Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Heraldic Bees

Marble bee house, LivornoJust beside and slightly behind the statue of Leopold II of Tuscany in “Piazza XX Settembre” you can see an artistic bee house, with a perfectly designed door with hinges and lock.Marble bee house, Livorno, LivornoHeraldic bees have always been a symbol of industriousness and, in a later period, of some Napoleonic heritage. Four larger bees are at the door, while twelve more appear on the side.

See also: Leopold II of Tuscany - Forlorn Grand Duke

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18 comments:

  1. Luis GomezJanuary 19, 2011 at 12:51 AM

    These are great VP. Love seeing them.

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  2. RandyJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:31 AM

    What a great piece of art!

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:34 AM

    What a nice detail ! Made me wonder whether there was a kind of message to be transmitted through this.

    Please have a good Wednesday.

    daily athens

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  4. HalcyonJanuary 19, 2011 at 4:33 AM

    Napoleon did like his bees. The way he depicted them, they looked quite nice. I also like these here.

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  5. JackJanuary 19, 2011 at 4:56 AM

    That is an interesting detail, VP. Bees = industriousness. That association is pretty universal.

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  6. Small City ScenesJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:46 AM

    The bee house does look nice. Many cultures revere the bee. BZzzZZZzzz!! MB

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  7. DinaJanuary 19, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    Heraldic bees! Wonderful pictures of something totally new to me. Thanks!

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  8. cieldequimperJanuary 19, 2011 at 8:32 AM

    No time to research now but weren't bees the symbol of a great family (well before Napoleon's time) in Italy, a family that gave the world a pope?

    This is great!

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  9. VPJanuary 19, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    @ ciel - I doubt that the Barberini family, even if of Tuscan origin, had anything to do with our city.
    About Francesco I de' Medici the History of the Medici family says: His personal coat-of-arms, a swarm of bees around the queen bee without a sting and the two mottoes, “Maiestate tantum” and “Pacis et finium tutela”, signify his intolerance of all forms of violence.
    But our Leopold II was a Habsburg-Lorraine, not a Medici.

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  10. Cezar and LéiaJanuary 19, 2011 at 10:11 AM

    I like bees! :)
    It's such an interesting symbol!
    Thanks for sharing.Hey, an impressive blue sky in this pictures!I loved the contrast colours!
    Léia

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  11. Traveling HawkJanuary 19, 2011 at 10:53 AM

    What an interesting history detail! There are so many things I do not know...

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  12. JackJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    VP, my daughter Susie would be pleased for you to put her benches on your blog. Thanks for asking.

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  13. KaoriJanuary 19, 2011 at 3:39 PM

    The bees are so cute! Reminds me of the bees that always go after Winnie the Pooh ;-D

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  14. Babzy.BJanuary 19, 2011 at 4:51 PM

    But where is the honey ;)

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  15. EG CameraGirlJanuary 20, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    Very attractive, more so than the ordinary bee skeps beekeepers have here.

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  16. UnknownJanuary 20, 2011 at 6:48 PM

    Wonderful details! Well spotted, VP.

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  17. Stefan JanssonJanuary 21, 2011 at 1:36 PM

    Nice details, I recently finished a novel about bees.

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  18. cieldequimperJanuary 23, 2011 at 2:46 PM

    I can't believe I had forgotten it was the Barberinis.

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