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97-399: Founded in the 10th century, Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southern Europe for religious tourists. In 2008 alone it attracted 900,000 visitors. The monastery is depicted on the reverse of the 1 lev banknote issued in 1999. It is traditionally thought that

194-671: A Turkish state originating in Anatolia , encroached steadily on former Byzantine lands, culminating in the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Beginning roughly in the 12th century in Florence , and later spreading through Europe with the development of the printing press , a Renaissance of knowledge challenged traditional doctrines in science and theology , with the Arabic texts and thought bringing about rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman knowledge. The Catholic reconquest of Portugal and Spain led to

291-577: A US-led military alliance ( NATO ) and formed the European Economic Community amongst themselves. The countries in the Soviet sphere of influence joined the military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact and the economic bloc called Comecon . Yugoslavia was neutral. The common attribute of the eastern countries is that all of them have experiences with socialism , but nevertheless, the beginning of

388-474: A binding medium, such as egg ( tempera ), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall. It is important to distinguish between a secco work done on top of buon fresco , which according to most authorities was in fact standard from the Middle Ages onwards, and work done entirely a secco on a blank wall. Generally, buon fresco works are more durable than any a secco work added on top of them, because

485-450: A dozen painted monasteries , completely covered with frescos inside and out, that date from the last quarter of the 15th century to the second quarter of the 16th century. The most remarkable are the monastic foundations at Voroneţ (1487), Arbore (1503), Humor (1530), and Moldoviţa (1532). Suceviţa , dating from 1600, represents a late return to the style developed some 70 years earlier. The tradition of painted churches continued into

582-668: A fresco for the Cité Ouvrière du Laboratoire Débat, Garches. He also executed mural decorations for the Plan des anciennes enceintes de Paris in the Musée Carnavalet . The Foujita chapel in Reims completed in 1966, is an example of modern frescos, the interior being painted with religious scenes by the School of Paris painter Tsuguharu Foujita . In 1996, it was designated an historic monument by

679-406: A large fresco, by a faint seam that separates one from the next. Buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Generally, a layer of plaster will require ten to twelve hours to dry; ideally, an artist would begin to paint after one hour and continue until two hours before the drying time—giving seven to nine hours' working time. Once a giornata

776-462: A linear order. Their identification has been a core area of research on the subject since the time of the site's rediscovery in 1819. Other locations with valuable preserved ancient and early medieval frescoes include Bagh Caves , Ellora Caves , Sittanavasal , Armamalai Cave , Badami Cave Temples and other locations. Frescoes have been made in several techniques, including tempera technique. The later Chola paintings were discovered in 1931 within

873-689: A major and direct transport axis between Northern and southern Europe, was completed in 2016 with the Gotthard Base Tunnel . The Gotthard inscribes itself in a long history of transit across the Alps , which saw them progressively changing from an obstacle to a corridor between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea . The most widely spoken family of languages in southern Europe are the Romance languages ,

970-459: A monastery. The museum of the Rila Monastery is particularly famous for housing Rafail's Cross , a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood (81×43 cm). It was whittled down by a monk named Rafail using fine burins and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures. Work on this piece of art lasted not less than 12 years before it was completed in 1802, when

1067-415: A red pigment called sinopia , a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, and a bag of soot ( spolvero ) banged on them to produce black dots along the lines. If the painting was to be done over an existing fresco,

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1164-625: A related movement, worked to reconquer Iberia for Christendom . The late Middle Ages represented a period of upheaval in Europe. The epidemic known as the Black Death and an associated famine caused demographic catastrophe in Europe as the population plummeted. Dynastic struggles and wars of conquest kept many of the states of Europe at war for much of the period. In the Balkans , the Ottoman Empire ,

1261-447: A school in the monastery during the period. The monastery is known as being one of the hideouts of Bulgarian revolutionaries such as Vassil Levski, Gotse Delchev, and Peyo Yavorov. The monastery complex, regarded as one of the foremost masterpieces of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, was declared a national historical monument in 1976 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since 1991 it has been entirely subordinate to

1358-449: A secco work lasts better with a roughened plaster surface, whilst true fresco should have a smooth one. The additional a secco work would be done to make changes, and sometimes to add small details, but also because not all colours can be achieved in true fresco, because only some pigments work chemically in the very alkaline environment of fresh lime-based plaster. Blue was a particular problem, and skies and blue robes were often added

