There are several Bern museums that you can visit in the Swiss capital.
However, if you’re in this lovely city, a World Heritage Site, and the place where Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity, you really must put a visit to the house where he lived on your sightseeing list.
Read on for more information on visiting this Bern museum and for my thoughts on what I learnt here.
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Bern Museums: where is the Einstein house?
The Albert Einstein house is situated in Bern old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It’s on Kramgasse (specifically No.49). This is the main street that runs the length of the old town andwhich means “Grocer’s Alley”. It’s a lovely medieval street and you’re bound to visit it on a trip to Bern.
Kramgasse street
There are long covered alleyways here, with small boutique shops under the arches. There’s also a smattering of cosy cafes and bars in basements, which would be perfect in the cold winter months.
The street is also is interspersed with a number of ornate, colourful, and quite unique fountains. At one end, you can also find the 13th century clock tower (Zytlogge). This is beautiful and lovely when lit up at night.
Bern clock tower in the old town
The Bern clock tower at night
This is another must-see sight in Bern. So much so that you can book tours to learn more about the clock and to go inside. Click here to learn more.
You can also book walking tours of the old town: click here.
Bern Museums: why visit the Einstein House?
Einstein is not the only famous or noteworthy person connected to this Swiss canton. Others include the Nobel Prize winner, Emil Kocher, and the Bond actress Ursula Andress.
However, he is the one that the city – understandably – is most proud of.
This is because it was in Bern that he first sowed the seeds for his famed work on the General Theory of Relativity. He himself said: “Those were good times, the years in Bern”, of his seven years in the Swiss capital.
So when deciding which Bern museum to visit, you really should include one about Einstein.
You can actually learn about Einstein’s time in the Swiss capital in two Bern museums. Aswell as Einstein’s house, there is the Bern Historical Museum.
According to the website, this has “some 550 original objects and replicas, 70 films and numerous animations outline the biography of the genius and his ground-breaking discoveries”.
Outside of the Bern Historical Museum, a Bern Museum you can visit on a trip here
As we had limited time in the capital, we chose to focus on Einstein’s house and the museum that is housed there. However, if I returned, I would definitely visit the Bern Historical Museum as well.
Bern Museums: The Einstein house
Outside Einstein’s House (picture courtesy of AEG Bern)
The Einstein House is the flat that Einstein occupied from 1903 to 1905 with his wife, Mileva Maric. Mileva was herself a promising physicist from Serbia.
The house is very small, so this is a Bern museum that can get easily crowded. I’d therefore recommend visiting early to ensure you get in.
The museum has a large selection of exhibits and photographs from the couple’s life together. On the first floor, these are displayed around the flat as it presumably was laid out at the time.
Inside Einstein’s House (picture courtesy of AEG Bern)
A small table is in the middle of the room where the family would have eaten. Chairs are where they would have relaxed, and there is a writing bureau, and cabinet housing a tea service and coffee pots.
All are overlooked by fascinating old photos of the family that hang on the walls and that depict different chapters of their life.
Upstairs, there is an informative short film. This draws on archive footage, that charts Einstein’s life from his early days through to later years. Make sure you watch this – it is essential viewing. It really brings alive the life of the man.
Bern Museums: What’s interesting about this particular museum?
Einstein’s work
The museum is interesting on several levels. Firstly, for what you learn about Einstein’s great work and the foundations for this.
His first job was with the Swiss Patent Office which he held down whilst simultaneously writing his scientific papers. These included the forerunner to his work on the Theory of Relativity and another which won him a Nobel Prize in 1921.
He then moved into academia at the University of Bern before moving to Zurich. There were other stints in Prague and Berlin, before his later life spent in the United States.
Einstein’s personal life
This Bern Museum is also interesting for the insight it gives you into the personal life of Einstein. I found this utterly engrossing.
We all grow up knowing that Einstein is significant for his scientific work and discoveries. What we know less about (or certainly I knew less about) are the life stories running alongside in the background.
Much of this revolves around Einstein’s personal relationships and the consequences of these. Some of these are very sad. For example, he had a child born out of wedlock and a second relationship while still married.
He married Mileva Malic in 1903, but had in fact had a daughter, Leiserl, with Mileva the previous year. Leiserl was born in Mileva’s home country of Serbia. She was left to grow up with her grandparents, presumably because she was illegitimate.
According to the museum exhibition, Einstein himself never met his daughter. Her sheer existence was kept secret during his lifetime. To this day what happened to Liserl is a mystery.
