SWITZERLAND: Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-Town of Bellinzona

The fortified ensemble of Bellinzone is a unique example of European architecture erected in defence of the feudal structure guarding a key strategic Alpine pass. The Bellinzone ensemble is the sole remaining example in the entire Alpine region of medieval military architecture, comprising three castles, a wall that once closed off the whole Ticino valley, and the ramparts which surrounded the town for the protection of its citizens. Bellinzone owes its origins to its strategic position controlling access, via the Ticino valley, to the main Alpine passes into the Milanese, i.e. the whole north of Italy.

Recent excavations have shown that the site was inhabited as early as the Neolithic period. It was a Roman outpost until the frontiers of the empire were pushed further north to the Danube. Under pressure from barbarian inroads from the north, Bellinzone once again became a defensive stronghold against the peoples streaming down from the plains of central Europe. In the troubled days of the declining Roman Empire, the site fell into the hands of the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, and finally the Lombards.

In the 10th century, Bellinzone formed part of the possessions of Otto I, founder of the Holy Roman Empire. The earliest constructions still extant probably date from around this period. Around the year 1000, the castle and the county were granted by the emperor to the Bishop of Como. It was at this period that the interior of the castle of Castelgrande was divided up to accommodate houses, turning it into a small fortified town. In the 12th century, Frederick Barbarossa took possession of the fortress. The town grew up gradually around the citadel and the fortifications were improved. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the town expanded around the castle. The Castle of Montebello was built around 1300 and soon incorporated into the system of fortifications. The Castle of Sasso Corbaro built in 1480 to the south-east of Castelgrande.

Bellinzone became part of the state of Milan under the rule of the Visconti, who strengthened its defences considerably and began the construction of a wall running from Castelgrande to block the Ticino valley: the wall was known as the Murata.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Bellinzone fell to the confederates, and the fortifications lost much of their importance but were not destroyed. In 1803, Castelgrande was used as prison and an arsenal. The modern town developed at the expense of the ramparts. In 1882, the arsenal was extended. In the 20th century the major restoration work began. The ensemble of three castles and a network of fortifications are: Castelgrande (Château d'Uri, Château Saint-Michel), Château de Montebello (Château de Schwyz, Château Saint-Martin); and Château de Sasso Corbaro (Château d'Unterwald, Château Sainte-Barbara).

The Castelgrande is the largest of the three fortresses and dominates the town from its rocky eminence with its two towers, known as the White and Black Towers respectively. The spacious interior is divided by internal walls radiating out from the Black Tower into three courtyards. The White Tower, to the east, is surrounded by its own set of fortifications, known as the Redoubt. The arsenal consists of a series of massive buildings on the western side of the south courtyard. The enceinte has two chapels, but only their foundations still survive. Montebello Castle lies on a rocky spur to the east of Castelgrande, with which it is linked by the town walls; unlike Castelgrande, it is surrounded by deep moats. Its core is the central keep, from the end of the 13th century, which was given additional protection in the form of new defensive walls in the mid-14th and late 15th centuries. Sasso Corbaro Castle does not form part of the defensive perimeter of Bellinzone: it covers a vulnerable approach route. It is square in plan, the keep jutting out on the north-eastern corner and rising slightly above the level of the crenellated walls. Some two-thirds of the original line of the Town Ramparts still survive, with interval towers, but the gates have disappeared.

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND N. IRELAND: Old and New Towns of Edinburgh

  Edinburgh has been the Scottish capital since the 15th century. It has two distinct areas: the Old Town, dominated by a medieval fortress; and the neoclassical New Town, whose development from the 18th century onwards had a far-reaching influence on European urban planning. The harmonious juxtaposition of these two contrasting historic areas, each with many important buildings, is what gives the city its unique character.

AUSTRIA: Historic Centre of Vienna

Received thanx to Edna.

Beginning in the 12th century, the settlement expanded beyond the Roman defences, which were demolished. The medieval town walls surrounded a much larger area; they were rebuilt during the Ottoman conflicts in the 16th and 17th centuries and provided with bastions. This remained the core of Vienna until the walls were demolished in the second half of the 19th century. This inner city contains a number of medieval historic buildings, including the Schottenkloster, the oldest monastery in Austria, the churches of Maria am Gestade (one of the main Gothic structures), Michaelerkirche, Minoritenkirche and Minoritenkloster, from the 13th century. St Stephen's Cathedral dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. The period also saw the construction of civic ensembles, such as initial parts of the Hofburg. Whereas the monastic complexes were generally built from stone, becoming part of the defences of the medieval city, the residential quarters were of timber and suffered frequent fires.

