AIR CONDITIONING SECOND FLOOR

Marquetry & Inlay Handbook

“Taylor offers a wealth of information about cutting and piecing together veneers and describes the techniques for using either hand or power tools. The second half shows readers how to inlay decorative elements into wood. Taylor is first-rate in making sense of a some-what unforgiving technique. Excellent.”—Library Journal

Exquisite designs, exotic woods, and skills anyone can master! With marquetry (attaching a design to a wood surface), or inlay (inserting small pieces of wood into the grain) even the simplest objects can become artistic and sophisticated pieces. Here's the best, most beautifully illustrated guide for learning a wonderful variety of woodworking techniques and achieving high-quality results. From corner banding and stringing to irregular shapes, circular motifs, rosettes, and purfling, all the processes are broken down and shown in crisp photos, accompanied by easy-to-follow instructions. Best of all, even the beginner can succeed in doing excellent work by following the directions for using either hand or machine tools. Here's the perfect chance to use rich looking, expensive woods, in small, affordable amounts, on projects such as a Box Lid, Writing Desktop, Violin, or Coffee Table. .

Monreale,Sicily (Italy)

Monreale, from "Mons Regalis" (Royal Mountain), is a town of some 25,000 residents located on the slope of Mount Caputo (764 Meters) about 7 kilometers south of Palermo's center. Monreale overlooks the "Conca d'Oro," the beautiful valley beyond Palermo, and the town itself is situated at an altitude of roughly 300 Meters above sea level. No trip to Palermo is truly complete without a visit to Monreale.
Monreale is world-renowned for its cathedral, a dazzling mixture of Arab, Byzantine and Norman artistic styles framed by traditional Romanesque architecture, all combined in a perfect blend of the best that both the Christian and Muslim worlds of the 12th century had to offer. to view some elements of Sicilian church architecture. (Please activate your JAVA to open this link.)The beautiful mosaics in Monreale Cathedral are said to be one of the world's largest displays of this art, surpassed only by Istanbul's famous Basilica of Saint Sofia, once an Orthodox church. (Unfortunately, many of those beautiful mosaics were destroyed when the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453.) Monreale's mosaics emblazon 6,340 square meters of the duomo's interior surface, more than those of the splendid church of Saint Mark in Venice.
The mosaics of "Santa Maria la Nuova," the official name of Monreale Cathedral, are far more extensive than those of the cathedral of Cefalu, and while the mosaics of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo's Norman Palace are of equally exquisite craftsmanship, the latter convey the sense of an elaborate work of art stuffed into a tiny house. In contrast, the mosaics of Monreale's duomo are grandiose, covering practically every inch of the vast interior.
The splendid cloister of the Benedictine abbey alone would make Monreale famous. Located next to the cathedral, these 228 columns, some with mosaic inlay, each with a meticulously stone carved capital, enclose the gardens of the cloister. The capitals themselves depict scenes in Sicily's Norman history, complete with knights and kings. The style of the Norman knight figures evokes that of the knights depicted in the Bayeaux Tapestry, a chronicle of the Battle of Hastings. Historians have determined the date of the introduction of heraldry (coats of arms) in Sicily by the shields of the Monreale knight figures, which lack any heraldic decoration.
The history of Monreale can be summed up in the name of one man: King William II "The Good." The last of the Norman Kings of Sicily was the grandson of the illustrious Roger II. Prior to the construction of Santa Maria la Nuova, it is believed Monreale was a tiny Saracen hamlet named "Ba'lat," where local farmer's would gather to cart their produce to the market, or "souk," down in Palermo. That outdoor market still exists to this day and is known as Ballaro. It is possible that Ballaro's name derives from an Arabic phrase meaning "Ba'lat Market."
During the Norman dominion, Ba'lat, soon to be renamed Monreale, became a favorite hunting ground of the Hauteville monarchs. In those days, deer, boar and wild cats still roamed Sicily, where there were more forests than today, and falconry was popular among the aristocracy.
Walter of the Mill, the English bishop of Palermo, was the head of faction of nobles who sought to influence and control the young king into granting them more power and lands. This faction also wanted to lessen the power and number of the many Muslim ministers and functionaries in William's court. Walter had been William's tutor when the king was a child and during his mother's regency. William was just 13 years old when his father, William I, died in 1166, and until he reached his majority in 1171 he was subject to the regency of his mother, Margaret of Navarre. However, the kingdom was actually controlled by Matthew d'Ajello, the royal vice-chancellor, and Walter, the bishop of Palermo, the latter having attempted to exert undue influence on the William as his tutor. The young sovereign wished to demonstrate his independence through the construction of a grand cathedral.
The first of King William's objectives was to establish himself firmly as sovereign. William had only been crowned in 1171 when he turned eighteen; he was 21 when the construction of the cathedral was begun. The second reason King William wanted the cathedral built was to impress on his subjects, especially the Muslims, the power and riches of his monarchy. William II wanted to inculcate the sense of rule by divine right upon his subjects, thus the cathedral's mosaic of Christ crowning William king.
Many Muslims from Palermo had fled to the hill country surrounding the capital after a rebellion against William's father in 1161. Led by Matthew Bonello, the Norman-Sicilian nobility had begun to support an anti-Arab policy, leaving the Saracens to establish themselves in easily-fortified towns such as San Giuseppe Jato, Corleone and Cin

Maxine Dalsemer works in the Visitor Center of Macy’s and gives an informative tour of the Wanamaker Building. During the tour she talks extensively about the history of the Wanamaker building, its architecture, and the business conducted within. She states that the building is made up of cement and steel with a facade of granite from Maine and an interior of the finest marble. "Wanamaker," she says, "didn’t think of the space in terms of dollars per square foot as most retailers do but was more concerned with the grandeur and beauty of the space."

She points out that the columns on the second floor lining the Grand Court are Corinthian, the ones on the third floor are Ionic, and the columns on all the floors supporting the ceilings are Doric. She brings the tour to a vestibule to show the very intricate mosaics made of Terrazzo Marble tiles that are placed painstakingly to create the Wanamaker’s logo

Ms Dalsemer claims that at one point there were a tennis court and a jogging track on the roof for the benefit of the store’s employees, but that they regrettably have been replaced with air conditioning units. As she walks through the store she reveals that most of the walls that the shoppers see are false walls used to camouflage stock rooms. She leads the tour past what used to be the Egyptian room on the 3rd floor but remorsefully declares that it has been converted to the executive offices. She explains that it once was a sales floor/auditorium that sold and auctioned off pianos. For special occasions the pianos were disassembled and stored to make room for the seating of 700 or more people. The tour is then brought to the Greek Hall also on the 3rd floor. This dark wood-paneled room with Tiffany Stained Glass Windows has intricately carved wood ceilings featuring Hellenistic patterns, molding featuring large plaster cameos of Roman generals, and elaborate inlayed wood designs on the walls.