Mileva and Einstein went on to raise two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard. They remained married until 1919 when Einstein remarried – to his cousin, Elsa Lowenthal. It seems he had forged a relationship with her some time before his marriage to Mileva formally dissolved.
Einstein’s move to the USA
The museum also tells the story of Einstein’s move to the USA. This coincided with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and the difficulties that this presented to him.
Most notably these included the impossibility of working there as a German Jew. Scores of Jewish academics were being forced out of work, Nazi book burnings were taking place, and Einstein was vocalising his views on the treatment of Jews within Germany.
He therefore took up a role at Princeton University in the USA, and it is there that he remained until his death in 1955.
Einstein’s wife
Although this Bern museum is only small, you can learn a great deal in a short time, some of it possibly unexpected. And whilst I went to learn more about Einstein, I came away with a long lasting impression of his wife.
I developed an equal admiration for his wife, partly because of all that she seemed to go through during her time with Einstein. This included a child that was given up, a broken marriage and the forfeiture of her own academic ambitions.
It also seems that Mileva may have been important not only for her support of Einstein’s ambitions, but more directly for her role in actually furthering these.
Some think that letters between the couple show her contribution. It is thought that she contributed in the early days to Einstein’s ground-breaking work and that her own expertise in physics is reflected in some of his work.
So, in addition to learning a lot about Einstein himself, I learnt a lot about the wife of one of the world’s greatest scientists. I came away with a real sense that the adage about there being a great woman behind every man was really true of Mileva.
Bern Museums: visiting the Einstein house
Opening times
You can visit the house between 1st February and 21st December. Exceptions include Easter, Pentecost and Switzerland’s National Day (1st August).
Opening times are 9am to 5pm. Entry costs CHF 6 for adults (reduced rates apply for students, pensioners and those between 8 and 15 years: CHF 4.50, 4.50 and 3, respectively).
Getting to Bern
Bern has an airport and you can catch flights here from various cities in Germany, as well as from London (City airport), Vienna and Palma.
However, it is smaller than both the Swiss airports in Geneva and Zurich that have more regular flights. Bern is just over an hour via train from Zurich airport and around two hours to Geneva airport. You might therefore find it more convenient to catch a flight to one of these airports.
You can also visit Bern from other Swiss cities. Lausanne and Lucerne are both around an hour away by train. Interlaken is around 45 mnutes and Nuechatel just under 50 minutes.
If public transport is not your thing, you can also book day trips to Bern. Click here for ideas.
Other Bern Museums to visit
Aside from the history museums, there are other Bern museums to visit.
These include a fine arts museum, a communications museum and a Swiss alpine museum – see http://www.museen-bern.ch/en/for further information.
If you enjoy short trips to Europe, you may also find some of my other posts of interest:
La casa se encuentra fuera de las murallas de Génova del siglo xiv. Durante el Renacimiento, la zona se convierte en una zona densamente construida, formada principalmente por viviendas abiertas al público.2
Colón nació en 1451 y los documentos históricos indicaban que Colón vivió, entre 1455 y 1470 aproximadamente, en la zona destruida por el bombardeo de 1864. En ese momento, la casa tenía dos o quizás tres pisos, con una tienda en la planta baja, y la puerta de entrada a la izquierda de la tienda.3
Según el historiador Marcello Staglieno, la casa original fue destruida durante el bombardeo francés de Génova en 1684. Fue reconstruida a principios del siglo xviii sobre las ruinas de la casa, que por la documentación coetánea, se consideró como la casa original y de la que quedaban sólo los cimientos.4 La estructura reconstruida tenía una altura de cinco pisos. Sin embargo, los pisos superiores se construyeron colocando sus vigas sobre los edificios vecinos. En el derribo de los edificios vecinos hacia el año 1900, en el marco de la construcción de la Vía XX Settembre, se retiraron los pisos superiores de este edificio, y se redujo a la altura actual de dos pisos.1
Actualmente el edificio funciona como museo, bajo la gestión de la asociación cultural genovesa "Porta Soprana". Su ubicación céntrica y el aparcamiento cercano le convierten en un lugar de encuentro popular entre los genoveses.2
Retrato de hombre, óleo sobre lienzo de Sebastiano del Piombo, fechado en 1519, con una leyenda de dudosa autenticidad que lo identifica como el ligur Colombo, «el primero en entrar en barco en el mundo de las Antípodas» (Nueva York, Metropolitan Museum).1 No se conocen retratos auténticos de Colón.2
Imagen de los participantes en la Conferencia de Génova en 1922. El primer ministro británico Lloyd George se encuentra en la primera fila, en el lado izquierdo.
