St. Sophia Cathedral

St. Sophia Cathedral

A visit to St. Sophia Cathedral is a highlight of any holiday in Kyiv. For us, it was one of the most vivid memories of our time in the capital. Based on research of wall inscriptions within the cathedral, historians believe the foundation was laid in about 1011 by...
Memories of Kyiv

Memories of Kyiv

A few years back, we traveled to Ukraine. Our adventure started in the big, bustling capital of Kyiv. I remember the architecture as grand, ornate, sometimes sublime, befitting of a world leading city. The numerous orthodox churches with their shiny onion domes dotted...
The Medici of Florence

The Medici of Florence

The Medici Family rose to power on the successes of their banking and commerce ventures. The branch of the family that came to dominate Middle Age Florence descended from Giovanni di Bicci de Medici (1360-1429), who founded the Medici Bank in Florence. It was through...
The Black Death in the Italian Peninsula

The Black Death in the Italian Peninsula

The Black Death was a pandemic that swept across the Eurasian landmass devastating the populations along the way. In Italy, the plague resulted in a human tragedy that transformed the region in ways that could not be anticipated. The Black Death arrived in the Italian...
Edgar Allen Poe Museum

Edgar Allen Poe Museum

I could never claim to be a fan of Edgar Allen Poe. I have never read any of his works from start to finish. But I was and am familiar with him, and that’s even before seeing the John Cusack film “The Raven” a number of years ago. So, when my wife...