In 1683, Vienna developed rapidly as the capital of the Habsburg Empire, becoming an impressive Baroque city. The Baroque character was expressed particularly in the large palace layouts built under Emperor Charles VI (1711-40) and Maria Theresa (1740-80), such as the Belvedere Palace and garden ensemble. A growing number of new palaces were built by noble families. Many existing medieval buildings, churches and convents were altered and given Baroque features, and additions were made to representative administrative buildings. Several historic buildings are now associated with the important Viennese residence of personalities such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and others, when the city played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century.

A new phase in the history of Vienna took place when the 34 suburbs were incorporated with the city, and the emperor ordered the demolition of the fortifications around the inner city. This opportunity was taken in order to create one of the most significant 19th-century ensembles in the history of urban planning, which greatly influenced the rest of Europe in this crucial period of social and economic development.

In 1874 the Hofburg complex was extended with the Neue Hofburg, an 'imperial forum', and joined with large museum complexes into a single ensemble. The burgtheater, the parliament, the town hall, and the university formed another ensemble linked with these. To this was added the opera house as well as a large number of public and private buildings along the Ringstrasse, on the line of the demolished walls. The late 19th and early 20th centuries testify to further creative contributions by Viennese designers, artists, and architects in the period of Jugendstil, Secession and the early Modern Movement of the 20th century in architecture.

RUSSIA: Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow

Received thanx to Nastya.

From the 13th century to the founding of St Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin was directly and tangibly associated with every major event in Russian history. The Kremlin contains within its walls a unique series of masterpieces of architecture and the plastic arts - religious monuments of exceptional beauty such as the Church of the Annunciation, Cathedral of the Dormition, Church of the Archangel and the bell tower of Ivan Veliki, and palaces such as the Great Palace of the Kremlin, which comprises within its walls the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Teremnoi Palace. On Red Square is Saint Basil the Blessed, still a major edifice of Orthodox art. Russian architecture was clearly affected many times in its history by influences emanating from the Kremlin. A particular example is the Italian Renaissance.

The Kremlin of Moscow, which according to chronicles dates from 1156, contains an ensemble of monuments of outstanding quality. Ever since the establishment of the Principality of Moscow in 1263 and the transfer to Moscow of the seat of Vladimir's Metropolitan in 1328, this was the centre of both temporal and spiritual power. Some of these original buildings border Cathedral Square, others, such as the Nativity of the Virgin (1393), were incorporated into the Great Palace when it was rebuilt. The nucleus expanded northward with the palace of the Patriarchs and the Church of the Twelve Apostles, erected in the 17th century, and especially with the Arsenal of Peter the Great which fills the north-west angle of the enceinte. The triangular palace of the Senate (today the seat of the Council of Ministers) was built by Kazakov for Empress Catherine II in the north-east sector between the Arsenal and the monasteries of the Miracle and of the Ascension, two splendid structures that were razed in 1932. In the south-east sector Kazakov built another smaller palace for the empress, known as the Nicholas palace, and also destroyed in 1932.

Red Square is closely associated with the Kremlin, lying beneath its east wall. At its south end is the famous Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed, one of the most beautiful monuments of Orthodox art. It was originally one of a pair of churches, the other being the Cathedral of Kazan, erected in 1633 in the vast open area bordering the 'Goum' by Prince Pozarsky to commemorate the victory over the Poles. It disappeared in the early 1930s along with several convents in the neighbouring area (Saviour-behind-the-Images, St Nicholas, Epiphany).

With its triangular enceinte pierced by five gates and reinforced with 29 towers, the Kremlin preserves the memory of the wooden fortifications erected by Yuri Dolgoruki around 1156 on the hill at the confluence of the Moskova and Nieglinnaya rivers (the Alexander Garden now covers the latter). By its layout and its history of transformations (in the 14th century Dimitri Donskoi had an enceinte of logs built, then the first stone wall), it is the prototype of the Kremlin, the citadel at the centre of old Russian towns, such as Pskov, Tula, Kazan or Smolensk.

The influence of the Kremlin style was felt when Rudolfo Fioravanti built the Cathedral of the Dormition (1475-79), and grew stronger with the Granovitaya Palata (Hall of Facets, 1487-91) by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solario as well as in the towers of the fortified enceinte, built during the same period by Solario using principles established by Milanese engineers (the Nikolskaya and the Spasskaya both date from 1491). The Renaissance expression was even clearer in the classic capitals and shells of the Church of the Archangel reconstructed from 1505 to 1509 by Alevisio Novi.