La Conferencia de Génova fue la Segunda Conferencia Monetaria Internacional convocada por la Sociedad de Naciones que tuvo lugar en la ciudad italiana de Génova del 10 de abril al 19 de mayo de 1922. Se reunieron allí 34 países en búsqueda de acuerdos para la reconstrucción del comercio y el sistema financiero internacional, tras la Primera Guerra Mundial. La propuesta que se derivó de la conferencia fue la instauración del denominado patrón cambio oro.1
Después de la Primera Guerra Mundial el sistema monetario internacional había quedado totalmente desarticulado. Los países luchaban por retornar al patrón oro, pero había que resolver el tema de las paridades entre las monedas y los déficit fiscales que complicaban el retorno al sistema monetario vigente antes de la guerra.
El sistema del “patrón oro” había funcionado con eficacia durante medio siglo, prácticamente hasta el comienzo de la primera guerra mundial en 1914, había logrado mantener los precios estables a pesar de la gran expansión de la producción, y había asegurado el equilibrio de los compromisos exteriores; de ahí la estabilidad monetaria de los países que lo habían adoptado. Al finalizar la guerra, los países estaban convencidos de que el régimen del patrón oro era indispensable para el equilibrio de la economía, por lo que decidieron restablecerlo inmediatamente, a pesar de las dificultades que este restablecimiento pudiera producirles.
En abril y mayo de 1922 se reunió en Génova un grupo de expertos en temas monetarios que puso fin al mecanismo de ajuste del patrón oro que operaba antes de la Primera Guerra Mundial, y dio nacimiento a un nuevo sistema monetario internacional: el patrón cambio oro. El paso del patrón oro al patrón cambio oro hacía más "elástica" la oferta monetaria de los países, puesto que autorizaba a los bancos centrales a mantener reservas no solamente en oro sino en monedas convertibles a oro, y también los autorizaba a intervenir en el mercado para "moderar" las grandes fluctuaciones del precio del metal.
El plan resultante de la Conferencia de Génova establecía la convertibilidad al oro, la creación de bancos centrales independientes, la disciplina de la política fiscal, la asistencia financiera a los países en determinadas situaciones y la cooperación de los bancos centrales en la administración del sistema financiero internacional, todas estas medidas se materializaron en las siguientes resoluciones:2
« El próximo paso será determinar y dar el valor en oro de las unidades monetarias. Este paso puede darse en cada país solamente cuando las circunstancias económicas lo permitan, ya que el país tendrá que decidir entonces el problema de si adopta la vieja paridad o una nueva que se aproxime al valor de cambio de la unidad monetaria en ese momento.
Estos pasos pueden por sí mismos ser suficientes para establecer un patrón oro, pero el éxito de su mantenimiento será materialmente promovido, no solamente por la colaboración propuesta de los bancos centrales, sino además por una convención internacional a ser adoptada en el momento propicio. El propósito de la convención será centralizar y coordinar la demanda de oro, y de esta manera evitar las grandes fluctuaciones en el poder adquisitivo del oro, que de otro modo podrían resultar de los esfuerzos competitivos simultáneos de un cierto número de países para asegurarse reservas metálicas. La convención debe crear alguna forma de economizar el uso de oro mediante el mantenimiento de reservas en la forma de balances internacionales, como, por ejemplo, el patrón cambio oro, o un sistema de compensaciones internacionales.
Los gobiernos de los países participantes declaran que la restauración del patrón oro es su último objetivo, y están de acuerdo en llevar adelante, tan rápido como puedan, el siguiente programa:
Para tener, un control de su propia moneda cada gobierno debe enfrentar sus gastos anuales sin recurrir a la creación de medios fiduciarios o créditos para ese propósito
El próximo paso será, tan rápido como las circunstancias económicas lo permitan, determinar y dar el valor en oro de la unidad monetaria. Este no tiene que ser necesariamente la paridad oro anterior.
El valor del oro así fijado debe hacerse efectivo en un mercado cambiario libre.
El mantenimiento del valor oro del circulante debe asegurarse mediante la provisión de una adecuada reserva de activos acordados, que no tienen por qué ser necesariamente oro.
Cuando el progreso lo permita, algunos de los países participantes establecerán un mercado libre del oro y se convertirán en centros de oro.
Un país participante, además de las reservas en oro de que disponga dentro, puede mantener en otros países participantes reservas de activos acordados en la forma de saldos bancarios, billetes, títulos de corto plazo u otros recursos líquidos adecuados.