1455-430: A secco , because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli , the only two blue pigments then available, works well in wet fresco. It has also become increasingly clear, thanks to modern analytical techniques, that even in the early Italian Renaissance painters quite frequently employed a secco techniques so as to allow the use of a broader range of pigments. In most early examples this work has now entirely vanished, but

1552-710: A series of oceanic explorations resulting in the Age of Discovery that established direct links with Africa, the Americas, and Asia. During this period, Iberian forces engaged in a worldwide struggle with Islamic societies; the battlefronts in this Ibero-Islamic World War stretched from the Mediterranean into the Indian Ocean , finally involving the islands of Southeast Asia . Eventually this ecumenical conflict ended when new players—England, Holland and France—replaced Spain and Portugal as

1649-502: A small sheltered depression a hundred meters above ground only 19 survive today. Ancient references, however, refer to the existence of as many as five hundred of these frescoes. The late Medieval period and the Renaissance saw the most prominent use of fresco, particularly in Italy, where most churches and many government buildings still feature fresco decoration. This change coincided with

1746-507: A tomb containing frescoes dating back to 470 BC, the so-called Tomb of the Diver , was discovered in June 1968. These frescoes depict scenes of the life and society of ancient Greece, and constitute valuable historical testimonials. One shows a group of men reclining at a symposium , while another shows a young man diving into the sea. Etruscan frescoes, dating from the 4th century BC, have been found in

1843-463: A trade exchange, a possibility which raises to the fore the importance of this art form within the society of the times. The most common form of fresco was Egyptian wall paintings in tombs , usually using the a secco technique. Frescoes were also painted in ancient Greece , but few of these works have survived. In southern Italy, at Paestum , which was a Greek colony of the Magna Graecia ,

1940-415: A wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate , or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate , which were originally nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes, these divisions may be seen from the ground. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has since fallen off. One of

2037-405: A whole painting done a secco on a surface roughened to give a key for the paint may survive very well, although damp is more threatening to it than to buon fresco . A third type called a mezzo-fresco is painted on nearly dry intonaco—firm enough not to take a thumb-print, says the sixteenth-century author Ignazio Pozzo—so that the pigment only penetrates slightly into the plaster. By the end of

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2134-628: Is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster . Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall. The word fresco ( Italian : affresco ) is derived from the Italian adjective fresco meaning "fresh", and may thus be contrasted with fresco-secco or secco mural painting techniques, which are applied to dried plaster, to supplement painting in fresco. The fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and

2231-470: Is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting . The word fresco is commonly and inaccurately used in English to refer to any wall painting regardless of the plaster technology or binding medium. This, in part, contributes to a misconception that the most geographically and temporally common wall painting technology was the painting into wet lime plaster. Even in apparently buon fresco technology,

2328-408: Is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, and the unpainted intonaco must be removed with a tool before starting again the next day. If mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco . An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, which fixes the colour in the plaster ensuring durability of

2425-989: Is focused on the three peninsulas located in the extreme south of the European continent. These are the Iberian Peninsula , the Apennine Peninsula , and the Balkan Peninsula . These three peninsulas are separated from the rest of Europe by towering mountain ranges, respectively by the Pyrenees , the Alps and the Balkan Mountains . The location of these peninsulas in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as their mountainous reliefs, provide them with very different types of climates (mainly subtropical Mediterranean ) from

2522-476: Is questionable. The frescoes , finished in 1846, are the work of many masters from Bansko , Samokov and Razlog , including the famous brothers Zahari Zograf and Dimitar Zograf . The church is also home to many valuable icons, dating from the 14th to the 19th century. Porticos in the courtyard have Mamluk influence with the striped painting and the domes, which became more popular in the Ottoman Empire after

2619-773: Is spoken in Italy, particularly in South Tyrol . The predominant religion in southern Europe is Christianity . Christianity spread throughout southern Europe during the Roman Empire, and Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire in the year 380 AD. Due to the historical break of the Church into the western half based in Rome and the eastern half based in Constantinople , different denominations of Christianity are prominent in different parts of Europe. Christians in

