Grave of a Famous Person: Grace Patricia Kelly, Princess of Monaco - Monaco-Ville, Monaco

Grace Patricia Kelly

Princess of Monaco

Monaco-Ville, 

Monaco

N 43° 43.796 E 007° 25.346

Short Description: 

Actress and Princess Grace Patricia Kelly is buried next to her husband Prince Rainier III in St. Nicholas Cathedral, 4 Rue Colonel Bellando de Castro, Monaco.

Long Description:

The grave of Princess Grace Patricia Kelly is located in a marble crypt on the left (west) side behind the altar of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco.

The crypt is inscribed in Latin:

GRATIA PATRICIA 

PRINCIPIS RAINERII III UXOR

OBIIT ANN. DNI. MCMLXXXII

GRACE PATRICIA

PRINCE RAINIER III WIFE

DIED YEAR OF OUR LORD MCMLXXXII

Grace Kelly was born into a prominent Philadelphia family in 1929. She began a successful acting career at age 20 in New York City theater productions and live drama television broadcasts.

She starred in films and won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Mogambo (1953) and an Academy Award for Best Actress in The Country Girl (1954). She also had leading roles in High Noon (1952), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), and High Society (1956).

Grace Kelly retired from acting to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956. As Princess of Monaco they had three children: Caroline, Albert II, and Stéphanie. She died on September 14, 1982, a day after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage and being involved in an automobile accident.

Nobel Laureate: Dr. Albert Schweitzer - Monaco-Ville, Monaco

Dr. Albert Schweitzer

Monaco-Ville, Monaco

N 43° 43.920 E 007° 25.587

Short Description: 

A monument honoring Nobel Prize for Peace recipient, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, is located near the Bosio pavillion on La Rocher in Monaco-Ville.

Long Description:

A monument honoring Dr. Albert Schweitzer consists of a bronze bust of the physician mounted on a stone cube. The bust and cube rests on a rectangular block which is inscribed in gold lettering:

DOCTEUR A. SCHWEITZER 

1875 - 1965

PRIX NOBEL DE LA PAIX

DOCTOR A. SCHWEITZER 

1875 - 1965

NOBEL PRIZE FOR PEACE

Albert Schweitzer was a theologian, organist, philosopher, and physician. he was born on January 14, 1875 in Kaysersberg, Alsace-Lorraine, Germany which is now part of Haut-Rhin, France. He was educated at the Mulhouse Gymnasium and studied theology at the Kaiser Wilhelm University in Strasbourg. He completed his theology studies and published his PhD thesis at the University of Tübingen in 1899.

In 1899, he became a deacon at the church of Saint Nicholas in Strasbourg. In 1900, he completion his licentiate in theology and was ordained as curate. In 1901 he became provisional Principal of the Theological College of Saint Thomas and in 1903 his appointment was made permanent.

He decided he wanted to go to Africa as a medical missionary. In 1905 began the study of medicine at the University of Strasbourg. After he received his M.D. degree he founded his hospital at Lambaréné in French Equatorial Africa in 1913. In 1917 in 1917 he and his wife were sent to a French internment camp as prisoners of war. They were released in 1918 and Schweitzer spent the next six years preaching in Europe. He returned to Lambaréné in 1924 and spent, virtually the rest of his life there. By the 1960's he expanded the hospital to 70 buildings that had a capacity of 500 patients.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1952. But the award was withheld in that year and was given to him on December 10, 1953. With the prize money, he started the leprosarium at Lambaréné. He died on September 4, 1965 in Lambaréné, Gabon.

An accomplished organist, Dr. Schweitzer became famous for giving benefit concerts and lectures in Europe to support his work in Africa. He lived by the philosophy of  “reverence for life”, and the religious and ethical imperatives of helping others.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1952. But the award was withheld in that year and was given to him on December 10, 1953. With the prize money, he started the leprosarium at Lambaréné. He died on September 4, 1965 in Lambaréné, Gabon.

Monarch: Princess Grace Patricia Kelly of Monaco - Fontvieille, Monaco

Princess Grace Patricia Kelly of Monaco

Fontvieille, Monaco

N 43° 43.624 E 007° 25.134

Short Description: 

A statue of Princess Grace of Monaco is located in the Princess Grace Rose Garden in the Fontvieille section of Monaco.

