Category: Varna

#Tour alla scoperta della #Bulgaria 24 aprile - 1 maggio

20/1/2014

1 g. ITALIA – SOFIA 24.4 giovedì
Arrivo a Sofia. Visita di Sofia*, capitale della Bulgaria e una delle più belle capitali balcaniche dove si potranno ammirare la piazza Narodno Sabranie, dalla quale ha inizio il centro cittadino, che deve il nome all’edificio dell’Assemblea Nazionale in stile neoclassico del XIX secolo. La cattedrale Aleksander Nevski, voluta per commemorare la liberazione dal giogo turco da parte delle armate russe, che rappresenta,per le sue dimensioni, il più grande tempio ortodosso della penisola balcanica e la chiesa di Santa Sofia, Sistemazione in hotel. Cena e pernottamento.
* Per gli arrivi serali la visità sarà spostata all'ultimo giorno.

2 g. SOFIA – BACHKOVO – PLOVDIV (200 km) 25.4 venerdì
Prima colazione. Partenza per visitare il Monastero di Bachkovo. Costruito nel 1083, questo monastero è conosciuto principalmente per l’originale forma architettonica e per i tesori e le collezioni di libri che custodisce. E’ considerato per importanza, il secondo monastero della Bulgaria. Arrivo a Plovdiv. Visita della parte moderna del centro: lo Stadio Romano, la Moschea ed il centro culturale Trakart che espone splendidi mosaici e reperti archeologici ritrovati nella zona. Pensione completa.

3 g. PLOVDIV – KARANOVO – NESSEBAR (300 km) 26.4 sabato
Prima colazione. Visita di Plovdiv vecchia: un intero quartiere fatto di antichi edifici realizzati nello stile definito il “barocco di Plovdiv”. Seguendo le strade ciottolose che si sviluppano lungo questa collina si potranno ammirare le tante abitazioni che per decenni hanno ospitato le più importanti famiglie della città. Oggi, una di queste case, costruita nel 1847, ospita lo splendido Museo etnografico. A poca distanza si trova la chiesa SS. Costantino ed Elena costruita nel 1832. Visita del Teatro romano (da fuori). Partenza verso il Mar Nero con sosta a Karanovo per visitare una delle più recenti ed interessanti scoperte archeologiche della Bulgaria – un tumulo che contiene tra gli altri oggetti un calesse intero con dei cavalli, parte del ricchissimo corredo funebre di un aristocratico tracio dei primi secoli d.C. Arrivo a Nessebar. Sistemazione in hotel. Pensione completa.

4 g. NESSEBAR – VARNA – MADARA – VELIKO TARNOVO (350 km) 27.4 domenica
Prima colazione. Visita di Nessebar, cittadina posta sotto la protezione dell’Unesco in quanto il luogo più ricco di testimonianze storiche di tutta la costa di Mar Nero. Si incontrano in rapida successione le chiese del Pantocrator, di San Giovanni Battista e del Redentore. Partenza per Varna – la capitale marittima della Bulgaria. Visita del Museo Archeologico ed il centro città. Partenza per visitare il Cavaliere nella roccia di Madara – monumento protetto dall’Unesco. Arrivo a Veliko Tarnovo. Sistemazione in hotel. Pensione completa.

5 g. VELIKO TARNOVO – ARBANASSI – ETARA – KAZANLAK (120 km) 28.4 lunedì
Prima colazione. Visita del Monte Tzarevez di Veliko Tarnov dove ancora oggi sono tangibili le testimonianze della grandezza del Secondo Regno bulgaro e il quartiere degli artigiani. visita di Arbanassi, un piccolo villaggio che ospitava le famiglie borghesi di Veliko Tarnovo. Qui si visitano la medioevale Chiesa della Natività, famosa per gli splendidi interni interamente affrescati, e la casa museo Kostanzaliev. Questo grande edificio venne costruito nel secolo XVIII da un ricco mercante della zona. Proseguimento per il villaggio-museo all'aperto Etara con spettacolo “Rito Matrimoniale”. Breve sosta alla Chiesa della Natività di Shipka, situata in mezzo al verde della Stara Planina. Costruita nel secolo XIX, si presenta nello stile delle chiese di Mosca del secolo XVII. Arrivo a Kazanlak. Pensione completa.

