Author: Ms. R.

The small village of Seborga, Liguria, has an unusual claim. According to local flower grower Giorgio Carbone, who claims to have found previously unknown documents in the Vatican archives, Seborga has existed as a sovereign state since the year 954, and was overlooked by the House of Savoy, which means that it was not legitimately included when Italy was unified in 1861. Carbone promoted the concept of Seborgan independence further and further, and was elected by the citizens of……

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Nestled in the heartland of Iowa, Edinburgh Manor presents an alluring contradiction of history and mystery. This once bustling asylum, now a vestige of the past, calls to the curious and the brave, offering an immersive journey into the unexplained. Constructed in the early 1900s, the Manor served as a sanctuary for the indigent, elderly, and mentally ill. It remained in operation until 2010. Today, its halls whisper tales of its former residents, many of whom spent their final……

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In 1937, American ocean liner, the SS President Hoover, ran aground on the coral reefs off the coast of Lüdao (Green Island), Taiwan, which was under Japanese colonial possession. Local islanders who saw the wreck motored out on fishing boats to help the crew and passengers ashore. To thank them, the American Red Cross funded the construction of an American-style lighthouse on the northwestern tip of the island, near the place of the wreckage. The structure was designed by……

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They never saw it coming. For the small bands of hunter-gatherers across Africa and Eurasia, the day was like any other. Some tracked great herds of migrating animals across expansive grasslands; others moved through dense rainforests, or along the banks of turgid rivers and ephemeral streambeds. Survival—finding food and water, avoiding predators, strengthening the small group’s social bonds—was the order of the day. Thousands of miles away, an extraordinary event was about to take place: a cataclysm that would……

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THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE APRIL 27, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. Shortly before it closed and relocated to its more modern Toyosu digs, I spent the better part of a day wandering through the chaos of Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market. At the time, the world’s most famous fish market was selling around 1,700 tons of seafood a day, ranging from finger-length sardines to tuna weighing nearly 400 pounds. This piscean……

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William the Conqueror’s Dining Stone is a large stone that overlooks the beach of St Leonards. Legend says that William, Duke of Normandy, used this ancient stone as a dining table after landing his Norman invasion of England in 1066. However, some suggest that this stone may have instead been part of King Harold Godwinson’s tomb, who was killed by William’s army during the Battle of Hastings. Regardless of its true purpose, the stone has captured the imagination of……

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The beast-fish was terrifying. It stretched at least 14 feet long—or maybe 18. Its enormous head was shaped like a leopard, or a dog, or an otter, depending on who you asked and when. It used its strong, wide tail to steer through the currents of East Africa’s rivers. Some reported it had the long, white tusks of a walrus and an armadillo’s impenetrable scales. Its feet—for yes, the beast-fish had feet—were as large as a hippo’s, but with……

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In the heart of Colchester stands the Jumbo Water Tower, considered a striking architectural wonder. The tower reaches 131 feet high and is made up of 1.2 million red bricks. It takes over 150 steps to reach the cupola at the top, which is crowned with an elephant weathervane. The structure earned the nickname “Jumbo,” after an elephant at the London Zoo. In 1883, surveyor and engineer Charles Clegg built the water tower in a Romanesque Revival campanile style…….

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Yuigahama is one of Kamakura’s most popular hangouts, a scenic crescent-shaped beach flanked by mountainous headlands. It gets quite busy on weekends, with many families, couples, and tourists lounging about on the soft sand and soaking their feet in the calm waves. Despite its peaceful atmosphere, the beach is also known as one of the spookiest spots in the city. During the medieval Kamakura period, it saw many bloody battles between feuding samurai clans and executions. It was also……

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In September 1922, Swedish filmgoers settled in for the most expensive Scandinavian film of the era: Häxan, later known as Witchcraft Through the Ages. At the Stockholm premiere, audiences enjoyed a live orchestra and illustrated playbills introducing the film’s cast and creative process. This level of pomp and circumstance was typical for high-profile European movies at the time. Less typical was Häxan’s accompanying bibliography, citing dozens of academic sources ranging from medieval religious texts to Jungian psychoanalysis. It was……

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Spanning nearly 100 years of motorcycle history, the MOTO Museum in St. Louis is home to a massive collection of rare and important motorcycles.  Started by architect and retail developer Steve Smith in 2007, the collection is housed in a modern, industrial space adjacent to a boutique hotel. It includes roughly 75 vintage motorcycles from 21 European countries. The bikes range in age from the early 1900s to 1975. Each motorcycle shares a unique story. The oldest bike on……

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