The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos Cyprus

The Holy, Royal and Stavropegic Monastery of Kykkos (Ιερά Μονή Κύκκου), which lies 20 km west of Pedoulas, one of the wealthiest and best-known monasteries in Cyprus.

The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos

The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos was founded around the end of the 11th century by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081 – 1118). The monastery lies at an altitude of 1318 meters on the north west face of Troodos Mountains.

The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos

The Kykkos Museum (also known as the Museum of the Holy Monastery of Kykkos), is unlike today’s modern museums. The museum houses artifacts based on their artistic value. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Situated inside the Holy Moastery of Kykkos, the museum features holy objects, icons, vestments, woodcarvings, embroiders, and manuscripts.

Kykkos museum - room 3

All items are exhibited as part of the living adoration and history of the monastery. Most notable, the museum is home to one of the three surviving icons painted by the Apostle Luke.

Kykkos museum - room 2

More panoramas of Cyprus can be seen in Arounder Cyprus.

Grand Theatre de la ville de Luxembourg

The Grand Theatre de la ville de Luxenbourg was built in the 1960s to mark the millennium of Luxembourg. Opening on April 15, 1964, the theatre is a state-of-the-art building that was designed by Parisian architect Alain Bourbonnais.

The exterior of the theatre is just as exquisite as its interior. The exterior sight alone is enough reason to visit the Luxembourg’s popular attractions.

Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg - exterior

Since its original construction, the facility has been renovated to better serve the needs of its patrons. The structure features building materials from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Today, the Grand Theatre de la ville de Luxenbourg, which is referred to by locals as the New Theatre, has hosted major concert artists from across the world.

Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg - foyer

The theater has also welcomed local artists and serves as a venue for ballet, modern dance, opera, and drama featured in numerous languages. Notable festivals and theatre groups hosted at the theatre include “La Monnaie de Bruxelles”, the “Nederlandse Opera d’Amsterdam”, the “Wiener Festwochen” and the Festival of Aix-en-Provence.

Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg - on stage

The facility has two showrooms. The main room seats 943 guests and boasts a vast variety of sophisticated, high-tech state sets. The second auditorium seats 400 guests.

More panoramas of Luxembourg can be seen in Arounder Luxembourg.

Teatro alla Scala Milan

“Teatro alla Scala” Theatre in the heart of Milan’s historic city centre is the most important Italian Opera House and an emblem known and admired all over the world. It is where many of the most famous operas by the greatest nineteenth-century composers were first performed. The Theatre was built according to the desire of the Empress Maria Teresa of Austria after the old ” Teatro Regio Ducale”, Milan’s traditional opera house, was destroyed by fire on the 26th of February 1776.

Teatro alla Scala - view from the Royal box

Building costs were borne by the “Palchettisti” or box-holders in the Ducale Theatre in exchange for the concession of the site of the former Church of Santa Maria alla Scala” after which the Opera House was named and the renewal of the right to own a box in the new Theatre.

Teatro alla Scala - view of Royal box

The stage is one of the largest in Italy with outstanding acoustic effects. Directly opposite the stage is the Royal Box. The Theatre’s overall seating capacity can accommodate almost 3000 spectators.

Teatro alla Scala - back stage

Museo teatrale alla Scala (La Scala Theatre Museum): Most of the mementos displayed in this shrine to Opera are related to the history and fascinating tradition of La Scala. The Museum was founded in 1911 after a group of protagonists of Milanese cultural life bought the enormous collection of the Parisian antique dealer Giulio Sambon. Numerous donations and acquisitions were added to this initial nucleus over time making this rich historic collection one of the most envied in the world.

Teatro alla Scala Museum - lower floor

The Museum documents the history of the Theatre over time by means of portraits, mementos, sculpture, musical scores, playbills among other interesting objects. It is a worthy tribute to the most important personalities of the world of music, ranging from Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini to Arturo Toscanini and Victor de Sabata.

More panoramas of La Scala Theatre and Milan can be seen in Arounder Milan.

Georgia Aquarium Atlanta

The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia at Pemberton Place, the world’s largest at the time of its opening in November 2005, with more than 8.1 million US gallons (31,000 m³) of marine and fresh water housing more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species. The aquarium’s notable specimens include two young whale sharks named Alice and Trixie, two beluga whales named Beethoven and Maris and two manta rays.