6 g. KAZANLAK – KOPRIVSHTIZA – KREMIKOVZI – SOFIA (220 km) 29.4 martedì
Prima colazione. Visita di Kazanlak, visita della famosa Tomba Tracia (protetta dall'UNESCO) risalente a circa 4000 anni fa ed il Museo etnografico dove sono esposti alcuni macchinari d'epoca per la lavorazione dei petali di rose. Degustazione di grappa “rosaliika” e marmellata di rose. Partenza per Koprivshtiza. Visita del centro storico di questa cittadina che ospita alcune tra le più belle case storiche di tutta la Bulgaria. Ancora oggi, di queste case costruite interamente in legno tra il 1700 ed il 1800 ne esistono più di sessanta. Visita alla Chiesa della Vergine (Uspenie Bogirodichino) e due delle case – museo. Prima dell'arrivo a Sofia, sosta per visitare il Monastero di Kremikovzi che venne fondato durante il XIV secolo, sotto il regno di zar Ivan Alexandar. In quell’epoca vennero eretti intorno a Sofia 14 nuovi complessi monastici. Distrutto nel 1332 venne poi ricostruito nel 1493, l’anno in cui fu eretta anche la Chiesa di San Giorgio il cui interno contiene affreschi di straordinario valore, una specie di galleria di capolavori creati da artisti dalla grande scuola d’arte di Tarnovo: il colore è solenne e armonioso, il tratto elegante, le figure plastiche e vitali. Sistemazione in hotel a Sofia. Pensione completa.

7 g. SOFIA – RILA – SOFIA (250 km) 30.4 mercoledì
Prima colazione e trasferimento nella periferia della capitale per visitare la Chiesa di Boyana ed il Museo storico nazionale. Questa chiesa, inserita in un parco di alberi secolari, rappresenta uno straordinario ed unico esempio dell’architettura ecclesiastica medioevale dell’area balcanica. Costruita nel secolo X, presenta alcuni affreschi risalenti al secolo XIII che per la tecnica adottata costituiscono una anticipazione degli innovativi temi stilistico – esecutivi della grande pittura italiana. Proseguimento verso il Monastero di Rila considerato il più importante monastero dei Balcani. Fondato nel secolo X, questo monastero ha rappresentato per secoli un fondamentale punto di riferimento culturale del Paese ed uno dei principali centri del Cristianesimo Ortodosso. Pranzo in ristorante. Ritorno a Sofia. Cena e pernottamento.

8 g. SOFIA – ITALIA 1.5 giovedì
Prima colazione. Eventuale approfondimento della visita di Sofia. Trasferimento in aeroporto, partenza per l’Italia.

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#Varna today

27/10/2013

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MUSEUM OF #MOSAICS IN DEVNYA

17/7/2013

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The Museum of Mosaics in Devnya displays early-Byzantine mosaics1 from Marcianopolis. The idea for its organization was born within the process of archeological research that started in 1976 and continued for five seasons with interruptions. In the process of research, a large late-Roman building decorated with mosaics was found (The House of Antiope).

THE GORGON #MEDUSA MOSAIC
The mosaic covers the living-room cum dining room (triclinium) floor (8,00 x 8,00 m) and represent the shield of the goddess Pallas Athena decorated with the decapitated head of Gorgon Medusa. It was intended to ward the evil away and to petrify ill-wishers with terrifying appearance and freezing gaze (apotropaion).
According to Greek mythology Gorgon-Medusa
(Gr. „the Horrible”) was the most horrible and only mortal of the three daughters of the sea deities Phorcys and Ceto, granddaughters of the earth Gaea and the sea Pontus. Initially she was first among beauties of beautiful hair, which Minerva turned into snakes when Gorgon was raped by Neptune in her temple. Gorgon’s face petrified everyone who looked at her.
According another version of this myth she lived in the endmost West with her sisters Stheno and Euryale. The Gorgons were notorious for their horrible appearance: female creatures of wings covered with steel scales, snakes instead of hair, wolf’s fangs and eyes and touch that turned all living creatures in stone.
The hero Perseus (the shower-of gold born son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of King Acrisius of Argos) decapitated the sleeping Gorgon-Medusa stepping forward with his back to her and looking at her reflection in his copper shield (presented to him by Athena Pallas) and cut her head with his curved sword (a present from Hephestus).
Perseus escaped the Gorgons chasing after him on the winged sandals (presented to him by Hermes or Mercury). Perseus presented the head of Gorgon-Medusa to Athena Pallas who attached it to her shield (or aegis) to scare her enemies.

A Panonian Volutes Mosaic detail – opus tesselatum. The second half of the 4th Century.

