Pita

Little Pariah

June 1, 2008 was election day for the local administration in Romania. The candidates for Bucharest City Hall and the six, relatively independent, “sector” mayoralties fought desperate wars to win. Many people have a lousy opinion about Bucharest, formerly known as

The History Of Nothing: Contemporary Architecture And Public Space In Romania

Richard Rogers Partnership proposal, 1996People's House (Parliament) After 1989: Methods of researching the built environmentResearching Communist architecture is a tricky endeavor in contemporary Romania, where some major actors of that era are still alive, some even

The Friend From Abroad

Clockwise from top left: People's House, wood church in Romanian Peasant Museum yard, Opera House, Stavropoleos Church, Athenaeum, Caru cu bere pub. Every time I have to recommend some sightseeing in our town to the friend/ acquaintance/ work colleague coming from

Perdition, Old-Style

When on the 20th of September, 1459, the throne of Wallachia moved from Târgovişte to Bucharest, the new settlement, which was lying along Dâmboviţa River, was a picturesque settlement, with slow hills, lakes and boundless orchards and especially with venerable forests.

The Vandals' Academy

Bucharest, the city of all filth, all sorts of architectural absurdities, moronic and petty houses, disgusting hotels, stinky pubs… Bucharest full of flies and primitive latrines; Bucharest with no water and few sewers; Bucharest with horse-drawn trams; Bucharest with

A Century Of Our Past And Our European Identity Are Being Destroyed

Armenian Church; St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral; Stirbey house on Calea Victoriei excerpts from the debate organized by Ileana Foundation for Contemporary Fine Arts and Modern Architecture in Romania, hosted at UNA Gallery on May 12th 2008 Nowadays, the oldest

Little Paris

top row: Lipscani diggings, Unirea shoping center, house in Romanian Peasant Museum yard, National Museum of Contemporary Art bottom row: Collections Museum on Calea Victoriei, University Sq. , dilapidated building on Lipscani St. , old house on Mantuleasa St. It seems

What I Understand By A Capital

clockwise from top left: Coltei Church, Manuc's Inn, St. Anthony's Old Court Church, Metropolitan Church, Mihai Voda Church, Cretzulescu Church, St. Apostles' Church, St. George's Church. The administrative efforts that very enthusiastic and dedicated

Bucharest And Its Paradoxes

O Moft! Thou art the watchword and motto of our times. Vast syllable of unbounded content, in thee there is such comfortable room for countless meanings: joys and misfortunes, merit and infamy, guilt and misadventure, right, duty, sentiments, interests, convictions, politics,

Los Judios Españoles - Prefacio

El año 1492, a la vez con el descubrimiento del Nuevo Mundo, ha representado un paso gigantesco en la historia de la humanidad. Pero, al mismo tiempo, es la fecha de un acontecimiento que ha marcado profundamente y para siempre el futuro de España, ya que en aquel entonces

Cuando Estoy En El Tablado Es Como Si Estuviera En Un Templo

Entrevista con y sobre GELU BARBUpublicada en CURIERUL ROMÂNESC(El Mensajero rumano)Año XV, nr. 10 (201), octubre de 2003 El arte del espectáculo auténtico es y seguirá siendo un mundo fascinante, por doquiera y cuando quiera, que a todos nos hace falta. El espejismo

Obras Maestras Españolas, Pintor Griego, Gusto Germanico, Museo Rumano

El Museo Nacional de Arte de Bucarest tiene, aunque pueda resultar sorprendente para esta parte de Europa, una buena sección de arte español antiguo. La pintura de la contrarreforma se pone de manifiesto en la obra maestra de Alonso Cano, Cristo en la columna que causó