BRAZIL: Pantanal Conservation Area

Received thanx to Claudinei.


The Pantanal Conservation Complex consists of a cluster of four protected areas with a total area of 187,818 ha. Located in western central Brazil at the south-west corner of the State of Mato Grosso, the site represents 1.3% of Brazil's Pantanal region, one of the world's largest freshwater wetland ecosystems. The headwaters of the region's two major river systems, the Cuiabá and the Paraguay rivers, are located here, and the abundance and diversity of its vegetation and animal life are spectacular.

BRAZIL:

1.Brasilia's Cathedral
2. LBV Temple
3. Conjuncto Nacional Shopping Centre.


Received thanx to Claudinei.

Brasilia, a capital created ex nihilo in the centre of the country in 1956, was a landmark in the history of town planning. The 20th-century principles of urbanism, as expressed by Le Corbusier, have rarely been applied on the scale of capital cities. Only two noteworthy exceptions exist: Chandigarh and Brasilia. Its creators intended that every element, from the layout of the residential and administrative districts (often compared to the shape of a bird in flight) to the symmetry of the buildings themselves, should be in harmony with the city's overall design. The official buildings, in particular, are innovative and imaginative.

The idea of building a capital in the interior of Brazil is an old one, having been proposed on various occasions since the end of the 17th century. When elected president of the Republic of Brazil in 1955, Juscelino Kubitschek made the creation of the capital city a symbol of his policy to upgrade the image of the entire country, to expand industry, and to undertake major construction projects. In 1956 he appointed a commission to determine an exact location for the city and set up an executive body to carry out the construction work. In the same year, Oscar Niemeyer was made Director of the Department of Architecture and Urban Affairs, and Lucio Costa won the competition held for the plan of Brasilia. This choice brought back together the members of a team that had already proved its worth, Le Corbusier having previously been consulted for this project.

BRAZIL: Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás

Received thanx to Claudinei.

The origins of the town of Goiás are closely related with the history of the more or less official expeditions (bandeiras), which left from São Paulo to explore the interior of the Brazilian territory. One expedition, under the command of Fern. Dias Pais, explored the region of Minas (1673-81), and another expedition, under the command of Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva, explored the region of Goiás (1682), finding some gold. However, the discoveries at Minas were far superior and, from 1700, attracted a vast number of people; the population of Brazil went from 80,000 to over one million in a few years. As a result of wars in the coastal regions, attention was again drawn to the interior; in 1718, gold was found in Cuiabá (the current capital of Mato Grosso), and three years later the son of Bartolomeu Bueno discovered gold in Rio Vermelho, where he was nominated the superintendent of the mines of Goiás. One year later he established the settlement of Santana, and a chapel was built there in 1729.

In order to guarantee better control of the mines of Goiás, the Portuguese authorities decide to reinforce the regional government. In 1739, the governor of São Paulo chose Santana, which took the name of Vila Boa de Goiás. The mining village was thus doubled in size by adding to it a small administrative quarter. In 1748, Goiás was chosen as the headquarters of a new sub-district; its first governor was Dom Marcos de Noronha (1749-55), who transformed the modest village into a small capital. Amongst the first constructions was the Casa de Fundição (1750) for the control of gold, the governor's palace (1751), and the military barracks (1751). Under his successors the town continued being improved, including the construction of the Casa de Câmara e Cadeia (1761), improvement of the roads and streets, building of the fountains of Carioca and Chafariz de Cauda, and opening of a theatre (1772-77). The governor Luis da Cunha Meneses (1778-83) planted trees, improved the street alignment, laid out the public square of Chafariz, and opened a slaughterhouse (1778-83). He also had the urban master plan prepared (1782), providing the town with a structure that has survived till the present day.

In 1770 an inevitable decline in gold mining began and Goiás entered a long period of stagnation. It retained its status as a capital, but remained far behind Rio de Janeiro, and so further progress was arrested. In 1935-37 its administrative status was removed but the townscape remained intact. In 1950 IPHAN, the conservation authority of Brazil, listed its principal churches and the barracks, and in 1951 the Casa da Câmara, the palace, and the main areas in the centre. The inauguration in 1960 of the new capital city of Brazil, Brasilia, gave the region a new impetus. Since the 1980s Goiás has been revitalized with some new constructions. Fortunately, the entire centre area was listed by IPHAN for protection in 1978.

BRAZIL: Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia

Received thanx to Claudinei.

