded by Hoffman in 1903. A strange astonishing edifice it might have come from another planet, it was in fact transposed far from the city of its conception to a setting, which is still alien to it. It exemplified in embryo the major features of the coming Art Deco movement of which it was one of the great founding monuments.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century rivals America, Germany and Japan threatened Britain’s manufacturing power. At home industrial unrest, growing feminist and socialist movements were part of a general, and protracted crisis. The population of the United Kingdom was 41.5 million in 1901, twenty percent living in poverty. Emmelline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903 and it gained an international focus for militant action in the campaign for women’s suffrage. In Britain the Children’s Act of 1904 finally banned employment of children between nine at night and six in the morning.

A most profound influence in the UK and in America would be that of the long established system of French education in design and architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts at Paris. Its style of education was introduced into Britain amid scepticism, resentment and open hostility early in the twentieth century. Rejected previously, the Ecole’s approach to architecture laid heavy emphasis on distinct, formalized planning.

This is a school of design education founded that had no parallel in any other European country. It aimed at being and became a centre for intellectual debate about architecture during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Its teaching program was conceived as a preparation for the design of public buildings.

Tutors taught architects to work up their designs through a series of project stages. They employed the classical orders in the required ‘correct proportions’, but only once the plan was fully developed. The aim of every student was to win the prestigious Grand Prix de Rome established by Napoleon through the Academie des Beaux Arts, so they could spend a year studying in that city.

In England the Ritz Hotel on Picadilly is in the ‘Beaux Arts’ style. In America, the Biltmore Estate (pictured) was designed by the first American educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Paris, Richard Morris Hunt. His ‘French Chateau’ style house for George Washington Vanderbilt II, ate up much of the family fortune, installing such new innovations as electricity, which at the time was not even in the area.

The population of Britain in 1800 was 10 million. In 1881 it was 31 million and by 1911 there would be 11 million more to house, and the resultant prosperity was enjoyed most of all by the affluent middle classes. Within the years from 1895 to 1906 more buildings were built than ever before in Britain’s history. Speculative developers, who employed both run of the mill, designed houses, hotels, offices and factories and talented architects in an attempt to invent a new sought after British style. They were the ones who held sway.

Idealists such as William Morris in the latter part of the nineteenth century had championed good design for the poor and had been overwhelmed by the fact it was only those of affluence who could afford to buy what he had to offer. Would that he was in Inala at Brisbane in 2002, to see part of his vision achieved in the revamping of 50′s housing commission bungalows.

The King Edward VII Galleries at the British Museum are the most elegant of all the Beaux Arts influenced Edwardian classical buildings at London. They won a knighthood for their architect Webb J.J. Burnet. While great public buildings were passing through the decade of the High Baroque the Neo Georgian style in architecture was also being revived heavily in the suburbs.

This was a decade where the expansionist and imperialist features of the previous century were displayed to excess, one in which the political tensions and economic frailties of the present century before World War I became apparent. Radical change was required.

Spanish draughtsman, painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a dominating figure of early twentieth century French art. He, with French painter Georges Braque (1882-1963) founded classical Cubism. Braque working with Picasso from 1908 to 1914 to explore cubism thorough its various phases. When their association ended Picasso designed costume and sets for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. He was above all an innovator.

His portrait of Olga avoided illusionist realism, which he achieved by flattening the figure against its background. Picasso’s first wife Olga Stepanovna Khokhlova was a Ukrainian-Russian dancer.

She is one of the many women who shed their restricting corsets, cut their hair, raised their hemlines and set out to find what feminine freedom and being modern was all about following World War I.

World War One marked the great divide in the age of the moderns. The upheaval of war brought artists face to face with an alternative, either a clean sweep or hope of a reformed society, or alternatively the retention of a privileged art in the service of an elite and moneyed class. The streamlined success of the style Art Deco would be one answer, at least until World War Two, which would change the face of the world forever.

At London in the year of the second Olympic Games held in England the Victoria & Albert Museum, undoubtedly the world’s greatest museum of art and design, is hosting an important exhibition that encompasses the period between the first ‘austerity’ games held in London in 1948 and the games of the all new austerity age in 2012.

Innovation in the Modern Age (31st March – 12th August 2012) will explore British design in the interim and the tension in England between tradition and modernity, conservatism and contemporary design and the economic, political and cultural forces that have shaped its evolution.

