The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply The Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and it is the third structure by time in Pisa's Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square).

Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction.

The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the highest side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m (13.42 ft) and at the top 2.48 m (8.14 ft). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 tonnes. The tower has 296 steps (the seventh floor has a different number of steps on the two sides, if you climb it on the north part you can count only 294 steps). The tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 meters from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical.
There has been controversy about the real identity of the architect of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. For many years, the design was attributed to Guglielmo and Bonanno Pisano ^[5], a well-known 12th-Century resident artist of Pisa, famous for his bronze casting, particularly in the Pisa Duomo. Bonanno Pisano left Pisa in 1185 for Monreale, Sicily, only to come back and die in his home town. His sarcophagus was discovered at the foot of the tower in 1820. However recent studies seems to indicate Diotisalvi as the original architect, by construction affinities with his other works, like the Baptistery in Pisa...(more on www.wikipedia.org)

Sunsets Across All Meridians

Here are 35 Sunset Wallpapers from all over the World.

Sunset Over Knik Arm and Six Mile Creek,
Alaska

Sunset Skies, Tundra Lake, Churchill,
Manitoba, Canada

Golden Gate Sunset, San Francisco

White Dome Geyser Sunset, Lower Geyser Basin,
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Seagulls at Sunset, Fort Myers, Florida

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Sunsets Across All Meridians II

Agana Bay at Sunset, Tamuning, Guam

Mazatlan Seaside Sunset, Mexico

Pigeon Point at Sunset, Tobago

Sunset on the Equator, Central America

Volcano Sunset, Guatemala

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Sunsets Across All Meridians III

Stonehenge at Sunset, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Ponte 25 de Abril, Lisbon, Portugal

Little Loch Broom at Sunset, Wester Ross,
The Highlands, Scotland

Sunset Over Scrabo Tower, Strangford Lough,
County Down, Ireland

Wetland and Sand Dunes at Sunset,
Wadden Islands, The Netherlands

Sunset on the Island of Santorini, Greece

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Sunsets Across All Meridians IV

Cairo, Egypt

Mystic Journey, Pyramids, Giza, Egypt

Masai Mara Game Reserve at Sunset, Kenya

Serengeti National Park Sunset, Tanzania

Tropical Beach at Sunset, The Seychelles

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Sunsets Across All Meridians V

Agra Fort at Sunset, India

Miyajima Shrine at Sunset, Miyajima, Japan

Mount Fuji, Tokyo, Japan

Kangoroo Beach Sunset, Australia

Kangaroos at Sunset, Australia

Sunset Over the Coromandel Peninsula,
North Island, New Zealand

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Sunset Across Meridians VI

Polynesian Sunset, Bora Bora

Aitutaki Island at Sunset, Cook Islands

Denarau Island at Sunset, Fiji

Moorea Island Sunset, French Polynesia

Na Pali Sunset, Kauai, Hawaii

Hawaiian Sunset, Hawaii

Hula Dancer at Sunset, Oahu, Hawaii

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Neuschwanstein Castle, The New Swan Stone Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle (New Swan Stone palace) is a 19th century Bavarian palace. Located on a mountain top in Germany, near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, the palace was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. Although photography of the interior is not permitted, it is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations.

It is in good shape and because of its fairy tale-like looks it is sometimes called the Cinderella Castle. Its remarkable, prominent though idyllic look on the mountain hill caused the palace to appear in movies several times. The palace has been open to the public since 1886.

The palace comprises a gatehouse, a Bower, the Knight's House with a square tower, and a Palas, or citadel, with two towers to the Western end. The effect of the whole is highly theatrical, both externally and within. The king's influence is apparent throughout and he took a keen personal interest in the design and decoration. An example can be seen in his comments, or commands, regarding a mural depicting Lohengrin in the Palas; "His Majesty wishes that .. the ship be placed further from the shore, that Lohengrin's neck be less tilted, that the chain from the ship to the swan be of gold and not of roses, and finally that the style of the castle shall be kept medieval."

The suite of rooms within the Palas contains the Throne Room followed by Ludwig's suite, followed by the Singers' Hall and by the Grotto. Throughout, the design pays homage to the German legends of Lohengrin, the Swan Knight. Hohenschwangau, where Ludwig spent much of his youth, had decorations of these sagas. These themes were taken up in the operas of Richard Wagner. However, many of the interior rooms remain undecorated; only 14 rooms were finished before Ludwig's death. With the palace still under construction at the Kings death, one of the major features of the palace remained unbuilt. A massive keep was planned for the middle of the upper court yard and was never built at the decision of the Kings remaining family. The foundation for the keep can still be seen in the upper courtyard today.

Some of the many finished rooms include the throne room, which features a gem encrusted chandelier, all twelve apostles painted on the wall that surrounds the pedestal for the throne (the actual throne was never finished) and Jesus behind the pedestal. The King's master suite includes a four post bed hand carved out of wood, the canopy of the bed is carved as the cathedral towers from every cathedral in Bavaria, a secret flushing toilet (The toilet flushes with water collected from an aqueduct.) and a running sink in the shape of a swan. The palace also includes a oratory, accessible from the dressing room and the master suite, that features an ivory crucifix, a room made to look like a cavern, a full kitchen equipped with hot and cold running water and heated cupboards, servants quarters, a study, a dining room and the Singers' Hall. The Singers' hall is a place for musicians and playwrights to come and perform. The King built it for Wagner as a place to write and perform plays....(more on www.wikipedia.org)

The Holly Mother of God Perivlepta, Ohrid, Macedonia

In the old part of Ohrid, near the Upper Gate, in 1295 the church of St. Bogorodica Perivlepta (The Holly Mother of God Perivlepta), known as St. Clement, was built. It is one of the oldest churches in Ohrid, and concurrently one of the most beautiful, above all for its frescoes. According to an inscription on the western entrance of the nartex, the Byzantine military commander and deputy Progon Zgur, a relative of the Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus, built the church. The inscription also states that the church was dedicated to the Holy Mother.
When the Turks converted the church St. Clement into a mosque, his remains were first moved to the small church of St. Clement, and later on to the church St. Bogorodica Perivlepta, after which the people simply renamed the church into St. Clement. In the period after the conversion of the church St. Sofia into a mosque, the church St. Clement became the cathedral church of the Ohrid Archiepiscopate. A large number of religious objects, icons, and books were brought to St. Clement. It is known that within the church there was a large Archiepiscopate library that contained papyrus manuscripts from XI and XII century, and old musical notations of Byzantine church songs. Some of these precious objects are preserved to the present day, however the majority was taken from their original home during the devastation that Ohrid and its citizens were exposed to. Also there was a large monastery estate around the church, and the Archiepiscopate Palace was built in its immediate vicinity. However, it was burnt to ashes in the middle of XIX century. The church St. Clement used to be called "The Great Church" because it was the cathedral church of the Ohrid Archiepiscopate.(more on www.ohrid.org.mk)

Bridges of the World

Llanrwst Bridge, Conwy River, Wales, United Kingdom

Old Bahia Honda Bridge, Florida Keys

Rialto Bridge, Grand Canal, Venice, Italy

Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay, Florida

The Sacred Bridge, Daiya River, Nikko, Japan

Eitai Bridge, Tokyo, Japan

Bay Bridge, San Francisco, California

Gateshead Millennium Bridge, England

Hartland Bridge, New Brunswick, Canada

Kintai Bridge, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York

Sant'Angelo Bridge, Rome, Italy

Chain Bridge, Budapest, Hungary

Hohenzollern Bridge, Cologne, Germany

Crossing Over,Tower Bridge, London, England