Salvador de Bahia is an eminent example of Renaissance urban town planning adapted to a colonial site by having an upper city of a defensive, administrative and residential nature which overlooks the lower city where commercial activities revolve around the port. The density of monuments makes it, along with Ouro Preto, the colonial city par excellence in the Brazilian Northeast. It is one of the major points of convergence of European, African and American Indian cultures in the 16th-18th centuries.

Salvador was the first historic capital of Brazil, since, as early as 1549, the Governor General, Thome de Souza, on the orders of João II of Portugal, made it the seat of the royal administration. It played a leading economic and political role until 1763, when the seat of administration was transferred to Rio de Janeiro. The upper city, located in the area of Bahia de Todos los Santos, was discovered in 1502 by Amerigo Vespucci, and has been preserved by its historical evolution. It was built upon a ridge parallel to the Atlantic coast, which made possible defence against Spanish (1580) and Dutch (1624) attacks.

To the north and north-east, the lower city and port have not retained their pristine character, whereas on the three other sides population growth, which has been particularly fast since 1966 owing to the industrial development of the region, has resulted in the historic city being enclosed by a very dense urban zone.

The historical centre itself, which revolves around the Pelourinho quarter with its triangular place, is characterized by its fidelity to the 16th-century plan, the density of its monuments, and the homogeneity of its construction on a hilly and picturesque site which embellishes the urban scenery by providing steeply falling and ascending views of incomparable beauty.

In addition to a number of major buildings of the 17th-18th centuries, such as the cathedral and the convents of St Francis, St Dominic, Carmel and St Anthony, Salvador also retains a host of 16th-century open spaces (Municipal Plaza, House of Mercy) and Baroque palaces (Archiepiscopal Palace, Saldanha Palace, Ferrão Palace, etc.).

There are also many streets which are characteristic of the colonial city, lined with bright multicoloured houses, which in some cases are decorated with high-quality stucco.

MNH sets and Souvenir sheets for trade

INDIA: Taj Mahal

 The Taj Mahal, an immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. It no doubt partially owes its renown to the moving circumstances of its construction. Shah Jahan, in order to perpetuate the memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631, had this funerary mosque built. The monument, begun in 1632, was finished in 1648; unverified but nonetheless, tenacious, legends attribute its construction to an international team of several thousands of masons, marble workers, mosaicists and decorators working under the orders of the architect of the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahori.

Situated on the right bank of the Yamuna in a vast Mogul garden of some 17 ha, this funerary monument, bounded by four isolated minarets, reigns with its octagonal structure capped by a bulbous dome through the criss-cross of open perspectives offered by alleys or basins of water. The rigour of a perfect elevation of astonishing graphic purity is disguised and almost contradicted by the scintillation of a fairy-like decor where the white marble, the main building material, brings out and scintillates the floral arabesques, the decorative bands, and the calligraphic inscriptions which are incrusted in polychromatic pietra dura. The materials were brought in from all over India and central Asia and white Makrana marble from Jodhpur. Precious stones for the inlay came from Baghdad, Punjab, Egypt, Russia, Golconda, China, Afghanistan, Ceylon, Indian Ocean and Persia. The unique Mughal style combines elements and styles of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic architecture.

The Darwaza, the majestic main gateway, is a large three-storey red sandstone structure, completed in 1648, with an octagonal central chamber with a vaulted roof and with smaller rooms on each side. The gateway consists of lofty central arch with two-storeyed wings on either side. The walls are inscribed with verses from the Qu'ran in Arabic in black calligraphy. The small domed pavilions on top are Hindu in style and signify royalty. The gate was originally lined with silver, now replaced with copper, and decorated with 1,000 nails whose heads were contemporary silver coins.

The Bageecha, the ornamental gardens through which the paths lead, are planned along classical Mughal char bagh style. Two marble canals studded with fountains, lined with cypress trees emanating from the central, raised pool cross in the centre of the garden, dividing it into four equal squares. In each square there are 16 flower beds, making a total of 64 with around 400 plants in each bed. The feature to be noted is that the garden is laid out in such a way as to maintain perfect symmetry. The channels, with a perfect reflection of the Taj, used to be stocked with colourful fish and the gardens with beautiful birds.

