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Jul 5, 2024 • 26 tweets • 8 min read • Read on X
Cathedrals serve as places of worship in a relentless pursuit of the divine.

However, these 24 cathedrals also challenge the boundaries between heaven and earth. 🧵 Credit: @Anc_Aesthetics on X
1. St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican City)

One of the largest and most renowned churches in the world, it features a magnificent Renaissance design, Michelangelo's iconic dome, and houses priceless works of art, including the PietĂ . Credit: @histories_arch
2. Saint Basil’s Cathedral (Moscow, Russia)

Known for its colorful onion domes and intricate patterns, it looks like a fairytale structure. Image
3. Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain)

Designed by Antoni GaudĂ­, its unique architectural style features intricate sculptures and stunning stained-glass windows. Credit: @Anc_Aesthetics
4. Amiens Cathedral (Amiens, France)

An exemplary Gothic cathedral, it is renowned for its immense size, stunning sculptures, and intricately designed facades, and was built to house the head of John the Baptist. Image
5. Milan Cathedral (Milan, Italy)

One of the largest Gothic cathedrals, it boasts over 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles, and stunning stained-glass windows. Credit: @Christian8Pics
6. St. Paul’s Cathedral (London, England)

Its vast dome and Baroque facade have dominated the London skyline since 1697. St Paul's Cathedral dome Credit: Stained Glass Zealot
7. St. Vitus Cathedral (Prague, Czech Republic)

Features a 102-meter-high spire and an interior adorned with stained glass windows and fine mosaics. Credit: @glass_zealot
8. Chartres Cathedral (Chartres, France)

A well-preserved Gothic masterpiece with elaborate facades and large stained glass windows. The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Chartres Cathedral Credit: @bethecreed
9. Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence, Italy)

Known for its green, pink, and white marble facade and the massive red-tiled dome. Credit: capturedfromthesky on Instagram and @archi_tradition  on X
10. Saint Sophia’s Cathedral (Kiev, Ukraine)

Renowned for its white walls, green and gold cupolas, and Byzantine-style frescoes and mosaics. Credit: -AtomicAerials- on Reddit
11. St. Patrick’s Cathedral (New York City, USA)

A Neo-Gothic structure with elegant spires and a stunning stained glass rose window amidst Manhattan's skyscrapers. Credit: Culture_Crit
12. Cologne Cathedral (Cologne, Germany)

With twin spires reaching 157 meters, it has the largest church facade in the world and impressive Gothic architecture. Credit: @Christian8Pics
13. Sainte Chapelle (Paris, France)

Famous for its vast stained-glass windows depicting biblical scenes. Credit: @Christian8Pics
14. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Features Neo-Byzantine architecture and a gold-plated dome, honoring Russian soldiers. Credit: @culturaltutor
15. Catedral BasĂ­lica Del Pilar (Zaragoza, Spain)

Built in a Baroque style with attractive cupolas and a central dome, particularly stunning at night. Credit: @_LOVELYSPAIN_
16. Zipaquira Salt Cathedral (Zipaquira, Colombia)

Carved within a salt mine, featuring finely sculpted icons and representations of Jesus' life. Credit: @gabifretes on X
17. Saint John’s Co-Cathedral (Valletta, Malta)

Its plain exterior hides a lavish Baroque interior with gold decorations and marble tombstones. Credit: @GrecianGirly
18. Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem, Israel)

Revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, this ancient church combines various architectural styles and holds immense religious significance for Christians worldwide. Credit: @archeohistories
19. BasĂ­lica Catedral de Lima, Peru Credit: @andtartary2
20. San Agustin Church (Manila, Philippines)

The oldest stone church in the Philippines, it features a beautifully preserved Baroque style and a richly decorated interior with intricate trompe-l'Ĺ“il murals. Church interior in 2023 By Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
21. San Marco Basilica (Venice, Italy)

Showcases Italo-Byzantine architecture with an ornate Gothic roofline and a gold-decked interior filled with mosaics. Credit: @mamboitaliano__
22. Washington National Cathedral (Washington, D.C., USA)

An imposing example of neo-Gothic architecture, it features beautiful stained glass windows, intricate carvings, and serves as a significant national house of prayer and reflection. Credit: @DebVader
23. Vank Cathedral (Isfahan, Iran)

Known for its unique combination of Armenian and Persian architectural elements, with stunning frescoes and intricate tile work. Credit: @WorldOfPicture5
24. Seville Cathedral (Seville, Spain)

One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world, its main altar, known as the Retablo Mayor, is particularly stunning, featuring a series of gold-covered wood carvings that depict scenes from the life of Christ. Image
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More from @CultureExploreX

Mar 12
Rome, 1600s. The Catholic Church is under attack.

Protestants are smashing Christian art across Europe.

Then, a movement emerges—bold, theatrical— that fights back.

