Author Archives: Elizabeth Pizzuti

Ornate street signs that I have to finally post about

I’ve been secretly wanting to post about the street signs in Madrid ever since I moved here. Each street in Madrid has a sign intricately painted on nine white tiles that commemorates its history, and some of the illustrations have dark stories to tell. This one tells the story of a miracle, and you canContinue reading “Ornate street signs that I have to finally post about”

Thoughts on the Palacio de Cristal and the translation of architectural space to digital

Some background for this post: I started thinking about and writing about space for an academic paper submission. This is a culmination of a few months of thoughts and notes scattered through various notebooks, word docs and scraps of paper. I found it really interesting that everything I’ve been thinking about over this length ofContinue reading “Thoughts on the Palacio de Cristal and the translation of architectural space to digital”

Unusual architecture, a ghost story, and an assassination

I’m working on a signage project in Madrid, in the very historical neighborhood of Chueca and to get to the building sometimes I take the metro to Tribunal and walk over to Hortaleza. I was walking there one day and looked up at this super narrow building and thought, no, could it be? Then IContinue reading “Unusual architecture, a ghost story, and an assassination”

Fallen angels, gigantic monuments and an open-air sculpture museum

Madrid is home to the only statue in the world dedicated to Lucifer, the fallen angel who is believed to become the devil. It’s well worth a detour to see, especially since it’s in beautiful Retiro Park. Sculpted by Ricardo Bellver, a Madrid sculptor living in Rome in 1877, it caused a great deal ofContinue reading “Fallen angels, gigantic monuments and an open-air sculpture museum”

Saint’s blood, nun’s pastries, and Arab walls

Every July 27th in Madrid there is an event where a vial of blood is taken out of it’s preserved case, liquefied in front of masses of devotees, and then once the day is over, taken back to coagulate and preserve itself for many years to come. Image from quehaydonde.es The legend is that thisContinue reading “Saint’s blood, nun’s pastries, and Arab walls”

A few thoughts on storytelling

In my field I hear the word storytelling a lot. What is it exactly? Storytelling is a verbal journey that a companion or complete stranger is able to lead us on. It’s a tool to connect us all – regardless of creed, color or background – on a human level. The deepest level. It makesContinue reading “A few thoughts on storytelling”

More things you didn’t know about Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor has a much darker past than you would imagine from the fun and festivities that fill the square these days. In the 17th and 18th Centuries it was the regular location for autos-de-fé, public condemnations for crimes against religion during the Inquisition. Prisoners sentenced to blasphemy, adultery, witchcraft and other crimes were burned,Continue reading “More things you didn’t know about Plaza Mayor”