The Taj Mahal itself, situated in the north end of the garden, stands on two bases, one of sandstone and above it a square platform worked into a black and white chequerboard design and topped by a huge blue-veined white marble terrace, on each corner there are four minarets. On the east and west sides of the tomb are identical red sandstone buildings. On the west is the masjid (mosque), which sanctifies the area and provides a place of worship. On the other sides is the jawab, which cannot be used for prayer as it faces away from Mecca. The rauza, the central structure or the mausoleum on the platform, is square with bevelled corners. Each corner has small domes while in the centre is the main double dome topped by a brass finial. The main chamber inside is octagonal with a high domed ceiling. This chamber contains false tombs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan, laid to rest in precise duplicates in a. Both tombs are exquisitely inlaid and decorated with precious stones, the finest in Agra.

The Taj Mahal's pure white marble shimmers silver in the moonlight, glows softly pink at dawn, and at close of day reflects the fiery tints of the setting Sun. From an octagonal tower in the Agra Fort across the River Yamuna, Shah Jahan spent his last days as a prisoner of his son and usurper to the empire, Aurangzeb, gazing at the tomb of his beloved Mumtaz.

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POLAND: Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland

The wooden churches of Little Poland bear important testimony to medieval church building traditions, as these related to the liturgical and cult functions of the Roman Catholic Church in a relatively closed region in central Europe.
The churches are the most representative examples of surviving Gothic churches built in horizontal log technique, particularly impressive in their artistic and technical execution, and sponsored by noble families and rulers as symbols of social and political prestige.

   The Church of St Philip and St James the Apostles (Sekowa) is an auxiliary church, built around 1520, on the site of an earlier church. The building has a square plan with no aisles; the chancel has a three-sided east end and the building is covered with a high roof.

 
      The Church of the Archangel Michael (Debno) is first mentioned in 1335. The present building, the second on the site, dates from the late 15th century. This church has a unique example of medieval decorations. The ceiling and the interior walls are painted using stencils from the 15th and 16th centuries. The decoration contains more than 77 motifs: architectural recalling Gothic forms, animal, human and religious.

    
  The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael (Haczow) has original Gothic polychrome decoration from the late 15th century, although the building has been dated to the previous century. At the beginning of the 17th century the church was enclosed by an earthen defensive rampart. The Church of St Peter and St Paul was built in 1789 from a donation. The furniture was designed in Baroque style but was substantially altered in 1836. In 1846 the Stations of the Cross were installed in the external arcade. There were more renovations later, but the form and decorations have been kept. 

  

    The Church of St Leonard (Lipnica Murowana) was built at the end of the 15th century. From this date have survived parts of the polychrome decoration stencilled on the ceiling of the nave. The church was situated outside the defensive wall of the township and had the function of a cemetery church, a function that it still fulfils. It has been renovated many times, but this has not significantly affected its form or spatial arrangement.

  

    

PORTUGAL: Convent of Christ in Tomar

Received thanx to Lidia.

The Convent of Tomar, originally conceived as a symbolic monument of the Reconquest, became, from the Manueline period, an inverse symbol: that of the opening of Portugal to external civilizations.

During the second half of the 12th century, the Knights Templar were called to Portugal where they were of considerable assistance in the Reconquest. Their first and principal fortress was Tomar. When, in the 14th century, the Order of the Knights Templar was abolished and replaced by the Knights of the Order of Christ, Tomar lost none of its importance. Successive embellishments rendered it one of the most prestigious monuments of Portugal.

The original church, built at the end of the 12th century by the first great Master of the Templars, Gualdim Pais, was based on a polygonal ground plan of 16 bays including an octagonal choir with ambulatory: this is one of the typical 'rotondas' of Templar architecture of which all too few examples are still extant in Europe.

Cloisters were added at different periods: that of the cemetery, constructed to the north-east of the rotunda around 1430 by Infante Don Henrique, employed pointed arches of a sober, elegant Gothic style.

The Manueline influence was, as elsewhere, decisive and compelling: it was under King Manuel that Diego de Arruda was commissioned to create the enormous choir based on a square plan with a tribune raised above the chapter-room. The elevations of these two storeys are marked on the exterior by two renowned bays, a window and an oculus, whose prodigious decor combines with stupefying ease Gothic reminiscences and Moorish influences, offering the most accomplished expression of the Manueline decorative style.

Other cloisters and new monastic buildings were constructed under João III by João de Castilho which, at Tomar as at Belém, were not insensitive to Italian influence. The evolution terminated in the second half of the century in the cloister of the 'Philips', the principal cloister, modified by Diego de Torralva, and finished by F. Terzi: the facades are set into rhythm by a magnificent Palladian ordering of two storeys of Corinthian and Tuscan columns.

PORTUGAL: Historic Centre of Guimarães

Received thanx to Lidia.

The castle of Guimaraes.