Georgia Aquarium Main Entrance

Funded mostly by a $250 million donation from Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, the aquarium was built on a 20 acre (81,000 m²) site north of Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. Marcus credited his 60th birthday dinner at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in 1990 as among the inspirations behind his desire to build an aquarium in Atlanta.

Georgia aquarium map

The aquatic animals are displayed in five different galleries: Georgia Explorer, Tropical Diver, Ocean Voyager, Cold Water Quest, and River Scout. Each corresponds to a specific environment.

Georgia Aquarium Ocean Voyager - Tunnel

Georgia Aquarium Ocean Voyager - Whale Shark Tank

Georgia Aquarium Cold Water Quest

More panoramas of the Georgia Aquarium and Atlanta can be seen in Arounder Atlanta.

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (city of Arts and Sciences) Valencia

The City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain.

It is made up of five main elements: the Hemisfèric (IMAX cinema and digital projections), the Umbracle (a landscaped vantage point and car park), the Principe Felipe Science Museum (an innovative centre of interactive science), the Oceanográfico (the largest aquarium in Europe with over 500 marine species) and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (which takes care of the operatic programme). The Ágora will give the complex a multifunctional space.

The city of Arts and Sciences by night

The City of the Arts and the Sciences is situated at the end of the old riverbed Turia which became a garden in 1980, after the creation of the bypass of the river after the great flood of Valencia in 1957.

Museu PrÌncipe Felipe

Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project underwent the first stages of construction in July, 1996 and the finished “city” was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L’Hemisfèric. The last great component of the City of the Arts and the Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, was presented in October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day.

More panoramas of the City of Arts and Sciences and Valencia can be found in Arounder Valencia.

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris), also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in France and in Europe.

Notre Dame de Paris façade (zoomify)

It is the cathedral of the Catholic archdiocese of Paris: it contains the “cathedra”, or official chair, of the Archbishop of Paris, André Cardinal Vingt-Trois.

Notre Dame de Paris façade detail

Here you can see a detail of the high resolution image of the facade.

It was restored and saved from destruction by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, one of France’s most famous architects. The name Notre Dame means “Our Lady” in French, and is frequently used in the names of Catholic church buildings in Francophone countries. Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction spanned the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture.

Notre Dame de Paris - altar

Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral’s architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern.

Notre Dame de Paris - interior

The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. During the 19th century, an extensive restoration project was completed, returning the cathedral to its previous state.

More panoramas of Notre Dame de Paris and Paris can be found in Arounder Paris.

Panoramic night view of Athens from Mount Lycabettus

Mount Lycabettus (Lykavittos, Λυκαβηττός) is a Cretaceous limestone hill in Athens, Greece.
At 277 meters (908 feet) above sea level, the hill (also known as Lycabettos or Lykabettos) is the highest point in the city that surrounds it. Pine trees cover its base, and at its peak are the 19th century Chapel of St. George, a theatre, and a restaurant.

Haghios Gheorghios panorama, Lycabettus hill

The hill is a popular tourist destination and can be ascended by the Lycabettus Funicular, a funicular railway which climbs the hill from a lower terminus at Kolonaki.

Lycabettus appears in various legends. Popular stories suggest it was once the refuge of wolves, possibly the origin of its name (which means “the one (the hill) that is walked by wolves”).Mythologically, Lycabettus is credited to Athena, who created it when she dropped a mountain she had been carrying from Pallene for the construction of the Acropolis after the box holding Erichthonius was opened.
The hill also has a large open-air theater at the top, which has housed many Greek and International concerts.

More panoramas of Athens can be seen in Arounder Athens.

The Ponte Vecchio Florence

The Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”, Italian pronunciation is a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.

Florence Ponte Vecchio

In order to connect the Palazzo Vecchio (Florence’s town hall) with the Palazzo Pitti, in 1565 Cosimo I de Medici had Giorgio Vasari build the famous Vasari Corridor above it. To enforce the prestige of the bridge, in 1593 the Medici Grand Dukes prohibited butchers from selling there; their place was immediately taken by several gold merchants. The corporative association of butchers had monopolized the shops on the bridge since 1442.