2716-476: Is the process that was used when rescuing frescoes in La Fenice , a Venetian opera house, but the same process can be used for similarly damaged frescoes. First, a protection and support bandage of cotton gauze and polyvinyl alcohol is applied. Difficult sections are removed with soft brushes and localized vacuuming. The other areas that are easier to remove (because they had been damaged by less water) are removed with

2813-586: Is used as a second language in parts of southern Europe. As a primary language, however, English has only a small presence in southern Europe, only in Gibraltar (alongside Spanish) and Malta (secondary to Maltese). English is also widely spoken in Cyprus. There are other language groupings in southern Europe. Albanian is spoken in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece, Serbia, Croatia and Italy (particularly by

2910-578: The Adriatic Sea in cities such as Venice and Trieste , but also further north, near the Alpine foothills, in cities such as Como and Lugano . Southern Europe's flora is mainly characterized by Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub , but also temperate broadleaf and mixed forests . The Mediterranean and Submediterranean climate regions in Europe are found in much of southern Europe, mainly Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, Albania, Greece, Cyprus and all

3007-718: The Aosta Valley in Italy), Catalan (spoken in eastern Spain, Andorra, Southwestern France, and the Sardinian town of Alghero in Italy), Galician (spoken in northwestern Spain), Mirandese (spoken in northeast Portugal), and Occitan , which is spoken in the Val d'Aran in Catalonia, in the Occitan Valleys in Italy and in southern France. Slavic Languages are spoken in several countries on

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3104-658: The Arbëreshë people in southern Italy ). Maltese is a Semitic language that is the official language of Malta, descended from Siculo-Arabic , but written in the Latin script with heavy Latin and Italian influences. The Basque language is spoken in the Basque Country , a region in northern Spain and southwestern France. Turkish is a Turkic language that is spoken in Turkey, Cyprus, Kosovo, Greece, North Macedonia and Bosnia, and German

3201-663: The Balearic Islands , Corsica , Crete , Cyprus , Sardinia , and Sicily , as well as the island country of Malta . Southern Europe's most emblematic climate is the Mediterranean climate , influenced by the large subtropical semi-permanent centre of high atmospheric pressure found, not in the Mediterranean itself, but in the Atlantic Ocean, the Azores High . The Mediterranean climate covers Portugal , Spain , Italy ,

3298-984: The Balkans . Bulgarian language ( Български език ) is spoken in Bulgaria ( България ). Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian is spoken in Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Italy (in Molise ). Slovenian is spoken in Slovenia, Italy (in Friuli-Venezia Giulia ) and Croatia (in Istria ) and Macedonian is spoken in North Macedonia. The Hellenic languages or Greek language are widely spoken in Greece and Cyprus. Additionally, other varieties of Greek are spoken in small communities in parts of other European countries. English

3395-770: The Churches of Göreme . Thanks to large number of ancient rock-cut cave temples, valuable ancient and early medieval frescoes have been preserved in more than 20 locations of India. The frescoes on the ceilings and walls of the Ajanta Caves were painted between c.  200 BC and 600 and are the oldest known frescoes in India. They depict the Jataka tales that are stories of the Buddha 's life in former existences as Bodhisattva . The narrative episodes are depicted one after another although not in

3492-589: The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church . On 25 May 2002, Pope John Paul II visited Rila Monastery during his pilgrimage to Bulgaria. He was greeted by the monastery's igumen , Bishop Ioan, who had been an observer at the Second Vatican Council . The whole complex occupies an area of 8,800 m and is rectangular in form, centred on the inner yard (3,200 m), where the tower and

3589-776: The Mediterranean by the 8th century BC. Carthage was founded in 814 BC, and the Carthaginians by 700 BC had firmly established strongholds in Sicily and Sardinia (both regions in present day Italy ), which created conflicts of interest with Etruria . Its colonies later reached the Western Mediterranean , such as Cádiz in Spain and most notably Carthage in North Africa, and even the Atlantic Ocean . The civilisation spread across

3686-754: The Ottoman Empire . Italy unified into a nation state. The capture of Rome in 1870 ended the Papal temporal power . The outbreak of World War I in 1914 was precipitated by the rise of nationalism in Southeastern Europe as the Great Powers took up sides. The Allies defeated the Central Powers in 1918. During the Paris Peace Conference the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, especially