    The historic centre is formed by a large number of stone constructions (950-1498). The period from Renaissance to neoclassicism is characterized by noble houses and the development of civic facilities, city squares, etc. The eclectic and industrial periods and modern expansion (1926 until today) include some changes, although the town has maintained its medieval urban layout. The systems and building types have evolved over time. The residential buildings are characterized by the use of two construction techniques, one dating from before the 16th century (taipa de rodízio ), a half-timbered structure, which mixed granite with a structure in timber and a filling of sun-dried brick, using clay mortar. The other (taipa de fasquio ), which came into use in the 19th century and is still practised today, was entirely in timber. From here this technology was exported to other parts of the world.

The monuments include the medieval castle, built on the site of the first fort of the 10th century. The present construction was built from stone, begun at the time of Afonso I and continued with various modifications in the following centuries. The building is an austere crenellated structure with towers, designed for defence. Part of it was demolished in the 18th century and since then it has been subject to restorations. Close to the castle, there is a small Romanesque church, São Miguel do Castelo, ruined in the 19th century and restored in the 1920s. The church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira was founded in the 12th century on the site where the first monastery had existed some three centuries earlier. It was completely renovated from 1387 to 1413, with three naves and a wooden roof structure, according to the Portuguese Gothic model. The cloister was added in the 16th century and the present sanctuary to the church in the 17th.

The Palace of the Dukes of Bragança is a large complex built from stone down the hill from the castle. The first construction dates from 1420-22, most probably under French influence. The building was conceived as a symbol of the pride of the Bragança family. The building underwent various vicissitudes, serving as a military headquarters in the late 19th century. The Town Hall, in the square in front of the church of Nossa Senhora, dates mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries. The palace, primarily in stone, has one main floor with large doors opening to a balcony along the main facade. The ground floor is characterized by open arcades. In the same square, in front of the church, there is also a 14th-century Gothic arch, a monument commemorating the victory of Dom Afonso IV in the battle of Padrão do Salado.

The bourgeois houses of the 16th century have a ground floor in granite and the upper floors are built using the half-timbered structure of taipa de rodízio . The houses of noble families have often been an modification of a previous structure, and generally have their elevations built from granite as a sign of distinction. The typical houses of the 17th century continued using the same construction technique (granite in the ground floor and half-timbered structure in the upper floors - usually three). Another type of house of the same century was built with a peristyle and arcaded ground floor, and is usually found in public squares.

PORTUGAL: Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon

Received thanx to Lidia.

Torre de Belem


Standing at the entrance to Lisbon harbour, the Monastery of the Hieronymites – construction of which began in 1502 – exemplifies Portuguese art at its best. The nearby Tower of Belém, built to commemorate Vasco da Gama's expedition, is a reminder of the great maritime discoveries that laid the foundations of the modern world.

AUSTRIA: Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn

Received thanx to Edna.

In 1740, Maria Theresia chose Schonbrunn as her permanent residence, and a new phase began in the life of the palace. Urgent repairs were carried out on the dilapidated buildings in 1742-43, followed by major structural changes, which were carried out in three phases: 1743-49, 1753- 63, and 1764-80. Most of the work in the first two phases was carried out to the designs and under the supervision of the architect Nicolaus Pacassi, who was to become, like Fischer von Erlach, the Imperial and Royal Court Architect. The major project of the third phase was the embellishment of the gardens (the Gloriette, the Neptune Fountain, the "Roman Ruins", the Obelisk>, largely the work of Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg.

Maria Theresia's immediate successors Joseph II and Leopold II) Showed little interest in Schonbrunn, but it was to become the summer residence of Franz I (1792-1835), and Franz Joseph (1848-1916) spent much of his life there. The latter was responsible for the restoration of the old ROCOCO decor and certain other modifications. The palace's architectural history came to an end in 1870 and there have been no significant changes since that time.

MALAYSIA: Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca

    Christ Church in Malacca. 
Received thanx to Muguette(Singapore).

     Through history, the Straits of Malacca have been a highway for maritime traders and contacts between East and West. Powerful kingdoms and cities have arisen and a typical trait has been immigration and strong influences from far and near, contributing to a multicultural identity. In the late 14th century or early 15th century the city and the kingdom of Melaka was founded. The small fishing village rapidly grew to a large port and emporium, overshadowing the older ports in the area. With the support from the Chinese emperor the king managed to stay independent of Siam. Many ethnic groups were present and it is reported that some 80 different languages were spoken. The custom that people from different ethnic communities lived in their own sections of the city started in this period. Islam was introduced; the king assumed the title of Sultan and Melaka became a centre of learning for Islam.

