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The Cathedral of Sircusa (Syracuse), Sicily is built within the colonnades of Greek temple to Athena from the early 5th century BC. Byzantine Christians converted the ruins of it into their Cathedral in the 7th century. The fluted columns are engaged in the outer side wall, along with triglyphs, metopes, etc. (the parts of the Doric Order in Greek architecture). The arched windows and crenelated top date from the Middle Ages. (It even had been a mosque at one time.) However, around the corner, the facade is thoroughly Baroque, built in 1700s! Old and new don't clash, though -- because they aren't seen simultaneously. Behind the door of this Cathedral's Baroque facade, the simplicity of an actual Doric temple colonnades are hidden. The medieval barrel vault comfortably meets the ancient Greek colonnade to form a side aisle. The temple's floor plan easily adapts to the 7th century Basilican plan church. The darkest components of this plan belong to the origina...

The gigantic Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agrigento, was damaged by earthquakes before completion. This new statue, a flying bronze, echoes the temple's fallen state. The wing overlaps and seems to touch a huge Doric capital to the right of the middle. I was recently in Sicily to view mainly the ancient Greek sites. My camera broke and thankfully Kelli Palmer is letting me share her pictures of Agrigento, a city known for the beauty of its golden limestone. The Temple of Concord in Agrigento is one of the best preserved Greek temples standing today, probably due to the fact that it was used as a church in the Middle Ages. Right now contemporary sculpture is on display there and at the other temples in Agrigento. The combination of antique/modern -- though not always successful -- is particularly well done at this site because it does not detract from the ancient architecture while displaying the new work effectively. The sculptures seem to be made for this purpose. A nude comfort...

The Space Needle and Frank Gehry's Experience Music define Seattle, along with the Library.  Seattle's new Library is a busy place. Completed in 2004, it is made up of steel diamond shapes, holding the glass--letting lots of light inside for this typically rainy city. It integrates all kinds of new technologies into the library's traditional function. Rem Koolhaas is the architect. Both Koolhaas and Frank Gehry rely on CAD-(computer-aided) design. The main building of Olympic Sculpture Park, above and below, was finished in 2008 and has won architectural awards. It is by the husband and wife team of Weiss/Manfredi Nearby is the Space Needle, but it seems to "deconstruct" in front of Experience Music Building, designed by Frank Gehry in the late 1990s. Mass transit comes right inside to the front of the building. The entry gives only a glimpse of the ever-changing colors and shapes, in and out.

J ean-Francois Millet, The Gust of Wind, 1871-73, National Museum of Wa les It's disappointing that the Corcoran exhibition, Fro m Turner to Cezanne , had to be taken down early as a precaution over environmental concerns......I was counting on going Friday, April 9, three days after it abruptly closed. What am I missing? A spectacular collection from the National Gallery of Wales, little-known paintings of well-known artists that are seldom seen in the US..................... Torrents of Rain and Gusts of Wind..... Vincent Van Gogh, Rain, Auvers, 1890, from the National Museum of Wales Vincent Van Gogh's suns, stars and flowers from sunny Provence express the intensity he experienced while living there. But in May, 1890, he moved north of Paris to Auvers-sur-Oise and painted Rain, Auvers in July. Van Gogh used such a heavy impasto of paint that this painting conveys a heavy impact of rain. Van Gogh had an uncommon ability to combine actual texture of the paint itself w...