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Smart News / Smart News Travel

"Human Forms" is on view through November.

Ancient Israeli Cave Transformed Into Art Gallery

For his latest show, artist Ivo Bisignano created a series of massive wooden sculptures that mimic the cavern’s curvature

An artist's rendering of the mosaic, which is on view at Union Station in Washington, D.C. through August 28

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

A 1,000-Square-Foot Mosaic of Ida B. Wells Welcomes Visitors to D.C.’s Union Station

The artwork, installed in honor of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, celebrates the pioneering civil rights leader and journalist

On August 18, 2020, flood waters threatened the Leshan Giant Buddha following heavy rains in Leshan in China's southwestern Sichuan province, where thousands of residents have been displaced by rising waters.

Flooding Endangers World’s Largest Buddha Statue

Rising waters in China dampened the toes of the Leshan Giant Buddha for the first time since 1949

The chocolate factory in Olten, Switzerland, quickly fixed its ventilation problem and resumed production.

Last Week, This Swiss Town Was Briefly Showered in Cocoa Powder

A broken ventilation system at a Lindt factory spewed crushed cocoa nibs into the air

George IV commissioned architect John Nash to design Buckingham Palace's picture gallery as a home for his art collection.

Buckingham Palace’s Art Collection to Be Exhibited in Public Gallery for First Time

The 65 works set to go on view include masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Titian

In April 2019, a devastating fire destroyed Notre-Dame Cathedral's iconic spire.

Virtual Travel

In Paris, Virtual Reality Experience Shows Notre-Dame Before and After 2019 Fire

The 18-minute documentary features footage of usually inaccessible spots, including the attic and sacristy

Crossroads General Store​, circa 1938

Virtual Travel

Explore Dorothea Lange’s Iconic Photos With These Online Exhibitions

Digital hubs from the Oakland Museum of California and the Museum of Modern Art showcase the American photographer’s oeuvre

A "wine window" in Florence

Covid-19

Centuries-Old ‘Wine Windows’ Open for Business in Florence

A low-risk alternative to curbside pickup, the portals may have helped fight an outbreak of bubonic plague in the 1630s

Sipson Island in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, opened to the public on July 25.

Cape Cod Island Opens to the Public for the First Time in 300 Years

When Sipson Island went on the luxury real estate market in 2018, locals saw an opportunity for conservation

Government officials have moved The Seagull and The FIshermen into storage.

Norway Tears Down Picasso Mural After Years of Debate Between Authorities, Activists

Critics say the removal constitutes a crime against Norwegian cultural heritage

A two-page spread in a 1903 Brooklyn Daily Eagle supplement shows an aerial depiction of the "Brooklyn of the Future," complete with ferry lines and projected bridges, subways, tunnels and elevated roads.

Virtual Travel

Explore Centuries of Brooklyn’s History With These Newly Digitized Maps

The Brooklyn Historical Society recently launched a portal featuring almost 1,500 documents dating back to the 17th century

The 22-bedroom County Wexford estate sits on 63 acres of land.

You Could Be the Next Owner of Ireland’s ‘Most Haunted House’

Local legend claims that the devil visited Loftus Hall, now on sale for $2.87 million, during the 18th century

A fire at Nantes Cathedral destroyed stained-glass windows and a 17th-century organ.

Arsonist Confesses to Starting Nantes Cathedral Fire

The July 18 blaze, which inflicted less damage than the devastating April 2019 inferno at Notre-Dame, destroyed the French church’s organ, stained glass

Jean-Michel in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1983

Virtual Travel

See Jean-Michel Basquiat Masterpieces Up Close in This Online Exhibition

The virtual experience spotlights a 2019 show that included around 70 works by the artist

Chicago-based publisher Haymarket Books will launch the reimagined London tube map next International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021.

A New London Tube Map Will Highlight Women and Nonbinary People

Co-organizers Emma Watson and Reni Eddo-Lodge drew inspiration from a 2016 project centered on the New York City subway

The wreck of an ancient Greek ship, the Peristera, rests at a depth of 92 feet below the water's surface.

This Ancient Greek Shipwreck Is Now an Underwater Museum

The Peristera, a cargo vessel loaded with thousands of amphorae, sank in the Aegean Sea around 500 B.C.

The view from WindowSwap user Simone's window in Villongo, Italy

Virtual Travel

This Website Highlights Views Outside Windows Across the World

The WindowSwap project provides a virtual travel opportunity for those sheltering in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum that features a recreation of Plymouth's 17th-century English village and a Wampanoag homesite.

Massachusetts’ Plimoth Plantation Will Change Its Name

The new moniker will incorporate the Mashpee Wampanoag name for the region: Patuxet

Aerial view of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia

Turkey Controversially Converts Hagia Sophia From Museum Into Mosque

The move has attracted criticism from Unesco, Pope Francis, the Russian Orthodox Church and others

At its peak, the saint's Canterbury Cathedral shrine drew upward of 100,000 visitors each year.

Virtual Travel

Researchers Digitally Reconstruct Thomas Becket’s Razed Canterbury Cathedral Shrine

The model, centered around the medieval saint’s golden casket, is now available to view online

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