Long Description:

The Princess Grace Rose Garden was created in 1984 as a memorial to Grace Kelly, wife of Prince Rainier III. The statue of Princess Grace in the rose garden was commissioned by her husband, Prince Rainier III of the House of Grimaldi, shortly after her death following an automobile accident.

The life-size bronze statue depicts the Princess standing amid a pile of limestone rocks in the rose garden created to commemorate her life. She is wearing a sleeveless and strapless gown. He hair is pushed back and arranged into a bun. Her right hand is touching the front of her right shoulder and her left arm is down by her left side. The statue was created by Kees Verkade in 1983.

Grace Kelly was born into a prominent Philadelphia family in 1929. She began a successful acting career at age 20 in New York City theater productions and live drama television broadcasts.

She starred in films and won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Mogambo (1953) and an Academy Award for Best Actress in The Country Girl (1954). She also had leading roles in High Noon (1952), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), and High Society (1956).

Grace Kelly retired from acting to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco on April 18, 1956. They had three children: Caroline, Albert II, and Stéphanie. As Princess she was involved in several philanthropic activities.  She founded AMADE Mondiale, a non-profit NGO which cared for children around the world. She also started the Princess Grace Foundation in 1964 to  improving the arts institutions of Monaco and support local artisans.

Princess Grace of Monaco died on September 14, 1982, a day after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage and being involved in an automobile accident.

Historical Person: Niccolò Machiavelli - Florence, Italy

Niccolò Machiavelli

Florence

Tuscany, Italy

N 43° 46.080 E 011° 15.320

Quick Description: 

A statue of historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, and writer, Niccolò Machiavelli is one of 28 statues of located along the colonnade of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

Long Description:

A life size marble statue of Florentine historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, and writer Niccolò Machiavelli was created by Lorenzo Bartolini and placed in a niche in the colonnade of the Uffizi Gallery. The statues were added to the empty niches, originally created by Giorgio Vasari. The statues were funded by a public subscription program that began in 1834.

Machiavelli is depicted standing wearing a knee length tunic with a long cape over his right shoulder that reaches the floor. He has his right hand on a book which is placed upright on a 2.5' high stand. His left hand touching his chin.

The plinth of the statue is inscribed: NICCOLÒ MACCHIAVELLI. The Uffizi Gallery is aware of the misspelling of Machiavelli name and states in their website: "P.S. if you spot the odd difference between the spelling of the names engraved on the statues and how we spell them now, it was the sculptors who got it wrong."

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 in Florence, Republic of Florence. No official records of Machiavelli's life appear until after the fall of Savonarola's government in 1498 when is was 29 years old. The Florentine republic had been reinstated, and Machiavelli was appointed as secretary of the Second Chancery. He soon became secretary Florence's foreign policy committee, the Council of Ten of War. In this capacity he functioned as a diplomat, traveling throughout Italy and Europe to negotiate with potential allies.

Machiavelli is most famous for his writings, especially The Prince (Il Principe), written in 1513, where is espouses his political philosophy advancing the idea of a "new prince" as opposed to the hereditary system that currently prevailed in much of Europe. Machiavelli thought that public and private morality must be separated in order to rule well. A ruler must be willing to act immorally at certain times. His philosophy has become known as Machiavellianism.

Other works by Machivelli include fictional political, and historical writings. They include:

Comedia di Callimaco: E di Lucretia, comedy, c. 1518
Mandragola (The Mandrake), comedy, 1520,
Vita di Castruccio Castracani, biography, 1520
La Clizia, drama, 1525
Belfagor arcidiavolo, novella, 1527
Dell'arte della guerra (On the Art of War) 1521
Discorsi sulla prima deca di Tito Livio (Discourses on the First 10 books of Livy) 1531
Istorie Fiorentine (History of Florence) 1532

Historic Figure: Leonardo da Vinci - Florence, Italy

Leonardo da Vinci

Florence

Tuscany, Italy

N 43° 46.118 E 011° 15.348

Short Description: 

A statue of Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci is one of 28 statues of located along the colonnade of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

Long Description:

A life size marble statue of Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci was created by by Luigi Pampaloni and placed in a niche in the colonnade of the Uffizi Gallery. The statues were added to the empty niches, originally created by Giorgio Vasari. The statues were funded by a public subscription program that began in 1834.

