Author: Ms. R.

If you ask a regular person to draw a city, not based on an existing city, but rather the concept of “city,” they might start by drawing the borders. To draw those borders, they might begin by doing something that almost no actual cities have done—make it some kind of simple shape. A square, or a circle, or a rectangle, something like that. Then they’d fill in the city stuff—streets and buildings and parks—within that shape. This isn’t the……

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At first glance, the cuscus looks like a cross between a cat, a monkey, and a Furby. An herbivorous marsupial found in New Guinea, Australia, and the surrounding islands, it has sharp claws, a tail that wraps around branches, and forelimbs that look eerily like human hands. The babies are also unreasonably cute. “They like to wrap their tail around you and curl around,” says Shimona Kealy, a researcher at Australia National University who, as a Ph.D. student, once……

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When mining finally ceased in this Nottinghamshire town, the people wanted to install a reminder of a time foregone. This led to the creation of a magnificent sculpture depicting a giant Davy miner’s oil lamp with two figures of coal miners, one of which is inside the lamp as if working in a thin coal seam. The body of the lamp is inscribed with images and words relating to the local mining industry. The striking bronze sculpture crafted by……

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Kings Square (also spelled King’s) is one of the main public squares in the city of York. Unlike others however, this was not always by design. Until 1937, a church was located here known as both Holy Trinity, King’s Court (to distinguish it from other Holy Trinity churches in the city such as Goodramgate) and Christ Church. Originally larger, Christ Church’s extension was gradually reduced during the 18th-century, with documented reductions in 1768. More came in 1829, and finally……

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These caves located south-east of Ponza’s harbor are believed to be an elaborate example of a Roman fish farm. The caves were dug into the island’s volcanic rock around the 1st-century CE, and formed five basins connected to each other via underwater passages. These were used to change the water and move fish and eels from one basin to another. Moray eels were greatly appreciated by Roman elites and the caves in Ponza seem to have served as farms……

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The Monumental Cemetery of Milan (Cimitero Monumentale di Milano) was designed by Carlo Maciachini and opened in 1866. The site allows visitors to time-travel into the history of Milan, as they can spot the tombs of figures whose names now adorn major metro stations, roads, and squares. The cemetery features several mausoleums of prominent local industrial families as well as a large Famedio (Hall of Fame) with the tombs of honored citizens, including Alessandro Manzoni, writer of the acclaimed……

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Sutri is a fascinating small town north of Rome. The entire town is constructed inside and on top of the local volcanic tuff rock. Upon entering the town, visitors will notice an excavated Roman necropolis, but the most interesting feature is the impressive Sutri Amphitheatre that was constructed between the 2nd and the 1st-centuries CE. The local inhabitants excavated the site between 1835 and 1838, as it had been previously used by the Savorelli family, who own the spectacular……

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