Founded by Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros in the early 16th century, Alcalá de Henares was the world's first planned university city. It was the original model for the Civitas Dei (City of God), the ideal urban community which Spanish missionaries brought to the Americas. It also served as a model for universities in Europe and elsewhere.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Spain : Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches (2007)
Founded in the 11th century to protect the Spanish territories from the Moors, this 'City of Saints and Stones', the birthplace of St Teresa and the burial place of the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, has kept its medieval austerity. This purity of form can still be seen in the Gothic cathedral and the fortifications which, with their 82 semicircular towers and nine gates, are the most complete in Spain.
Spain : Old City of Salamanca (1988)
This ancient university town north-west of Madrid was first conquered by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century B.C. It then became a Roman settlement before being ruled by the Moors until the 11th century. The university, one of the oldest in Europe, reached its high point during Salamanca's golden age. The city's historic centre has important Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance and Baroque monuments. The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive.
Spain : Works of Antoni Gaudí (1984)
Seven properties built by the architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) in or near Barcelona testify to Gaudí’s exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These monuments represent an eclectic, as well as a very personal, style which was given free reign in the design of gardens, sculpture and all decorative arts, as well as architecture. The seven buildings are: Casa Vicens; Gaudí’s work on the Nativity façade and Crypt of La Sagrada Familia; Casa Batlló; Crypt in Colonia Güell.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Australia : Sydney Opera House (2007)
Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century that brings together multiple strands of creativity and innovation in both architectural form and structural design. A great urban sculpture set in a remarkable waterscape, at the tip of a peninsula projecting into Sydney Harbour, the building has had an enduring influence on architecture. The Sydney Opera House comprises three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’ which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant. These shell-structures are set upon a vast platform and are surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses. In 1957, when the project of the Sydney Opera House was awarded by an international jury to Danish architect Jørn Utzon, it marked a radically new approach to construction.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Lithuania : Archaeological Site of Kernave Stamps 2010
The World Heritage Objects. Archaeological Site of Kernave.
Date of issue: 7th August 2010
Designer: R. Jucaitis
Paper: chalky
Printing process: offset
Perforation:comb 14
Size ofa stamp: 30 x 34,50 mm.
Miniature Sheet composition: 9 (3 x 3) stamps
Printing run: 153.000 stamps or 17.000 Miniature Sheets
Michel catalogue numbers: 1045-1046
3 Lt. multicoloured. The archaeological site of Kernavė.
3 Lt. multicoloured. The archaeological site of Kernavė.
Paper: chalky
Printing process: offset
Perforation:comb 14
Size ofa stamp: 30 x 34,50 mm.
Miniature Sheet composition: 9 (3 x 3) stamps
Printing run: 153.000 stamps or 17.000 Miniature Sheets
Michel catalogue numbers: 1045-1046
3 Lt. multicoloured. The archaeological site of Kernavė.
3 Lt. multicoloured. The archaeological site of Kernavė.
Netherlands : Defence Line of Amsterdam (1996)
Extending 135 km around the city of Amsterdam, this defence line (built between 1883 and 1920) is the only example of a fortification based on the principle of controlling the waters. Since the 16th century, the people of the Netherlands have used their expert knowledge of hydraulic engineering for defence purposes. The centre of the country was protected by a network of 45 armed forts, acting in concert with temporary flooding from polders and an intricate system of canals and locks.
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