Güstrow Cathedral is a Brick Gothic Lutheran cathedral initially completed in 1335. It is the oldest extant building in Barlachstadt Güstrow. The church was originally dedicated by the Bishop of Kammin. The cathedral's charter was removed in 1552, and the cathedral fell into disuse and was used to house vehicles for 12 years. In 1568 it began to be used as an evangelical palace chapel and resting place for Güstrow's aristocratic house, maintaining this honour until 1695.
The Güstrow Cathedral attests to the influence of several different styles: began as a Romenesque building it was completed as a Brick Gothic site. The cathedral is home to a multitude of artistic treasures spanning a historical period lasting from the Late Romantic epoch through to the Early Modern period. Amongst the most well-known are a Late Gothic winged altar made by Hinrik Bornemann, a monument to Duke Ulrich designed by Phillip Brandin and an apostle figure conceptualised by Ernst Barlach, known as 'the Waverer'. The latter was dedicated to the war in 1927; was denounced as 'degenerate art' in 1937 and was melted military for use during the Second World War. In 1953, the 'Waverer' was remolded, and was replaced in the cathedral, hanging above a 18th century cast-iron baptism font.
References:The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.
The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).
With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).
Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.
The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.
The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.