Theme Week Colombia – Bogotá

24 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  19 minutes

La Candelaria, the historical district © flickr.com - Pedro Szekely/cc-by-sa-2.0

La Candelaria, the historical district © flickr.com – Pedro Szekely/cc-by-sa-2.0

Bogotá, officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (lit. ‘Holy Faith of Bogotá) during the Spanish Colonial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest cities in the world. The city is administered as the Capital District, as well as the capital of, though not part of, the surrounding department of Cundinamarca. Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order, with the same administrative status as the departments of Colombia. It is the political, economic, administrative, and industrial center of the country.   read more…

Theme Week Colombia

19 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  14 minutes

The Axis of Peace and Memory, a memorial to the victims of the Colomibian conflict in Bogotá © Felipe Restrepo Acosta/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Axis of Peace and Memory, a memorial to the victims of the Colomibian conflict in Bogotá
© Felipe Restrepo Acosta/cc-by-sa-3.0

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country mostly in South America with insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is also the country’s largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub, and other major urbes include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Bucaramanga. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), and has a population of around 52 million. Colombia is the largest Spanish-speaking country in South America. Its cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by the African diaspora, as well as with those of the various Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the Official language, although English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.   read more…

Greenwich Park in London

8 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Greenwich Park from the observatory © Mx. Granger

Greenwich Park from the observatory © Mx. Granger

Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers 74 hectares (180 acres), and is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. It commands views over the River Thames, the Isle of Dogs and the City of London (Simon Jenkins rated the view of the Royal Hospital with Canary Wharf in the distance as one of the top ten in England).   read more…

Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany

6 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

Villa Medici di Castello in Florence © Sailko/cc-by-2.5

Villa Medici di Castello in Florence © Sailko/cc-by-2.5

The Medici villas are a series of rural building complexes in Tuscany which were owned by members of the Medici family between the 15th century and the 17th century. The villas served several functions: they were the country palaces of the Medici, scattered over the territory that they ruled, demonstrating their power and wealth. They were also recreational resorts for the leisure and pleasure of their owners; and, more prosaically, they were the centre of agricultural activities on the surrounding estates. In 2013, the Medici villas were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list.   read more…

Royal Palace of Caserta

2 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, 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…

Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg

1 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Shopping, 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…

Theme Week Leinster – Drogheda

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

© flickr.com - William Murphy/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – William Murphy/cc-by-sa-2.0

Drogheda (Irish: Droichead Átha, meaning “bridge at the ford”) is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km (35 mi) north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth but with the south fringes of the town in County Meath, 49 km (30 mi) north of Dublin. Drogheda has a population of approximately 41,000 inhabitants (2016), making it the eleventh largest settlement by population in all of Ireland, and the largest town in the Republic of Ireland by both population and area. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Newgrange is located 8 km (5.0 mi) west of the town.   read more…

Yazd in Iran

23 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - Ninara/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Ninara/cc-by-2.0

Yazd, formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd province, Iran. The city is 270 km (170 mi) southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.   read more…

Modica on Sicily

17 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Giuseppe.assenza

© Giuseppe.assenza

Modica (Sicilian: Muòrica) is a city and comune of 54,456 inhabitants in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains. Modica has neolithic origins and it represents the historical capital of the area which today almost corresponds to the Province of Ragusa. Until the 19th century it was the capital of a County that exercised such a wide political, economical and cultural influence to be counted among the most powerful feuds of the Mezzogiorno. Rebuilt following the devastating earthquake of 1693, its architecture has been recognised as providing outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe and, along with other towns in the Val di Noto, is part of UNESCO Heritage Sites in Italy.   read more…

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