Vienna also has many plans for 2012, namely to inspire its guests from all over the world with harmonious diversity.

They have announced 2012 is their Gustav Klimt year and there are two exhibitions of his works opening in February.

Klimt´s key paintings will set the stylistic tone for his world-famous work from about 1900 onwards. They are at the center of a show “Gustav Klimt at the Kunsthistorisches Museum“.

“Klimt: Up Close and Personal. Images, Letters, Insights” at the Leopold Museum will focus on the artist´s numerous travels as well as the the fact that he incorporated his impressions and observations during his travels into his paintings.

The styles that made up the Modern Movement are known as:
Arts and Crafts 1875-1915
Art Nouveau (1880-1910)
Wiener Werkstatte (1903-1933) and Bauhaus (1919-1933)
Art Deco (1920-1940)

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2012

NB: The dates are but a guide as all styles, as they rise and fall, overlap each other.

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French mirror - tortoiseshell and ormolu c1700 - Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mastery over reflection was the first stage in a cultural revolution that influenced the relationship between humans and their image evermore. A mirror allowed a knight to learn gestures of civility. It promoted the ideal gentleman by helping him to refine his image and bodily adornment. Appearance became everything. ‘Sweet mirror invented in order to know that which our own gaze cannot see’. A Sicilian visiting Paris in the seventeenth century observed ‘Ribbons, lace and mirrors are three things the French cannot live without’. The mirror an instrument of social hierarchy and aristocratic ideal gradually became commonplace and a symbol of equality, feeding our narcissistic need for recognition. The metaphorical distance between the polished surface of a mirror from antiquity to one made of glass for Louis XIV’s Chateau at Versailles is immense. It is probably about the same as comparing oilpaper and plaited rushes used in wind eye insets of ancient houses, to that of plate glass windows in a modern department store. What role will the mirror play in our future. Will we always remain haunted by what is not found within it?

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The four children of Rodrigo Borgia aka Pope Alexander VI (Jeremy Irons not present) Left - Right Juan (David Oakes) Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger, Cesare (Francoise Arnaud and Jofré (Aiden Alexander)

He is referring to the members of his highly dysfunctional dynastic family, including his sons Cesare (Francois Arnaud), Juan (David Oakes) and Jofré (Aiden Alexander), as well as his stunning, scandalous daughter Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger). Then there is his incredibly beautiful mistress Giulia Farnese (Lotte Verbeek), for whom intimacy with the Pope meant being referred to unkindly as ‘the bride of Christ’. This complex always captivating and compelling series saga is well and truly back with a vengeance for a second time from Showtime.

There will be many out there quite literally salivating at the thought the Borgia family, who are an extraordinary group of characters, will finally get their comeuppance. There is doubt this stylish miniseries created by Neil Jordan, and directed by a cast of the industries finest, has intrigued and addicted audiences to its cleverly crafted episodes. Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI is in his element in a role that has come along perfectly placed in the progression of his fine acting career. He relishes ever aspect of Pope Alexander’s life and its complexity, his mighty voice resounding magnificently in hallowed halls, chambers and cathedrals. The pope’s son Cardinal Cesare, who married into the royal French household to cement the alliance between King Louis XII and the Borgia family, is brilliantly played by French Canadian heartthrob Francois Arnaud.

I will guard your Bishop if you will be my Pawn

In his lifetime Cesare set out to, and conquered the north of Italy, combining siege and assassination with ruthless effect. Niccolo Machiavelli, whose book The Prince set in place the whole idea that ‘the end justifies the means‘ used Cesare as his prince’s role model. Published posthumously in 1532 it revealed how Machiavelli admired tyranny, saying that a republic needed a strong and ruthless leader. He also said ‘The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous‘.

This book was highly influential in its day and found with Baldassare Castiglione’s The Courtier and The Bible beside many a royal and aristocratic bed. Tales of infamy and murder during the dynasty of the Borgia family had members of the Roman Catholic church reeling in horror, while modern scholars are quick to point out that Cesare and Alexander’s actions contributed to the eventual Protestant Reformation.