THE #SATYR AND ANTIOPE MOSAIC
The floor of the building bedroom (cubiculum) (5,60 x 4,40 m) is covered with mosaic, depicting one of the
numerous love affairs of Zeus, the supreme Greek god. It is an extremely rare plot among the preserved mosaics dating back that far. According to Homer, the nymph Antiope was the beautiful daughter of the river-god Asopus, or according to others, daughter of king Nycteus of Thebes. She was seduced by Zeus, who had changed into the looks of a young satyr (mythical creatures followers of Dionysus, the god of wine, personifying the unleashed animal fertility). Fearing her father’s wrath, she fled from Thebes to Epopeus, the King of Sicyon (in Peloponnesus, South Greece) who married her. Nycteus, upon his deathbed, charged his brother Lycus (heir to the throne) with the task to get Antiope back to Thebes. Lycus killed Epopeus. He took Antiope with him to Thebes. On the way back, on Mt. Cithaeron she gave birth to the twins Amphion and Zethus, but she was forced to abandon her infants. For years on end Lycus and his wife Dirce mistreated Antiope severely. When her sons, Amphion and Zethus, grew up (raised by a shepherd), they exacted a terrible vengeance upon Dirce by tying her to the horns of a ferocious bull.

A geometrical ornament (a detail) – opus tesselatum. An antique building with mosaics, oecus. In situ. The beginning of the 4th Century.

THE PANONIAN VOLUTES MOSAIC
The Panonian Volutes Mosaic was discovered during rescue excavation works in 1949 in the eastern part of Marcianopolis, in a building of unknown use (perhaps an old Christian basilica). The decoration of the mosaic consists of repeated geometric patterns in four clours (probably imitating sarcophagus decorations). The technique applied in the making of the mosaic was the opus tesselatum where larger tesseras of marble and baked clay were used.

The Museum was built by project of Architect Kamen Goranov standing partly on the ancient foundations of the building with the mosaics3. This ancient building was erected at the end of the 3rd – the beginning of 4th c (the time of Constantine The Great) on the location of earlier building/s that had been destroyed during the Gotts invasions of 250–251. This building existed with repairs and reconstructions until the beginning of the 7th c. The building occupies a whole quarter (insula) of length 37,15 m (north-south) and width 37,75 m (east-west).
The building’s plan follows the traditions of the Greek-Roman atrium-peristil residential place. Twenty one residential-, processing- and storage rooms of total area 1 402 square meters are arranged around a closed yard (atrium) (5,87 x 11,11 m), paved with stone slabs and brickwork water well in its middle, surrounded on three sides by covered colonnade (cryptoporticus) (92,63 m2). The walls of the residential rooms were covered by coloured paint and murals of plaster. Five of the building’s rooms and porticoes are covered with multi-coloured floor mosaics, one of the best examples of the Roman mosaic art of that period found in Bulgaria.
Three of these mosaics are displayed in the rooms where they have been found (in situ) and the rest were transferred to a new carrying base following their conservation and partial restoration. The mosaics were made in the classical techniques opus tesselatum and opus vermiculatum out of small cubeshaped stones (tesseras) of marble, limestone, baked clay and coloured glass (smalta), in 16 colours. The mosaics depict mainly personages and scenes of the Greek and Roman mythology, exotic animals and birds, floral- and geometric shapes.
The museum halls display diverse exhibits related to the architecture of the building and domestic life of its residents.
Author: Anastas Angelov

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Balchik Architectural Park Complex – The Palace

24/6/2013

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The Palace is the former summer residence of the Romanian Queen Maria Alexandrina Victoria de Edinburg (1875 – 1938). It is situated approximately 2 km south-west of Balchik in a beautiful locality between the Balchik rocks and the sea. The Palace is a designated archeological and constructional monument of culture and a monument of the gardening and landscape art, declared by Statute No 09-128 of the Ministry of Culture dated 18 April 2002. Just next to the terraces is formed beautiful waterfall, high 25meters. Another smaller waterfall lours from “Allah's garden” through thick wall to three-flow fountaininto deep stone pool. During the Second Balkan War (1913) the Romanian army occupied a part of Dobrudzha and the town of Balchik fell within the borders of Romania. Romanian intellectuals had appraised the beautiful landscape in the region and during the 1920s many prominent Romanian aristocrats and people of art purchased properties here. Queen Maria was brought by her friends to Balchik, and she was fascinated by the landscape and the spirit of the town. She decided to build her own summer residence here, and had a strict requirement for the designers so that the construction of the villa does not harm the natural environment, but rather complements its beauty.

