Hi, DUers! Ready for a fun Friday Afternoon Challenge?

[CTyankee]

What are these? What was their purpose and who had them?

[monmouth]

1. Mailboxes....Ireland or Italy..

[CTyankee]

3. um, real old mailboxes???

[NightWatcher]

2. a Dope window for monks to sell weed from the monestary through?

[CTyankee]

4. sounds good but...

[EFerrari]

5. Drive through confessional?

[ClassWarrior]

10. Love your sig line.

Italian is such an ugly language. How about Russian? :D

NGU.

[CTyankee]

11. sorta, sorta good idea track...

[ClassWarrior]

13. Sacrament to go?

NGU.

[CTyankee]

15. well...no, but a great guess!

[ClassWarrior]

18. Did houses with daughters have them?

So prospective suitors could meet the young ladies safely?

NGU.

[CTyankee]

20. No, not at all actually...

[EFerrari]

22. The ticket line for indulgences?

Omg, was the Church the original ticketmaster?!

lol

[ClassWarrior]

28. Five sins and a pair of Pink Floyd tickets, please.

:rofl:

NGU.

[EFerrari]

34. LOL.

:hi:

[malaise]

6. Confessionals?

:hi:

[monmouth]

9. Ya know, "Bless me Father for I have sinned" and pass the penance through please...n/t

[malaise]

17. When we were kids mom would drive us to the church on Saturdays

for Confession - we'd get together and invent some sins for the priest. It was great fun until we saw the priest at the drive in cinema with the wife of a prominent person.

[monmouth]

23. I swear, this is the truth, I was preparing to make my First Holy

Communion, Father Sullivan, I'll never forget him. I had no sins really, stealing 2cents for a root beer barrel candy at school and I wanted to spice it up. Sister was going over the ten commandments and never fully explained what adultery was. I took that to mean it was not good, yet was not murder and to hell with "covet" had no clue on that one. I confessed to committing adultery. Poor Fr. Sullivan, took him a while to recoup. True story. He had a conversation with my father who came to pick me up and they both left via the front door so I couldn't see them. I think Fr. told him and they had a good laugh....

[malaise]

29. ROFL

That was hilarious but we all made up crap for the priest. I'm sure the poor priest nearly had a heart attack. :rofl:

[On the Road]

90. My 9th-Grade Sunday School Class Had a Private Survey

in which we were to list the problems of teens today, but not to provide our names. I wrote down casual sex, underage drinking, illicit drugs and all sorts of other stuff from the sensationalistic media.

Then we passed them in and the teacher said "I will be interested to read what you all list as your personal problems. At that point, I realized I had misheard the instructions. I didn't say anything, but figured the teacher starting wondering that day who the secret degenerate was in the class.

[monmouth]

92. Oh boy, what a shocker...LOL. ..n/t

[Suich]

7. Does it have something to do with cloistered nuns?

:shrug:

[CTyankee]

14. Now THAT sounds interesting...wish it was...sigh...

[prolesunited]

8. Feeding slots

in a debtors' prison

[valerief]

12. Oldtime glory holes?

:shrug:

[CTyankee]

16. ewww...

[iscooterliberally]

19. A medieval dog door, for a very small dog that can jump high? n/t

[CTyankee]

25. jumping chihuahuas?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. Ice delivery doors? In case ice making machines get invented?

[CTyankee]

27. I love it!

[monmouth]

24. Oooh, ooooh,(raising hand) delivery slot for milk??

[jmowreader]

26. These are all in churches...

and all these churches were built during the times of virulent disease epidemics AND they were also built when the churches were making their money through the production of things like hand-copied manuscripts and spirits...

SO...

my best guess is they were installed so the people in the church could trade with the outside world without infecting the whole population in there. When someone wanted to buy, say, a bottle of booze, he would knock on the door and one monk would open the little hole, sell the customer a bottle (which was brought to the hole by another monk, rather than letting the guy who was dealing with the public go in and infest the whole group) and close it as soon as the transaction was completed.

[CTyankee]

32. absolutely not churches, but you have a good start...

[proud patriot]

30. looks kinda like a punishment place

for naughty daughters to stay virgins or something .

[Cerridwen]

31. Are those...

baby hatches? They were used in the middle ages for women to anonymously drop off unwanted infants with the "foundling home"?

[CTyankee]

33. they did have some places like that in those days but these are too small...

[Cerridwen]

35. Thank you for responding.

Oh, and thank you for this weekly thread. I read but don't respond as I don't usually have a clue; kinda like this time. :D

[CTyankee]

41. Thanks for the kind words...this is a little off track but I think they're amazing...

not too many left...

