Bouquinistes de Paris

1 August 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

© flickr.com - Ninara/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Ninara/cc-by-2.0

The Bouquinistes of Paris, France, are booksellers of used and antiquarian books who ply their trade along large sections of the banks of the Seine: on the right bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre/Quai François Mitterrand, and on the left bank from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire. The Seine is thus described as ‘the only river in the world that runs between two bookshelves’.   read more…

Theme Week Auvergne – Le Puy-en-Velay

29 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Chapel Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe © W. Bulach/cc-by-sa-4.0

Chapel Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe © W. Bulach/cc-by-sa-4.0

Le Puy-en-Velay (literally Le Puy in Velay; Occitan: Lo Puèi de Velai) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its cathedral, for a kind of lentil, for its lace-making, as well as for being the origin of the Chemin du Puy, one of the principal origin points of the pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela in France. In 2017, the commune had a population of 18,995.   read more…

Cappella Palatina in Palermo

28 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Holger Uwe Schmitt/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Holger Uwe Schmitt/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Palatine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Palatina) is the royal chapel of the Norman Palace in Palermo, Sicily. This building is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid architectural styles, showing the tricultural state of Sicily during the 12th century after Roger I and Robert Guiscard conquered the island. The Cappella Palatina is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale.   read more…

Potager du roi in Versailles

16 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Paris / Île-de-France, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Grand Bassin © Djampa/cc-by-sa-4.0

Grand Bassin © Djampa/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Potager du roi (Kitchen Garden of the King), near the Palace of Versailles, produced fresh vegetables and fruits for the table of the court of Louis XIV. It was created between 1678 and 1683 by Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, the director of the royal fruit and vegetable gardens. Today it is run by the École nationale supérieure du paysage, the grande école for landscape architects. It is officially recognized as a Remarkable Garden of France. Together with the Palace of Versailles and its park, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.   read more…

Chocolate Hills on Bohol island

9 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Environment, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Chocolate Hills and tourists © flickr.com - Dan Ingham/cc-by-2.0

Chocolate Hills and tourists © flickr.com – Dan Ingham/cc-by-2.0

The Chocolate Hills (Cebuano: Mga Bungtod sa Tsokolate, Tagalog: Mga Tsokolateng Burol) are a geological formation in the Bohol province of the Philippines. There are at least 1,260 hills, but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers (20 sq mi). They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name.   read more…

Neapolitan pizza

7 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  13 minutes

Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Margherita © Valerio Capello/cc-by-sa-3.0

Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Margherita © Valerio Capello/cc-by-sa-3.0

Neapolitan pizza (Italian: pizza napoletana), also known as Naples-style pizza, is a style of pizza made with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. The tomatoes must be either San Marzano tomatoes or Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius. The cheese must be Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, a protected designation of origin cheese made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state, or fior di latte, a cow’s milk mozzarella created according to the procedure for which it was registered as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). Pizza napoletana is a TSG product in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the art of its making is included on UNESCO‘s list of intangible cultural heritage. Motivated by the success, Italy is now promoting the inclusion of all Italian cuisine in the world heritage. It has been part of the Mediterranean Cuisine World Heritage in parts since 2010.   read more…

Kairouan in Tunisia

6 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Great Mosque - prayer hall © flickr.com - Dennis Jarvis/cc-by-sa-2.0

Great Mosque – prayer hall © flickr.com – Dennis Jarvis/cc-by-sa-2.0

Kairouan, also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan, is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu’awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city. In 2014, the city had about 187,000 inhabitants.   read more…

Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht

29 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

© Mycosm93

© Mycosm93

The Rietveld Schröder House (Dutch: Rietveld Schröderhuis) (also known as the Schröder House) in Utrecht (Prins Hendriklaan 50) was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children.   read more…

Europa Nostra

28 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Europa Nostra flag in Gulbene © Raul Kern/cc-by-sa-3.0

Europa Nostra flag in Gulbene © Raul Kern/cc-by-sa-3.0

Europa Nostra (Italian for “Our Europe”) is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens’ organisations that work on safeguarding Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant international bodies, in particular the European Union, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. It has consultative status with UNESCO and is recognised as an NGO partner.   read more…

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