The residence was constructed by the Italian architects Amerigo and Augustino in 1924. It is formed with beautiful threshold terraces along the steep sea shore, through which the water from two springs flows along special stone channels and pours into water mirrors and waterfalls.
The style of the new buildings is in unison with that of the found one, and the old mills were restored. The contrast of the white rocks and the red roofs which is typical for the town was preserved.
Chapels, yards, fountains and buildings in various styles were built – in typical Bulgarian, Byzantine, Roman and Arabic, Mauritanian, Transylvanian, etc. The park along the sea shore was developed by the Swiss gardener Jules Gianni. The strip is 60-70 meters wide and more than 400 meters long. Christian and Muslim symbols intertwine in wells and gardens, and the flowers and the decorative pots for the gardens were bought from various parts of the world. The complex is composed of a few villas and buildings with characteristic emanation. The Blue Arrow villa was built in 1931 on the edge of a cliff, above the sea shore. The following people had lived in the house during various times – Prince Nikolay – the second son of Queen Maria, and Princess Ileana – her youngest daughter. Now a gallery and a wine degustation room are situated.
A statue of St. Martin – a patron of the Roman royal family, can be found next to the administrative building in the complex, on top of a stone column. A beautiful waterfall with 25 meters of height from the fall is found in close proximity to the terraces. Another smaller waterfall comes from the “Garden of Allah” through a thick wall along a three-flow fountain in a deep stone basin.

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Varna

23/6/2013

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The city of Varna is situated in the North-Eastern part of Bulgaria, on the Black Sea shore. Varna is the third largest city in Bulgaria and the largest one on the Black Sea shore with population of about 330 000 people. Because of its history and its economical and cultural significance, it is often called the Sea Capital of Bulgaria. The average January temperature in Varna is +1.7 °С, the average July temperature is +22.8 °С, and the average annual temperature is +12.2 ° С, which makes it very appropriate for holiday sea tourism during the warm months of the year.
The town was established in the 6th century BC under the name of Odessos by emigrants from the town of Milet in Asia Minor. For a short time it turned into a polis and one of the most important ports and commercial centers on the Black Sea..

For a few decades Odessos was within the borders of the Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, but later it reestablished its independence and again rose as an economical, commercial and cultural center. The city was coining its own money which is an evidence of its development. In the 15th year AD Odessos was included within the borders of the Roman Empire. In 1201 the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan (born 1168– died 1207) integrated the town to Bulgaria, and in 1366 Varna was given to the Dobrudzha ruler Dobrotitsa, and it had served as his capital. In 1398 Varna was conquered by the Ottoman conquerors. During the Revival (18th – 19th century) it was developed as a cultural and commercial center.