3783-460: The Tomb of Orcus near Veii , Italy. The richly decorated Thracian frescoes of the Tomb of Kazanlak are dating back to 4th century BC, making it a UNESCO protected World Heritage Site . Roman wall paintings, such as those at the magnificent Villa dei Misteri (1st century BC) in the ruins of Pompeii , and others at Herculaneum , were completed in buon fresco. Roman (Christian) frescoes from

3880-586: The Tramontane . When the Mistral and the Tramontane are blowing, this provokes an "upwelling" phenomenon on the French coast. They push the surface waters out to sea and bring deeper, cooler waters up to the seaside. Consequently, the temperature of the waters of the French coasts are therefore very cool even in summer, and not representative of the rest of the Mediterranean. This same kind of phenomenon takes place between

3977-833: The Treaty of Versailles . The Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, and along with Mussolini's Italy sought to gain control of the continent by the Second World War . Following the Allied victory in the Second World War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain . The countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe were dominated by the Soviet Union and became communist states . The major non-communist southern European countries joined

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4074-525: The 1990s was just roughly the same. For some of them becoming independent was the major challenge, while others needed to face with poverty and deep dictatorship also Economically, parallel with the political changes, and the democratic transition, – as a rule of law states – the previous command economies were transformed via the legislation into market economies, and set up or renewed the major macroeconomic factors: budgetary rules, national audit, national currency, central bank. Generally, they shortly encountered

4171-557: The 19th century in other parts of Romania, although never to the same extent. Henri Clément Serveau produced several frescos including a three by six meter painting for the Lycée de Meaux , where he was once a student. He directed the École de fresques at l' École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts , and decorated the Pavillon du Tourisme at the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (Paris), Pavillon de la Ville de Paris ; now at Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris . In 1954 he realized

4268-407: The 1st to 2nd centuries AD were found in catacombs beneath Rome, and Byzantine icons were also found in Cyprus , Crete , Ephesus , Cappadocia , and Antioch . Roman frescoes were done by the artist painting the artwork on the still damp plaster of the wall, so that the painting is part of the wall, actually colored plaster. Also a historical collection of Ancient Christian frescoes can be found in

4365-408: The Bosporus) are described as located in "Southeastern Europe". EuroVoc is a multilingual thesaurus maintained by the Publications Office of the European Union , giving definitions of terms for official use. In the definition of "southern Europe", the following countries are included: The United Nations geoscheme is a system devised by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) which divides

4462-431: The Bulgarian rulers. Large donations were made by almost every tsar of the Second Bulgarian Empire until the Ottoman Conquest , making the monastery a cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgarian national consciousness that reached its apogee from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Rila Monastery was re-erected at its present place by Hrelja , a feudal lord , during the first half of the 14th century. The oldest buildings in

4559-403: The Byzantine Empire. In Western Europe, Germanic peoples moved into positions of power in the remnants of the former Western Roman Empire and established kingdoms and empires of their own. The period known as the Crusades , a series of religiously motivated military expeditions originally intended to bring the Levant back into Christian rule, began. Several Crusader states were founded in

4656-476: The Chola paintings were painted over. The Chola frescos lying underneath have an ardent spirit of saivism expressed in them. They probably synchronised with the completion of the temple by Rajaraja Cholan the Great. The frescoes in Dogra / Pahari style paintings exist in their unique form at Sheesh Mahal of Ramnagar (105 km from Jammu and 35 km west of Udhampur). Scenes from epics of Mahabharat and Ramayan along with portraits of local lords form

4753-401: The European region on the basis of Tourism Decision Metrics (TDM) model. Countries which belong to the southern/Mediterranean Europe in this classification are: Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Greece , Italy , Malta , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Portugal , Serbia , Slovenia , Spain and Turkey . Fresco Fresco ( pl.   frescos or frescoes )

4850-412: The French government. José Clemente Orozco , Fernando Leal , David Siqueiros and Diego Rivera the famous Mexican artists, renewed the art of fresco painting in the 20th century. Orozco, Siqueiros, Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo contributed more to the history of Mexican fine arts and to the reputation of Mexican art in general than anybody else. Channeling pre-Columbian Mexican artworks including

