Heritage with Related Tags
Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)
Designed by architect Victor Horta, one of the early founders of the Art Nouveau movement, four major buildings in Brussels – the Hotel Tassel, the Hotel Solvay, the Hotel Van Eetveld and the Horta House and Studio – are among the most striking avant-garde works of architecture at the end of the 19th century. Representing a stylistic revolution, these buildings are characterized by open plans, diffused light and a clever integration of decorative curves into the building structure.
Historic Centre of Guimarães
The historic city of Guimarães is closely linked to the rise of Portuguese national identity in the 12th century. The town is a well-preserved example of the evolution of a medieval settlement into a modern town, and its rich architectural typologies reflect the specific development of Portuguese architecture from the 15th to the 19th century, through the continued use of traditional building materials and techniques.
Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a)
This archaeological site, which began as a Roman military camp and developed into a town from the 5th century onwards, remains largely unexcavated. It contains remains from the Roman, Byzantine and early Muslim periods (late 3rd to 9th century AD), as well as a Roman military camp. The site also has 16 churches, some of which have well-preserved mosaic floors. Of particular note is the mosaic floor of the Church of St. Stephen, which depicts towns in the area. Two square towers are probably the only remains of the area's famous ascetics (ascetics who spent time in solitude atop a pillar or tower). Scattered around Um er-Rasas are remains of ancient agricultural practices in arid regions.
Costiera Amalfitana
The Amalfi Coast is a land of great beauty and natural diversity. It has been heavily settled since the early Middle Ages. There are many towns, such as Amalfi and Ravello, with significant architecture and works of art. The countryside shows the inhabitants' flexibility in using the land according to the diversity of the terrain, from terraced vineyards and orchards on the lower slopes to wide high pastures.
Crespi d'Adda
Crespi d'Adda in Capriate San Gervasio, Lombardy, is an outstanding example of the "company towns" built by enlightened industrialists in Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries to meet the needs of their workers. The site remains well preserved and partly used for industrial purposes, although changing economic and social conditions now threaten its survival.
Sewell Mining Town
Located 2,000 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains, 60 kilometers east of Rancagua, in an extreme environment, the mining town of Sevier was built in 1905 by the Braden Copper Company to house workers for what would become the world's largest underground copper mine, El Teniente. It is an outstanding example of company towns that emerged in many remote parts of the world by fusing local labor with the resources of industrialized countries to mine and process high-value natural resources. The town was built on terrain too steep for wheeled vehicles and is organized around a large central staircase that rises from the train station. Irregularly shaped formal plazas along the way, complete with ornamental trees and plants, form the town's main public space or plaza. The buildings that line the streets are of wood, often painted in bright green, yellow, red and blue. In its heyday, Sevier had 15,000 residents, but was mostly abandoned in the 1970s.
Stone Town of Zanzibar
Stone Town in Zanzibar is an example of a Swahili coastal trading town in East Africa. It has preserved its urban structure and townscape almost intact, with many fine buildings reflecting its unique culture, which has blended and homogenized different cultural elements from Africa, the Arab region, India and Europe for more than a thousand years.
Old Town of Lijiang
The Old Town of Lijiang has perfectly adapted to the uneven terrain of this important commercial and strategic location, retaining a high quality and authentic historical townscape. Its architecture is a striking blend of elements from many cultures over the centuries. Lijiang also has a very complex and ingenious ancient water supply system that still operates effectively today.