(Text taken from the official Sanctuary Site in portuguese here.)
The Dom Bosco Sanctuary is one of the most well-known Churches in Brasilia and one of the most frequent images in the postcards of that city. It occupies a good part of Quadra 702 South, in a very central position in the Pilot Plane.
Built in honor of the patron of Brasília, São João Belchior Bosco, the Sanctuary has 80 columns of 16 meters and is decorated by stained glass in 12 shades of blue. In the interior, a chandelier of 3.5 m of height, formed by 7,400 pieces of murano glass, symbolizes Jesus, the light of the world. Doors produced in iron and bronze, with low reliefs, resemble the life of Dom Bosco.
Chandelier of the Dom Bosco Sanctuary
The construction of the Shrine was an initiative of the Salesian Congregation. Under the inspiration of the dream of Dom Bosco with Brasilia, it was also erected in honor of the Holy of Youth, a small hermitage (chapel) in front of the Paranoá Lake.
The Sanctuary was elected one of the seven wonders of Brasilia in 2008 by the International Bureau of Cultural Capitals (IBOCC), an entity based in Barcelona. With this title the Sanctuary was included by the Government of the Federal District in the tourist route of Brasília.
Although from the beginning it was called the Sanctuary of Dom Bosco, the official decree naming the parish of St. John Bosco in Sanctuary took place on 08/16/2017.
Dom Bosco is, along with the Virgin of Aparecida, the second Patron of Brasília. The first iron and the first cement arrived at the construction site of the capital, still in 1955, were used in the construction of a hermitage in homage to Santo; and every year, on the last Sunday in August, a walk to the place is made.
This is because one of the most famous prophetic dreams of Dom Bosco was with the construction of Brasilia. In 1883, a little more than a month after the arrival of the first Salesians to Brazil, Dom Bosco dreamed that he was flying over a region stretching from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean: it was the vastness of the Salesian mission in America. Between the parallels 15 and 20, when he saw a rather long and wide inlet, he heard a voice say, repeatedly,
“When you dig the mines hidden in the midst of these hills, here will appear the promised land that will pour milk and honey. It will be an inconceivable wealth. ”
I believe flags have character. I like them fluttering in the skys, sometimes fighting against the wind others teasing it. I give them my best shot and many times I wait until they boast majestically.
This one is at the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome, Italy.
A paramount view of the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. Notice the size of the sculpture, enormous and beautiful!
Piazza di Spagna, where people just go to walk by the fancy shops, or on the plaza or to sit on the Spanish steps.
There was this flower shop by the way, and one of the things I noticed was that they had a bouquet of cotton (placed almost at the center of the photo), red peppers and pumpkins…
I wonder what it would be like to give red peppers to someone.
Here the Spanish steps that lead to the Trinitá dei Monti, and if you walk al the way the 136 steps and take a right you will find a theater that by the way was showing the play Grease… yes that Rock n Roll one, but in italian. On the photo below, on the building on the corner (left) there is the Babington’s, a tea and coffee room, highly recommended.
Here is a maps link to show you around.
A coffee place in the middle of the street in Rome.
A lovely place. Notice that each chair has its own umbrella.
On my way to the Vatican I took this photo. You can see at the far back Saint Peter’s cathedral in Rome.
Last week I had a visit from abroad that did not know Mexico City, so the task was to show him around. First stop was Mexico Downtown which has lots of old and nice building that show architectural influence from around the world: Spain, Italy, France, Arab even English and some Art Deco. Why this? Well, the city was founded in 1521 and many people has contributed to what we are today.
We landed on a very nice place where there are shops and a hotel boutique, you know, the kind of hotel that has about 12 nice rooms and exceed any service expectations and, of course, also the price.
Have a look here
I did not take that many photos, but the one thing I liked was how the top of the trees downstairs showed a bush-form garden at the lobby upstairs.
Inside the building there are several restaurants, one of then called Punta Arenas (on a previous post) and an artisan factory of chocolates called Qué Bo (Here the link for you to look around)
Did I mention that the chocolate is from Mexican origin? Hang on there, that will be a soon-to-be post.
This is the view of the garden from the Lobby, which happen to be the top of the trees from the second photograph below.
nice…
On the way to the restaurant below or going up to the lobby, a mural on the staircase.
Some of the shops in the place….
I don’t remember the name of the Hotel…so
Some of the many buildings in Downtown Mexico City:
This is the Palace of Fine Arts where many concerts and expositions take place. This building has sunk more than 3 feet to date since the city was built on a lake bed.
Hemicycle to Benito Juárez, Mexican president monument
One of the views of the Zócalo, the second largest Plaza in the world, just after Rusia’s
The Zocalo and the Monumental flag
National Palace, government building on the Zócalo.
Another view of National Palace.
The Cathedral. The oldest and the first one in Latin America. The first stone was set on 1571.
59 meter wide, 128 long, 67 meters high.
Implicado 