Marysia Zipser, Patrizia Poggi and Roberto Alborghetti

Apr 22, 20214 min read

Royal Roses for St George's Day

Updated: Jul 8, 2021

Rosa 'Duke of Edinburgh' and Rosa 'Queen Elizabeth'

To honour St George’s Day around the world, Art Culture Tourism salutes HRH Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh and Her Majesty the Queen at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. They were side by side together in marriage for 73 years. Their roses are side by side in harmony. HRH Prince Philip was her rock, as she herself has always defined him. The Queen knew that behind her, a few steps away, there was someone she could always count on.

Below photos taken by Marysia Zipser on 17th April 2021 of the funeral ceremony of HRH Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh as live televised by BBC Television.

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Roberto Alborghetti writes about St George’s Day 2021 - the perfect day to celebrate books, authors and roses.

https://robertoalborghetti.com/2021/04/19/april-23-the-perfect-day-to-celebrate-books-authors-and-roses

Patrizia Poggi writes an international synopsis of St George’s Day...

1 - Celebration of World Book and Copyright Day - UNESCO - 23 April, #WorldBookDay. World Book Day 2021 takes place today with the theme to 'share a story'. The day aims to change lives through a love of books and shared reading. The power of books should be leveraged to combat isolation, reinforce ties between people, expand our horizons, while stimulating our minds and creativity.

2 - Shakespeare Day Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and died on 23rd April 1616 at the age of 52. On April 23 three important writers died in 1616: the Spanish Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), the English William Shakespeare(1564-1616) and the Peruvian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616).

From left to right: William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, Garcilaso de la Vega *** Please Click on the photo images to enlarge, and hover over to read any captions.

Photo credit: Maria Kornoukhova, young artist from Tbilisi

3 - The title of UNESCO World Book Capital is awarded annually to a city in connection with its book plans. This year the chosen city is Tbilisi in Georgia. It was pointed out by the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay. The main objective of the city is to spread reading and increase accessibility to books for all social classes and age groups.

Tbilisi, capital of World Book 2021 named by UNESCO around the slogan “Ok, so, your next

book is…?”. The program focuses on the use of modern technologies as powerful tools for promoting reading among youth. Throughout the year of 2021, several events and activities, such as libraries and book festivals will be held, as well as the rebuilding of the first Georgian publishing house.

4 - St George's Day patron saint of England. San Giorgio is also the patron saint of other nations such as Bulgaria, Portugal, Ethiopia, Greece and Russia.

He is the patron saint of Barcelona and Catalonia and tradition has it that every man gives his woman a rose and booksellers use to give a rose for every book sold. One of the most special tours is the Casa Batlló, where Gaudí’s architecture depicts the legend of Sant Jordi and the dragon, which is related to the festival.

According to Jacopo de la Voragine´s Golden Legend, Saint George slew the dragon that was terrorizing the people of Silene, saving a princess in peril. In this painting, the Christian hero rides a lively white stallion and brandishes his sword against the monster, which attempts to free itself of the lance stuck in its jaws. Behind them, next to a lamb, the princess looks on. This work was made in Ruben´s youth, during his trip to Italy and is a perfect example of the monumentality of his paintings from that period, with strong, forceful figures. Although this painting may have been commissioned for the Church of San Ambrogio in Genoa, it remained in the artist´s possession until his death in 1640, when it was acquired for Felipe IV at his auction.

Barcelona “gets prettily dressed” on the day of Sant Jordi, you can find stands selling books and flowers in every corner of the city. The most popular places are the Rambla de Catalunya and Las Ramblas streets, which are very crowded during the whole day. They also organise cultural activities, several authors do book signing, and they also do book reading in many places. In the Catalan version of the story of Saint George it’s said that a red rose was born from the dragon's blood, symbol of this day.

Photo credit: surfingtheplanet.com

Antoni Gaudí, Casa Batlló

Photo credit: Antonio Velez

5 - International Year of the Roses

Through the celebration of the International Year of the Roses, an International Open Call, we can open ourselves to others despite distance, and we can travel thanks to the imagination by the power of the rose, the queen of all flowers. By creating a sense of community through the shared roses and the shared knowledge, those involved around the world can connect and mutually help curb loneliness.

ACT and OKAY! Italy’s schools magazine promote the Year of the Roses 2021 for ALL to participate by submitting images and words to convey their meanings - “Our Roses and what they mean to Us”.

Closing date: 30 September 2021. Launched by Jeanie Barton’s roses song/anthem and video by Roberto Alborghetti. All information here on our web page link, with official press release to access on right hand column. https://www.artculturetourism.co.uk/yearoftheroses2021.html

NottsTV presents https://robertoalborghetti.com/2021/04/18/the-year-of-the-roses-2021-on-notts-tv-and-breeze-magazine/"An art project which started in Notts could attract thousands of photos from around the world. Art-Culture-Tourism is encouraging you to send in snaps of your roses alongside the personal stories they remind you of". See last 6 mins of show - Marysia Zipser & Jeanie Barton talk about the #yearoftheroses2021 'Our Roses and what they mean to Us" plus projects #alightinbeeston & Beeston Street Art!