Portrait: Simone Veil, first President of the European Parliament and Holocaust survivor

25 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, Portrait Reading Time:  7 minutes

in 1982 © European Union

in 1982 © European Union

Simone Veil was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician who served as Health Minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman to hold that office. As health minister, she is best remembered for advancing women’s rights in France, in particular for the 1975 law that legalized abortion, today known as the Veil Act (French: Loi Veil). From 1998 to 2007, she was a member of the Constitutional Council, France’s highest legal authority.   read more…

Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome

12 August 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Chamber of Deputies © Quirinale.it

Chamber of Deputies © Quirinale.it

The Palazzo Montecitorio is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. The palace’s name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the Mons Citatorius, the hill created in the process of clearing the Campus Martius in Roman times.   read more…

Theme Week Rome – Castel Sant’Angelo, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon

11 November 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  15 minutes

Castle Sant'Angelo © Andreas Tille

Castle Sant’Angelo © Andreas Tille

CASTEL SANT’ANGELO

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant’Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Rome. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.   read more…

Theme Week Rome

7 November 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

Vittoriano © Alessio Damato

Vittoriano © Alessio Damato

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country’s largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi). The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.   read more…

Theme Week Paris – Arrondissement de Panthéon (5th)

20 October 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

Pantheon © ChrisO

Pantheon © ChrisO

Situated on the left bank of the River Seine, it is one of the central arrondissements of the capital. The arrondissement is notable for being the location of the Quartier Latin, a district dominated by universities, colleges, and prestigious high schools. The Ministry of Higher Education and Research has its head office in the arrondissement. The 5th arrondissement is also one of the oldest districts of the city, dating back to ancient times. Traces of the area’s past survive in such sites as the Arènes de Lutèce, a Roman amphitheatre, and the Thermes de Cluny, a Roman thermae.   read more…

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