SWITZERLAND: A BIG ORDER & RESPECT TO DIVERSITY

1572. Tygurum, Zürich.

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. Switzerland is a federal directorial republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities, called '"federal city". Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately eight million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two global and economic centres Zürich and Geneva.

More information: Switzerland in the 16th Century

1572. Svicia / Schwyz.

The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the late medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002. The new constitution was declared on 12 September 1848. 

Nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to numerous international organisations, including the second largest UN office. However, the country does participate in the Schengen Area and the EU's single market through a number of bilateral treaties.

Spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh.

More information: About Switzerland

Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product. Switzerland ranks at or near the top globally in several metrics of national performance, including government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and human development.

Latin inscription about Tigurum.

Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life. It is also known for being a place of great watchmakers.

Switzerland has existed as a state in its present form since the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848. The precursors of Switzerland established a protective alliance at the end of the 13th century (1291), forming a loose confederation of states which persisted for centuries.

More information: Switzerland

A good spectator also creates - Swiss Proverb.

1714: ENGLAND BETRAYS CATALONIA

The Catalans, thus abandoned and given up to their enemies, contrary to faith and honour, were not however, wanting to their own defence; but appealing to Heaven, and hanging up at the High Altar the Queen’s solemn declaration to protect them, underwent the utmost miseries of a siege; during which multitudes perished by famine and the sword, many were afterward executed, and many persons of figure were dispersed about the Spanish Dominions and dungeons.

Nicolas Tindal, History of England (1745)

The Coronela defending Barcelona, 1714

Rafael Casanova i Comes (Moià, 1660 – Sant Boi de Llobregat, 1743) was a Catalan jurist, and supporter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor as a claimant to the Crown of Spain during the War of the Spanish succession. He became mayor of Barcelona and commander in chief of Catalonia during the Siege of Barcelona until he was wounded in combat while commanding La Coronela during the counterattack on the Saint Peter front on the last day of the siege, September 11, 1714. He recovered from his wounds, and after the war he continued his fight against absolutism as a lawyer. It has been claimed that he is the author of the book Record de l'Aliança fet el Sereníssim Jordi Augusto Rey de la Gran Bretanya (Remembrance of the Alliance to George I of Great Britain) in which Catalonia reminds England of the Treaty of Genoa and their obligation to Catalonia.

In November 1700, Charles II died, the last Habsburg Spanish monarch. The Duke of Anjou, a member of the Bourbon dynasty, was appointed as his successor, and who was enthroned by the name of Philip V of Spain. In 1702, the War of Spanish Succession started when the House of Austria, at odds with the will, invaded the Spanish territories in Italy. In 1703, maritime powers, England and Holland joined the House of Austria and declared war against the Two Crowns, Bourbon France and Spain. In Vienna the young archduke Charles of Austria was called for as an alternative candidate to rule Spain. In 1704, Charles moved to Portugal where he sought to recover from the Spanish throne for the Hapsburg dynasty.

More information: Rafael Casanova and his time (Museu de Sant Boi)

Can Barraquer, Casanova's Home in Sant Boi

On the other side of the peninsula allies launched an attempted landing in Barcelona with the complicity of a small number of Austrian locals. The plot was discovered and the allied landings failed. The exiled Austrian viceroy of Catalonia, Francisco Velasco was shocked and wanting to avoid any further Austrian conspiracies. Francisco began an indiscriminate repression in Barcelona, and repeatedly violated the constitution of Catalonia. This was a policy that unleashed hatred against, his sovereign, Philip V of Spain.

After years of the Viceroy's outrages, the Barcelona Board resolved to send Pau Ignasi Dalmases to the court of Madrid in order to protest to Philip V himself, about the violations of the Catalan laws that were committed by his viceroy; however, reaching the court the emissary he was arrested and jailed, which again violated the Catalan constitution. Catalonia signed the Pact of Genoa, a treaty established a military alliance between England and Catalonia. Catalonia pledged to fight for the cause of the claimant to the Spanish throne, Charles of Austria, with military aid from England, who in exchange pledged to defend the Constitution of Catalonia whatever the outcome of the war. Allied troops landed, turning back to Barcelona and then surrounding the city in October 1705. Viceroy Velasco, and the Bourbon garrison that was in Barcelona capitulated. The councillors of the Government of Catalonia and Barcelona received Charles of Austria hailing him as a liberator. Within days, Archduke Charles swore allegiance to the Constitution of Catalonia.

More information: 1714. War of Succession. MHCAT.

Church of Sant Boi. Rafael Casanova's tomb.