   In 1511 the Portuguese conquered the city of Melaka. A stone fortress surrounding the present St. Paul's Hill was built and within this, palaces for the governor and the bishop, five churches, two hospitals, a college and other public buildings were built. The destruction of mosques and tombs shows a wish to weaken Islam. Melaka was frequently attacked by its Malay neighbours; other Europeans were sailing through the Straits of Malacca and had an interest in the area, and in 1641 the Dutch captured the city. They had conquered Java in 1619 and made Batavia (Jakarta) their capital in the East. Melaka was not to compete but became their main base in the peninsula and again rose to a Southeast Asian entrepot par excellence at the end of the 18th century. The Dutch merely took over the existing infrastructure. Later they built a new fortress on St. John's Hill and in 1650 the former Governor's residence was converted into the Stadthuis. The catholic St. Peter's Church was built in 1710 and the protestant Christ Church in 1753, the oldest protestant church in Malaysia and still in use.

    In 1795-1818, during the Napoleonic wars in Europe, Melaka came into British hands. By then Penang/George Town had been in existence for some time and as its rival, it was initially ordered to level Melaka. The fort was demolished, only the gate is left, but then the destruction was stopped. A few years later, in 1824, Melaka was finally brought under British administration. George Town was founded in 1786 by the British. Unlike the Portuguese and the Dutch they exercised a policy of free trade. People from all over the world were encouraged to settle in the new town and to produce export crops. To administer the island, a Presidency was set up under the jurisdiction of the East India Company in Bengal and in 1826 it became part of the Straits Settlements together with Singapore and Melaka.

In George Town, a policy on conservation areas was introduced in the early 1970s. This was the first time a conservation plan became part of the town plan. The island's rapid urban change in the mid-1980s fostered a public conservation movement and an International Conference on Urban Conservation and Planning helped to raise awareness. In the early 1990s some demolitions and conservation projects attracted attention. The first major building restoration work undertaken by the State Government was the Syed Al-Attas Mansion in 1993.

SPAIN: Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct

Segovia is indicative of a complex historical reality. Its neighbourhoods, streets, and houses are laid out in accordance with a social structure in which hierarchy was overshadowed by belonging to one of the different cultural communities. Moors, Christians and Jews coexisted for a long time in the medieval city and worked together during the 16th century manufacturing boom. All the component parts of the built environment, from domestic architecture to the great religious and military structures, can be found in Segovia in a broad range of construction techniques and styles.

The Roman aqueducts of Sevilla, Toledo, and Calahorra in Spain did not survive. The 221 colossal piers bear witness to the magnitude of the Aquae Atilianae in the province of Zaragoza. The impressive monuments that survive in Mérida, Tarragona, and Segovia illustrate the political determination which, following the steps of the victorious armies, greatly increased the number of aqueducts which Frontinus described as 'the most solemn testimony of the Empire.'

The Aqueduct of Segovia, the symbol of the city, is the best known of these civil engineering feats owing to its monumentality, to its excellent state of conservation, and in particular to its location in one of the most beautiful urban sites in the world.

The hydraulic engineers who tapped the waters of the Río Frío in the Sierra de Guadarrama to bring them 18km to Segovia via a canal with an average gradient of 1% ran into no natural obstacle more challenging than the crossing of the valley of the Río Clamores at the end of the course. In order to reach the rocky contrefort on which the city was perched they had to erect an enormous construction of masonry 813 m in length, consisting of four straight segments and two superimposed arcades borne by 128 pillars. At the lowest point of the valley, the aqueduct stands at a height of 28.5 m above ground.

This colossal edifice is undocumented. However, the profile of the arcade and the construction technique used afford typological comparisons with the Aqua Claudia in Rome, a canal built between AD 38 and 52. Moreover, excavation carried out at the foot of the piers appears to corroborate a date of roughly AD 50.

Following its restoration, which took place after 1484 on the initiative of the Catholic Kings (Los Reyes Católicos), the aqueduct was always used and well maintained. The most serious damage which it suffered occurred in the last century: the replacement in 1929-30 of the 16th-century stone conduit with a cement canal, the stone conduit having earlier replaced a wooden one; disintegration of the masonry owing to the effects of vibration caused by traffic of heavy trucks; decay of the stone caused by gas pollutants. This physical-chemical damage results principally from a poorly planned urban development policy which has destroyed the monument's surroundings by the building of parking lots, large thoroughfares and slip roads which detract from the beauty of the aqueduct and hinder its proper conservation.

