ROME (Reuters) – A handwritten letter by Renaissance artist and historian Giorgio Vasari has been returned to its owners in Tuscany more than 20 years after it was stolen, Italian police said on Thursday. The letter was dated March 18, 1566 and is believed to be worth around 20,000 euros ($21,760). Vasari’s letter, which disappeared from the archive of the…
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History buffs will be able to stroll close to the spot where legend says Julius Caesar met his bloody end, when Rome authorities open a new walkway on the ancient site on Tuesday.…
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A 300-year-old piece of Schellenberg tapestry has been lovingly restored and returned to its home in the First State Room at Blenheim Palace.…
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In a move that many hailed as a salve for the historic wounds between Europe and Africa, Germany last December returned 22 artefacts, looted during the colonial era, to what is now Nigeria.…
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Belgium’s capital Brussels is a treasure trove of Art Nouveau gems and now the city is trying to attract new audiences to its rich heritage, with the help of acrobats and trapeze artists. The Belgian capital’s decorative deights are thanks in large part to feted architect Victor Horta (1861-1947). To mark the 130th anniversary of Horta’s first landmark masterpiece, Tassel…
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Palaeontologists in South Africa said Monday they have found the oldest known burial site in the world, containing remains of a small-brained distant relative of humans previously thought incapable of complex behaviour.…
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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Barbara Jatta, the first woman to head the Vatican Museums, wants visitors to avoid being suffocated by the crowds and take in the lesser-known – but spectacular – attractions she helps to oversee. The Vatican Museums, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that closed or limited openings during the COVID-19 pandemic, have almost returned to their pre-pandemic…
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A new high-tech study has revealed nearly 1,000 ancient Maya settlements, including 417 previously unknown cites linked by what may be the world’s first highway network and hidden for millennia by the dense jungles of northern Guatemala and southern Mexico. It is the latest discovery of roughly 3,000-year-old Maya centers and related infrastructure, according to a statement on Monday from…
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The piece by Artemisia Gentileschi, the Italian Baroque’s trailblazing woman artist, is undergoing a months-long restoration to rediscover her original vision, hidden for centuries under a thick layer of strategically placed paint. While the restorers consider it too risky to remove the drapery and veil later painted on to cover the figure’s breasts and loins, diagnostic imaging will provide a…
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Tributes have poured in after former pope Benedict XVI died aged 95 on Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries. Here are some of the tributes: – ‘Commitment to non-violence’ – UN chief Antonio Guterres praised the former pontiff for his “tenacious commitment to non-violence and peace”. – ‘Global peace’ – EU…
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