San Michele al Pozzo Bianco is a church in the upper town of Bergamo, on a small piazza of the same name, near Porta Sant’Agostino. The church is now in a corner next to the frescoed house of the vicar, entered by a large rounded arch.
Founded in the 8th century, it was rebuilt many times over the centuries. The present facade is from the early 20th century. Much of the interior was rebuilt in the 15th century, and covered with frescoes in a style influenced by Byzantine iconography.
The chapel to the left, completed later, has a series of frescoed panels Scenes from the Life of The Virgin Mary (1525), masterworks by Lorenzo Lotto. The central chapel and the one on the right is frescoed (1577) by Giovan Battista Guarinoni d'Averara. The latter chapel has a canvas Madonna and child with Saints Peter and Paul by Giovanni Paolo Lolmo.
On the right wall, there is a Madonna of the Rosary and Saints by Enea Salmeggia and in the counterfacade, two frescoes by Antonio Cifrondi depicting Christ and the adulterous woman and the Last Supper. The crypt has 13th-century frescoes, and one of a Enthroned Madonna and Saints, attributed to Antonio Boselli.
References:The Beckov castle stands on a steep 50 m tall rock in the village Beckov. The dominance of the rock and impression of invincibility it gaves, challenged our ancestors to make use of these assets. The result is a remarkable harmony between the natural setting and architecture.
The castle first mentioned in 1200 was originally owned by the King and later, at the end of the 13th century it fell in hands of Matúš Èák. Its owners alternated - at the end of the 14th century the family of Stibor of Stiborice bought it.
The next owners, the Bánffys who adapted the Gothic castle to the Renaissance residence, improved its fortifications preventing the Turks from conquering it at the end of the 16th century. When Bánffys died out, the castle was owned by several noble families. It fell in decay after fire in 1729.
The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.