Today Varna is a modern city with a rich cultural calendar. Two of the most modern multifunctional halls in the county are situated here – the Palace of Culture and Sports and the Festival and Congress Center, which allow the conducting of multiple international cinema festivals, scientific forums and sport events, among which are the following: International Theater Festival “Varna Summer”, Ethnic Festival, International Jazz Festival “Varna Summer”, International Folklore Festival of Varna, International Film Festival “Love is Folly”, International Festival of Puppet Art “Golden Dolphin”, International Photographic Saloon, Bulgarian Film Festival “Golden Rose”, etc.
With its modern port, railway connection and international airport providing connection with 35 states and more than 100 world cities, Varna is one of the largest transport centers in Bulgaria.
The strategic position of Varna on the map of south-eastern Europe has turned the city into one of the largest settlements on the Black Sea shore since antiquity. Multiple monuments presented today in the city Archaeological Museum date back to this period. The museum’s impressive collection includes the finds from the Varna chalcolythic necropolis – the oldest golden treasure in the world found by now, dating back to six thousand years ago.
Among the rest of the museums, some of the most interesting ones are the Maritime Museum and the Ethnographic Museum. The Maritime Museum collection includes articles related to the Bulgarian military and commercial shipping. The Ethnographic Museum presents the rich diversity of culture and the style of life of the population in Varna region from the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
As a cultural center, Varna has built one of the largest and richest fine arts galleries in Bulgaria.
An exposition of icons painted in the Age of Revival, are kept in the church St. Atanasius, built in the 18th century, and one of the most interesting historical landmarks of the town – the Roman Baths – the largest Roman bath on the Balkan Peninsula with an area of 7000 square meters, is situated in close proximity to it. It is the forth in size in Europe, after the baths of Karakala and Diocletian in Rome and in Trevira (Trier, Germany). It was used until the end of the 3rd century.
Another tourist site which deserves attention is the Aquarium. It is a center for popularizing the Black Sea flora and fauna. It presents the first and only biological exposition in the country. In the Dolphinarium, situated in the Park by the Sea, the tourists can enjoy a unique dolphin show, presented in an interesting way by the dolphins and their trainers. It is conducted in four languages simultaneously: Bulgarian, Russian, German and English, and includes multiple attractions, such as acrobatics, balancing, music, singing, dancing, and games with the audience. Its duration is 40 minutes.
The Ecological Park of the University Botanical Garden is situated close to Varna, in the holiday resort of St. Konstantin and Elena. This is the first ecological park in the country which combines artificial and natural ecological systems. The park is situated on an area of 360 dca. The plant collections include more than 300 species of exotic trees and bushes, and the herbaceous plants are more than 100 species. The ecological park offers exotic encounters with plants from around the world: sea pine, tulip tree, ginkgo biloba, sterculia, parrotia persica, broussonetia papyrifera, evergreen oak, mamont three, etc. More than 30 rose species are cultivated in the Rosery.
Another tourist site which must be visited is situated at a distance of about 14 km from Varna, on the road to the resort Zlatni Pyasatsi. This is Aladzha Monastery – one of the few rock monasteries in Bulgaria, in which the individual premises with different functions can be differentiated. The rock monastery is situated in the central part of the Natural Park Zlatni Pyasatsi – a protected territory with rare tree species. The beautiful nature around, in combination with the historical and Christian landmarks makes it a wonderful place for cultural, worship and ecological tourism. From 2009 a unique audio-visual performance entitled Legends of Aladzha Monastery is presented in Aladzha Monastery. It is a new tourist attraction for the guests of Varna and the Black Sea region.
The day of Varna is celebrated on the day of The Assumption of the Holy Mother – 15 August.
The city offers practically indefinite possibilities for accommodation. The hotels are numerous and diverse in categories and prices. Accommodation is also possible in the nearby resorts – Zlatni Pyasatsi, St. Konstantin and Elena and Riviera. There are a few accommodation bureaus in the city which are related to one another with an updated information transfer. The options for catering and entertainment are also rich – seashore restaurants, pizzerias, snack bars, beer-houses, catering and fast food establishments, clubs and discotheques. Make good use of the fact that there are multiple restaurants in the town, offering a diverse variety of sea food.
The sea garden of Varna offers multiple entertainment options – there is an amphitheater, an astronomical complex, an observatory, a planetarium and a tower on its territory, as well as multiple entertainment platforms and a small rowing channel for children, a pool for water wheels and a zoo. The summer theater is a center of multiple events, as the most significant of them are the Varna Music Days, the world-famous International Ballet Contest and the Days of Varna Summer – triennial of arts.
The central sea baths and the beach are situated below the Sea Garden. They were constructed in the beginning of the 20th century and include policlinic, water and mud-curing complex, two quays, a few restaurants and discotheques.
Various water sports can be practiced on the beach – beach volleyball, surfing, diving, jet skiing, boat trips, banana boat rides, etc.
Varna is a city which is very appropriate for health tourism. It successfully combines resting at the sea side with healing camps, pre-hospital and hospital treatment, recreational services and healthy way of life.
A training golf course is situated in close proximity to Varna, in Asparuhovo residential section, and other 3 large and modern golf courses are also situated not far from the city, by Kavarna and Balchik.

Varna, the Cathedral

The cathedral in Varna is one of the symbols of the city. It is situated on “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” square in the center of Varna. The view from the belfry towards the city is splendid, but you have to overcome the 133 stairs of the narrow caracol. The first stone upon the construction of the temple was placed by Prince Alexander I of Battenberg (1857 - 1893) in 1880. After the consecration, the prince reprieved all the prisoners from the Varna prison, for which three months of their sentences were remaining. The name that was chosen, The Assumption of Holy Mother, was to the memory of the Russian Empress Maria Alexanrovna, benefactor of Bulgaria and aunt of the Prince. The foundations were laid by the project of the Odessus architect Maas, and the building itself is constructed according to the project of the municipal architect P. Kupka. The financing of the construction was relied on mainly by the donors. Additionally, a lottery with 150 000 tickets of BGN 2 each was conducted, as the tickets were sold in the country and abroad. During the construction itself, the builders were working according to the model of the Peterhof Temple in Saint Petersburg, by using local materials. The roof part and the domes were covered in copper tin. The construction of the temple was performed in the beginning of October 1885. The complete decoration of the temple began in 1949, and in the 1960s the stained glass of the large windows looking to the square were made. During the period 1999-2002 the ventilation system in the temple was constructed, and the mural paintings were renovated, and in 2001 by funds of the municipality a unique outdoor lighting was installed at the Cathedral, which emphasizes the beauty of the building at night. In 2002 the renovation of the Cathedral domes was completed. The entire roof construction is enriched with materials based on gold and silver.