Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites

Assisi is a medieval city known for being the birthplace of Saint Francis

Assisi

This postcard was sent by Marco

Assisi, a medieval city built on a hill, is the birthplace of Saint Francis, closely associated with the work of the Franciscan Order. Its medieval art masterpieces, such as the Basilica of San Francesco and paintings by Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Giotto, have made Assisi a fundamental reference point for the development of Italian and European art and architecture. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/990

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

This postcard was sent by Cristina

The Papal Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Francesco) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town of Umbria region in central Italy, where St. Francis was born and died. The basilica is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy.

The basilica, which was begun in 1228, is built into the side of a hill and comprises two churches known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church, and a crypt where the remains of the saint are interred. The interior of the Upper Church is an important early example of the Gothic style in Italy. The Upper and Lower Churches are decorated with frescoes by numerous late medieval painters from the Roman and Tuscan schools, and include works by Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti and possibly Pietro Cavallini. The range and quality of the works gives the basilica a unique importance in demonstrating the development of Italian art of this period. - in: wikipedia

St. Rufino Cathedral in Assisi

This postcard was sent by Marta

Assisi Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di Assisi or Cattedrale di San Rufino di Assisi), dedicated to San Rufino (Rufinus of Assisi) is a major church in Assisi, Italy, that has been important in the history of the Franciscan order. In this church Saint Francis of Assisi (1182), Saint Clare (1193) and many of their original disciples were baptised.

This stately church in Umbrian Romanesque style was the third church built on the same site to contain the remains of bishop Rufinus of Assisi, martyred in the 3rd century. The construction was started in 1140 to the designs by Giovanni da Gubbio, as attested by the wall inscription visible inside the apse. He may be the same Giovanni who designed the rose-window on the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1163.

In 1228, while he was in Assisi for the canonization of Saint Francis, Pope Gregory IX consecrated the high altar. Pope Innocent IVinaugurated the finished church in 1253. - in: wikipedia

Historic Centre of Kraków

For a long time I only had two postcards of St. Mary's church in Kraków, a city with a lot of wonderful monuments. Recently I finally received some different views. I knew that sooner or later more would come.

St. Mary's Church

This postcard was sent by Miguel

The Historic Centre of Kraków, the former capital of Poland, is situated at the foot of the Royal Wawel Castle. The 13th-century merchants' town has Europe's largest market square and numerous historical houses, palaces and churches with their magnificent interiors. Further evidence of the town's fascinating history is provided by the remnants of the 14th-century fortifications and the medieval site of Kazimierz with its ancient synagogues in the southern part of town, Jagellonian University and the Gothic cathedral where the kings of Poland were buried. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/29

St. Mary's Church

This postcard was sent by Justyna

Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven (also known as St. Mary's Church; Polish: Kościół Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny, Kościół Mariacki) is a Brick Gothic church adjacent to the Main Market Square in Kraków, Poland. Built in the 14th century, its foundations date back to the early 13th century and serve as one of the best examples of Polish Gothic architecture. Standing 80 m (262 ft) tall, it is particularly famous for its wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz). - in: wikipedia

Cloth Hall

This postcard was sent by Marco

The Kraków Cloth Hall (Polish: Sukiennice, pronounced [sukʲɛˈɲit͡sɛ]) in Lesser Poland, dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town.

It was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. During its golden age in the 15th century, the hall was the source of a variety of exotic imports from the east – spices, silk, leather and wax – while Kraków itself exported textiles, lead, and salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mine. - in: wikipedia

Wawel Hill

This postcard was sent by Marco

Wawel is a fortified architectural complex erected over many centuries atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula river in Kraków, Poland, at an altitude of 228 metres above sea level.

The complex consists of many buildings and fortifications; the largest and best known of these are the Royal Castle and the Wawel Cathedral (which is the Basilica of St Stanisław and St Wacław). Some of Wawel's oldest stone buildings, such as the Rotunda of the Virgin Mary can be dated to 970AD. There are also wooden parts of the complex which date to about the 9th century. - in: wikipedia

Wawel Cathedral

This postcard was sent by Marco

The Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus on the Wawel Hill, also known as the Wawel Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church located on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. More than 900 years old, it is the Polish national sanctuary and traditionally has served as coronation site of the Polish monarchs as well as the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Kraków. Karol Wojtyla, who in 1978 became Pope John Paul II, the day after his ordination to the priesthood, offered his first Mass as a priest in the Crypt of the Cathedral on 2 November 1946, and was ordained Kraków's auxiliary bishop in the Cathedral on 28 September 1958.

The current, Gothic cathedral, is the third edifice on this site: the first was constructed and destroyed in the 11th century; the second one, constructed in the 12th century, was destroyed by a fire in 1305. The construction of the current one began in the 14th century on the orders of bishop Nanker. - in: wikipedia

Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra

This is another site that I have doubts if the postcard I first received (the one with the orangutans) shows the protected area. The site is divided in three national parks, Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan and the orangutans are in the Bukit Lawang Reserve, which according with their website is "located on the edge of the Gunung National Park". So I felt more confident when I received another postcard with the name of the site.

Tropical Rainforest of Sumatra

This postcard was sent by Shinta

The 2.5 million hectare Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site comprises three national parks: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The site holds the greatest potential for long-term conservation of the distinctive and diverse biota of Sumatra, including many endangered species. The protected area is home to an estimated 10,000 plant species, including 17 endemic genera; more than 200 mammal species; and some 580 bird species of which 465 are resident and 21 are endemic. Of the mammal species, 22 are Asian, not found elsewhere in the archipelago and 15 are confined to the Indonesian region, including the endemic Sumatran orang-utan. The site also provides biogeographic evidence of the evolution of the island. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1167/

Orangutan in the Bukit Lawang Reserve

This postcard was sent by Heidy

Bukit Lawang is a popular tourist destination located on the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to numerous bird, plant and mammal species, most famously the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), which can be seen in the jungle in Bukit Lawang as well as at the daily feedings. - in: http://www.bukitlawang.com/

The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is one of the three species of orangutans. Found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, also of Sumatra. Its common name is based on two separate local words, "orang" ("people" or "person") and "hutan" ("forest"), and translates as 'person of the forest'.

