I will start with mine, in an island in Greece. airbnb.gr/h...
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I will start with mine, in an island in Greece. airbnb.gr/h/petrastennis
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Culture always played a crucial role in the modern tourism industry and represents a significant attraction for tourists (both domestic and international), extending tourist stays and reducing seasonality.
Some are great; some are small – no matter the size, though, many are grand in their meaning to the locals' history.
From ancient monuments to medieval castles, industrial constructions or picturesque white villages, and everything in between, the world has many monuments and sites to offer and experience.
As April 18th marks the International Day of Monuments and Sites, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to ask: What monuments are local to you and available nearby?
I am looking forward to reading your replies, and if you'd like to share photos of them, that's even better!
Thanks!
Nick
St Andrew's church Radbourne. A 13th century beauty with Grinley Gibbons memorial and many other effigies inside. Sadly closed at present due to Covid. One of many medieval churches in England at the bottom of people's gardens!
This Colossus in Arona is one of the main attractions in the region of Lake Maggiore. It shows San Carlo Borromeo, called SanCarlone by the locals, a catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Milan, born In Arona (1535-1584), canonized by Pope Paul V in 1610. He was so interested in the wellness of the people that he wanted to build many hospitals and charitable institutions. The descendants of his family still own today many lands around the lake, the islands Isola Bella, Isola Madre and the castle over Angera.
The statue, built between 1624 and 1698, is 35 m tall (including the basement) and is hollow with an internal structure of stones, bricks and metal. The exterior is finished with sheets of hammered copper.
Inside, on a spiral staircase, you can go up to his head and from there it is possible to take a gorgeous view through apertures in his eye, ear, nostrils and the back.
For a long time this was the largest statue of the world. Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty in NY, spent some time in Arona studying the architecture of the statue of San Carlo and then the Statue of Liberty became the largest one.
Looking through the woods to the south of our villa from the garden you can glimpse the back of the Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo.
On beautiful St. Lucia, we have the Piton mountains, Gros Piton and Petit Piton. Also, there is the wonderous Diamond Botanical Gardens and Waterfall, which has some amazing tropical flora. The waterfall is naturally mineral rich water that occurs through the mixture of rainfall and volcanism (that's why the water looks murky). Many locals bath in nearby streams, and proclaim that the waters having soothing and healing affects.
I visited these fabulous sites 1.5 weeks ago, and the following are a few pictures that I took.
We took pictures of the Pitons while on the Tet Paul trail (easy/medium easy). Entrance is free, but you do need to tip your guide: https://www.tetpaulnaturetrail.com/
The entrance fee to the botanical gardens and waterfall is nominal at only $7 USD, and an additional $6-8 USD if you want to bathe in their pools of mineral water: https://diamondstlucia.com/.
This is a picture of the stream outside of the gardens where you will often see locals. There was a Rasta man enjoying the nice water when I took this picture (he's not in the frame). We didn't have our bathing suits with us at the time. Otherwise, we would have went in, also.
I don't know the names of the flowers. There aren't a lot of signs, and we didn't have a guide to tell us. There are lots of humming birds there, and they know to fly away just when you're going to push the camera button.
