One of the most beautiful cities in the world was founded 1604 years ago today - thread🧵

1. Venice at sunset 2. According to the Chronicon Altinate, one of the oldest sources on Venice's history, today marks the city's 1604th birthday.

Tradition links its founding to the dedication of San Giacomo church, said to have occurred at noon on 25 March 421.

The most beautiful ceilings on Earth 🧵

1. Sainte-Chapelle, Paris (13th century) 2. The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

Michelangelo painted this magnificent ceiling between 1508 and 1512.

As Goethe put it, "without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving."

Life in the 1980s 🧵

1. McDonald's in the 80s compared to today 2. People in the 80s react to new laws against drinking and driving

Switzerland doesn't look real – a thread 🧵

1. Many scholars believe that Tolkien's 1911 hike through Lauterbrunnen directly inspired the valley of Rivendell in The Lord of the Rings. 2. Grindelwald and its unreal Alpine landscape

Cherry blossoms in Japan 🧵

1. A tunnel of sakura-shaped bulbs in Mie 2. Kawagoe, Saitama

Sakura typically refers to the flowers of ornamental cherry trees, rather than those cultivated for their fruit.

It is Japan's national flower and plays a key role in the tradition of hanami.

Italy's most stunning fountains - a thread 🧵

1. This fountain in L'Aquila was designed to look like it's pouring lava for a brief time each day when the sun hits it at just the right angle. 2. Trevi Fountain

The Aqua Virgo, built by Agrippa in 19 BC, still supplies water to the fountain more than two millennia later.

Designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762, this Baroque marvel is one of the most iconic fountains in the world.

The most beautiful domes on Earth 🧵

1. Church of St. Joachim's starry dome, Rome 2. The Pantheon, Rome

Nearly two millennia since its construction, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

Roman concrete's longevity comes from "self-healing" lime clasts that dissolve in water and recrystallize to repair cracks.

Thread of Ancient Egyptian artifacts you've (probably) never seen before 🧵

1. A stunning 4,500 years old Egyptian dress 2. This is a 3,400 year old Ancient Egyptian painting palette with its colors still preserved

Thread of stunning ancient sculptures 🧵

1. Winged Victory of Samothrace (190 BC) 2. Dying Gaul (circa 230–220 BC)

This sculpture depicts a warrior in his last moments, as he succumbs to a fatal wound.

One of the most renowned works from antiquity, it captures the essence of bravery in the face of death, and an acknowledgment of honor in a foreign people.

Thread of surreal sculpture details 🧵

1. There is no rope in this image... it's marble. Francesco Queirolo spent 7 years carving this intricate net from a single marble block.

No apprentice dared to touch the sculpture, fearing the delicate net would crumble in their hands.

It's called "Release from Deception" and is housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples.

Thread of historical photos you've (probably) never seen before 🧵

1. Eiffel Tower during construction, 1887-1889 2. Billionaire John D. Rockefeller gives a nickel to a child on his 84th birthday in 1923

Life in the 1970s 🧵

1. San Francisco's Lombard Street, 1975 2. This is what beachgoers looked like in '70s

Thread of the most beautiful gates on Earth🧵

1. Gates of Heaven, Lake Como, Italy Villa Cipressi is a magnificent complex of buildings and gardens built between the 1400s and 1800s.

Originally part of the Serponti family heritage, the structure later passed into the hands of several owners, including the Accame family.

Michelangelo was born 550 years ago today.

The same man who sculpted the Pietà at 23, was commissioned the David at 26, painted the Sistine Chapel’s vault at 36, and was appointed chief architect of St. Peter’s Basilica at 71.

A thread on the greatest artist of all time 🧵 1. Goethe said that "without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving."

Thread of beautiful Art Deco designs 🧵

1. Cincinnati Union Terminal 2. The magnificent Art Deco doors at the C.D. Peacock jewelry store in Chicago, Illinois, completed in 1925.

Thread of Caravaggio's painting details 🧵

1. The most beautiful lips in art history 2. Medusa, 1597

Thread on the beauty of Trompe-l'œil 🧵

1. This gate in Vienna masterfully tricks the eye 2. The ceiling that you see reflected in this mirror is entirely flat.

This masterpiece was made to appear "3D" by the great Andrea Pozzo, who painted the grandiose fresco in 1685.

It is located in the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome.

Thread of drawings by Galileo Galilei 🧵

1. Galileo's first sketches of the moon after viewing it through his telescope in 1609. 2. The Moon based on a watercolor by Galileo (left), alongside a modern photograph of the same lunar phase.

This was published in Sidereus Nuncius, a short astronomical treatise written in Neo-Latin by Galileo and published on March 13, 1610.

The Eternal City at night - a thread 🧵

1. Piazza Navona, Rome 2. Trevi Fountain

Regarded as one of the most iconic fountains in the world, it was designed by the Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.

Its name derives from the Latin word trivium, meaning "intersection of three streets".

Thread of the greatest bus stops on Earth 🧵

1. Via Posillipo in Naples, Italy 2. Daguang Elementary School bus stop in Tainan City, Taiwan

Walking on beauty: Italy’s stunning floors 🧵

1. Florence Cathedral's intricate floor mosaic 2. San Michele Arcangelo, Anacapri

Located on Piazza San Nicola, the church was built in 1719 in the Baroque style with an octagonal layout.

It received "monument" status for its magnificent majolica floor mosaic.