Vaulted underground hall with massive pillars, a silt-covered floor and scattered debris.

Archaeology · Architecture · The East · Heritage

Derbent is over 2,000 years old and ranks among the oldest cities in Russia

Underground reservoir of the 10th to 11th centuries to open to visitors in Derbent. Derbent, with a history of more than 2,000 years, is one of the oldest cities in Russia

Architecture · Art · Museums · Paris

Centre Pompidou branch to open in November 2027 with focus on South American artists

While the main building of the Centre Pompidou in Paris closes for lengthy renovation, a new branch of the museum is planned to open in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu, not far from the Iguazu Falls. The museum's activity will focus both on displaying part of

Architecture · Books · Moscow · Observations · Reportage

Only in Moscow could this happen: you stroll along a boulevard of an evening and find yourself at an open meeting with a writer

Only in Moscow could this happen: you stroll along a boulevard of an evening and find yourself at an open meeting with a writer. Yesterday that is precisely what befell me. Passing the monument to Sholokhov, I heard Alexandr Tsypkin say something like "what if the cultural capital is

Architecture · Museums · Society · Paris

Funding for the €1 billion Louvre renovation remains uncertain

Never Enough for Them! Funding for the Louvre renovation project remains in question, reports TANR. Since 2021 the director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, has been promoting the "Grand Louvre" project, which envisages a large-scale reconstruction of the museum, including the building of a new entrance

Architecture · Art · Moscow · Observations · Heritage

The metro station Dobryninskaya (formerly Serpukhovskaya) is adorned with 16 refined bas-reliefs by Elena Janson-Manizer, wife of the author of the bronze sculptures at Ploshchad Revolyutsii station

The marble reliefs depict, for the most part, agricultural workers. This is presumably meant to allude to the chief farming trade of each Soviet republic. Why 16 republics? The Union republics, the RSFSR included, numbered 15 from 1956 onwards; in 1950, when the station opened, there was still the Karelo-

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Paris

A magnificent twin-spiral oak staircase, twenty-one metres high and weighing twenty tonnes, has been installed in the south tower of Notre-Dame de Paris

NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage

Interior of the house in Ajaccio, Corsica, where Napoleon was born

Architecture · Moscow · Observations

Demolition of the “Negotsiant” residential complex near the Patriarshy Bridge

The Patriarshy Bridge over the Drainage Canal is under reconstruction. To get from Bolotny Island to Yakimanskaya Embankment, one must use the Maly Kamenny Bridge or the bridge by the monument to Peter, which, as far as I know, has no name. The elite residential complex "Negotiant" at

An arch of golden balloons topped with the number 90 over a Moscow metro pavilion against a sunset sky.

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations

Balloon arch with the number 90 above a Moscow metro entrance at sunset

Beautiful. The Moscow Metro, my absolute favourite ❤️

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Humour

The New Moscow Style: the ZIGGURAT

The new Moscow style: the ZIGGURAT. Thanks for the formulation.

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Society Pages

A Few Impressions from Arkhmoskva

Archaeology · Archive · Architecture · Heritage

Stonehenge, a photograph of 1944

The monument owes its present appearance to repeated interventions in its structure. In 1901 the first major restoration was carried out, with the participation of the archaeologist William Gowland, who straightened and secured one of the stones, which was in danger of falling. In the process the stone was moved