La práctica usual de un país participante será comprar y vender divisas en otros países participantes dentro de una fracción prescripta de paridad, a cambio de su propia moneda.
La Convención estará así basada en un patrón cambio oro. La condición para continuar siendo miembro será el mantenimiento de la moneda nacional en su valor prescripto. Una falla en este respecto habilitará la suspensión del derecho de mantener saldos de reservas en otros países participantes.
Cada país será responsable por las medidas legislativas y de otro tipo necesarias para mantener el valor internacional de su moneda a la par, y será totalmente libre de diseñar y aplicar los medios, sea a través de la regulación del crédito por parte de los bancos centrales o por otro camino.
El crédito será regulado, no solamente con el objetivo de mantener la moneda a la par respecto de otras, sino también con el objetivo de evitar fluctuaciones excesivas en el precio del oro. No se contempla, sin embargo, que la discreción de los bancos centrales esté encadenada por ninguna regla definitiva diseñada para este propósito, sino que sus colaboraciones hayan estado aseguradas fuera de la competencia de los países participantes.»3
Con estas resoluciones, el Pacto de Génova sugería, en definitiva, la adopción de un sistema monetario que permitiera a los gobiernos regular la cantidad de dinero con el fin de mantener "estable" el poder adquisitivo del dinero, evitando "grandes" fluctuaciones en el precio del oro; el nuevo sistema monetario también permitiría a los gobiernos regular las tasas de interés a través de operaciones de mercado abierto, ya que los bancos centrales podrían emitir billetes no solamente contra oro, sino además contra divisas convertibles a oro y contra títulos públicos y privados
Acerca de los efectos monetarios de la guerra, John Maynard Keynes era escéptico sobre las posibilidades de restablecer el patrón oro con las condiciones prebélicas y consideraba que su restauración no proporcionaría una cabal estabilidad de los precios internos, y solamente podría darse la estabilidad en los cambios externos si los demás países también lo restablecían.
En 1923, Keynes hacía hincapié que en el mundo de la primera posguerra donde predominaban del papel moneda y el crédito, no había otra salida que el dinero regulado por las autoridades monetarias, y apuntaba a una visión que en el siglo xx se volvería dominante e iría en contra de la ortodoxia del XIX.4
Sin embargo, la mayoría de los economistas de reputación internacional saludaron favorablemente la adopción del nuevo sistema monetario. En la profesión empezó a predominar la idea de que la meta de toda política monetaria debería ser la estabilidad en el "nivel" de precios.
De 1924 a 1928 una gran cantidad de países retornó al Patrón Oro, pero, tal y como se acordara en la Conferencia de Génova de 1922, la convertibilidad no sería total, así que el sistema operaría como un Patrón Cambios Oro, ya que el preciado metal solo se utilizaría para las liquidaciones internacionales y para regular el cambio. Se desmonetizaba el oro en su uso como monedas nacionales; las transacciones físicas se efectuaban con lingotes.
La vuelta del Reino Unido al sistema de anclaje al oro ocurrió en abril de 1925, con una paridad similar a la existente antes de la guerra. Una condición fundamental para su retorno era la deflación de los precios con respecto a los de Estados Unidos, lo que originó un desempleo considerable. No obstante, Londres comprendía que mientras más demorara su entrada, más probable sería que las reservas de los países recientemente incorporados irían a ser depositadas en Nueva York.
En 1929 cuarenta y seis naciones eran parte del sistema. China permanecía en el Patrón Plata, mientras que la Unión Soviética, Turquía, Portugal y España mantenían tipos de cambio flotantes. Sin embargo, el Patrón Cambios Oro apenas duró seis años: En septiembre de 1931 el Reino Unido suspendió la convertibilidad de las libras esterlinas en oro. Cerca de treinta países abandonaron el Patrón Oro entre 1929 y 1933. A partir de diciembre de 1931 Estados Unidos enfrentó importantes salidas de oro en defensa de su precio, que iban dirigidas fundamentalmente a Francia, y en abril de 1933 decidió abandonar este sistema cambiario, como parte de un paquete de medidas dirigidas a aumentar los precios domésticos.
Was Columbus using old Templar maps when he crossed the Atlantic? At first blush, the navigator and the fighting monks seem like odd bedfellows. But once I began ferreting around in this dusty corner of history, I found some fascinating connections. Enough, in fact, to trigger the plot of my latest novel, The Swagger Sword.