Leonardo da Vinci is depicted with a a long beard, characteristic beret hat, and sandals. He is wearing knee-length tunic tied with a belt around his waist with an ankle-length cape over his shoulders that covers his right side. Under his left arm he is carrying a square tablet or canvas. His right hand protrudes from his cape and reaches over towards his left shoulder.

The plinth is inscribed: LEONARDO DA VINCI

Leonardo was the quintessential Renaissance man. He excelled as a painter, sculptor, engineer, inventor, scientist and much more. Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. He received an informal education in Latin, geometry and mathematics; but little is known of his childhood.

His professional life began in 1466, at the age of fourteen, when he was apprenticed to the artist Andrea di Cione, (a. k.a. Verrocchio). Leonardo developed into a master artist. Some of his best known paintings are the Mona Lisa, The Adoration of the Magi, Virgin of the Rocks, and the Last Supper. To enhances his ability to paint, Leonardo studied anatomy. He sketched many studies of horses and his "Vitruvian Man" has become a cultural icon.

Leonardo excelled as an engineer and inventor. Leonardo's designed many inventions including: musical instruments, a mechanical knight, hydraulic pumps, reversible crank mechanisms, finned mortar shells, a steam cannon, a parachute, and several flying machines including a helicopter.

Leonardo died at Clos Lucé, a chateau in Amboise, France on May 2, 1519.

Poet: Dante Alighieri - Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Dante Alighieri

Florence 

Tuscany, Italy

N 43° 46.133 E 011° 15.741

Short Description: 

A monument honoring the influential Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages, Dante Alighieri, is located at the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, Italy.

Long Description:

A monument honoring perhaps Italy's most famous poet, Dante Alighieri, stands on the north west corner of the steps of the Basilica di Santa Croce. Dante, as is is commonly known as, is standing on a high marble pedestal looking towards his left shoulder. The life size marble figure is dressed in a robe which is wrapped around his body and held to to his right side by his left hand. He wears on is head is a cap with ear flaps topped with a laurel wreath. Behind his left side is perched an eagle which is looking up at him. The pedestal has four Marzocco lions each holding shields.

The pink marble dado front of the pedestal is inscribed in raised bronze letters:

A DANTE ALIGHIERE 

L'ITALIA 

M·DCCC·LXV 

The statue was erected in 1865 to celebrate the 600 anniversary of the birth of Dante. It  was sculpted by Enrico Pazzi of Ravenna and the pedestal was designed by Luigi del Sarto.

Dante Alighieri was born in the City of Florence in Republic of Florence about 1265. As a young man he he studied Tuscan poetry and the Provençal poetry of the troubadours, such as Arnaut Daniel, and the Latin writers of classical antiquity, including Cicero, Ovid and Virgil.

Dante is best known for writing the epic poem The Divine Comedy between 1308 and 1320. The poem is considered to be one of the greatest works in world literature. It is divided into three parts: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso. It's imaginative Medieval world view of the afterlife has had a profound influence to this day.

Other works by Dante include:

Convivio (1304 and 1307)
Eclogues (1319 -1320)
De Monarchia (1312 - 1313) - banned by the church in 1585.
Le Rime (1296)
La Vita Nuova (1295)
De vulgari eloquentia (1302 - 1305)

Philatelic Photograph: Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore - Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Il Duomo

Florence, 

Tuscany, Italy

N 43° 46.366 E 011° 15.383

Short Description: 

Galileo, Einstein and the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore appear on this stamp from Italy.

Long Description:

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the iconic structure of Florence, Italy. Construction was started in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio. It was completed in 1436 with the fabulous dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th century Gothic Revival facade by Emilio De Fabris.

The stamp was issued for the 14th World Conference on Relativity held in Florence, hence the images.

1. The Dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the iconic symbol of Florence.

2. Galileo prove that gravity makes all objects fall, in a vacuum, at the same velocity regardless of their weight.

3. Einstein transformed the Newtonian concept of gravity with his general theory of relativity as it applies to space-time.

Formula - Gµ(nu) = kTµ(nu) is shorthand for Gµ(nu) = 8µ(nu)G/c4 Tµ(nu)
where Gµ(nu) is the solution to the Einstein Field Equation. (EFT).