The Fall of Constantinople : Historic Areas of Istanbul
The Bosphorous Strait separates the continents of Asia and Europe. The city of Istanbul, protected by the 800-metre-wide waterway has long prospered. The…
Cliffside Villages : Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and Surrounding Islands
The mountain village of Portovenere is located along Italys west coast towards the end of the Italian Riviera. What is hanging down here…
Protecting Timber-Framed Buildings : Collegiate Church, Castle, and the Old Town of Quedlinburg
The city of Quedlinburg is located in a richly-wooded area of Central Germany. Wealthy town merchants in the 15th century exerted their influence…
Pope in Captivity : Historic Centre of Avignon
The city of Avignon is located on the banks of the River Rhone in southern France. The city was the heart of the…
Beneath the Wheel : The Maulbronn Monastery Complex
This 12th century monastery is in southern Germany. It was built by the Cistercian Order of monks. The Maulbronn Monastery complex is the…
Royal Mausoleum: Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde is an inlet port town in Denmark. It was established as a Viking settlement during the 10th century. Denmark, after the Viking…
The Legend of the Rose/St Marys Cathedral and St. Michaels Church in Hildesheim
Hildesheim in northwest Germany dates back over 1000 years. The town has a history dating back over 1000 years and has overcome the…
The Birth of Pizza Margherita / Historic Centre of Naples
Neapolitans have strong opinions about how pizza should be made. The dough has to be thick with a raised rim, and its texture…
Holy Pilgrimage Town: Vézelay, Church and Hill
A small hill lies in the Bourgogne region of Central France. The Medieval townscape extends beside the road and stretches across the hill.…
Buddhist Towers with Remains of Kings : The Historic City of Ayutthaya and Associated Historic Towns
This is the ancient city of Ayutthaya in Thailand. The city thrived as capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom for some 400 years from…
Medieval Sound of Carillon : The Belfries of Flanders
In the Flanders region of Belgium, belfries can be found in the central square of most cities. 56 belfries in total located in…
A Tower on the Gourmet Road : The Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena
This is Modena, a city located in northern Italy with a population of around 170,000 people. It still retains much of its medieval…
The Origin of Spain : Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of Asturias
This is San Miguel de Lillo, a small church quietly standing at the foot of a mountain. It was built in the 9th…
Holy Paintings in the Caves : The Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo
A wild plateau stretches across the North-East of Bulgaria. Craggy gorges cut into the plateau. These steep cliffs were caused by long-term erosion…
A Bible carved in Stone: Amiens Cathedral
Amiens Cathedral in north-western France is a gothic masterpiece built before Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is richly adorned with impressive sculptural…
Holy Murals of Blue: Churches of Moldavia
Church walls entirely covered with colourful fresco paintings – a feature unique to the region of Moldavia in Romania. Moldavia has long been…
A Reflection of a Medieval Town: The Historic Center of Brugge
The Flanders region of Western Belgium is connected by canals to the North Sea. The textile trade flourished here during the 13th and…
Harmony Within: The Hanseatic City of Lübeck
The port city of Lübeck in Northern Germany is located 20 kilometers inland and is connected to the Baltic Sea by canal. It…
The Glory of Columbus: Seville Cathedral
Christopher Columbus was the greatest contributor to the Kingdom of Spain during the Great Age of Discovery of the 15th century. And Seville…
Master Artisanship and Architectural Splendour: The Shrines and Temples of Nikko
The mountains and forests of Nikko in the northwest of Tochigi Prefecture in Japan have been regarded as the hallowed ground of Shugen-do…
Solemn World of Lights: Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral is located southwest of Paris. The building has four wings pointing directly North, South, East and West. Each wing represents the…
Contrada Life: The Historic Centre of Siena
Siena in Tuscany in central Italy was a rich medieval city state with a thriving finance industry. It is known for its main…
Underground Towns: Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia
The landscape of Cappadocia in central Turkey has been sculpted by centuries of erosion. Christians began to build Churches here as early as…
The Mystery of the Octagon: Aachen Cathedral
Aachen is in Western Germany, near the border with the Netherlands and Belgium. Charles the Great, King of the Franks, began the construction…
Castles Along the Rhine: The Upper Middle Rhine Valley
The Rhine flows south to north through the middle of Germany. It is over 1300 kilometers long; 65 kilometer of the Upper Middle…