To begin with, most history buffs know there are some obvious connections between Columbus and the Knights Templar. Most prominently, the sails on Columbus’ ships featured the unique splayed Templar cross known as the cross pattée (pictured here is the Santa Maria):
Additionally, in his later years Columbus featured a so-called “Hooked X” in his signature, a mark believed by researchers such as Scott Wolter to be a secret code used by remnants of the outlawed Templars (see two large X letters with barbs on upper right staves pictured below):
Other connections between Columbus and the Templars are less well-known. For example, Columbus grew up in Genoa, bordering the principality of Seborga, the location of the Templars’ original headquarters and the repository of many of the documents and maps brought by the Templars to Europe from the Middle East. Could Columbus have been privy to these maps? Later in life, Columbus married into a prominent Templar family. His father-in-law, Bartolomeu Perestrello (a nobleman and accomplished navigator in his own right), was a member of the Knights of Christ (the Portuguese successor order to the Templars). Perestrello was known to possess a rare and wide-ranging collection of maritime logs, maps and charts; it has been written that Columbus was given a key to Perestrello’s library as part of the marriage dowry. After marrying, Columbus moved to the remote Madeira Islands, where a fellow resident, John Drummond, had also married into the Perestrello family. Drummond was a grandson of Scottish explorer Prince Henry Sinclair, believed to have sailed to North America in 1398. It is, accordingly, likely that Columbus had access to extensive Templar maps and charts through his familial connections to both Perestrello and Drummond.
Another little-known incident in Columbus’ life sheds further light on the navigator’s possible ties to the Templars. In 1477, Columbus sailed to Galway, on the west coast of Ireland, from where the legendary Brendan the Navigator supposedly set sale in the 6th century on his journey to North America. While there, Columbus prayed at St. Nicholas’ Church, a structure built over an original Templar chapel dating back to around the year 1300. St. Nicholas’ Church has been compared by some historians to Scotland’s famous Roslyn Chapel, complete with Templar tomb, Apprentice Pillar, and hidden Templar crosses. (Recall that Roslyn Chapel was built by another grandson—not Drummond—of the aforementioned Prince Henry Sinclair.) According to his diary, Columbus also famously observed “Chinese” bodies floating into Galway harbor on driftwood, which may have been what first prompted him to turn his eyes westward. A granite monument along the Galway waterfront, topped by a dove (Columbus meaning ‘dove’ in Latin), commemorates this sighting, the marker reading: On these shores around 1477 the Genoese sailor Christoforo Colombo found sure signs of land beyond the Atlantic.
In fact, as the monument text hints, Columbus may have turned more than just his eyes westward. A growing body of evidence indicates he actually crossed the north Atlantic in 1477. Columbus wrote in a letter to his son: “In the year 1477, in the month of February, I navigated 100 leagues beyond Thule [to an] island which is as large as England. When I was there the sea was not frozen over, and the tide was so great as to rise and fall 26 braccias.” We will turn later to the mystery as to why any sailor would venture into the north Atlantic in February. First, let’s examine Columbus’ statement. Historically, ‘Thule’ is the name given to the westernmost edge of the known world. In 1477, that would have been the western settlements of Greenland (though abandoned by then, they were still known). A league is about three miles, so 100 leagues is approximately 300 miles. If we think of the word “beyond” as meaning “further than” rather than merely “from,” we then need to look for an island the size of England with massive tides (26 braccias equaling approximately 50 feet) located along a longitudinal line 300 miles west of the west coast of Greenland and far enough south so that the harbors were not frozen over. Nova Scotia, with its famous Bay of Fundy tides, matches the description almost perfectly. But, again, why would Columbus brave the north Atlantic in mid-winter? The answer comes from researcher Anne Molander, who in her book, The Horizons of Christopher Columbus, places Columbus in Nova Scotia on February 13, 1477. His motivation? To view and take measurements during a solar eclipse. Ms. Molander theorizes that the navigator, who was known to track celestial events such as eclipses, used the rare opportunity to view the eclipse elevation angle in order calculate the exact longitude of the eastern coastline of North America. Recall that, during this time period, trained navigators were adept at calculating latitude, but reliable methods for measuring longitude had not yet been invented. Columbus, apparently, was using the rare 1477 eclipse to gather date for future western exploration. Curiously, Ms. Molander places Columbus specifically in Nova Scotia’s Clark’s Bay, less than a day’s sail from the famous Oak Island, legendary repository of the Knights Templar missing treasure.
