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Cultural Preservation

Rome, From Mount Aventine, J.M.W. Turner, 1836

J.M.W. Turner Painted This Breathtaking Roman Landscape Nearly 200 Years Ago. If You Look Closely, You Can Still See His Fingerprints

The Romantic painter completed “Rome, From Mount Aventine” in the 1830s. It became his most expensive artwork in 2014, and it’s expected to sell for another record-breaking sum in December

A few of the ancient Roman artifacts found beneath the Bath Assembly Rooms

When Jane Austen Took a Turn About the Ballroom in Bath, Ancient Roman Artifacts Were Hiding Beneath Her Feet. Now, Archaeologists Have Finally Found Them

Recent excavations at the Bath Assembly Rooms in England revealed Roman-era coins, roof tiles, pottery, glassware, a network of ditches and a fragment of a military helmet

Focaccia di Recco is a thin flatbread filled with gooey cheese—usually crescenza or stracchino—and baked in a super-hot oven until crispy and golden brown.

A Tiny Town in the Italian Riviera Has Its Own Version of Focaccia, and Let This Be a Warning—It’s Addictive

Unlike the pillowy-soft focaccia that’s more widely known, focaccia di Recco is thin, crispy and filled with gooey cheese

The center opened in December 2025.

Montana Built a $107 Million Museum. Its Smallest Room Says a Lot About the Thought That Went Into Designing the Space

The Montana Heritage Center in Helena has a smudge room. It is open to the public and teaches non-Native visitors why a room dedicated to the burning of cleansing materials, a practice of many Indigenous cultures, is needed

Palaka represents the many cultures that have come to create the Hawaiian Islands of today through their traditions and hard work.

A Signature Hawaiian Textile With a Rich History Is Making a Splash in the Fashion World

The blocky, plaid palaka design has evolved beyond its roots as simple workwear, crossing over ethnic and class lines as a symbol of local pride

The house was commissioned in 1938 and built in 1939.

A Frank Lloyd Wright House in L.A. Is in Danger of ‘Demolition by Neglect,’ Say Advocates

The visionary designed this two-bedroom, one-bathroom in his affordable Usonian style. It’s the only house of its kind in L.A.

An estimated one million to two million petroglyphs are spread across the Burrup Peninsula and the Dampier Archipelago, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Historical Pollution, Not Current Industrial Emissions, Damaged the World’s Largest and Oldest Collection of Ancient Rock Art, Study Suggests

Researchers say that past exposure to sulfur dioxide is likely to blame for the increased porosity of the Murujuga rock art created by the Ngarda-Ngarli people tens of thousands of years ago

Hundreds of people pulled the keep of Hirosaki Castle closer to its original position.

1,800 Volunteers Pull a 400-Ton Japanese Castle Keep Back Toward Its Original Location After a Decade of Restoration Work

The chance to help move the castle keep drew thousands of applications from Japan and abroad. Groups of lottery winners took turns tugging on thick ropes attached to the massive structure

The historic Edistone Hotel is located in downtown Selma, Alabama.

A Historic Alabama Hotel Linked to the Civil Rights Movement Is Falling Apart. Can the Conservationists Fighting to Save It Turn the Tide?

Selma’s Edistone Hotel has witnessed pivotal chapters in American history, from Reconstruction to “Bloody Sunday.” Now, after years of neglect and a recent wall collapse, the Conservation Fund is working to secure its future

Andy Crammond and Alan Daniels discovered the three gold armbands while surveying a field near the Scottish-English border.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorists Thought They’d Hit the Jackpot When They Discovered a Gold Bracelet Dating to the Bronze Age. Then They Dug Up Two More

At first, Andy Crammond thought the object was a bull’s nose ring. Other artifacts unearthed nearby include a Viking brooch, a Roman coin hoard and a Bronze Age ax head

At Nona Manis, dining guests can enjoy a prix-fixe menu that may include any of these dishes: ikan pindang patin (braised fish), steak semur (steak with kecap manis sauce), laksa (seafood curry soup), oyster sambal matah and oyster gulai Aceh (oyster on the half shell with Balinese sambal and Aceh curry).

