No. 1

SAN FRANCESCO, ASSISI

The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscan Order, in Assisi, Italy, the birthplace of St. Francis. The burial place of St. Francis, the basilica is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. The basilica, which was begun in 1228, comprises two churches known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The choir of the upper basilica has 102 wooden stalls with carvings and marquetry by Domenico Indovini (1501). In their centre, on a raised platform, stands the papal cathedra. The most famous decorations are the series of 28 frescoes ascribed to the young Giotto along the lower part of the upper basilica’s nave. Giotto used the Legenda Maior, the biography of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure, to reconstruct the major events in the life of St. Francis. The paintings are so vivid, as if Giotto had been a witness to these events. According to Vasari, they were executed in the period between 1296 and 1304. Photography by Achim Bednorz.

 

No. 2

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL, LINCOLN

The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or St. Mary‘s Cathedral, is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln, England, and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. With its 160 meter high tower, it was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years (1300–1549). Lincoln Cathedral features two major rose windows, which are rare features in medieval English architecture. On the north side of the cathedral there is the “Dean’s Eye” which survives from the original structure of the building, and on the south side there is the “Bishop’s Eye” which was most likely rebuilt circa 1325-1350. The cathedral was used for the filming of The Da Vinci Code (based on the book of the same name). Filming took place mainly within the cloisters and chapter house of the cathedral, and remained a closed set. Photography by Achim Bednorz.

 

No. 3

SAINTE CHAPELLE, PARIS

La Sainte-Chapelle - “The Holy Chapel” - is a Gothic chapel on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. It was built between 1244 and 1248 and is perhaps the high point of the full tide of the rayonnante period in Gothic architecture. The Sainte-Chapelle, the palatine chapel in the courtyard of the royal palace on the Île de la Cité, was designed to house precious relics: Christ’s crown of thorns, the Image of Edessa and thirty other relics of Christ. Later, a piece of the True Cross and other relics were added. Thus the building in Paris, consecrated on the 26th April 1248, was like a precious reliquary: even the stonework was painted with medallions of saints and martyrs in the quatrefoils of the dado arcade, which was hung with rich textiles. The most visually beautiful aspects of the chapel, and considered the best of their type in the world, are its stained glass windows, for which the stonework is a delicate framework. Rose windows were added to the upper chapel in the fifteenth century. Photography by Achim Bednorz.

 

SIZE OF FINISHED PUZZLES:

1,000 piece: 50 x 66.5cm or 19 3/4" x 26 1/4"

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