The Bridge of Breasts
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 5, 2019
At one point in the distant past, Venice had a busy red light district in the very commercial heart of the city—the Rialto area. Prostitutio...
Showing posts with the label Italy
Via Cava: The Cave Roads of Tuscany
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 17, 2019
In southern Tuscany, there is a mysterious network of old pathways deeply entranced into massive rocks appearing like narrow canyons flanked...
The Triumphal Arch of Emperor Maximilian I
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 27, 2019
Like many rulers, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I had a fascination for large monuments, but instead of actually building them he roman...
The Longest Papal Election in History
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 26, 2019
The main attraction in the ancient city of Viterbo, in central Italy, is a 13th century palace built to serve as the country residence for t...
Porto Flavia
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 4, 2019
On the west coast of Sardinia, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, there was once an unusual port. It’s a small opening on t...
The Talking Statues of Rome
Kaushik Patowary
May 15, 2019
For the past five hundred years, the people of Rome have voiced their resentment against the authorities through a unique medium—short compo...
The Dam Climbing Alpine Ibex
Kaushik Patowary
Apr 24, 2019
Alpine Ibex are big mountain goats that live among the peaks in the European Alps where predators cannot reach. They occupy the steep, rock...
Nasoni: Rome’s Ubiquitous Water Fountains
Kaushik Patowary
Apr 9, 2019
Drinking fountains in Rome are as quintessential as the city’s many Roman monuments. Standing about three feet high, these 200-pound cylind...
Syndrome K: The Fake Disease That Saved Lives
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 20, 2019
In the fall of 1943, as German soldiers began rounding up Jews in Italy and deporting them by the thousands to concentration camps, a myster...
Buchette Del Vino: The Wine Windows of Florence
Kaushik Patowary
Feb 27, 2019
A unique architectural curiosity found only in the Italian city of Florence are tiny decorated openings on the outside walls of many sumptuo...
Bookwheel, The 16th Century Forerunner to The eBook Reader
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 30, 2019
For many of us, the ebook reader was the next best thing to happen since Gutenberg’s printing press. The printing press made books widely av...
Grammichele: The Hexagonal Town
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 18, 2019
Located in the province of Catania, in the Italian island of Sicily, is the town of Grammichele. It is one of the few towns in the world to...
Cascata delle Marmore: A Man-Made Waterfalls Created by Ancient Romans
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 7, 2019
About 8 kilometers east from the city of Terni, in the Umbria region of Italy, is a beautiful three-tiered waterfalls called Cascata delle M...
Forma Urbis: Rome’s Giant Marble Map
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 7, 2019
A modern illustration of the Temple of Peace with Forma Urbis, the giant map of Rome, on the wall. At the Roman Forum in the center of Rom...
San Petronio Basilica: The Church That Ticked The Pope Off
Kaushik Patowary
Dec 4, 2018
Dominating the central square in the city of Bologna is one of the world’s largest church with a unique mismatched façade that has been intr...
Tarpeian Rock: The Cliff Romans Threw Their Traitors From
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 30, 2018
The ancient Romans used a variety of horrific methods to execute those condemned to death for crimes ranging from rape and murder, to adulte...
Galgano Guidotti And The Sword in Stone
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 10, 2018
The story of King Arthur and his legendary sword Excalibur which he pulled out of a rock to prove his divine right to the throne is well kno...
The World’s Longest Portico
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 9, 2018
Portico di San Luca : Photo credit: Stefano Carnevali/Shutterstock.com Atop a forested hill, some 300 meters above the city of Bologna, st...
The War of The Bucket
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 11, 2018
In a way, all wars are stupid—but none was stupider than the Battle of Zappolino that was waged over a silly wooden bucket. The War of the ...
Posthumous Execution
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 10, 2018
The execution of Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton and John Bradshaw in 1661, from a contemporary engraving. Oliver Cromwell, the 1st ruler of...
