From the ancient cities of Babylon and Palmyra to the tourist mecca of Venice, historical cities are endangered.
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The Gwoździec synagogue: the lost art of painted wooden synagogues
A glimpse of the lost art of painted wooden synagogues popularized among Eastern European Jewish communities in the 17th and 18th centuries
Napoleon’s appropriation of Italian cultural treasures
The lasting effects of Napoleon's appropriations can still be observed today in churches and public buildings in Perugia, which remain bereft of the treasures that had once adorned them.
Rewriting history: damnatio memoriae in ancient Rome
There are many examples of damnatio memoriae throughout the history of the Roman Republic and Empire.
Iconoclasm in the Netherlands in the 16th century
Controversy over the nature of religious images was not new in the sixteenth century.
The Renaissance Synagogues of Venice
The original Ghetto, on a small Venetian island, hides Renaissance era synagogues of startling beauty.
A Renaissance masterpiece nearly lost in war: Piero della Francesca, The Resurrection
a Renaissance masterpiece receives a second life after World War II
Saving Torcello, an ancient church in the Venetian Lagoon
fresco, mosaic, and marble threatened by a rising sea and the salt it leaves behind
Venice’s San Marco, a mosaic of spiritual treasure
Acts of sacred theft, Venice as a mosaic of treasures from afar.
Ancient Babylon: excavations, restorations and modern tourism
Invasion, reconstruction, and trafficking all threaten this biblical site—but even today, Iraqis regularly visit.
Cultural heritage at risk: Turkey
One of the most archaeologically rich places in the world, Turkey’s urban development has left many sites exposed.
Cultural heritage at risk: Syria
Militants have devastated cultural sites in Syria, and murdered the beloved head of antiquities at Palmyra.
Palmyra: the modern destruction of an ancient city
Terrorists overran Palmyra twice despite international cries for protection, sowing irreversible destruction.