Just selling hats

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, has a long history, that starts around 8000 BC, but later there were Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman periods. After the Roman Empire had fallen apart the Vandals tried to take over the island but failed. Finally, the Ostrogoths took possession. Mid of the 6th century Sicily was conquered by troops of the Byzantine Empire. After the advent of Islam, Sicily got attacked by the Arab forces. Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century. A Muslim army was sent to the island in 827 but met with much resistance. So it took a century to conquer it and even later revolts constantly occurred In 1038 the Byzantines invaded the island supported by Norman mercenaries, led by Roger. In 1072, after the siege of Palermo, most of Sicily was under Norman control. Roger´s son Roger II raised the status of the island to a kingdom in 1130. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and powerful, The court of Roger II became melting out of culture from Europe and the Middle East. This attracted scholars, scientists, artists, and artisans. Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Lombards, and Normans cooperated and created some extraordinary buildings. In 1186 the last descendant of Roger, Constance of Sicily married Emperor Henry VI, the second son of Barbarossa. So the crown of Sicily was passed on to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was crowned King of Sicily at the age of four in 1198. He became "Stupor Mundi", one of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages. Palermo, founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians, became a possession of Carthage and later was part of the Roman Empire. From 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule. Following the Norman conquest, Palermo became the capital of a new Kingdom of Sicily and the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Frederick II and King Conrad IV. The company produces hats and caps since 1908. There is even a website www.berrettificiosiciliano.com/

The ownership of the settlement was disputed between the bishops of Le Puy and the bishops of Viviers for centuries, as both wanted to build a stronghold here. Finally the bishops of Le Puy suceeded and transferred the possession in 1084 to the family of Baron de Montlaur. They stayed here upto 1441 and built the castle with a dungeon and two large round towers. Later the town converted to Protestantism. In the first half of the 17th century 500 Corsican soldiers were stationed here with for mission to lead the heretics to Mass every Sunday. In 1629 Aubenas und the surrounding area were "converted". Today Aubenas has a population about 12.000. Catholics, Protestants, Moslems... German born Stefanie Wesle runs this fantastic little atelier since in Aubenas since about 20 years. She has great creations www.atelier-autruche-chapeaux.com/index.php/atelier-bouti... and was just on TV www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY8XkRe0kMs

The town was first mentioned in 857, when it was owned by the St. Gallen monastery. It changed hands a couple of times and in 1570 was acquired by the House of Habsburg. The town fell to Bavaria in 1805 as part of Napoleon's Treaty of Pressburg. The area around is not very fertile and as early as 1656 straw hats from Lindenberg were sold by peddling and in markets. In 1755, the production and shipping of straw hats became organized. A century later companies established and were successful, but in the second half of the 20th century the hat industry declined and now has hardly any economic importance as the last existing company has moved the production facilities abroad. The hat museum was opened in 2014 in the listed building of the hat factory Ottmar Reich, which was closed in 1997.

The town was first mentioned in 857, when it was owned by the St. Gallen monastery. It changed hands a couple of times and in 1570 was acquired by the House of Habsburg. The town fell to Bavaria in 1805 as part of Napoleon's Treaty of Pressburg. The area around is not very fertile and as early as 1656 straw hats from Lindenberg were sold by peddling and in markets. In 1755, the production and shipping of straw hats became organized. A century later companies established and were successful, but in the second half of the 20th century the hat industry declined and now has hardly any economic importance as the last existing company has moved the production facilities abroad. The hat museum was opened in 2014 in the listed building of the hat factory Ottmar Reich, which was closed in 1997. It has a vast collection of hats and very interesting displays.