During the Renaissance while the architecture of your abode was also of prime importance, so was the fitting out of the interior. The bedchamber or camera was the nucleus of the home, because it could remain private. There were  no other rooms of a more public nature set between it and the entrance from the street or courtyard. Husbands and wives normally had separate bed chambers and contemporary architect Leon Battista Alberti (1404 – 1472) explained that

‘not only that the wife either when she lies in or in case of any other indisposition may not be troublesome to her husband; and that in summer time; either of them may lie alone whenever they think fit’.

The great letteriera, was a massive piece of furniture and dominated the room in which it stood. It was embellished with carved decoration, inlay, paintwork and gilding.  It was also surrounded usually by a cluster of benches of flat topped chests ranged around its flanks with its head against a wall projecting out into the room.

Alberti advised different bedchambers for winter and for summer for those of princely wealth because ‘it was not fit that a great man should be worse lodged than a swallow or a crane’. Main bedchambers were almost always on the first floor and were also used as a reception room for favoured friends and family.

When your educated friends came to call, you could be confident in knowing you were not only reflecting your status as Renaissance man with a wife and establishment but also your superior knowledge, wealth and power.

Fashion is a lens through which society perceives itself. The textiles of the Renaissance were strong in structure and texture, with superb attention to the detail of their designs. They were used both as clothing and furnishings in the establishments of wealthy patrons.  There were no fashion magazines or newspaper reports on the latest modes, so the pressure to change fashions was much less strong, but it was present, it just developed more slowly. One of Castiglione’s characters in The Courtier explained: Since the introduction of new habits (ie clothes) the old have an uncouth sort of appearance

It would be their constant plotting, scheming and hard living in the end that would bring the Borgia’s undone, but fortunately for us not before we have journeyed with them through one of history’s most intriguing, inspiring and completely infamous periods, the Italian Renaissance of the fifteenth century and sixteenth centuries.

The rediscovery of ancient texts in Europe at this time began changing people’s perceptions. They questioned the world around them and their place in it. From humanist writings grew the sense that not the afterlife but also the life here and now should be and was a proper concern of humanity.

The medieval church had taught that all things should be examined in regard to moral value, considering the entire universe exclusively in relation to the church. This minimized people’s works and aspirations and in their imagination uncultivated areas of the countryside including forested areas were populated with malignant spirits and this was for a long time a fear outlaws and other law breaking citizens were able to capitalize on. The Borgias led the way, reveling in the ultimate power trip, becoming Italy’s first crime family.

The Renaissance was a period of scientific examination that brought about a period of creative frenzy. It infected not only artists, architects and scholars, but also rich, powerful and by now very educated rulers of many of the city-states that made up the land mass we now know as Italy.

A new group of accomplished architects and artisans collectively ushered in a brand new era in art, design, fashion music and style. Central to that development was the emergence of the artisan as a creator, an artist who was sought after, sponsored and respected for his erudition and imagination by great families

As a patron of the arts, Pope Alexander VI was instrumental in having Michelangelo fulfill a new role as architect and re-draw plans to rebuild St Peter’s Basilica. He also restored the now famous Castel Sant’Angelo, which was originally built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum (123-139 AD).

A secret corridor, known as the Passetto di Borgo, connected the Castel Sant’Angelo with the Vatican. Tom Hanks ran along it in Angels and Demons. It was used by Pope Clement VII and his Swiss Guards as a place of refuge when Charles de Bourbon’s army sacked Rome in 1527.

The power of the family was paramount to Pope Alexander. Many of his peers and scholars today have acknowledged that he was a ‘good politician and diplomat‘ but when he died, reputedly poisoned by an apple (according to the Catholic encyclopedia in reality malarial fever*) many breathed a sigh of relief.

Lovely Lucrezia with her brother Cesare

His son Cesare made an unholy alliance with Giuliano della Rovere in his bid to become Pope. But della Rovere betrayed him, and Cesare died during a siege in 1507 at Spain, only four years after his father.

Lucrezia lasted until 1519, giving birth to many children most of which died prior to their mother. She was said to have been a model wife to her third husband and was respected for her virtue and amiability, which is very different from the poisoner popular accounts have depicted her as.

Scholars have suggested that it was more likely that she was a victim of the crimes of her famous father and handsome Cesare, the brother whom she loved.

God’s blessing it seems for the Borgia’s came at a very high price. Perhaps it was one far too high to pay?

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2012

Watch the Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4lzzWYADjk

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