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Episcopal Palace. Miranda's first bishops had to live in the Castle. It was only in 1601 that the construction of the Episcopal Palace and the Seminary began. When it was ready, more than a century later, its opulence was not inferior to that of the Cathedral, whose style, Renaissance, imitated. The Palace was developed around a central courtyard, surrounded by a cloister in lowered arcade, over monolithic columns. And, although very shaken by successive fires, during the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the definitive transfer of the Diocese's headquarters to Bragança, in 1780, which made it enter into an accelerated ruin. The shadow of its monumentality is still projected today in the cloister and portico of the Seminary. But, despite the state of ruin, its symbolic power is maintained because the bishops have always kept engraving their name on the respective memorial, at the entrance of the Renaissance portico of the first Episcopal Palace of the Diocese.
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Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights. In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states. Text by Steve Smith.