In April 1714, the House of Lords devoted several of their plenary sessions to what came to be known as the Case of the Catalans. The topic was that Treaty of Genoa signed in 1705 between the Catalan delegates and the plenipotentiary agent of Queen Anne of England. In that treaty, Catalonia agreed to engage into the war helping England, with a special emphasis on England ensuring the defence of the Catalan Constitutional system, whatever the outcome of the war. But in the Peace of Utrecht the Catalans were betrayed by the English ministers in the peace negotiations. Against all expectations, and faced with a vastly superior army, the Catalan institutions decided to stand against King Philip, and defend their constitutional system and freedoms at the highest price.

On February 26, 1714, Rafael Casanova became the highest military and political authority in Catalonia, when the Generalitat of Catalonia gave him all the military powers and also was named President of the ninth Board of war. It ruled the city until he was wounded in combat when commanding a counterattack of the Barcelona milícia at the San Peter front on the last day of siege, September 11, 1714. Having capitulated the city, the institutions of self-government of Catalonia were abolished.

More information: Patrimoni Gencat

[...] and the Honour of the British Nation, always renowned for the Love of Liberty, and for giving Protection to the Assertors of it, was most basely prostituted and a free and generous People, the faithful and useful Allies of this Kingdom, were betrayed, in the most unparalleled Manner, into irrevocable Slavery.

Journal of the House of Lords, vol. 19, 20 (1715)

CAP DE CREUS & SANT PERE DE RODES, HISTORIC STONES

Salvador Dalí

Cap de Creus is a peninsula and a headland located at the far northeast of Catalonia, some 25 kilometres south from the French border. The cape lies in the municipal area of Cadaqués, and the nearest large town is Figueres, capital of the Alt Empordà and birthplace of Salvador Dalí. Cap de Creus is the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. The area is now a Natural Park.

The peninsula has an area of 190 square kilometres of an extraordinary landscape value; a windbeaten very rocky dry region, with almost no trees, in contrast with a seaside rich in minuscule creeks of deep blue sea to anchor. Mountains are the eastern foothills of the Pyrenees, the natural border between France and Spain. The region is frequently swept by awful north wind "tramontana" (beyond mountains) which has caused many naval disasters. Cadaqués is the most well-known village, home of artists and writers, with sophisticated atmosphere, near Port Lligat where Dalí built his home in a paradise small bay. (Dalí depicted the peninsula in his painting The Persistence of Memory.) El Port de la Selva, with a little fishing harbour, is less exploited, with good gastronomic recourses and pleasant terraces.

One legend tells that the Cap de Creus was hewn by Hercules.

More information: Dalí Theatre-Museum Figueres

Sant Pere de Rodes stands out at 500 metres of altitude, with views of the Cap and the Pyrenees. It is an 11th-century monastery whose first structures date from about 750 AD. It is a former Benedictine monastery. It is in the municipal area of El Port de la Selva in the province of Girona. It has been constructed in the side of the Verdera mountain below the ruins of the castle of Sant de Verdera that had provided protection for the monastery. It offers exceptional views over the bay of Llançà, to the north of Cap de Creus. Near the monastery Santa Creu de Rodes is the ruins of a medieval town, of which its pre-Romanesque-style church is the only remains dedicated to Saint Helena. The zone is plenty of Prehistoric ruins like dolmens and menhirs. This fact demonstrates the importance of this zone since the ancient ages.

Joseph de Ca'th Lon next to a dolmen

The true origin of the monastery is not known, which has given rise to speculation and legend; such as its foundation by monks who disembarked in the area with the remains of Saint Peter and other saints, to save them from the Barbarian hordes that invaded the Western Roman Empire. Once the danger had passed the Pope Boniface IV commanded them to construct a monastery.

The first documentation of the existence of the monastery dates 878, when it was mentioned as a simple monastery cell consecrated to Saint Peter, but it is not until 945 when an independent Benedictine monastery was founded, led by an abbot. Connected with the County of Empúries, it reached its maximum splendor between the 11th and 12th centuries until its final decay in the 17th century. Its increasing importance is reflected in its status as a point of pilgrimage.

In the 17th century it was sacked in several occasions and in 1793 was deserted by the Benedictine community, which was transferred to Vila-sacred and finally settled in Figueres in 1809, until it was dissolved.

The monastery was declared a national monument in 1930. In 1935 the first restoration work was initiated.

Joseph de Ca'th Lon pointing at the North

The buildings are constructed in terraces, given its location. Cloisters of 12th century form the central part of the complex. Around them the rest of constructions are distributed. The church, consecrated in the year 1022, is an example of Romanesque style; it has nave and two vaulted. These are bordered by a double column with capitals influenced by the Carolingian style. The double column support arches separating the nave from the aisles. Columns and pillars have been taken from a former Roman building. The nave ends with an arch leading to the apse, continued in the two aisles. Under the apse is a crypt. The church synthesizes a number of original styles including Carolingian, Romanesque and Roman. 