4947-454: The Mediterranean between 1500 BC and 300 BC. The period known as classical antiquity began with the rise of the city-states of Ancient Greece . Greek influence reached its zenith under the expansive empire of Alexander the Great , spreading throughout Asia . The Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean Basin in a vast empire based on Roman law and Roman legions . It promoted trade, tolerance, and Greek culture. By 300 AD

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5044-407: The New York Times described the work as "objectifying some of the individual elements that have made modern paintings paintings." While Hyde's work "ranges from paintings on photographic prints to large-scale installations, photography, and abstract furniture design" his frescoes on Styrofoam have been a significant form of his work since the 1980s. The frescoes have been shown throughout Europe and

5141-423: The Roman Empire was divided into the Western Roman Empire based in Rome, and the Eastern Roman Empire based in Constantinople. The attacks of the Goths led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, a date which traditionally marks the end of the classical period and the start of the Middle Ages . During the Middle Ages, the Eastern Roman Empire survived, though modern historians refer to this state as

5238-422: The Styrofoam structure contrast the permanence of the classical fresco technique. In 1993, Hyde mounted four automobile sized frescoes on Styrofoam suspended from a brick wall. Progressive Insurance commissioned this site-specific work for the monumental 80- foot atrium in their headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. The climate and environment of Venice has proved to be a problem for frescoes and other works of art in

5335-408: The Sultana Mara Branković, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Rossikon monastery of Mount Athos , Rila Monastery was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century by three brothers from the region of Dupnica . With Sultana Mara Branković 's influence, Ivan of Rila's relics were moved from Tarnovo into the new complex in 1469. The complex acted as a depository of Bulgarian language and culture in

5432-403: The United States. In ArtForum David Pagel wrote, "like ruins from some future archaeological dig, Hyde's nonrepresentational frescoes on large chunks of Styrofoam give suggestive shape to the fleeting landscape of the present." Over its long history, practitioners of frescoes always took a careful methodological approach. Hyde's frescoes are done improvisationally. The contemporary disposability of

5529-418: The ages of foreign rule. During the time of the Bulgarian National Revival (18th and 19th centuries), it was destroyed by fire in 1833 and then reconstructed between 1834 and 1862 with the help of wealthy Bulgarians from the whole country, under the architect Alexi Rilets . The erection of the residential buildings began in 1816, while a belfry was added to the Tower of Hrelyu in 1844. Neofit Rilski founded

5626-535: The artist in 2013. The American painter, James Hyde first presented frescoes in New York at the Esther Rand Gallery, Thompkins Square Park in 1985. At that time Hyde was using true fresco technique on small panels made of cast concrete arranged on the wall. Throughout the next decade Hyde experimented with multiple rigid supports for the fresco plaster including composite board and plate glass. In 1991 at John Good Gallery in New York City, Hyde debuted true fresco applied on an enormous block of Styrofoam. Holland Cotter of

5723-480: The backs of large bulls. The oldest surviving Minoan frescoes are found on the island of Santorini (classically known as Thera), dated to the Neo-Palatial period ( c.  1640–1600 BC ). While some similar frescoes have been found in other locations around the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Egypt and Morocco, their origins are subject to speculation. Some art historians believe that fresco artists from Crete may have been sent to various locations as part of

5820-517: The ceilings of domes. The Sigiriya Frescoes are found in Sigiriya in Sri Lanka . Painted during the reign of King Kashyapa I (ruled 477 – 495 AD). The generally accepted view is that they are portrayals of women of the royal court of the king depicted as celestial nymphs showering flowers upon the humans below. They bear some resemblance to the Gupta style of painting found in the Ajanta Caves in India . They are, however, far more enlivened and colorful and uniquely Sri Lankan in character. They are

5917-400: The circumambulatory passage of the Brihadisvara Temple in India and are the first Chola specimens discovered. Researchers have discovered the technique used in these frescos. A smooth batter of limestone mixture was applied over the stones, which took two to three days to set. Within that short span, such large paintings were painted with natural organic pigments. During the Nayak period,

