fredricktoo’s posterous

from the photographer:

A cold February Day last year, but such an enjoyable trip.

The three streets known as the Trident were the most important urban reconstruction realized during the Renaissance, becoming the European model for urban renewal in the Baroque Period. Three streets diverged from the obelisk in Piazza del Popolo and they directed pilgrims arriving from the north towards the three principal itineraries of their visit:
Via Ripetta, the ancient via Leonina, went to the Tiber and on to Ponte Sant'Angelo and then to St. Peter's. Via del Babuino, the ancient Via Clemenza, went off in the direction of Piazza di Spagna and eventually to Santa Maria Maggiore. Via del Corso, the ancient Via Lata, crossed the entire Campus Martius to reach the papal palace in Piazza Venezia and then continued on to San Giovanni in Laterano.
The final arrangement of these three streets leading off Piazza del Popolo was achieved in the 17th century with the building of 2 churches that the pope, Alexander VII, wanted to be twin churches.
The architects, however, Bernini and Fontana adapted the churches to the spaces allotted - looking from the piazza, Santa Maria dei Miracoli is on the left with its circular plan and octagonal dome; the other church, Santa Maria di Montesanto, has an elliptical plan with a 12 sided dome

from the photographer:

The USS Intrepid by The Talented Mr. Nimo.
Taken on 4/17/09
Nikon D40 w/18-55mm
3 Exposures--2, 0, +2
Slik 900 Pro Tripod
USS Intrepid (CV/CVA/CVS-11) is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, Intrepid participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, most notably the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career she served mainly in the Atlantic, but also participated in the Vietnam War. Her notable achievements include being the first US aircraft carrier to launch aircraft with steam catapults, and being the recovery ship for a Mercury and a Gemini space mission. Because of her prominent role in battle, she was nicknamed "the Fighting I", while her often ill-luck and the time spent in dry dock for repairs earned her the nicknames "the Fighting I", "the Dry I", or "the USS Decrepid".