NB! · Architecture · Art

The Cretan Labyrinth in a fifteenth-century Florentine engraving is, unexpectedly, shown as a building with very high walls

The Cretan Labyrinth in a fifteenth-century Florentine engraving is, unexpectedly, shown as a building with very high walls. The Minotaur himself does not appear in Tommaso Ginuera's engraving; he is understood to be somewhere inside

Architecture · Faith · Monarchies

The Church of St Mary Magdalene at the royal residence of Sandringham is best known for its part in the life of the British royal family: Princess Eugenie and Charlotte were christened here, the royal family's Christmas services are held here, and memoria

The Church of St Mary Magdalene at the royal residence of Sandringham is best known for its part in the life of the British royal family: Princess Eugenie and Charlotte were christened here, the royal family's Christmas services are held here, and memorial tablets to departed members of

Architecture · Faith · Heritage

Whale decoration on Catholic pulpits in Poland and Czechia and the story of Jonah

A Pulpit in the Form of a Whale in the Eighteenth-Century Polish Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Duszniki-Zdrój. Such a decoration for a pulpit is highly unusual in Catholic churches, and is found chiefly in Poland and Bohemia. The image of the whale evidently alludes to

Architecture · Art · Monarchies · Museums

Maurizio Cattelan's suspended horse, the 1997 work “Novecento” at the Rivoli museum

Anyone who has been to Turin cannot fail to remember the horse suspended from the dome of the former residence of the House of Savoy at Rivoli, which has housed a museum of contemporary art since 1984. Quite literally the subject of a nature morte, a still life, it is

NB! · Archaeology · Archive · Architecture

The Palace of Knossos, a Postcard of 1900

NB! · Architecture · Art · Observations

How do you like the nereids at the base of the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna, mid-sixteenth century, by the sculptor Giambologna?

Aristocracy · Architecture · Mores · Rome

Built in the first half of the twentieth century not far from Rome, the Villa Volpi still stirs connoisseurs of architectural styles with its neo-Palladian atmosphere, created against the fashion of the day by the architect Tomaso Buzzi in the heyday of m

Built in the first half of the twentieth century not far from Rome, the Villa Volpi still stirs connoisseurs of architectural styles with its neo-Palladian atmosphere, created against the fashion of the day by the architect Tomaso Buzzi in the heyday of modernism on the shore of the Tyrrhenian

Aerial view of a railway yard with many tracks and long curving rows of dark freight cars.

Architecture · Geography · Observations

Infrastructure's effect on the landscape in an aerial view of a railway yard

A Queue of Trains at the Norfolk Railway Station in Virginia, USA. If anyone underestimates the influence of infrastructure on the landscape, do think again.

NB! · Architecture · Observations

Could All Our Street Kiosks Look Like THIS, Please?

Almaty · Architecture · Society

Great is Russia, yet there is nowhere to retreat: behind us lies Moscow!

Monument in the Park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen in Almaty

Architecture · Art · Museums

Peggy Guggenheim's collection on public view in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice since 1951

A window grille at Peggy Guggenheim's house in Venice, where her collection of art has been on public view since 1951, including Italian Futurists and American modernists in the genres of Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, as well as sculptures. In addition, the masterpieces of the Hannelore and

Aerial view of the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre with a grass-covered arena, surrounded by city apartment buildings.

NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Heritage

Two ancient Roman amphitheatres of Aquincum survive in Budapest

Two ancient Roman amphitheatres survive in modern Budapest: the Civil and Military Amphitheatres at Aquincum. The first could hold up to 6,000 spectators, the second 12,000.