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Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jun 25

Many of Europe's greatest architectural wonders were lost to history — or willingly demolished.

Here are some you haven't heard of... 🧵

1. Neue Elbbrücke Bridge: torn down to add an additional lane

Hamburg's greatest bridge was destroyed not by aerial bombs, but by urban planning zealots.

The original, completed in 1887, had two beautiful neo-Gothic gateways — destroyed in 1959 to widen the bridge.

2. Pont Notre-Dame, Paris

Medieval Paris had bustling "living bridges", with shops and homes towered 4 or 5 stories high.

The Pont Notre-Dame's buildings were razed for sanitary reasons, and to avoid risk of collapse in the 18th century.

Read 14 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jun 24

500 years ago, a city of skyscrapers was built in the desert — and it's still standing today.

Known as the "Manhattan of the Desert", it's even more densely populated than New York.

And it's a model for urban planning... (thread) 🧵

There is no older vertical metropolis in the world than Shibam, Yemen. Its "skyscrapers" were built in the 16th century and endure to this day...

When a British explorer came upon it in 1930s, he christened it the "Manhattan of the Desert".

7,000 people live inside 0.3 square miles — on a par with the modern world's most dense metropolises.

Read 17 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jun 21

What did Jesus of Nazareth look like?

The 6th century Christ Pantocrator is the most recognized image of Jesus — but what about before then?

Well, that's where things get weird... (thread) 🧵

There are no physical descriptions of Christ in the Gospels. The first Christians were wary of idolatry and wanted to focus on his words and teachings.

But what do the earliest artistic depictions show us?

This is the Christ Pantocrator, a Byzantine icon kept in a small Mount Sinai monastery since the 6th century.

Its style (right hand raised, Bible in the left) became repeated around the world, and established his conventional appearance: bearded and long-haired.

Read 20 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jun 19

Why do American cities feel less "alive" than their European counterparts?

It's because of something called the "missing middle".

A century ago, American cities looked completely different... (thread) 🧵

Millions make pilgrimages to Europe's centers every year. Architectural beauty is one thing, but they simply feel more vibrant and "alive" than American cities.

But why is that?

In the early 20th century, American cities were much like European ones. They had smaller footprints relative to population, and people lived centrally enough to walk or take elegant streetcars to work.

What happened? The "missing middle" was decimated...

Read 19 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jun 18

You might recognize this as a movie set — it's actually a real place near Paris.

In the 1970s, one man had enough of modern architecture and did something radical.

He went back to Ancient Greece for inspiration... (thread) 🧵

It's called Les Espaces d'Abraxas, and it's unlike anything you've seen before.

It's a housing project built in the 1980s as a backlash against the dreary modernist blocks of the day...

After WW2, cheap, rectangular housing blocks addressed the need to build rapidly across Europe.

Modernism was the dominant style and most new Parisian suburbs were like this: tower blocks built with seemingly little regard for what it's like to live in them.

Read 16 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jun 17

Before you can enter Heaven, you must climb Mount Purgatory.

It has 7 levels, and you must conquer different sins at each one.

This 700-year-old poem guides you up — and it's the greatest self-help manual ever written... (thread) 🧵

In 1321, Alighieri Dante imagined a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. It's one of the most imaginative stories ever told.

He first travels right to the bottom of Hell and describes each of its 9 levels along the way...

Why make this journey?

Because to journey upward, you must first descend into the depths of your own soul — and confront what you find there.

At the very bottom, the bitterly cold point furthest from God's grace, Dante finds Satan.

Read 18 tweets

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