The monastery is considered one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Catalonia. In the western facade of the monastery is a 12th century square-shaped bell tower, influenced by the Lombard style from the previous century. To the side is a defensive tower, that was probably began in the 10th century but finished later after several modifications.

More information: MHCAT-Sant Pere de Rodes

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

 

Salvador Dalí

TRAMONTATE, STELLE! ALL'ALBA VINCERÒ!

Tramontane is a classical name for a northern wind. The exact form of the name and precise direction varies from country to country. The word came to English from Italian tramontana, which developed from Latin trānsmontānus (trāns- + montānus), "beyond/across the mountains", referring to the Alps in the North of Italy. 

The word has other non-wind-related senses: it can refer to anything that comes from, or anyone who lives on, the other side of mountains, or even more generally, anything seen as foreign, strange, or even barbarous.

THE DANGEROUS PLACES: GULF OF LION AND ALT EMPORDÀ

In the zones of Gulf of Lion and Alt Empordà, the tramontane (named Tramuntana in Catalan) is a strong, dry cold wind from the north (on the Mediterranean) or from the northwest (in lower Languedoc, Roussillon, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands). It is similar to the mistral in its causes and effects, but it follows a different corridor; the tramontane accelerates as it passes between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, while the mistral flows down the Rhone Valley between the Alps and the Massif Central in France.

The tramontane is created by the difference of pressure between the cold air of a high pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean or northwest Europe and a low pressure system over the Gulf of Lion in the Mediterranean. The high-pressure air flows south, gathering speed as moves downhill and is funnelled between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central. 

According to French sources, the name was used in its present form at the end of the 13th century by Marco Polo, in 1298. It was borrowed from the Latin "transmontanus" and the Italian "tramontana", meaning not just "across the mountains" but also "the North Star" (literally the star "above the mountains"), since the Alps marked the north for the Italic people. The French term tresmontaine, cited as early as 1209 and still used in the 15th century, was borrowed directly from the Latin.

More information: NASA Weather

 Le vent qui vient à travers la montagne me rendra fou.

The wind coming over the mountain will drive me mad.

Victor Hugo, Gastibelza

THE HISTORIC ARCHIVE, THE UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES

Plaça de Sants, Barcelona (1948)

Today, The Grandma has received some news from the City Hall. She’ll finally have permission to enter in the Historic Archive of Sants to search information about the refuges built by the neighbours during the Spanish Civil War. When? She doesn’t know but, at least, the first step has been reached although the battle against the Antichrist continues…

Meanwhile, The Grandma continues preparing new projects without forgetting the old ones. She offers two more chapters of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the interesting Gothic novel that we’re reading.

Enjoy them!

And the whole huge town of a million people 

was locked in a sort of violent inertia, 

a nightmare of noise without movement. 

George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia

DESMOND TUTU: AN ANTI-APARTHEID FIGHTER

Desmond Mpilo Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa. The South Africa of Tutu's youth was rigidly segregated, with black Africans denied the right to vote and forced to live only in specific areas.

Tutu became increasingly frustrated with the racism corrupting all aspects of South African life under apartheid. In 1948, when Tutu was 17 years old, the National Party won control of the government and codified the nation's long-present segregation and inequality into the official, rigid policy of apartheid. In 1953, the government passed the Bantu Education Act, a law that lowered the standards of education for black South Africans to ensure that they only learned what was necessary for a life of servitude.

In 1958, Tutu enrolled at St. Peter's Theological College in Johannesburg. He was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1960 and as a priest in 1961. Tutu was selected as the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches in 1978, and he continued to use his elevated position in the South African religious hierarchy to advocate for an end to apartheid.

In 1984, Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize not only as a gesture of support to him and to the South African Council of Churches of which he is leader, but also to all individuals and groups in South Africa who, with their concern for human dignity, fraternity and democracy, incite the admiration of the world. Tutu's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize transformed South Africa's anti-apartheid movement into a truly international force with deep sympathies all across the globe.

In 1985, Tutu was appointed the Bishop of Johannesburg, and a year later he became the first black person to hold the highest position in the South African Anglican Church when he was chosen as the Archbishop of Cape Town.

Nowadays, Desmond Tutu continues his fight in a favour of peace and democracy supporting acts around the world.

More information: The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre

If you are neutral in situations of injustice,
you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse
and you say that you are neutral,
the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

Desmond Tutu