Air in Asturias

The city of Avilés in Spain invited creatives from around the world to participate in the VI International Avilés Mail Art Exhibition, themed El Aire (the air). The exhibition in the Palacio de Valdecarzana features works by artists from 42 nations. It closes on January 14^th.

In cooperation with the city’s Department of Culture, the Correos (Spanish Postal Service) will edit a stamp based on one the artistic postcards.

Have fun watching the slideshow with photographs from the opening of the exhibition.

Gerald contributed a collage about the the beatification of Karl I (1887-1922), Austria’s last emperor (1916-1918). Karl is supposed to have healed ulcers on the legs of a Brazilian nun as an answer to her pleas for help to the monarch.

While this magic event is said to have happened in 1960, quite some years after his death, Karl is usually associated with the so-called Miracle of Caporetto: The 12^th Battle of the Isonzo (10/1917) saw a triumphant victory of the combined Austrian-German armies against their Italian counterparts. While it is debatable if God was on Austria’s side, the use of poison gas (chlorine-arsenic agent and diphosgene) played a key role in the outcome of the battle. And there is no doubt that the emperor had ultimate command responsibility.

Karl’s formal beatification ceremony took place 3 October 2004. Needless to say, none of the Italian victims was mourned by the Roman Catholic Church.

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Catalogue (PDF, in Spanish)