Tag Archives: Culture

Italian Culture: ‘Mitico – Follow The Art Path’ (2022)

For the 2022 season, Belmond has launched a partnership with internationally acclaimed art gallery – Galleria Continua – entitled MITICO, which celebrates the talents of four prominent artists, as they take the spotlight in some of Belmond’s captivating landmark gardens across Italy.

Evoking a feeling of inclusivity and community, MITICO embodies a new art philosophy: it is the reinterpretation of universal customs shared amongst different societies, such as cooking, painting, observing, and appreciating, and how these are consumed in their environments.

MITICO is a moment in time and history where cultures interact – ultimately it is a celebration of art de vivre. Deepening its long-standing connection to the arts, through MITICO, Galleria Continua and Belmond invite guests to see cultures through a different lens, tapping into each individual destination’s essence and beauty.

Views: Ancient Food In Merzouga, Morocco

Ancient food in the Merzouga Region of Morocco. Merzouga is a small Moroccan town in the Sahara Desert, near the Algerian border. It’s known as a gateway to Erg Chebbi, a huge expanse of sand dunes north of town. West of Merzouga, Dayet Srji is a seasonal salt lake that’s often dry in summer. When full, it attracts a wide range of migratory and desert birds, including desert warblers, Egyptian nightjars and, occasionally, flamingos.

Restaurants: Dar Aytma Restaurant and Dar Gnaoua Bambara.

Views: Snowdrops From The Caucasus, Georgia

Khatuna Jakeli loves snowdrops. Not only because they’re pretty, but because they provide her with an income. Every year in April and May, she treks through the Caucasus mountains of Adjara and collects the wildflower bulbs. The bulbs are then sold to the Netherlands, from where they are shipped to flower stores throughout Europe.

The Caucasus delivers 22 million snowdrops to the Netherlands every year, including 15 million wild snowdrops. A lucrative business, from which little remains for Khatuna Jakeli. Yet it is her most important source of income. A report by Juri Rescheto.

Cover Previews: Britain Magazine – July/Aug 2022

A TASTE OF THE JULY/AUGUST 2022 ISSUE

Big Ben: The time machine

Credit: PjrTravel / Alamy

Big Ben, the world’s most famous clock has been under wraps for four years, its iconic bell silenced. This year, restored to its former glory, Big Ben once again shows its face.

Read more here. 

Richmond: Down by the river

Credit: Maurizio Rellini

Between Richmond and Hampton Court is a storied stretch of the River Thames, whose banks are lined with grand houses, royal parks and Henry VIII’s favourite palace.

Read more here.

King Arthur’s Cornwall: Searching for Camelot

Tintagel Castle. Credit: Matt Jessop

The timeless legends of King Arthur and his brave knights live on in the magical landscapes of North Cornwall.

Read more here. 

COVERS: FRANCE-AMÉRIQUE MAGAZINE – JUNE 2022 ISSUE

France-AmériqueJune 2022

French Lands Adrift in the Ocean

Some 3 million people live in French overseas territories – islands like Guadeloupe, Martinique, Polynesia, New Caledonia, Réunion, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, remnants of France’s colonial empire. We explore these distant lands that are regularly pushing for independence. Also in this issue, meet the French community of Hawaii, read about Alma de Bretteville Spreckels – the “great-grandmother of San Francisco” and a friend of Rodin – and discover our interview with U.S. historian Stephen Bourque on the “the Allied war against France” during the Normandy landings. Lastly, we bring you the story of Disneyland Paris, which revived fears of Americanization in France when it opened 30 years ago.

Cinematic Travel: Colors And Cultures Of India

Located in South Asia, India sits on a peninsula that extends between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The country, the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism, is the world’s second most-populous nation after China.

For many years of its long history, India faced incursions from the north by Turks, Arabs, Persians and others. By the 19th century, Great Britain became the dominant power on the subcontinent. After years of nonviolent struggle against British rule, India gained its independence in 1947.

Rainforests Of Africa: The Protectors Of Gabon

Gabon’s soul lies hidden beneath a thick green mantle, the source of most of the Gabonese traditions, medicines, spirituality, and resources. A precious heritage that a small number of men and women protect.

We meet Kombo, a Babongo hunter, and Juste, who is in touch with the forest spirits. In human cultures in general, and perhaps particularly in Africa, the landscape is the first shrine of tradition.

From the sand dunes of Mauritania to the currents of River Senegal, to the Lions of the Beninese savannah to the spirits of the forests of Gabon, this series explores the origin, the nature and the survival of deep links between several populations in West Africa and their habitat.

Travels: History Of The Orient Express & Istanbul

Gavin Stamp retraces the route of the old Orient Express, from London, via Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, to Istanbul, in search of the treasures of ‘Old Europe’. Stamp’s adventures on and off the train are punctuated by his candid, entertaining reflections on life, the world, and the strange and wonderful people he meets.

Celebrity Culture: History Of The Côte d’Azur, France

The Côte d’Azur stands for glamour and luxury, for film festivals and stars, for yachts and villas. The most famous personalities of the last century met here. The Côte owes its unique mythos to their loves and passions.

The Côte d’Azur boasts a breathtakingly gorgeous landscape. But its mythos is more than the sum of it beautiful parts. The whole world associates the narrow coastal strip on the French Mediterranean coast with sun, stars and scandals. In Saint Tropez, a former fishing town, a new and newly sensual art of living was popularized thanks to the young Brigitte Bardot.

On the eastern part of the coast, Oscar winner Grace Kelly conquered the principality of Monaco with her marriage to Prince Rainier. The matchmaker? The Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis, who wanted to burnish the dwarf state’s image. One of the most glamorous film festivals in the world was established in Cannes. After that, it seemed everyone came to the Côte. At the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, the paths of the famous crossed again and again.

For 150 years the hotel has been home to artists, queens and kings, divas and stars. Since 1969, the hotel has been owned by the German industrialist family Oetker. Maja Oetker describes her personal memories of the past 50 years. To this day, the Côte d’Azur has lost none of its appeal. It is more than just a place: it is an entire mythos.

Historical Views: Ponte Vecchio In Florence, Italy

The Ponte Vecchio is one of the most iconic bridges in Florence, Italy. It is the oldest bridge in the city (Ponte Vecchio literally translates to “old bridge”), and one of the oldest segmental arch bridges in the world. Since the Middle Ages, the base of the Ponte Vecchio has consisted of three stone arches and two piers.

The stone structure was completed in 1345, and was built over the course of twelve years. It replaced an earlier wooden structure that collapsed in a flood in 1333. Originally, the buildings on the Ponte Vecchio housed apartments and workshops, as well as butcher shops. Later, the business premises were given to goldsmiths and silversmiths, who added several structural changes to the buildings, such as bay windows and balconies.