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Freehandlines, Manor Road, Oxford (2026)

10/06/2026

The “House of Spirits” in Venice is the Casino degli Spiriti, an elegant 16th-century annex of Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo in Cannaregio, near Fondamenta Gasparo Contarini. It is famous for ghost legends, especially the story of the painter Luzzo, whose spirit was said to appear after his su***de from unrequited love.

Local tradition paints it as a cursed or haunted place, linked to spirits, secret gatherings, and dark stories that have circulated for centuries. Some accounts say fishermen still avoid the area, and others connect the site with eerie sounds from wind and water that helped fuel the legends.

Beyond the ghost stories, the building was reportedly a meeting place for philosophers, nobles, artists, and learned men in the Renaissance, with names such as Tintoretto, Veronese, and Titian associated with its heyday. So it is both a literary-haunted landmark and a real historical Venetian site.

A few stories...
The most famous ghost story is Pietro Luzzo, a painter said to have shot himself after unrequited love; his ghost was reportedly seen in the windows, which were then bricked up. (yeah like walls stop ghosts!)
Another tradition says the site hosted cults, smugglers, pirates, and other clandestine gatherings. Even a plaque Hospital is linked with the site oh and mention of 20th-century crimes, including bodies found there in 1929 and a murder in 1947. It really is an Estate agents nightmare.

Interesting facts...
Its isolated location plus wind and water makes erie noises so is probably the source of most of the above outlandish stories.

09/06/2026

Watercolour of the world’s most famous door? Last owned by a guy called Mr Chicken.

one of the most recognisable doors in the world.

10 Downing Street began as a late-17th-century redevelopment on a site that had earlier medieval and Tudor buildings, and it became the Prime Minister’s official residence in 1735 when Robert Walpole took it as an official home rather than a personal gift. Its most famous features—the black door, fanlight, doorknocker, and checked entrance hall—were added or standardized during later 18th-century

The street itself was created by Sir George Downing in the 1680s, when he developed a small terrace of houses designed by Sir Christopher Wren; today’s Number 10 emerged from that original row and was not always numbered as 10. Before that, the site had been used for a brewery and then a house associated with Sir Thomas Knyvet, the man tied to the arrest of Guy Fawkes. After Robert Walpole moved in, the house gradually became the symbolic center of British government, and by the 20th century it had been firmly established as the Prime Minister’s office and residence.

Interesting facts…

the black brick façade is painted, because the original yellow bricks were darkened by centuries of smoke and then preserved in that look during restoration. The letterbox is decorative, not functional, and the famous door handle does not operate in the normal way because the entrance is electronically controlled.

08/06/2026

Watercolour of The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (founded 1754 in London) is the original name of what is now known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
The Society was founded in 1754 by William Shipley and a small group of men who met at Rawthmell’s Coffee House in Covent Garden; their stated aim was to stimulate industry, design, and social progress through prize competitions and public initiatives. Over time it became a major promoter of innovation and was closely involved in the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.
The Society received a Royal Charter in 1847, and the use of the prefix “Royal” was formally granted by King Edward VII in 1908, giving it its current full name: the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). Today it functions as a London‑based, multi‑disciplinary institution and charity, focused on social innovation, design, education, and public debate.
From 1774 the Society has occupied purpose‑built premises in central London, now known as RSA House at 8 John Adam Street, Adelphi, WC2N 6EZ. The building was designed by the Adam brothers (Robert and James Adam) as part of the Adelphi scheme

Interesting facts...
perhaps the most important society you never heard of.
The RSA has long been described as a kind of “benign eminence grise” of British public life, quietly underwriting major reforms—planting forests, helping found the Royal Academy of Arts, shaping school examinations, and contributing to environmental movements—without always taking public credit. Many of its early prize schemes were designed to quietly steer technology and social policy (for example, finding tools to sweep chimneys without children, or ways to foil banknote forgery) while letting others take the spotlight.