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6014-520: The city for centuries. The city is built on a lagoon in northern Italy. The humidity and the rise of water over the centuries have created a phenomenon known as rising damp. As the lagoon water rises and seeps into the foundation of a building, the water is absorbed and rises up through the walls often causing damage to frescoes. Venetians have become quite adept in the conservation methods of frescoes. The mold aspergillus versicolor can grow after flooding, to consume nutrients from frescoes. The following

6111-400: The complex date from this period — the Tower of Hrelja (1334–1335) and a small church just next to it (1343). The bishop's throne and the richly engraved gates of the monastery also belong to the time. However, the arrival of the Ottomans at the end of the 14th century was followed by numerous raids and a destruction of the monastery in the middle of the 15th century. Thanks to donations by

6208-409: The conquest of Egypt. The four-storey (not counting the basement) residential part of the complex consists of 300 chambers, four chapels, an abbot 's room, a kitchen (noted for its uncommonly large vessels ), a library housing 250 manuscripts and 9,000 old printed matters, and a donor's room. The exterior of the complex, with its high walls of stone and little windows, resembles a fortress more than

6305-422: The countries of the world into regional and subregional groups, based on the M49 coding classification . The partition is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories. In the UN geoscheme, the following countries are classified as southern Europe: as well as the dependent territory : European Travel Commission divides

6402-416: The early 18th century BC. The oldest frescoes done in the buon fresco method date from the first half of the second millennium BCE during the Bronze Age and are to be found among Aegean civilizations , more precisely Minoan art from the island of Crete and other islands of the Aegean Sea . The most famous of these , the Bull-Leaping Fresco , depicts a sacred ceremony in which individuals jump over

6499-493: The eastern Mediterranean. These were all short-lived. The Crusaders would have a profound impact on many parts of Europe. Their sack of Constantinople in 1204 brought an abrupt end to the Byzantine Empire. Though it would later be re-established, it would never recover its former glory. The Crusaders would establish trade routes that would develop into the Silk Road and open the way for the merchant republics of Genoa and Venice to become major economic powers. The Reconquista ,

6596-428: The first painters in the post-classical period to use this technique was the Isaac Master (or Master of the Isaac fresco, and thus a name used to refer to the unknown master of a particular painting) in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi . A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist. A secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster ( secco meaning "dry" in Italian). The pigments thus require

6693-459: The following problems: high inflation, high unemployment, low economic growth and high government debt. By 2000 these economies were stabilized, and sooner or later between 2004 and 2013 some of them joined the European Union, and Slovenia introduced the euro. Italy became a major industrialized country again, due to its post-war economic miracle . The European Union (EU) involved the division of powers, with tax, health, and education handled by

6790-437: The fresco are otherwise known from other Naqada II objects, such as the Gebel el-Arak Knife . It shows the scene of a " Master of Animals ", a man fighting against two lions, individual fighting scenes, and Egyptian and foreign boats. Ancient Egyptians painted many tombs and houses, but those wall paintings are not frescoes. An old fresco from Mesopotamia is the Investiture of Zimri-Lim (modern Syria ), dating from

6887-516: The fresco for future generations. A technique used in the popular frescoes of Michelangelo and Raphael was to scrape indentations into certain areas of the plaster while still wet to increase the illusion of depth and to accent certain areas over others. The eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark 'outlining' of his central figures within his frescoes. In

6984-679: The heirs of Latin, which have spread from the Italian peninsula, and are emblematic of Southwestern Europe (See the Latin Arch .) . By far the most common Romance languages in southern Europe are Italian (spoken by over 50 million people in Italy, southern Switzerland, Malta, San Marino, and Vatican City) and Spanish , which is spoken by over 40 million people in Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar. Other common Romance languages include Portuguese (spoken in Portugal and Andorra), French (spoken in France, Monaco, and

7081-433: The imagistic effects of fresco, David Novros was developing a 50-year practice around the technique. David Novros is an American painter and a muralist of geometric abstraction. In 1968 Donald Judd commissioned Novros to create a work at 101 Spring Street, New York, NY soon after he had purchased the building. Novros used medieval techniques to create the mural by "first preparing a full-scale cartoon, which he transferred to

