Royal Palace of Caserta

2 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

© Editor04082022/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Editor04082022/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Royal Palace of Caserta (Italian: Reggia di Caserta) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europe during the 18th century. In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its nomination described it as “the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space”. The Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest former royal residence in the world, over 2 million in volume and covering an area of 47,000 . and a floorspace of 138,000 square meters in the distributed in the five storeys of the building.   read more…

The sail training ship Pelican of London

1 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Figurehead © Bjorn som tegner/cc-by-sa-3.0

Figurehead © Bjorn som tegner/cc-by-sa-3.0

Pelican of London is a sail training ship based in the United Kingdom. Built in 1948 as Pelican she served as an Arctic trawler and then a coastal trading vessel named Kadett until 1995. In 2007 an extended conversion to a sail-training ship was completed.   read more…

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels

1 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

The nave © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

The nave © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (French: Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule, Dutch: Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele), usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula or St. Gudula by locals, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in central Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture.   read more…

Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg

1 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Singer Company House (Book House) © Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov/cc-by-sa-4.0

Singer Company House (Book House) © Alex ‘Florstein’ Fedorov/cc-by-sa-4.0

Nevsky Prospect is a main street (high street) located in the federal city of St. Petersburg in Russia. Its name comes from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the monastery which stands at the eastern end of the street, and which commemorates the Russian hero Prince Saint Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263). Following his founding of Saint Petersburg in 1703, Tsar Peter I planned the course of the street as the beginning of the road to Novgorod and Moscow. The avenue runs from the Admiralty in the west to the Moscow Railway Station and, after veering slightly southwards at Vosstaniya Square, to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.   read more…

The European Union: European Universities initiative

31 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  5 minutes

© European Union

© European Union

At the 2017 Gothenburg Summit, European Union (EU) leaders outlined a vision for education and culture. In its December 2017 Conclusions, the European Council called on EU Member States, the Council and the Commission to take forward a number of initiatives, including   read more…

Villa d’Este on Lake Como

30 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  11 minutes

© panoramio.com - Nikolai Karaneschev/cc-by-3.0

© panoramio.com – Nikolai Karaneschev/cc-by-3.0

The Villa d’Este, originally Villa del Garovo, is a Renaissance patrician residence in Cernobbio on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy. Both the villa and the 25-acre (100,000 m²) park which surrounds it have undergone significant changes since their sixteenth-century origins as a summer residence for the Cardinal of Como. Nevertheless, visiting the garden in 1903 for Century Magazine, Edith Wharton found this to be ‘the only old garden on Como which keeps more than a fragment of its original architecture’, and noted that ‘though Queen Caroline anglicised part of the grounds, the main lines of the Renaissance garden still exist’. Since 1873, the complex has been a luxury hotel.   read more…

Pebble Beach in California

29 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

The Residences at Spanish Bay Golf Resort © Joshua Painter/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Residences at Spanish Bay Golf Resort © Joshua Painter/cc-by-sa-4.0

Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf courses of Cypress Point Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and Pebble Beach Golf Links. Nonresidents are charged a toll to use 17-Mile Drive, the main road through Pebble Beach, making it a de-facto gated community.   read more…

The European Union: Artificial Intelligence Act

28 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union Reading Time:  7 minutes

Flag_of_Europe The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is a regulation proposed on 21 April 2021 by the European Commission which aims to introduce a common regulatory and legal framework for artificial intelligence. Its scope encompasses all sectors (except for military), and to all types of artificial intelligence. As a piece of product regulation, the proposal does not confer rights on individuals, but regulates the providers of artificial intelligence systems, and entities making use of them in a professional capacity.   read more…

Theme Week Leinster – Dundalk

27 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Town Hall © DSexton/cc-by-sa-4.0

Town Hall © DSexton/cc-by-sa-4.0

Dundalk (Irish: Dún Dealgan), meaning “the fort of Dealgan”, is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to the border with Northern Ireland. It is the eighth largest urban area in Ireland, with a population of 39,004 as of the 2016 census.   read more…

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