07/06/2026

Watercolour of Caffè Florian, Venice. It is one of the city’s most famous landmarks, opening in Piazza San Marco on 29 December 1720 and still trading today. It began under the name “Alla Venezia Trionfante” and soon became known by the founder’s name, Floriano Francesconi.

Florian grew into a social salon rather than just a café. It drew nobles, diplomats, merchants, writers, artists, and ordinary Venetians, making it a meeting place for ideas, gossip, and political conversation. It also stayed open through turbulent periods in Venetian history, including the fall of the Republic and the unrest of 1848, when wounded insurgents were treated inside its rooms.

The interiors you see today were largely shaped by a major restoration in 1858, when the café was expanded into its celebrated set of ornate rooms. Later, it became associated with culture and performance too, including café-chantant music in the early 20th century and contemporary art events tied to the Venice Biennale.

Interesting facts...
Florian was unusually progressive for its time. It was among the first Venetian cafés to welcome women, which made it especially appealing to figures like Casanova!

06/06/2026

Watercolour of the symbol of Venice but did you know it is actually Chinese?

The winged lion represents Saint Mark the Evangelist, Venice’s patron saint. According to an ancient legend, when Saint Mark was traveling from Aquileia to Rome, a storm forced him to take refuge on a small island in the Venetian lagoon. There, an angel appeared to him and prophesied: “Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus, hic requiescat corpus tuum” (“Peace to you, Mark, my Evangelist, may your body rest here”).
Centuries later, this prophecy was fulfilled. In 828 AD, two Venetian merchants organized a secret mission to Alexandria, Egypt, where Saint Mark’s relics were kept by the Coptic community. They stole the saint’s remains and smuggled them out by hiding them under a load of vegetables and pork—Muslim customs officials refused to touch the food because pork was considered impure. Once in Venice, the relics were hidden in the original basilica and not rediscovered until June 25, 1094.
The winged lion acquired both religious and political meaning for Venice: the wings represented spiritual elevation and freedom, the body symbolized strength and majesty, and the book beneath its paw represented wisdom and peace.

Interesting facts...
In 2025 when researchers published groundbreaking findings about the bronze statue standing on the Column of the Lion in the Piazzetta San Marco. Despite centuries of belief that it was Greek, Roman, or Byzantine, the lion was actually made in ancient China during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907)!

05/06/2026

The Fondazione Querini Stampalia is one of Venice’s most important cultural institutions and house museums, located in a 15th-century palazzo near Campo Santa Maria Formosa in the Castello district.
It was founded in 1869 by Count Giovanni Querini Stampalia, the last descendant of the noble Querini Stampalia family—one of the families said to have founded Venice. In his 1868 will, Count Giovanni bequeathed his entire palace, art collection, library, and medal collection to the city “for public use,” creating an institution dedicated to “promoting the cult of good studies and useful subjects” in art and knowledge. The foundation opened to the public in 1872, becoming one of the earliest public house museums in Europe, and Count Giovanni specifically stipulated that his library remain open even when other Venetian libraries were closed, including at midnight.

Interesting facts.
The architect who remodelled the institution was Carlo Scarpa. Scarpa is revered among architects for his thoughtful design even to the smallest details. However clients were left frustrated as he never met deadlines and would not answer calls while he would focus on design. what a guy!

04/06/2026

Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, often called San Zanipolo, is one of the city’s largest churches and a major Dominican foundation with strong ties to Venetian political and religious life.

According to tradition, Doge Jacopo Tiepolo had a vision of doves over the site and donated the marshy land to the Dominicans in the 13th century, which is why the church stands there today. The first church was later replaced by the larger Gothic basilica you see now, with construction carried through the 14th century and completion by 1368, though it was not solemnly consecrated until 1430.

Over time, it became the burial church of Venice’s elite and is often described as the city’s “pantheon.” In fact 25 to 27 doges are buried there, making it a kind of political memorial as much as a church.

Interesting facts...
The church is said to preserve unusual relics, including the foot of St Catherine of Siena.

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