Tag Archives: History

Cities, History, Landmarks, Travel, Videos, Views

Historical Views: Ponte Vecchio In Florence, Italy

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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.

Boats, Stories, Tours, Videos, Views

Sailing Views: ‘Rainbow’ – A Spectacular J Class Yacht

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 Rainbow exudes a sense of grace and power, but is a thoroughly modern recreation of its 1930s namesake. Launched in 2012 by Holland Jachtbouw, she faintly resembles the 1934 J Class America’s Cup winner. Because she mixes classic design with modern technology, this new-generation Rainbow packs more pedigree into her 140-foot aluminum hull than most other modern sailing yachts combined.

Archaeology, History, Magazines, Previews, Stories

Previews: Archaeology Magazine – May/June 2022

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Table of Contents  May/June 2022

Secrets of Scotland’s Viking Age Hoard

A massive cache of Viking silver and Anglo-Saxon heirlooms reveals the complex political landscape of ninth-century Britain

The World of Egyptian Demons

Thousands of supernatural beings, including protective cobra spirits and knife-wielding turtles, guarded ancient Egyptians in life and death

Fit for Fighting

The discovery of Mesopotamian-style armor in northwest China offers new insights into a battle- tested ancient technology

To Live and Die in Pompeii

Unearthing the unusual burial of a freedman who gained entrée into the city’s top social ranks

Culture, History, Magazines, Previews, Society, Stories

Previews: Humanities Magazine – Spring 2022

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HUMANITIES: The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities

In This Issue

Dueling: the Violence of Gentlemen

What honor required of men.

Joseph Farrell

Politics and the Psyche    

During World War II, François Tosquelles treated patients by addressing the sickness of society

Camille Robcis

A New Museum For First Americans 

Oklahoma

Andy Rieger

Historical, Homes, Profiles, Stories, Views

English Country Houses: Ancient ‘Hunton Court’ Near Maidstone In Kent

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Hunton Court is an ancient house hiding behind a breathtaking Georgian facade, and all set in a truly beautiful corner of Kent.

Take a quick look at Hunton Court — near Maidstone, in Kent — and you’d immediately mark it down as an 18th century country house. Yet its true origins lie many centuries earlier: it’s a building that hides its timbered origins behind a Georgian look.

The house, once known as Court Lodge, had a turbulent history: first built in the 13th century and part of an estate that had belonged to the Canterbury’s Christ Church Priory, it was handed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry VIII’s High Sheriff for Kent, after the Dissolution of Monasteries.

History, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

The Cotswolds: A History Of The Village Of Naunton

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Not far from Stow-on-the-Wold, the village of Naunton sits in a small valley along the river Windrush. Our travelling companion Herbert Evans didn’t have much to say for the place, but we still certainly found it to be a peaceful spot.

Naunton is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the River Windrush in the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Stow-on-the-Wold is about 6 miles to the east. 

History, Museums, Short Films, Stories, Videos

Short Films: ‘The Legend of Ñaymlap’ – An Andean Origin Story Of Peru (2022)

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In the Denver Art Museum’s Art of the Ancient Americas galleries, we worked with Mexico City-based animators Hola Combo to create animations to help tell the origin stories that explain the relationship between ancient American communities and the their environment. For the Andes, we chose a story that loosely relates to the works on display. “The Legend of Ñaymlap” is an ancient story from Peru’s northern coastal communities and supposedly records the origins of the Sicán or Lambayeque dynasty (about 750–1375 CE). Within this origin story, there is a moral about the relationship between the deities and the land. As the ruler turns away from the deities, rain and floods devastate the land, starving the community.

History, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Cotswolds View: History Of Temple Guiting (4K)

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Temple Guiting is a few miles away from Guiting Power, and has a wonderfully grand church with historical connections to the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar were a Holy Order that many associate with the Crusades. The village is another spectacular hidden gem, a classic English village.

Arts & Literature, Culture, History, Museums, Tours, Videos

Views: ‘Seeing The Samurai’ With Japanese Armour

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This fascinating Japanese armour was part of the first diplomatic gift between Japan and Britain. It is over 400 years old and one of the first documented Japanese armours to have been seen on British soil.

Learn more about this amazing object in this short film. See the armour in our exhibition Japan: Courts and Culture at The Queen’s Gallery, London from 8 April 2022 – 26 February 2023.

Architecture, History, Homes, Stories, Views

Tudor Architecture: A History Of 16th Century English Great Houses

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Country Life’s architecture editor John Goodall looks at the architecture of the Tudor home.

In April 1521, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was urgently summoned from his seat at Thornbury, Gloucestershire, to appear before Henry VIII. The Duke could reasonably claim by birth to be the outstanding nobleman of his generation, boasting descent from Edward III and—arguably—possessed of a better claim to the throne than the Tudors.

He played the role of a great nobleman with proud perfection, both at home and in such public events as Henry VIII’s meeting with Francis I of France on the Field of Cloth of Gold, where he jousted and appeared in costume of fabulous expense. His birth and magnificence, however, also made him vulnerable to Court intrigue.