7178-684: The main agents of European imperialism in the mid-17th century. European overseas expansion led to the rise of colonial empires , producing the Columbian Exchange . The combination of resource inflows from the New World and the Industrial Revolution of Great Britain, allowed a new economy based on manufacturing instead of subsistence agriculture. The period between 1815 and 1871 saw a large number of revolutionary attempts and independence wars . Balkan nations began to regain independence from

7275-519: The main church are situated. The main church of the monastery was erected in the middle of the 19th century. Its architect, Pavel Ioanov, worked on it from 1834 to 1837. The church has five domes, three altars and two side chapels, while one of the most precious items inside is the gold-plated iconostasis , noteds for its wood-carving , the creation of which took five years to by four handicraftsmen: Atanas Teladur, Petar and Georgi Dashini and Dimitar Stanishev. The participation of Petre Filipovich- Garkata

7372-469: The mediterranean islands, but also in southeast France, the Balkan Mediterranean coast and part of Macedonia. In the Mediterranean coastal areas, olive groves , maquis shrubland , and steppes are very common. At higher elevations, or latitudes, they are replaced by chestnut and (often coppiced) mixed forests. The Phoenicians originally expanded from Canaan ports , dominating trade in

7469-493: The medium holding the pigment. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries in reaction to air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles in the plaster. The chemical processes are as follows: In painting buon fresco , a rough underlayer called the arriccio is added to the whole area to be painted and allowed to dry for some days. Many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in

7566-414: The monastery was founded by the hermit Saint Ivan of Rila , whose name it bears, during the rule of Tsar Peter I (927–968). The hermit actually lived in a cave without any material possessions not far from the monastery's location, while the complex was built by his students, who came to the mountains to receive their education. Ever since its creation, Rila Monastery has been supported and respected by

7663-710: The monk lost his sight. "Student Project #RILA 2014–2017" . nasneychev.com . Retrieved 2014-05-01 . Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe . It is also known as Mediterranean Europe , as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea . Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania , Andorra , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Cyprus , Gibraltar , Greece , Italy , Malta , Monaco , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Portugal , San Marino , Serbia , Slovenia , southern France , Spain , Turkey ( East Thrace ), and Vatican City . Southern Europe

7760-406: The mountain ranges of Spain and Italy. Additionally, the north coast of Spain experiences a wetter Atlantic climate. In the highest regions of the Alps, which border southern Europe, even ice cap climate can be found. Some parts of southern Europe have humid subtropical climates with warm and wet summers, unlike typical Mediterranean climates. This climate is mainly found in Italy and Croatia around

7857-559: The nation states, while the EU had charge of market rules, competition, legal standards and environmentalism. The Soviet economic and political system collapsed, leading to the end of communism in the satellite countries in 1989, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself in 1991. European Union expanded to subsequently include many of the formerly communist European countries – Romania and Bulgaria (2007) and Croatia (2013). The Gotthard ,

7954-520: The only surviving secular art from antiquity found in Sri Lanka today. The painting technique used on the Sigiriya paintings is "fresco lustro". It varies slightly from the pure fresco technique in that it also contains a mild binding agent or glue. This gives the painting added durability, as clearly demonstrated by the fact that they have survived, exposed to the elements, for over 1,500 years. Located in

8051-651: The reevaluation of murals in the liturgy . Romanesque churches in Catalonia were richly painted in 12th and 13th century, with both decorative and educational—for the illiterate faithfuls—roles, as can be seen in the MNAC in Barcelona , where is kept a large collection of Catalan romanesque art. In Denmark too, church wall paintings or kalkmalerier were widely used in the Middle Ages (first Romanesque, then Gothic) and can be seen in some 600 Danish churches as well as in churches in

8148-607: The rest of the continent. So, the Sirocco hot wind that originates in the heart of the Sahara blows over Italy , going up to the interior of the Alpine arc ( Po Valley ). The Alps prevent the Sirocco from spreading to the rest of Europe. And, conversely, the Alps and the Pyrenees protect the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas from the rains and icy winds from the south of France such as the Mistral and

8245-408: The sixteenth century this had largely displaced buon fresco , and was used by painters such as Gianbattista Tiepolo or Michelangelo . This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work. The three key advantages of work done entirely a secco were that it was quicker, mistakes could be corrected, and the colours varied less from when applied to when fully dry—in wet fresco there