Male Sumatran orangutans grow to about 1.4 m (4.6 ft) tall and 90 kg (200 lb). Females are smaller, averaging 90 cm (3.0 ft) and 45 kg (99 lb). Compared to the Bornean species, Sumatran orangutans are thinner and have longer faces; their hair is longer with a paler red color. - in: wikipedia

Antigua Guatemala

I already saw a Travel Agency advertising Antigua and Barbuda with a photo of Antigua Guatemala...

Arch Street

This postcard was sent by Marco

Built 1,530.17 m above sea level in an earthquake-prone region, Antigua Guatemala, the capital of the Captaincy-General of Guatemala, was founded in 1524 as Santiago de Guatemala. It was subsequently destroyed by fire caused by an uprising of the indigenous population, re-established in 1527 and entirely buried as a result of earthquakes and an avalanche in 1541. The third location, in the Valley of Panchoy or Pacán, was inaugurated in March 1543 and served for 230 years. It survived natural disasters of floods, volcanic eruptions and other serious tremors until 1773 when the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed much of the town. At this point, authorities ordered the relocation of the capital to a safer location region, which became Guatemala City, the county’s modern capital. Some residents stayed behind in the original town, however, which became referred to as “La Antigua Guatemala”. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/65

Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California

This site is home of 891 fish species and comprises 244 islands, islets and coastal areas

Isla Espíritu Santo

This postcard was sent by Marco

Isla Espíritu Santo is an island in the Gulf of California, off the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. 

The area is protected as part of the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna - Islas del Golfo de California (APFF-IGC), and is an important eco-tourism destination. Espíritu Santo is the only known habitat of the black jackrabbit.

The surrounding reefs are home to parrotfish, angelfish, trumpetfish, Moorish idols, and rainbow wrasse, while many other species pass nearby including sharks, rays, turtles, dolphins, and even whales. Birds include brown pelicans, great blue herons, snowy egrets, turkey vultures, and hummingbirds. A large sea lion colony resides on Los Islotes, off the north tip of the islands; snorkeling with the females and young is a highlight of many tours. - in: wikipedia

Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings

Novgorod is an important Russian city, surrounded by churches and monasteries 

Cathedral of St. Sophia

The Cathedral of St. Sophia (the Holy Wisdom of God) in Veliky Novgorod is the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Novgorod and the mother church of the Novgorodian Eparchy.

The 38-metre-high, five-domed, stone cathedral was built by Vladimir of Novgorod between 1045 and 1050 to replace an oaken cathedral built by Bishop Joachim the Korsunian in the late tenth century (making it the oldest church building in Russia proper and, with the exception of the Arkhyz and Shoana churches, the oldest building of any kind still in use in the country).

Bells by St. Sophia's Belfry

This postcard was sent by Masha

The cupolas are thought to have acquired their present helmet-like shape in the 1150s, when the cathedral was restored after a fire.

A white stone belltower in five bays was built by Archbishop Evfimii II (1429–1458), the greatest architectural patron to ever hold the archiepiscopal office. He also had the Palace of Facets built just northwest of the cathedral in 1433. The nearby clocktower was initially completed under his patronage as well, but fell down in the seventeenth century and was restored in 1673. - in: wikipedia

Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is a former Russian Orthodox Church that stands on Ilyina (Elijah) Street in Veliky Novgorod just east of the Marketplace. The current building was built in 1374 and frescoed by Theophanes the Greek in 1378. Substantial portions of those frescoes still remain, including the Christ Pantocrator in the dome, a number of saints inside the south entrance, and The Old Testament Trinity in the western vestry, as well as others. The current building is now a museum, part of the Novgorod State Museum-Preserve. - in: wikipedia

Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida

The more than 20 Roman monuments protected by UNESCO in Mérida include aqueducts, bridges, a theatre and an amphitheatre, a circus, temples and Roman baths

Los Milagros Aqueduct

This postcard was sent by Manú

The Acueducto de los Milagros (English: Miraculous Aqueduct) is the ruins of a Roman aqueduct bridge, part of the aqueduct built to supply water to the Roman colony of Emerita Augusta, today Mérida, Spain.

Only a relatively small stretch of the aqueduct still stands, consisting of 38 arched pillars standing 25 metres (82 ft) high along a course of some 830 metres (2,720 ft). - in: wikipedia

Roman Theatre of Mérida

This postcard was sent by Joana

The Roman Theatre of Mérida is a construction promoted by the consul Vipsanius Agrippa in the Roman city of Emerita Augusta, capital of Lusitania (current Mérida, Spain). It was constructed in the years 16 to 15 BCE.

The theater has undergone several renovations, notably at the end of the 1st century or early 2nd century BC (possibly during the reign of Emperor Trajan), when the current facade of the scaenae frons was erected, and another in the time of Constantine I (between 330 and 340) which introduced new decorative-architectural elements and a walkway around the monument. Following the theatre's abandonment in Late Antiquity, it was slowly covered with earth, with only the upper tiers of seats (summa cavea) remaining visible. In local folklore the site was referred to as "The Seven Chairs", where, according to tradition, several Moorish kings sat to decide the fate of the city. - in: wikipedia