During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat of August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. This was allegedly because of an express order by Hitler. Access to Ponte Vecchio was, however, obstructed by the destruction of the buildings at both ends, which have since been rebuilt using a combination of original and modern design.

The Ponte Vecchio’s two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinità and the Ponte alle Grazie.More panoramas of Florence can be seen in Arounder Florence.

Libreria Marciana Venezia World Exclusive Virtual Tour

The Marciana Library (the Library of St. Mark, patron saint and symbol of the Venetian State) owes its origin to the patronage of Cardinal Bessarion, who donated his collection to it in 1468: about 750 codices, to which he subsequently added a further 250 manuscripts and some printed works. Venice solemnly accepted the donation: thus the project of a “public library” in Venice was finally put into effect: a project that Petrarch had conceived a century earlier, in 1362, but had been unable to realise.

The Venetian State committed itself to housing the volumes in a building worthy of the donation; but not until 1537 was work begun on building the Library. It was designed by Jacopo Sansovino, who succeeded in harmonising the noblest classical style of the Renaissance with the picturesque Venetian setting.

Marciana Library - Reading room

The Library, after its transferral to the new building, was enriched by further donations and bequests. The Marciana collections were also enlarged by the acquisition of portions of the libraries of some monasteries. Furthermore, printers were obliged by law to donate one copy of every book published to the library; the law was introduced in 1603, the first of its kind in Italy. After the fall of the Venetian Republic, the Library came into possession of portions of the libraries of the religious institutions that were suppressed during the Napoleonic period. The Marciana remained in its original building until 1811; in that year, by decree of the Italian Kingdom, it was transferred to the Doge’s Palace. In 1904 the Library was moved to the Zecca (Mint), another Sansovino building.

Marciana Library - Vestibolo

In 1924 the Marciana, in addition to the Zecca, regained possession of the original Library, as well as part of the Procuratie Nuove. Thus, it now occupies not only its historical site, but also the severe palazzo of the Zecca, where the coins of the Republic were minted; the Zecca was built by Sansovino between 1537 and 1547.

Sansovino's Library

The Marciana now contains around a million volumes, including about 13,000 manuscripts, many of which are richly illuminated. There are 2,883 incunabola and 24,055 cinquecentine. The Marciana conserves a valuable heritage of Greek culture, Venetian history and Venetian publishing. The Library plays an important role in the cultural life of Venice and serves scholars from all over the world.

More panoramas of the Marciana Library and Venice can be seen in Arounder Venice.

Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Torino

The Castello di Rivoli stands on the remains of an ancient medieval castle that Emanuele Filiberto had taken over to adapt into a residence for the House of Savoy. At the beginning of the 17th century, Carlo Emanuele I, who was born in Rivoli, decided to build a great palace on the site. Ascanio Vittozzi worked on the project but it was Carlo di Castellamonte who did the actual construction. The Rivoli Castle is described in the Theatrum Sabaudiae which contains two images showing a long building beside the residence crowned by its four angular towers. This long building was the Duke’s Picture Gallery and today is known as the Manica Lunga.

Castello di Rivoli - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Clarinetto

The Castello di Rivoli’s permanent collection was established in 1984, the year the museum opened, and it is continually added to and enriched through new acquisitions, donations, and long-term loans.

Castello di Rivoli - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Sala 33

The collection documents crucial moments in the development of contemporary art in Italy and abroad from the 1950s to the present day. Through the acquisition of works on display in temporary exhibitions, the growth of the collection also reflects the history of the museum’s activities. The opening of the renovated Manica Lunga has allowed us to show the collection on two floors of the castle.

Castello di Rivoli - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Sala 15

Although the layout of the permanent collection is partly chronological, it also acknowledges the complexity of contemporary artistic practice and the continual linguistic evolution of its protagonists. A recent direction taken in permanent collection exhibitions involves dedicating entire rooms to individual artists, allowing each space to represent one or more periods of their oeuvre, or creating rapport among the works of different artists.
Permanent collection artworks are shown on a rotating basis with the intent of offering a panoramic guide to the cultural identity of the museum.

Castello di Rivoli - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Sala 22

More panoramas of the Castello di Rivoli and Torino can be seen in Arounder Torino.