8342-766: The south of Sweden, which was Danish at the time. One of the rare examples of Islamic fresco painting can be seen in Qasr Amra , the desert palace of the Umayyads in the 8th century Magotez. Fresco painting continued into the Baroque in southern Europe, for churches and especially palaces. Gianbattista Tiepolo was arguably the last major exponent of this tradition, with huge schemes for palaces in Madrid and Würzburg in Germany. Northern Romania (historical region of Moldavia ) boasts about

8439-648: The southern European countries form the EU Med Group . Southern Europe also loosely corresponds to the European part of the Mediterranean Basin . Geographically, southern Europe is the southern portion of the European continent. This definition is relative, although largely based on history, culture, climate , and flora, which is shared across the region. Southern Europe can be subdivided into three subregions : The major islands in southern Europe generally include

8536-442: The southern coast of France , coastal Croatia , coastal Slovenia , southern Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , Albania , and Greece , as well as the Mediterranean islands. Those areas of Mediterranean climate present similar vegetations and landscapes throughout, including dry hills, small plains, pine forests and olive trees. Cooler climates can be found in certain parts of southern European countries, for example within

8633-464: The subject matter of these wall paintings. Rang Mahal of Chamba ( Himachal Pradesh ) is another site of historic Dogri fresco with wall paintings depicting scenes of Draupti Cheer Haran , and Radha- Krishna Leela . This can be seen preserved at National Museum at New Delhi in a chamber called Chamba Rang Mahal . During the Mughal Era, frescos were used for making interior design on walls and inside

8730-444: The surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. On the day of painting, the intonaco, a thinner, smooth layer of fine plaster was added to the amount of wall that was expected to be completed that day, sometimes matching the contours of the figures or the landscape, but more often just starting from the top of the composition. This area is called the giornata ("day's work"), and the different day stages can usually be seen in

8827-447: The true frescoes at Teotihuacan, Orozco, Siqueiros, River and Fernando Leal established the art movement known as Mexican Muralism . There have been comparatively few frescoes created since the 1960s but there are some significant exceptions. The American artist, Brice Marden's monochrome works first shown in 1966 at Bykert Gallery, New York were inspired by frescos and "watching masons plastering stucco walls." While Marden employed

8924-556: The two slopes of the Balkan mountain range. These mountains have, moreover, been a serious handicap to population displacement, focusing southern Europe mainly on the Mediterranean world . The climate and cultures are therefore very specific. Different methods can be used to define southern Europe, including its political , economic , historical , and cultural attributes. Southern Europe can also be defined by its natural features — its geography , climate , and flora . Politically, nine of

9021-430: The use of supplementary organic materials was widespread, if underrecognized. Buon fresco pigment is mixed with room temperature water and is used on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster , called the intonaco (after the Italian word for plaster). Because of the chemical makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco , which itself becomes

9118-432: The western half of southern Europe — e.g., Portugal, Spain, Italy — are generally Roman Catholic . Christians in the eastern half of southern Europe — e.g., Greece, Serbia and North Macedonia — are generally Eastern Orthodox . Islam is widely practiced in Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Turkey and Northern Cyprus . Muslims are a significant minority in several countries of southern Europe- e.g., Greece, Italy, Spain. Judaism

9215-403: The wet plaster using the traditional pouncing technique," the act of passing powdered pigment onto the plaster through tiny perforations in a cartoon. The surface unity of the fresco was important to Novros in that the pigment he used bonded with the drying plaster, becoming part of the wall rather than a surface coating. This site-specific work was Novros's first true fresco, which was restored by

9312-463: Was a considerable change. For wholly a secco work, the intonaco is laid with a rougher finish, allowed to dry completely and then usually given a key by rubbing with sand. The painter then proceeds much as he or she would on a canvas or wood panel. The first known Egyptian fresco was found in Tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis , and dated to c.  3500–3200 BC . Several of the themes and designs visible in

9409-674: Was practiced widely throughout the European continent within the Roman Empire from the 2nd century. In the CIA World Factbook , the description of each country includes information about "Location" under the heading "Geography", where the country is classified into a region. The following countries are included in their classification "southern Europe": In addition, Andorra , Gibraltar , Portugal and Spain are classified as "Southwestern Europe", while Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Romania , Serbia and Turkey (the part west of

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