CLASSICAL EDUCATION
Bath is the UK’s only city to be listed in its entirety as a UNESCO site. Regency terraces, Roman baths and cobbled squares all vie for attention, so a good starting point would be the Museum of Bath Architecture, which puts the city’s gems in context, helping visitors to ‘read’ the Palladian details and classical references as they explore. The Bath Preservation Trust, which runs the museum, offers an excellent 48-hour combination ticket, allowing entry to its four sites: the museum itself, No 1 Royal Crescent, Beckford’s Tower and the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, neatly encompassing the realms of fashion, science, music and learning that animated this great Georgian melting pot.
www.museumofarchitecture.org.uk
MILANESE MASTERWORK
2019 marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, so expect a year-long celebration of the Renaissance polymath. One of his most famous works, the Last Supper in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, is also one of the hardest to visit, being such a fragile and much restored fresco. Leonardo chose to paint it a secco, that is, directly onto the wall rather than using the traditional fresco technique. This means that only 25 visitors can be admitted at a time to maintain an even, ambient temperature. Book in advance with a combined visit to, say, the Brera Picture Gallery or an architecture walking tour to ensure you see this masterwork alongside Milan’s cultural treasures.
www.milan-museum.com
STARK REMINDER
The indomitable traveller, writer and adventurer Freya Stark spent a lifetime exploring her beloved Arabia. Usually travelling with little money and only a local guide for support, her treks took her through remote regions as well as to legendary cities such as Isfahan. The Valleys of the Assassins and Other Persian Travels, published by The Modern Library, recounts her travels in 1934 between Iraq and present-day Iran, including vivid encounters with the hashish-eating terrorists known as the Lords of Alamut. Her knowledge of Arab culture and language and her interest in the people she met shines through her writing.
DARWIN’S DELIGHT
“The archipelago is a little world within itself,” wrote Charles Darwin when he visited the Galapagos Islands two centuries ago. Thanks to careful conservation and UNESCO protection, little has changed. Giant tortoises, hammerhead sharks and frigate birds still attract naturalists from around the world. To capture the spirit of Darwin’s early voyage, although with significantly comfier accommodation and delicious food, book a passage on the Mary Anne tall ship with Andando Tours. Run by Galapagos native Fiddi Angermeyer, Andando Tours takes small numbers of guests on each trip and is a contributor to the WildAid wildlife conservation charity.
www.andandotours.com
BRIDGE PARTNER
During the 1990s, Mostar was in the news for all the wrong reasons, a casualty as so many other towns and their people of the Bosnian war. When the town’s historic bridge was bombed, it destroyed one of Bosnia Herzegovina’s most celebrated landmarks. The 16th century, Ottoman built bridge had given the town its name, being guarded in medieval times by men called mostari. Following the war, the bridge was faithfully reconstructed using the original stone, earning it UNESCO World Heritage status. Crossing from side to side, visitors today are treated to Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and modernist architecture as well as the bazaar in the Old Town. The 17th -century Muslibegovic House is part museum part hotel and an ideal base for a stay.
www.muslibegovichouse.com
Architectural Traveller | Page 6
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