Here's how Baroque art saved Christian art forever... 🧵👇 Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore - Rome  One of four papal basilicas in Rome, located in Piazza dell'Esquilino, on top of the hill of the same name, on top of Cispio, between Rione Monti and Esquiline. It is the only basilica in Rome that still retains the original structure of the Basilica, despite later additions...  Credit: Kabubi on pinterest pin/511791945174879103/
Protestant Reformers rejected sacred images.

Rationalists were dismissing the divine.

The Church knew beauty was power. If it could overwhelm the senses, it could capture souls.

And then comes the Baroque: grandeur, movement, drama.
A visual argument that faith wasn’t just rational—it was something you felt.

No more distant, static figures. No more rigid compositions.

Baroque artists made heaven invade earth.

Ceilings dissolved into divine visions. Borghese Gallery, Rome! Credit: Evelyn M
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Mar 11
Some ruled empires. Some changed laws. Others sparked movements that still shape our world.

Here are 20 of the most influential women in history—whose impact still defines our lives today. 🧵👇 Queen Eleanor by Frederick Sandys, 1858 in National Museum Cardiff
1. Mary, Mother of Jesus (1st century BC–1st century AD)

Her role in Christianity has influenced billions for over 2,000 years.

Revered in Christianity and Islam, her presence in religious and cultural history is unmatched. Madonna of the Book by Sandro Botticelli in Milan in the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.
2. Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (555–620 AD)

She wasn’t just the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad—she was Islam’s first believer.

A powerful merchant, she used her wealth and influence to protect the early Muslim community.

Without her, Islam may never have survived its earliest days.A fictive medal of Khadijah seen in Promptuarii iconum insigniorum - 1553  By Published by Guillaume Rouillé (1518?-1589) - "Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum", Public Domain
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Mar 10
One-woman defied emperors, outwitted popes, and shaped the modern world as we know it.

Without her, society, education, and medicine would look completely different.

Here’s how Empress Theodora built the legal foundations that still protect millions today. 🧵👇 Théodora (1887), by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Theodora wasn’t born into power. She was born into poverty.

Her father was a bear trainer. When he died, she and her sisters were left destitute. In Constantinople, that meant one thing—survival by any means necessary.

But Theodora was more than just a survivor. She was a strategist.Sarah Bernhardt in Sardou's Théodora (1884)
She became an actress, a profession that, at the time, was seen as scandalous—many actresses were forced into sex work.

But Theodora didn’t just survive in this world. She used it as a training ground—learning politics, persuasion, and power.

Then, she met Justinian. Image
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Mar 9
What happens when Power and Genius clash?

Michelangelo never wanted to paint the Sistine Chapel—but when he defied Pope Julius II, he set off a battle of wills that would push him to the edge of madness. 🧵 The interior of the Sistine Chapel showing the ceiling in relation to the other frescoes. Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam is near the top of the photo.  Photo By Antoine Taveneaux -  CC BY-SA 3.0
Michelangelo was a sculptor at the peak of his career.

When Pope Julius II commanded him to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, he refused—he wasn’t a painter.

Imagine being forced to create a masterpiece you never wanted to make.

What would you have done? David by Michelangelo at the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italy
Michelangelo fled Rome, hoping the Pope would forget.

Julius II, known as the “Warrior Pope,” didn’t just fight battles on the battlefield—he fought them in art, politics, and power.

He sent threats. If Michelangelo refused, his career was over.

The artist remained in Florence until the Florentine government pressed him to return to the pope.Painting of Julius II Ordering Bramante, Michelangelo, and Raphael to Build the Vatican and Saint Peter's by Horace Vernet at the Louvre Museum
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Jaw-Dropping Drone Shots That Will Change How You See the World 🧵👇

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2. The Red Train, Switzerland

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A fiery heart of the Earth, captured in all its explosive glory. Doesn't it look like Sauron from Lord of the Rings?  This photo, "Skull Smoking" was taken by Daniel Viñé Garcia for the Siena Drone Photo Awards 2023 when visiting Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland.
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We once built cathedrals that touched the sky.

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Chartres Cathedral took nearly a century to build. Its stained glass transformed sunlight into a divine spectacle.

Its builders were anonymous. They worked for something greater than themselves.

Today, we throw up steel-and-glass boxes in months. No soul. No purpose. Just profit.South transept rose window, c. 1221–1230 in Chatres Cathedral
Michelangelo’s David wasn’t just a statue—it was Florence’s pride, a symbol of defiance against Rome.

The Renaissance fused faith and humanism, creating works that still inspire awe.

Today? We get 'public art' that looks like twisted scrap metal.

Which of these four images moves you? Be honest. You’re probably picking top left or bottom right.Top left: Deatil of David statue (face) by Michelangelo  Top right: Antony Gormley, Iron: Man, 2005, in Victoria Square, Birmingham Wikimedia Creative Commons  Bottom left:Joan Miró, Woman and Bird, 1982, Barcelona, Spain Wikimedia Creative Commons  Bottom right: Detail of David statue (hand) by Michelangelo
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