[EFerrari]

36. A window where you could report a plague victim to the city fathers?

If so, it would have to be in a municipal building, in those times, what would that be? City gates?

[CTyankee]

38. No, not a city gate or municipal building...

[EFerrari]

43. The chemist's shop? Is that Miracle Max's place?

:)

[CTyankee]

55. no...

[Uncle Joe]

37. The bicycle belonged to this lady

but it was stolen and taken to Jerusalem after said woman tried to steal another woman's dog.

This sent the bicyle theft victim in to a deep dark depression, she became bitter and started hanging around with flying monkeys, until she was killed by holy water.

Queen captured the essence of her downfall in this dedication to her love for bicylces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GugsCdLHm-Q

Thanks for the thread, CTyankee.

[rug]

39. Are those cloisters?

Are those little windows to communicate with the outside?

[CTyankee]

44. in a way, yes, but I don't think that's what you mean.

[rug]

75. I think it's a cloister hatch found in some monasteries, similar to the food hatch in some cells.

We find our meal in the food hatch, which is an opening in the wall near the door that opens onto the cloister. The food hatch allows each solitary some link with her community without her having to leave the cell or interrupt silence.

http://secret-harbor.blogspot.com/2010/04/carthusian-nuns.html

Like this:


http://raggedramblers.blogspot.com/

[Lucian]

40. Was it used for a drive by church offering?

:shrug:

[CTyankee]

46. not religiously related but "available".

[EFerrari]

47. Or tithing? Where you delivered your grain?

:shrug:

[CTyankee]

50. not grain...but somebody on this thread came closer...

[Lucian]

51. Was it used to get advice on...stuff?

Seeking out a teacher?

[CTyankee]

53. Nah...not that enlightened...

[Lucian]

71. For some reason, "Psychiatric Help 5 cents" comes to mind.

:)

[JohnnyLib2]

42. Very old crypts?

:shrug:

[BurtWorm]

45. You could fire arrows out but the other guys would have a harder time firing in.

Right?

[CTyankee]

48. that's a really good idea...not this, but I see the wisdom...

[Pathwalker]

49. Some kind of money changing/exchange window?

Where you can purchase/pay for something?

[CTyankee]

52. yes.

[blondeatlast]

54. Prostitutes? nt

[CTyankee]

56. NO.

[blondeatlast]

58. Bank? nt

[CTyankee]

60. not a bank.

[Pathwalker]

57. After hours "spirits" buy? Or, something else?

Like food? Is it a charity drop off, like alms for the poor?

[CTyankee]

59. One of your thoughts is on the right track...keep going!

[Lucian]

61. An old bank teller window?

Or somewhere you place bets?

[CTyankee]

63. no, no...

[Pathwalker]

69. A betting window?

n/t

[CTyankee]

72. no.

[Pathwalker]

66. Oh no! I'm supposed to be baking a pie right now! Hmmm...

What are those banks called that aren't official? The ones where you actually know the person... Is that it?

[CTyankee]

74. No. Back to your pie. I'm sorry I interrupted it...

[Pathwalker]

78. A Bakery?

:rofl:

[Parker CA]

62. Drop boxes where people could pay their fee to guarantee trip to heaven. nt

[CTyankee]

65. It's not, but I wouldn' t put it past the church to do it in those days...

[petronius]

64. I think google has come through for me, but I won't spoil it

So, I'm going to drop anchor right here and wait for the OP to reveal the solution...

[CTyankee]

68. Why don't you pm me and I'll let you know...

[librechik]

67. priest doors for indulgences?

[CTyankee]

70. not a religious thing at all...

[suffragette]

73. Coal chutes?

[CTyankee]

not sure they even had coal as we know it in those days...long time ago...

my mother remembered coal chutes...

[Suich]

76. Deliver wine?

[CTyankee]

79. YES! Now, who did it? And why?

[EFerrari]

80. Taxes?

[Suich]

81. I have no idea!

[blondeatlast]

82. Priests, to plague victims? Edit; just saw "not religious" above. nt

[Solly Mack]

83. Florence bankers primarily. It allowed the sell of wine without coming into contact

with the buyers.....keeping the poor or what have you out of the house proper.

[CTyankee]

86. Very good.

The great families of Florence all had country villas where they grew grapes, olives, had farms. They sold their excess wine through these "wine doors" in their pallazzi in Florence. You came to the window, dropped in your coin and your flask and they filled it.

Kept the riff raff out and made them some money on the side.

I understand they also sold their olive oil and some other products...

