Torre Littoria, Biella — Federico Maggia’s DVX Tower of 1939
The Torre Littoria in a period postcard, the letters DVX at the top. Postcard: collection Stefano Vigolo. Biella, Piemonte · […]
Corte del Calderer — the Coppersmiths’ Courtyard by San Giovanni Evangelista, Venice
Corte del Calderer at night, the street sign on the corner and the well-head at the centre. Photo: Luigi De
The Centrale Mazzoni — Angiolo Mazzoni’s Heating Plant for Venice Station
The round chimney and the brick block of the former heating plant, between later housing. Photo: Stefano Vigolo, 2022. Venice,
Palazzo Genovese — a Neo-Gothic Palace of 1892 beside the Salute, Venice
Palazzo Genovese on the Grand Canal, the dome of the Salute behind it. Photo: Stefano Vigolo. Venice, Dorsoduro · 1892
Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Granda — Sansovino’s Palace on the Grand Canal, Venice
Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Granda across the Grand Canal, the flags of the Prefecture at the windows. Photo: Stefano Vigolo,
Palazzo Pisani Gritti — the Doge’s House on the Grand Canal, Venice
Palazzo Pisani Gritti from the Grand Canal, with the hotel terrace on the water. Photo: Stefano Vigolo. Venice, San Marco
UNESCO World Heritage Sites Near the Laurisilva of Madeira: The World’s Largest Surviving Tertiary Forest, a Relict Ecosystem From 5 Million Years Ago and the Moss-Draped Canopy Where the Trocaz Pigeon Disperses Laurel Seeds
The Laurisilva of Madeira is a UNESCO World Heritage natural site (1999) protecting approximately 15,000 hectares of ancient laurel forest — roughly 90% of all surviving laurissilva on the planet. This relict ecosystem, a remnant of subtropical forests that covered southern Europe during the Pliocene epoch, is accessible via Madeira’s celebrated levada walking paths, which follow centuries-old irrigation channels through the moss-draped canopy. The Trocaz Pigeon, endemic to Madeira, disperses the seeds of the dominant Til trees and is the forest’s ecologically indispensable animal.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites Near the Côa Valley Rock Art: The Paleolithic Open-Air Gallery Saved From Flooding in 1995, 1,200 Engraved Panels and the Aurochs Carved Into Schist 22,000 Years Ago
The Côa Valley Archaeological Park in northeastern Portugal protects the largest concentration of open-air Palaeolithic rock art in the world — approximately 1,200 engraved panels of horses, aurochs, and ibex carved into schist bedrock between 22,000 and 10,000 BCE. UNESCO-listed since 1998 and extended to include Siega Verde (Spain) in 2010, the site was saved from flooding after the cancellation of the Foz Côa dam in 1996 following an international campaign. Guided visits depart from the Museu do Côa in Vila Nova de Foz Côa; the Alto Douro Wine Region lies 80 km to the west.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites Near the Alto Douro Wine Region: The World’s Oldest Demarcated Wine Appellation (1756), the Rabelo Boats That Carried Port to Porto and 2,000 Years of Terraced Schist Vineyards
The Alto Douro Wine Region in northeastern Portugal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2001) and the world’s oldest officially demarcated wine appellation — a boundary drawn in 1756, 99 years before Bordeaux’s famous classification. The 24,600-hectare landscape of hand-built terraced vineyards (socalcos), historic quintas, and the scenic Douro Line railway stretches between Mesão Frio and Barca d’Alva, producing Port wine and an increasingly prominent range of dry table wines from over 80 indigenous grape varieties.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites Near the Major Mining Sites of Wallonia: The 1956 Marcinelle Disaster That Killed 262 Miners, the Model Industrial Village of Grand-Hornu and the Coalfield That Industrialised Europe
The Major Mining Sites of Wallonia — Grand-Hornu, Bois-du-Luc, Bois du Cazier, and Blegny-Mine — are a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2012 as documents of the first industrial revolution on the European continent. The Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle is the site of the 1956 mining disaster that killed 262 men from thirteen countries and directly triggered the European Coal and Steel Community’s first common mine safety standards.