Historic Centre of Macao

Macao is a former Portuguese colony where a unique assimilation and co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures can be found

Ruins of St. Paul's

This postcard arrived from Russia sent by Elena

The Ruins of St. Paul's are the ruins of a 16th-century complex in Macau including what was originally St. Paul's College and the Church of St. Paul also known as "Mater Dei", a 17th-century Portuguese church dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle. Today, the ruins are one of Macau's best known landmarks. They are often, but incorrectly, mentioned as a former cathedral (see Macau Cathedral), a status they never had.

Built from 1602 to 1640 by the Jesuits, the collegiate was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the temple the best gifts. - in: wikipedia

Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park

This Caribbean fortress testified many battles between British and French for the possession of this territory

Brimstone Hill Fortress

This postcard was sent by Shinta

Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a remarkable example of European military engineering dating from the 17th and 18th centuries in a Caribbean context. Located on the Island of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) the country’s largest island, the fortress was built to African slave labour to the exacting standards of the British military to protect the coastline from a sea attack and to provide a safe refuge for the island’s citizens. The engineers, who designed the fort, made use of the natural topography of this double-peaked, steep volcanic hill rising 230 metres.

St. Christopher (St. Kitts) as the first West Indian Island to be colonized by Europeans, specifically the French and English, was the scene of many battles in the struggle for dominance in this region. The earliest use of Brimstone Hill for European military purposes was in 1690 when the British installed a canon to drive out the French. The fortress evolved over the next century and served until 1853 when the British military abandoned it and dismantled many of the buildings. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/910

Pitons Management Area

This is the only UNESCO site of Saint Lucia, but is only one of the many of the Caribbean

Pitons

This postcard arrived from Indonesia sent by Shinta

The 2,909-ha site near the town of Soufriere includes the Pitons, two volcanic spires rising side by side from the sea (770 m and 743 m high respectively), linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The volcanic complex includes a geothermal field with sulphurous fumeroles and hot springs. Coral reefs cover almost 60% of the site’s marine area. A survey has revealed 168 species of finfish, 60 species of cnidaria, including corals, eight molluscs, 14 sponges, 11 echinoderms, 15 arthropods and eight annelid worms. The dominant terrestrial vegetation is tropical moist forest grading to subtropical wet forest, with small areas of dry forest and wet elfin woodland on the summits. At least 148 plant species have been recorded on Gros Piton, 97 on Petit Piton and the intervening ridge, among them eight rare tree species. The Gros Piton is home to some 27 bird species (five of them endemic), three indigenous rodents, one opossum, three bats, eight reptiles and three amphibians. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1161

San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba

If this fortress could talk it would tell the most amazing stories about pirates and not only!

San Pedro de la Roca Castle

This postcard arrived from Spain sent by Patricia

The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca (also known by the less formal title of Castillo del Morro or as San Pedro de la Roca Castle) is a fortress on the coast of the Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba.

It was designed in 1637 by Giovanni Battista Antonelli (also known as Juan Battista Antonelli), a member of a Milanese family of military engineers, on behalf of the governor of the city, Pedro de la Roca de Borja, as a defense against raiding pirates, although an earlier, smaller, fortification had been built between 1590 and 1610.

The fear of pirate attacks was well-founded. While the fortress was still being constructed in 1662, English freebooters under the guidance of Christopher Myngs took control of Santiago for two weeks and during their stay destroyed part of the fortification and captured the artillery. After they departed, the Spanish government ordered the reconstruction of the damaged part of the fortress and raised the garrison to 300 men. Between 1663 and 1669 the engineers Juan Císcara Ibáñez, Juan Císcara Ramirez and Francisco Perez worked on repairing the damage and improving the fortifications, strengthening the flanks and constructing a new artillery platform. - in: wikipedia

Villa d'Este, Tivoli

The gardens of Villa d'Este are amazing! I wonder if there's still somebody making gardens like this nowadays...

Le Peschiere in Villa d'Este

This postcard arrived from Germany sent by Gaby

The Villa d'Este in Tivoli, with its palace and garden, is one of the most remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of Renaissance culture at its most refined. Its innovative design along with the architectural components in the garden (fountains, ornamental basins, etc.) make this a unique example of an Italian 16th-century garden. The Villa d'Este, one of the first giardini delle meraviglie , was an early model for the development of European gardens. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1025

Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale

This site includes a series of nine civil and religious structures  that are just a sample (and what a sample!) of the many great things that can be seen in Sicily

Palermo Cathedral

This postcard was sent by Gabi

Palermo Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo, located in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the presence of different styles, due to a long history of additions, alterations and restorations, the last of which occurred in the 18th century.

The church was erected in 1185 by Walter Ophamil (or Walter of the Mill), the Anglo-Norman archbishop of Palermo and King William II's minister, on the area of an earlier Byzantine basilica. - in: wikipedia

Cefalù Cathedral

This postcard was sent by Gabi

The Cathedral-Basilica of Cefalù, (Italian: Duomo di Cefalù) is a Roman Catholic church in Cefalù, Sicily, Italy.

The cathedral, dating from 1131, was commenced in the Norman style, the island of Sicily having been conquered by the Normans in 1091. According to tradition, the building was erected after a vow made to the Holy Saviour by the King of Sicily, Roger II, after he escaped from a storm to land on the city's beach. The fortress-like character of the building, which, seen from a distance, rises as a huge bulk above its medieval town. It also made a powerful statement of the Norman presence. in: wikipeida

Mosaics in the Cathedral of Monreale

This postcard was sent by Cristina

The cathedral of Monreale is one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture in the world. It was begun in 1174 by William II, and in 1182 the church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was, by a bull of Pope Lucius III, elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral.

The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily. - in: wikipedia

These are the 9 buildings inscribed in this site (in red what I have):

• Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel
• Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti
• Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio
• Church of San Cataldo
• Palermo Cathedral
• Zisa Palace
• Admiral’s Bridge
• Cefalù Cathedral
• Monreale Cathedral

Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)

Gabi from Germany visited recently two of the Aeolian Islands in Italy: Vulcano and Lipari. When she returned she sent me these two amazing postcards

Vulcano Island

Vulcano (Sicilian: Vurcanu) is a small volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 25 km (16 mi) north of Sicily and the southernmost of the eight Aeolian Islands. It is 21 km² (8 sq mi) in area, rises to 499 m (1,637 ft) above sea level, and contains several volcanic centers, including one of four active non-submarine volcanoes in Italy.

The Romans used the island mainly for raw materials, harvesting wood and mining alum and sulfur. This was the principal activity on the island until the end of the 19th Century.

Currently, around 470 people live on the island, mainly deriving their income from tourism. It is a few minutes hydrofoil ride from Lipari and has several hotels and cafes, the important attractions being the beaches, hot springs and sulfur mud baths. - in: wikipedia

Lipari

Lipari is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town. Its population is 11,231, but during the May to September tourist season, the total population may reach up to 20,000.
Geologists agree on the fact that Lipari was created by a succession of four volcanic movements, the most important of which was the third one, presumably lasting from 20,000 BC to 13,000 BC. A further important phenomenon should have happened around 9000 BC. The last recorded eruptions occurred in the fifth century CE when airborne pumice, together with volcanic ash, covered the Roman villages of the island. The volcanoes are considered active, and steaming fumaroles and hydrothermal activity may still be seen. As a result of its volcanic origin, the island is covered with pumice and obsidian. Pumice mining has become a large industry on Lipari, and the pale pumice from Lipari is shipped worldwide. - in: wikipedia