The Columbus-Templar connections detailed above were intriguing, but it wasn’t until I studied the names of the three ships which Columbus sailed to America that I became convinced the link was a reality. Before examining these ship names, let’s delve a bit deeper into some of the history referred to earlier in this analysis. I made a reference to Prince Henry Sinclair and his journey to North American in 1398. The Da Vinci Code made the Sinclair/St. Clair family famous by identifying it as the family most likely to be carrying the Jesus bloodline. As mentioned earlier, this is the same family which in the mid-1400s built Roslyn Chapel, an edifice some historians believe holds the key—through its elaborate and esoteric carvings and decorations—to locating the Holy Grail. Other historians believe the chapel houses (or housed) the hidden Knights Templar treasure. Whatever the case, the Sinclair/St. Clair family has a long and intimate historical connection to the Knights Templar. In fact, a growing number of researchers believe that the purpose of Prince Henry Sinclair’s 1398 expedition to North America was to hide the Templar treasure (whether it be a monetary treasure or something more esoteric such as religious artifacts or secret documents revealing the true teachings of the early Church). Researcher Scott Wolter, in studying the Hooked X mark found on many ancient artifacts in North American as well as on Columbus’ signature, makes a compelling argument that the Hooked X is in fact a secret symbol used by those who believed that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and produced children. (See The Hooked X, by Scott F. Wolter.) These believers adhered to a version of Christianity which recognized the importance of the female in both society and in religion, putting them at odds with the patriarchal Church. In this belief, they had returned to the ancient pre-Old Testament ways, where the female form was worshiped and deified as the primary giver of life.
It is through the prism of this Jesus and Mary Magdalene marriage, and the Sinclair/St. Clair family connection to both the Jesus bloodline and Columbus, that we now, finally, turn to the names of Columbus’ three ships. Importantly, he renamed all three ships before his 1492 expedition. The largest vessel’s name, the Santa Maria, is the easiest to analyze: Saint Mary, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Pinta is more of a mystery. In Spanish, the word means ‘the painted one.’ During the time of Columbus, this was a name attributed to prostitutes, who “painted” their faces with makeup. Also during this period, the Church had marginalized Mary Magdalene by referring to her as ‘the prostitute,’ even though there is nothing in the New Testament identifying her as such. So the Pinta could very well be a reference to Mary Magdalene. Last is the Nina, Spanish for ‘the girl.’ Could this be the daughter of Mary Magdalene, the carrier of the Jesus bloodline? If so, it would complete the set of women in Jesus’ life—his mother, his wife, his daughter—and be a nod to those who opposed the patriarchy of the medieval Church. It was only when I researched further that I realized I was on the right track: The name of the Pinta before Columbus changed it was the Santa Clara, Portuguese for ‘Saint Clair.’
So, to put a bow on it, Columbus named his three ships after the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the carrier of their bloodline, the St. Clair girl. These namings occurred during the height of the Inquisition, when one needed to be extremely careful about doing anything which could be interpreted as heretical. But even given the danger, I find it hard to chalk these names up to coincidence, especially in light of all the other Columbus connections to the Templars. Columbus was intent on paying homage to the Templars and their beliefs, and found a subtle way of renaming his ships to do so.
Given all this, I have to wonder: Was Columbus using Templar maps when he made his Atlantic crossing? Is this why he stayed south, because the maps showed no passage to the north? If so, and especially in light of his 1477 journey to an area so close to Oak Island, what services had Columbus provided the Templars in exchange for these priceless charts?
It is this research, and these questions, which triggered my novel, The Swagger Sword. If you appreciate a good historical mystery as much as I, I think you’ll enjoy the story.
La iglesia de Santa María Magdalena (en italiano: chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena, conocida habitualmente como La Maddalena, es una iglesia de Venecia situada en el sestiere de Cannaregio, que constituye uno de los ejemplos más conocidos de la arquitectura neoclásica veneciana.
Se tienen noticias de un edificio religioso construido en el mismo lugar en 1222, propiedad de la familia patricia Baffo (o Balbo). Tras la firma en 1356 de la paz entre Génova y Venecia, el día de Santa Magdalena se convirtió en festivo por decisión del Senado veneciano y la iglesia fue ampliada, incluida también una torre de guardia dedicada a campanario.