The town was first mentioned in 857, when it was owned by the St. Gallen monastery. It changed hands a couple of times and in 1570 was acquired by the House of Habsburg. The town fell to Bavaria in 1805 as part of Napoleon's Treaty of Pressburg. The area around is not very fertile and as early as 1656 straw hats from Lindenberg were sold by peddling and in markets. In 1755, the production and shipping of straw hats became organized. A century later companies established and were successful, but in the second half of the 20th century the hat industry declined and now has hardly any economic importance as the last existing company has moved the production facilities abroad. All what is left of the hat industry is an interesting hat museum and the uninspiring factory outlet at the former Mayser factory recall the faded glory of the industry.

Füssen was settled in Roman times under the name "Fauces" at the Via Claudia Augusta, a road connecting Northern Italy with Augusta Vindelicum (= Augsburg), the former regional capital of the Roman province Raetia. The Via Claudia Augusta developed into an important trade route over the Alps. In 748 the missionary St. Magnus set up a "cella" on-site here. More monks arrived and in the 8th century the Benedictine monastery of St. Mang, named after him, existed. Füssen was an important place Southern and Northern Europe, as the Lech river was navigable near Füssen and the cargo was reloaded here from horses to ships. The route gained importance as a salt road in the Middle Ages. Füssen was owned by the House of Staufer from 1191 on, but after the last Staufer Conradin (aka "Conradin the Kid) was executed in Naples in 1268, the ownership got disputed. In 1313, Emperor Henry VII gave it to the bishopric of Augsburg. In 1363 the existing castle was integrated into the city fortifications From 1486 to 1505, the Bishops of Augsburg expanded the Gothic castle into a High Castle, used as the summer residence of the church princes. Great place for hats www.gwandhaus-fuessen.de/der-hutladen/

Füssen was settled in Roman times under the name "Fauces" at the Via Claudia Augusta, a road connecting Northern Italy with Augusta Vindelicum (= Augsburg), the former regional capital of the Roman province Raetia. The Via Claudia Augusta developed into an important trade route over the Alps. In 748 the missionary St. Magnus set up a "cella" on-site here. More monks arrived and in the 8th century the Benedictine monastery of St. Mang, named after him, existed. Füssen was an important place Southern and Northern Europe, as the Lech river was navigable near Füssen and the cargo was reloaded here from horses to ships. The route gained importance as a salt road in the Middle Ages. Füssen was owned by the House of Staufer from 1191 on, but after the last Staufer Conradin (aka "Conradin the Kid) was executed in Naples in 1268, the ownership got disputed. In 1313, Emperor Henry VII gave it to the bishopric of Augsburg. In 1363 the existing castle was integrated into the city fortifications From 1486 to 1505, the Bishops of Augsburg expanded the Gothic castle into a High Castle, used as the summer residence of the church princes.

Already in 748, the place was a palace of the Agilolfinger, dukes of Bavaria. Forty years later it became the Carolingian royal palace. King Carloman of Bavaria (aka "Karlmann"), the oldest son of Louis the German founded a collegiate church in Altoetting in 876. This church got destroyed by Hungarian troops in 917. Only the octagon of the baptistery survived the destruction. The collegiate got refounded and the church got rebuilt later. In 1489 there were reports of two healing miracles which started the pilgrimage to Altoetting, that became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations of its time. The Shrine of Our Lady of Altoetting (aka "Chapel of Grace") is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The shrine is often called the "Lourdes of Germany". The octagonal chapel in the center dates back to the 8th century. The nave was added in 1494. Some historians even date the chapel back to about 660. It was probably once part of an Agilolfingian or Carolingian structure. Of course hundreds of different candles and other devotional objects are offered around the "Gnadenkapelle", but as well multi-coloured caps and hats - for just 15 Euros!

Najac is set along a ridge above a bend in the Aveyron River. Najac was founded as one of the five bastides of (historic) Rouergue. The "faubourg" has the typical architecture of many bastide villages with timber-framed houses and commercial arcades around an open area. Today Najac only has a population of about 700, but over the summer months there are many tourists, as Najac is one of the "Plus beaux villages de France" - the "most beautiful villages in France", And once a week the market is held in Narjac, even in rainy weather. Here the customers find a great selection of hats and caps.

Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum near the huge Roman aqueduct, today named Pont du Gard. In the early 8th century, Uzès was a fortified civitas and bishopric under the Archbishop of Narbonne. During the Saracen invasion, Uzès became a stronghold of the Saracens and in 736 Charles Martel besieged the, but it remained in Saracen hands up to 752. A year later the former stronghold rebelled against the Franks - unsuccessfully. Today Uzès is a hotspot for tourists with nice places under shady trees to have a drink. And nice shops to buy a hat.

After a bottle of wine, I was slowly walking home through Albi. It was pretty dark. I was remembering the movie "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" when I saw this glowing millinery shop. So the title changed to "Night in Albi: Secret of the Milliner". But that is another movie.

Lyon - Au diable l'avarice Many years ago, I spent a couple of weeks in Lyon, trying to learn French with the support of a French Language School (Lyon Bleu). It was a pretty mediocre success, but I liked Lyon so much, that since then I do return, just to stroll the streets, watch the Rhone - and have a great dinner. "Au diable l'avarice" is a shop, selling hats and caps. The hats may have their price, but just make yourself a happy. Wear a nice hat, don´t bother about the price, as "Avarice is contemptible".

Many years ago, I spent a couple of weeks in Lyon, trying to learn French with the support of a French Language School (Lyon Bleu). It was a pretty mediocre success, but I liked Lyon so much, that since then I do return, just to stroll the streets, watch the Rhone - and have a great dinner. Lyon seems to be a hotspot for hat shops. Normally these shops are rarely to be found, but here are two of them just a hundred meters apart. But "De Long en Large" actually offers much more than hats and caps for long or large customers.

Dijon, today a city with a population of about 150.000, was a Roman settlement named Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. Saint Benignus, the city's patron saint, is said to have introduced Christianity to the area before being martyred. The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries, and Dijon was a place of wealth and power. In 1513, Swiss and Imperial armies invaded Burgundy and besieged Dijon. The siege was extremely violent, but after long negotiations, Louis II de la Trémoille managed to persuade the armies to withdraw. During the siege, the population called on the Virgin Mary for help and saw the withdrawal of the invaders as a miracle. For those reasons, in the years following the siege the inhabitants began to venerate Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir (Our Lady of Good Hope).

Cannes was a fishing village up to the mid 19th century, when it was "found" by french and foreign aristocrats who built holidays homes here. In early 1870 the "Croisette" was built, still considered the "meeting place of the rich and beautiful". Since then Cannes has stretched itself all along the coast. More than three million tourists visit Cannes per year. There are about 130 hotels with some 8000 rooms, three casinos, restaurants, cafes, clubs, discos.... To avoid sunburn in summer, hats, especially straw hats, are very popular among tourists.

Nomen est omen!

Venice (ital. Venezia) is one of the most important tourist destinations worldwide with about 30 million visitors each year. I have already uploaded dozends of shots from previous visits, so ll try to cut down the number of uploads this time. Just selling hats

Caltanissetta's origins can be traced back to 406 BC, when Carthagen troops established a fort at the site, later called Castra Nicia. After the Second Punic War, Castra Nicia came under Roman rule. In AD 829, the city was occupied by the Saracens. The settlement was captured by the Normans in 1086. A charter was granted to the town in accordance with Robert Guiskard´s son Roger Borsa's vast plan for the urbanisation of Sicily, and the urban plan that is still in evidence today was laid out. After the Norman occupation the city was under the rule of the Hohenstaufen, the Anjou and the Aragonese kings. It was here that Frederick II of Sicily was proclaimed king. The area is around agricultural. The company Averna, which produces Amaro among other things, has its headquarters here. However, there are only a few industrial jobs in central Sicily, so rural exodus is also an issue here. I have already uploaded a lot of photos previously taken in Sicily. Now I will add only a few. If you want to see more, follow this link: www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1238300