I don't think they are very prevalent in other Italian cities...just a Florentine thing...they're kinda cool actually...saw them on my recent trip...

[Solly Mack]

87. I was off reading when I took a break and saw this...already answered really

but I could add something! :)

They have them in Venice. Saw'em while I was there. Not a lot...I kept looking for them as I walked around.

[suffragette]

84. Is it called an aumbry?

[CTyankee]

95. what is an aumbry? sounds interesting...

[CTyankee]

96. I just googled "aumbry." No, it is not an aumbry but I actually thought an aumbry was

a wine door when I saw Cosimo de Medici's cell at San Marco. I thought he had a little wine door right there in his cell...kind of like a mini bar in a motel...but no, it was an aumbry, containing the host for his private communion...

I was pretty disappointed that my theory wasn't right!

[suffragette]

98. They sound much more fun than an aumbry

I'm surprised I hadn't learned of these before since I've been to Florence and I enjoy unusual doors, small and large.
I've even had a friend tease me because of the many pics of doors I've taken when on vacation.

Glad to learn of these.

[CTyankee]

99. There are quite a few in Florence. I don't know about other places. I haven't seen them

in northern Italy but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

These are kind of cute. I can just see the transaction...drop your dime, get your flask or wineskin filled!

Just great for TGIF, right?

[malaise]

91. LOL

That actually crossed my mind. :D

[Control-Z]

77. Confessional? n/t

[Brother Buzz]

85. leper doors?

[horseshoecrab]

88. Wine Portals

Buchette del vino - Wine portals - Used by rich Florentine bankers who owned vineyards and other property, to deliver wine, olives, oils, grain and cheese for sale to the public.

The third portal down is the Cantina at Palazzo Viviani in Florence.

horseshoecrab

[horseshoecrab]

89. solly mack

You got there first!

Fun chasing it down though! :-)

Now, for a glass of vino... :toast:

horseshoecrab

[CTyankee]

93. You get a special prize! And you are right...t is exactly that!

What the sign inscribed in stone tells is the hours it was open daily and on holidays...sort of like a mini-mart or 7-11!

There is nothing new under the sun!

[CTyankee]

94. You MUST tell me how you got this! Have you seen it?

I must say I did not see that one on my recent trip to Florence.

If you googled it, what did you google? I tried several times with "wine door" and got not much...mostly computer stuff...

[horseshoecrab]

97. CTyankee, try this ...

I googled "small exterior door for wine" and see what you get for the top of your second page of google hits.

At first I'd tried "exterior niche with small wooden door" and somewhere along the way the concept of wine was brought up by a poster. So I tried that.


Great fun as always, CTyankee! :-)

horseshoecrab

[CTyankee]

101. great idea for this topic! I love it...

[horseshoecrab]

100. Oh, to answer your other question

CTyankee, no, I've not seen this in person. I wish! ;-)

Maybe someday though. Would love to see Florence!

horseshoecrab

[CTyankee]

102. So much to see, so little time! I had 8 days and they were packed!

I was exhausted every night.

What happens is that you have to give up something to see all of the wonderful art. So I gave up a certain amount of comfort and food. We went and went, just walking around and getting into these churches and pallozzi to see this one and that one...it ain't easy.

What happens in Florence is that you go into a church and it's not just ONE thing you simply MUST see, it's 5 or 6! Dear god!

It's overload, but you can't stop. So something's gotta give. Next time I go to Tuscany, I'm gonna eat, drink and smell the flowers...but I'll see art, too...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

103. I never found out the answer to last week's art quiz.

Who were those artists who were in their own paintings?

None of them looked remotely familiar to me, and I loved art history.

Thank you, Dr. Peter Wolfgang Guenther (his folks were art dealers in Berlin before WWII and supposedly, when he was a baby, he played on Paul Klee's knee).

:D

[CTyankee]

106. Here is the listing

1. Cellini-Perseus
2. Ghirlandaio-Adoration of the Shepherds
3. Fra Angelico-Deposition of Christ
4. Bernini-Damned Soul
5. Pontormo-Deposition of Christ
6. Veronese-Marriage Feast at Cana

The Cellini was difficult because I showed a photo of his statue from the rear...he carved his face in the back of Perseus's helmet. Otherwise I'm sure you would have recognized it.

Just for fun, you can google those works to see them in full. The Veronese is quite rich in panoply and detail...a really glorious scene!

[FirstTimeVoterAt37]

104. Indulgence vending machines?

Buy ten sins, get one free?

[Caretha]

105. My first thought

was the doors for Cagots, but after looking at the pics realized they were something else.

[CTyankee]

107. what are Cagots? nt