Reymon de Real PhotographyCASTEL SANT’ANGELO
Posted on September 8, 2016
The Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome, Italy was originally built as the mausoleum for the Roman emperor Hadrian and his family as well as for the emperors who eventually succeeded him. The place has been looted centuries ago so the urns of the emperors have never been recovered. Eventually, the castle became a fortress for the popes before being converted into the museum that it is today. I never got to step inside the museum as I was hurrying for my guided tour of the Vatican, which was about half a mile away from the castle. I took this photo hurriedly while crossing the bridge so this is my only photo of this ancient Roman landmark. Perhaps on my next trip to Rome I can finally step inside and take another photo of this historic building at a better angle.
ANCIENT EPHESUS
Posted on August 27, 2016
The ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey remains at the top of my list for the best places I have ever visited in my entire life. I have always been fascinated by ancient cultures and what I saw in this archeological heaven blew me away. Built in 10th century BC, the city featured an advanced acqueduct system, mosaic-tiled sidewalks, a hospital, temples, schools, public baths, library, theaters and an amphitheatre with a seating capacity of 25,000. My hometown was founded less than 100 years ago and we don’t even have an amphitheatre. The photograph above shows the Library of Celsus, which was built in memory of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus who was a former governor of Roman Asia. He was buried in a sarcophagus beneath this library, which used to house almost 12,000 scrolls. Ephesus may not be familiar to a lot of people, but if you remember the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World…this city used to be home to one of them…the Temple of Artemis.
HALL OF MIRRORS
Posted on June 9, 2016
The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles was constructed in 1678 during the reign of King Louis XIV of France. It is the central gallery of the palace and features 17 mirror-clad arches reflecting the palace gardens from the 17 windows across the hall. When I took this photograph, I wished the entire hall was empty although the chances of achieving that in the most visited place in France was beyond impossible. I visited Versailles during the last few weeks of summer right about the end of tourist season and yet the place was packed with tourists from all corners of the globe. I guess I’ll just have to be content with capturing this famous hall with a good number of faces expressing fascination and awe over the opulence of the French nobility. The last royal residents of this palace was the family and court of King Louis XVI and his infamous wife…Marie Antoinette.
TORII
Posted on April 4, 2016
The torii is a traditional Japanese gate usually found at the entrance of a Shinto shrine to mark the entrance to a sacred place. Contrary to tradition, this torii is found at the entrance to the Japanese Pavilion of EPCOT Center at the Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I took this photo using my iPhone 6, while in the middle of a thunderstorm, and the park was gray and misty with rain falling down like crazy. Surprisingly, the dull and hazy background brought out the deep red paint of the torii creating a beautiful contrast in the photograph.
Reymon de Real Photography 