SPAIN: Poblet Monastery

 

Santa María of Poblet presents a unique blend of architectural forms generally reserved for distinct applications. It has served as one of the largest and most complete of the Cistercian abbeys, as a massive military complex, and as a royal palace, residence and pantheon. It is a unique artistic achievement and one of the most perfect expressions of Cistercian style in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. The abbey contains masterpieces from every period such as the great alabaster retablo by Damian Forment (1529).

Poblet presents a unique blend of architectural forms. First and foremost, it is a Cistercian abbey, one of the largest and most complete that exists. North of the church, laid out in the usual way, is a group of monastic buildings that include the great cloister with its fountain, chapter room, monk's dormitory, parlour and its annex, closed cloister, monk's room which is now a library, calefactory, refectory and kitchens.

Poblet is also a fortress, impressive in its massive size. Lying midway between Tarragona and Lérida, at the foot of the Sierra de Montsant, the old Cistercian monastery founded in 1150 by the monks of Fontfroide was transformed into a stronghold by Peter IV the Ceremonious, King of Aragon (1336-87) during the War of Castile. It was he who had the 608 m of interior walls built. These walls are an excellent example of 14th-century military architecture: crenellated battlements with walls 2 m thick and walkways, reinforced with high towers that are either square or polygonal, and its Royal Gate (1379-97) defended by machicolations.

Poblet is, finally, a royal residence, directly associated with the history of the houses of Barcelona, Aragon and Castile. The monastery was founded by Raimond Beranger IV, the saintly Count of Barcelona, to colonize reconquered lands. Later it was considered a symbolic monument of the dynasty. Shortly after 1349 Peter IV decided to do more than fortify Poblet: in the abbey church he had Jaime Cascalls and Jorge de Deu, masters of royal works, build a sumptuous dynasty burial place, using a completely new principle: two enormous sarcophagi reposing on surbased arches, providing for communication between the choir and the deambulatory. The sarcophagi served as sepultures for several kings of the houses of Catalonia and Aragon, identified by their recumbent statues: Alfonso II the Chaste, John I and John II on the southern, epistle side, James I the Conqueror, Peter IV and Ferdinand I on the northern, Gospel side. Several queens are buried alongside their spouses. The royal pantheon extends through the arms of the transept with individual sepultures. Poblet was both the necropolis and the home of kings. In 1397, Martin I commissioned the architect Arnau Bagues to transform the former lay brothers' building into a palace. The project was never completed, but royal chambers, on the east side, later were reserved for royal visitors.

SPAIN: Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco

   There was possibly a trading settlement here, founded by Ionian Greeks, in the early 1st millennium BC. Recent research has proved that by the end of the 5th century BC the indigenous Iberians had created a settlement, called Kesse. It was seized and fortified by the Roman proconsul Scipio Africanus in 218 BC during the Second Punic War in order to cut off the flow of reinforcements from Carthage to Hannibal, then campaigning in Italy. Roman control over this part of the Iberian peninsula was strengthened when a Carthaginian fleet was destroyed in 217 BC at the mouth of the Ebro.

After serving as one of the bases for the Roman conquest of the entire peninsula, Tárraco(nowadays Tarragona) became the seat of Roman power. It supported Julius Caesar against Pompey and was rewarded with colonia status for its loyalty with the impressive title Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco. It later became the capital of the imperial province of Hispania Citerior (Tarraconensis), which covered much of the Iberian peninsula, following the reorganization by Augustus in 27 BC. As such it was suitably endowed with imposing public buildings, as a demonstration of Roman power. It was visited by several Roman emperors, among them Augustus and Hadrian, and was the site of many councils bringing together officials and worthies from all the Iberian provinces.

   Christianity was early in reaching Tárraco (according to legend brought by St Paul himself), and it became the see of a bishop. The prosperous city was ravaged by marauding Franks during the barbarian raids of the 250s, but it quickly recovered. The city came under Visigothic rule in the 5th century and continued in existence until 469, when Euric razed much of it to the ground.

   It became part of the Moorish territories in 714, but its location on the frontier with the Christian world led to Tárraco being the scene of many bloody conflicts in the following centuries. Twice recaptured for short periods, the largely ruinous and depopulated town did not return to the Christian realms until 1148, following the decisive defeat of the Moors at Tortosa by Raymond Berenguer IV. It was resettled by Normans, and became Catalan in 1220 after Alfonso the Warrior drove the Moors permanently out of Catalonia.