The tomb of Jules Verne: “Vers l’immortalité et l’éternelle Jeunesse”
The world-famous writer Jules Verne died of diabetes at the age of 77 on March 24, 1905, in Amiens, France, where he was buried in the Cimetière de la Madeleine. […]
January 11: Iuturnalia in honor of Juturna, goddess of the springs
The 11th January is the day in honor of Juturna, born as a nymph of the sources and later became a true goddess of the springs, ponds and streams. On […]
The legend of the ghost playing the bagpipe at Edinburgh Castle
Every self-respecting Scottish castle has its own ghost, whether scary or melancholy, based on the history of each individual manor. In Edinburgh Castle, the best known in Scotland, a ghost […]
The stunning statue on the tomb of the legendary Maid Marian
Little Dunmow Church, St Mary, is one of the oldest buildings in Essex, England. The building was originally the chapel of the lady of an Augustinian convent of the 12th […]
KNOxOUT, the mural in Warsaw that absorbs as much pollution as 780 Trees
Who would have though that simply painting a mural on the side of a regular building would have the same pollution-cleaning effect as planting 780 trees? Organized by the sportswear […]
Memorial to the victims of the Baquet Theatre fire of 1888 at the Cemitério de Agramonte of Porto, Portugal
Sometimes, a visit to an old historic cemetery can provide an insight into the history of the city in which it is located. It is the case of Agramonte Cemetery, […]
Mabon (?) and the Autumn Equinox
Not everyone knows that the Wheel of the Year is a set of eight seasonal celebrations spaced approximately 6-7 weeks apart through the year, which mark a combination of Solstices, […]
Buried at 2,000 meters high: the inaccessible sarcophagi of Karajia in Peru
Between the steep gorges of the Andes and the immense rainforests of the Amazonas region in Peru, there are surprising historical sites that document the history of the Chachapoya people, […]
Łapalice Castle – The never completed derelict mansion of a Polish artist.
This eerie castle rots within the small village of Łapalice, Poland. It was abandoned before it was even completed, essentially doomed to exist as a shadow of what it could […]
The mysterious case of dance mania that broke out in Medieval Europe
St. John’s Dance, known historically as St. Vitus Dance, was a social phenomenon involving a type of dance mania that gripped mainland Europe between the 14 th and 17 th […]
Lapu-Lapu: the Philippine hero who killed Ferdinand Magellan
Someone has compared the first circumnavigation of the globe to the first adventures in space. The reason? Magellan and his companions faced the unknown, and seas never crossed by other […]
#April 17, 1969: Alexander Dubček, architect of Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring, resigns
Alexander Dubček, the communist leader who launched a broad program of liberal reforms in Czechoslovakia, is forced to resign on this day, April 17 1969, as first secretary by the […]
Costumes, dancing, and food: Malanka is Ukraine’s biggest party
In Ukraine, Malanka is much more than a party: it’s one of the oldest, happiest, most vibrant days of the year in local culture. It is a folk holiday celebrated […]
The remarkable story of Eyam’s self-quarantine in the 17th century
November 1st 1666, All Saints Day. The plague takes away its latest victim in the remote village of Eyam, England. One of the many deaths from the Great Plague of […]
The Terracotta Army: history of a legendary army
On 29 March 1974, a group of farmers who were digging a water well just outside the city of Xi’an found about two meters deep a terracotta soldier the size […]
Don’t touch the Royals: the absurd death of the Queen of Siam in the 19th Century
Life is known to have a common destiny for everyone: death. There have been, throughout history, really lot of famous people who died in the most absurd ways, and there […]
Ramesses II: the first (and probably the last) mummy to receive a passport!
Ramesses II is often considered the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt: he reigned for over 60 years and his achievements were not matched by the pharaohs who preceded or succeeded […]
Today is 02/02/2020: the first palindrome day after 909 years
Today is a very special day: it is not only the day on which Christians celebrate Candlemas, or Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Day, but the date is also a […]
The “anomalous” burial of a child in a 5th century Umbrian cemetery
Lugnano in Teverina is a small village, located in the region of central Italy Umbria, surrounded by green hills that descend towards the valley of the Tiber river. At the […]
122 and not feeling it: the (unhealthy) Lifestyle of the longest-lived person in history!
Ms. Jeanne Louise Calment was born in Arles (France) on February 21, 1875, a year before the battle of Little Big Horn, and a year before Alexander Bell patented the […]
“The Ugly Duchess”: the Enigma of the portrait of a woman deformed by a rare disease (or not?)
Probably, before devoting himself to painting, Quentin Matsys (1466-1530) was a blacksmith. However, perhaps to conquer his future wife, who was seeing a painter more romantic than a blacksmith, or […]
Vyborg: Once Finland’s 2nd most influential city, now only a small provincial town somewhere in Russia
In Vyborg, Russia, time seems to have stopped. The city has a long history behind it that the ruins of its past never cease to pass down. Once Finland’s second […]
536 AD: the never-ending winter of the worst year in history
If you ask medieval historian Michael McCormick of the University of Harvard what year was the worst to be alive, and he’s got an answer. Not 1349, when the Black […]
12 rare Color Photographs show the First Nazi Concentration Camps in 1933
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled before and during the Second World War. Killed in gas chambers, starved to death, killed during experiments or shot by […]
Joan of Leeds: the nun who faked her own death to escape convent
Being a nun and living in a convent is one that requires extreme commitment, particularly in the 14th century. For Joan of Leeds, a rather rebellious English nun at St. […]
Onions in the Middle Ages were so precious that they were used also as money!
How many tears are shed by peeling an onion? Despite this little drawback, the use of the onion is normal, both for the taste that ensures in countless recipes, and […]
Prague: the magnificent European capital cobbled with Jewish gravestones
Prague is one of the most touristic cities in Europe. It is a large UNESCO World Heritage site, full of fairytale towers, ornate statues and art nouveau façades. The beauties […]
Pheasant Island: the only territory in the world that changes sovereignty every six months
You are not allowed to visit Pheasant Island, which lies near the Atlantic Ocean terminus of the French-Spanish border. But “it can easily be seen from the Joncaux bank, on […]
Mount Roraima: a floating island shrouded in clouds
Deep in the rainforests of Venezuela, mysterious highlands rise to more than 2,700 meters above sea level, but seen from above they look like islands floating on a sea of […]
Kola Superdeep Borehole: 12 Km towards the Earth’s core
Someone said that the human beings knows more about certain distant galaxies than it does about the ground that lies beneath its very feet. In fact, while it took the […]