A partir de 1763 la iglesia fue reconstruida completamente con una planta circular, según el diseño de Tommaso Temanza, que trasladó su orientación hacia el campo. Las obras terminaron en 1790 bajo la dirección de Giannantonio Selva. En 1810 se revocó su papel de iglesia parroquial y en 1820 fue cerrada, para ser reabierta a continuación como oratorio. En 1888 se demolió el campanario, que estaba en peligro de derrumbe. Actualmente es una iglesia rectorial dependiente de la parroquia de San Marcuola (vicaría de Cannaregio-Estuario, patriarcado de Venecia).
De gran valor arquitectónico es el portal, que es en realidad un pronaos acortado, precedido por una breve escalinata y formado por un alto tímpano triangular sostenido por dos parejas de semicolumnas con capitel y entablamentojónicos. Sobre la puerta de entrada hay una luneta con un ojo de la providencia representado dentro de un triángulo entrelazado con un círculo en bajorrelieve, considerado a menudo un símbolo masónico (parece que la familia Baffo pertenecía al orden templario).2 En el exterior del ábside se encuentra, en el paramento de mármol, un bajorrelieve que data del siglo xv y representa una Virgen con el Niño y santos.
En el interior, la planta circular se transforma en hexagonal con cuatro capillas laterales (los otros dos lados están formados por la capilla mayor y por la entrada principal), enmarcadas por arcos de medio punto. El presbiterio cuadrado se desarrolla en anchura con dos exedras laterales, recordando una tradición véneta iniciada por la iglesia del Redentor.1 El entablamento de la gran cúpula hemisférica con linterna está sostenido por doce columnas jónicasgeminadas, entre las cuales se abren pequeñas hornacinas semicirculares a dos niveles: las superiores están ocupadas por estatuas que representan a las santas Magdalena e Inés y los profetas Isaías y David. El interior fue concebido por Temanza como un gran espacio blanco, terminado en marmorino.
La iglesia conserva importantes cuadros del siglo xviii, entre ellos la Última cena de Giandomenico Tiepolo y la Aparición de la Virgen a san Simón Stock de Giuseppe Angeli, además de lienzos del siglo xviii realizados por la escuela de Giovanni Battista Piazzetta.
En 2005, en el curso de restauraciones consistentes en la retirada del enyesado aplicado en el siglo xix para sacar a la luz el originario marmorino del siglo xviii, se descubrió, en la luneta que hay sobre el altar, un fresco alegórico monocromo de Giandomenico Tiepolo que representa la Fe y que originalmente estaba sobre el cuadro de la Última Cena.3
El Campo della Maddalena, situado en el barrio de Cannaregio, es una preciosa plaza situada cerca de una de las principales calles de esta zona de la ciudad, Rio Terà della Maddalena.
Allí se encuentra uno de los principales ejemplos de la arquitectura neoclásica veneciana, la iglesia de Santa María Maddalena, más conocida como La Maddalena. Se trata de una de las iglesias más amadas por los venecianos, pues el día de Santa Maddalena se conmemora la firma de la paz entre las Repúblicas de Génova y Venecia en 1356.
Otro edificio singular que se encuentra en esta plaza es el palacio
En el que el poeta Innocente Giuseppe Lanza (1893-1963) fundó la Societa' Lunatica Benefica.
La Maddalena and Masonic Symbolism. This small church in Cannaregio, is notable for its unusual round form and masonic symbolism.
Designed by Tommaso Temanza, with a circular plan inspired by the Pantheon in Rome; the current small church of Santa Maria Maddalena, was begun in 1763 and completed in 1780.
It is rarely open for visits, except during occasional exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale. To some, it appears to amplify the mysteries of this church.
It is located in a small campo, that opens out on to the main pedestrian “Strada Nuova” through-route; linking Rialto with the Railway Station.
Location
History
Links to Freemasonry
Brief development of Freemasonry in Venice
Links (internal-external)
Santa Maria Maddalena in the district of Cannaregio, usually referred to simply as “La Maddalena”.
LOCATION
Santa Maria Maddalena in the district of Cannaregio, usually referred to simply as “La Maddalena”. It is located in the small Campo di Maddalena, which opens onto the main “Strada Nuova” through route; linking Rialto with the Railway Station.
This section of the Strada Nuova, is called the “Rio Terra Maddalena” and was originally a filled-up canal (or Rio Terra).
The closest waterbus stop is “San Marcuola” on the Grand Canal, just a few minutes walk to the south-west.
La Maddalena and Masonic Symbolism – History
The first church here was built in 1220, by the patrician Balbo family; probably on the site of a fortified house-castle. There is some evidence of the family’s association with the Knights Templar. Traces of the path left by the Templars’, are still visible today. In fact, they were still in existence in Venice, until the order was disbanded in 1312. Legend has it, that their fabled treasure was hidden for some time, on the Venetian island of St. Giorgio in Alga.
