The distance between Delt and The Hague is covered by a tram ride, a few stops, a handful of minutes and you cross the interval between two different cities, calling it suburbia would be the equivalent of saying that Florence is the suburbia of Rome, for Australian, Chinese or Canadian standards. In Delft there is an entire square, complete with a cathedral that if compared to the Pisa tower the latter looks straight, but you barely notice it, even if royal celebrations are in that church and if the delftware, to be honest that are really nice but compared to the Italian pottery are a bit pale, even if it's true that the Delft blue is world reknowned. Cathedrals are indeed extraordinary, all leaning, wonkysh, one, the Oude Kerk (Old church) on the artificial canal, the other impressive in a typical European Flemish market square, the Nieuwe Kerk (New church, so to speak), that treasures the graves of the Orange-Nassau royal family.
Typical representative of Delft art scene is Vermeer, reknowned for the ante litteram photographic use of light, perspective, focus and colour so to be considered one of the undisputed masters of Flemish school, famous his painting Girl with a Pearl Earring, better known for the novel and the film inspired by the painting. Even if, probably for the closeness with the world capital of international law, The Hague, also siege of the government and official residence of the Orange-Nassau, probably the name of the town is more easily associated with the name of Hugo Grotius, considered one of the 'creators' of modern international law, having foreseen a law of the sea not far from the one presently implemented worlwide. And how can't we recall, talking about this wonderful little city, also Anthony Van Leeuwenhoek, self-taught discoverer of the protozoan and of the most celeb spermatozoa, ando of bacteria, but that's another story.
Going back to the small streets, the bridges, the small typically Flemish canaals you get definetely enchated by that delicate concreteness of a market square identical to itself during the centuries where the buildings are lightly leaning but you barely notice it in the maritime country par excellence, where between the seasickness and the earthsickness you don't know if the buildings are moving following the rythm of the waves or if it's us who got the typical sailors step.
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