A New Generation of Chefs Reimagines Indonesian Cuisine in the Netherlands to Tell the Stories of Its Origins

The shift reflects a larger cultural moment, with chefs asking whether the cuisine should remain tied to colonial nostalgia or evolve into a reflection of modern Indonesian identity

Students and volunteers have been excavating the Roman mosaic from a field near near Halberton, Devon.

Cool Finds

A Metal Detectorist Discovered Tiny Tiles in a Farmer’s Field. A Spectacular Ancient Roman Mosaic Was Buried Beneath the Surface

The polychrome mosaic once decorated a small room in a lavish villa complex. Researchers, students and volunteers have been working together to excavate the rare site in southwestern England

Finland's Lake Saimaa is 111 miles long, 87 miles wide, dotted by about 14,000 islands, pierced by dozens of narrow straits, and surrounded by sheltered bays perfect for ringed seal breeding.

Before Cultural and Natural Wonders Earn UNESCO World Heritage Status, They Are Put on a ‘Tentative’ List. Here Are Five Nominees Worth Visiting Now

Featuring more than 1,800 sites from 181 countries and territories, UNESCO’s tentative list is a treasure trove of lesser-known marvels

Sweetgrass basket weaving is one of the most enduring cultural traditions of the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of Africans enslaved on the rice, indigo and cotton plantations of the southeastern United States.

From Basket Weaving to Oyster Reef Conservation, Gullah Geechee Women Are Preserving a Living Heritage

Along America’s southeastern coast, descendants of enslaved Africans pass down traditions and knowledge of crafts, ecology and food through generations

The Tees Transporter Bridge was a feat of engineering but has been closed due to structural concerns since 2019.

These Are the Top Ten ‘Endangered’ Buildings and Bridges in England and Wales—and They Tell Us a Lot About Life in the Victorian Era

Structures remaining from the height of the British Empire reveal changing economic, medical and education trends from the 1800s and early 1900s. But their legacy is at risk as they fall into disrepair

This stone slab shows Tiberius standing next to the Egyptian gods Amun, Khonsu and Mut.

Why Does This Newly Discovered 2,000-Year-Old Stone Slab Depict a Roman Emperor as an Egyptian Pharaoh?

The sandstone monument shows Tiberius standing next to a family of local gods. Archaeologists say the scene illustrates the ruler’s role as a leader who upheld cosmic order in Egyptian society

Málaga’s famous espetos, or sardines, are cooked over an open flame in traditional blue fishing boats right on the beach.

Coastal Cities of Europe

Chiringuitos Offer the Quintessential Beach Bar Experience on Spain’s Costa del Sol

Steeped in history, the seafood joints are evolving to keep up with a global clientele and tightening environmental regulations

More than 95 percent of the world’s bergamot oil production is concentrated in Southern Italy’s Calabria region. But harsh conditions driven by climate change threaten that supply.

Earth’s Smells Are Disappearing Because of Climate Change, and It’s a Vast Cultural Loss

A triple threat of pollution, extinction and warming temperatures is altering the way the planet smells. Scientists are only beginning to understand the stakes for humans

The passageway stretches 15 feet underground.

This Secret Passageway May Have Been Part of the Underground Railroad. Now, Preservationists Say It’s in Danger

The Merchant’s House Museum in New York City announced its investigation into the tunnel’s history in February. A neighboring development could threaten the building’s walls and foundations

A young living root bridge, barely a decade old, is seen from the deck of a much older root bridge on the same riverbed. Five months after I shot this photograph, monsoon rains triggered a landslide that sent boulders crashing into the younger bridge. It absorbed the impact and shielded the older bridge downstream.

In One of the Wettest Places on the Planet, Indigenous People Build Bridges and Ladders Out of Living Tree Roots

For hundreds of years, Khasi and Jaintia people in Meghalaya, India, have woven the roots of Indian rubber trees into structures that help them navigate flooded areas

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