Above: Note the Bell-Tower, that was demolished in 1888, features in an old print.
After the end of the four wars, that led Venice against Genoa and ended in 1356; the Senate decided each year to hold public celebrations, in honour of St Mary Magdalene.
It was decided to enlarge the church, including a watchtower; which was turned into a bell tower. The bell tower was demolished in 1888.
The church was restored in the early 18th century, but by 1780, it was entirely rebuilt in a neoclassical design by Tommaso Temanza, with a circular plan inspired by the Pantheon and Santo Stefano Rotondo, in Rome. Temanza, was better known as a theorist and historian and this is one of his few completed buildings.
This makes it the last religious building undertaken, under an independent Venetian Republic. The only other round churches in Venice are La Salute and San Simeon Piccolo.
During French rule, the church lost its status in 1810 as a parish church, in 1820 it was closed; to again serve as an oratory. The bell tower was demolished in 1888. Today, the church belongs to the municipality of San Marcuola.
The present interior has a compact form that is dodecagonal. with four side chapels and a presbytery. Twelve ionic pillars that symbolise the apostles, support the dome. Four Ionic half-columns support the tympanum and attic.
In the lunette of the portal, is an allegorical representation of the Solomon Islands and divine wisdom. Right next to the entrance in the interior, is a painting by Giandomenico Tiepolo, of “The Last Supper”.
Outside the apse, is a 15th-century bas relief of the Madonna with Child.
La Maddalena and Masonic Symbolism – Links to Freemasonry
The most notable feature is the flat portal, with probable masonic symbolism of “the eye within the triangle” over the doorway.
Obviously round churches have existed since antiquity and the “eye within the triangle”, has long been a Christian symbol. However, there is further strong associations with Freemasonry here.
Thomas Temanza, frequented the circle of Andrea Memmo, a procurator of San Marco, who, together with his brothers Bernardo and Lorenzo; were amongst the first most well-known Freemasons in Venice. They were initiated by non-other than Casanova!
Also, on the pediment is the inscription “Sapienta aedificavit sibi domun”, which might be translated to read ”Wisdom built this House Herself” – a motto that appears to deny the role of God.
Further evidence of Freemasonry can be seen inside.
Temanza’s church originally, had only a single altar, “for a single Supreme Being”; as the Masonic creed urged. Contrary to custom in other Venetian churches, there were no altars to the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, or any other saint. Two additional altars were later added, to erase this Masonic influence.
Another piece of evidence, is that inside is the tombstone of Tomasso Temanza, bearing the date of his death (1789), a compass, ruler and set-square. Admittedly, the tools of his architectural profession; they are also well-known Masonic symbols.
Brief development of Freemasonry in Venice
It was the “Age of the Enlightenment” and the rationalism associated with the Masons, was in vogue. In the 18th century, Venice had an influential fraternity of freemasons.
In 1746, a lodge was founded in Venice, which became associated with Giacomo Casanova, Carlo Goldoni, and Francesco Griselini. It survived until 1755, when the intervention of the “Inquisition”; led to the arrest of Casanova and the dissolution of the lodge.
Above: The tombstone of Tomasso Temanza, bearing the date of his death (1789), a compass, ruler and set-square.
New lodges were founded in 1772, with warrants from the Premier Grand Lodge of England, in Venice and Verona, on the initiative of the Secretary of the Senate, Peter Gratarol; which remained active until 1777.
The Rite of Strict Observance established a chapter in Padua in 1781, which opened another in Vicenza shortly afterwards.
All Freemasonry was suppressed in 1785.
The start of the unification process in 1859, saw a revival in Freemasonry. Giuseppe Garibaldi, a leader of Italian unification, was an active mason and a keen supporter of the craft. In the 1920’s, Freemasonry was again suppressed under Fascism; but revived again after the fall of Benito Mussolini.
For those interested in the mysterious, mythical or dark side of Venetian history and culture; I have put together a list of links below to those posts that include elements of Christian Symbolism, Sacred Geometry, Kabbalah, Freemasonry and Alchemy, which I hope to expand.
Tema anterior
Kramgasse street
Bern clock tower in the old town
The Bern clock tower at night
Outside of the Bern Historical Museum, a Bern Museum you can visit on a trip here
Outside Einstein’s House (picture courtesy of AEG Bern)
Inside Einstein’s House (picture courtesy of AEG Bern)
