Weekly Photo Challenge: Pompeii Forum

This week’s photo challenge is all about time, and there’s nothing that captures it quite like the city of Pompeii. It was famously destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (seen looming in the background) in 79 AD. It was completely wiped off the map, and it wasn’t until 1599 that traces of it were unearthed. It wasn’t properly rediscovered until 1748, and it’s been a major archaeological site ever since. Its preserved remnants – victims and their culture, forever frozen in time – are both beautiful and tragic. A larger version is viewable here.

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Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, Rome

Built in 1642-1660 by Francesco Borromini, Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza (aka Saint Yves at the Sapienza) is a masterpiece of Roman Baroque architecture. I came across this on the way to the Pantheon. While most tourists head to the Vatican, Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza was populated with art and architecture students doing practice sketches. A larger version is viewable here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Leaning Tower Of Pisa

This week’s photo challenge is all about gravity, and I recently got to see one of the most (in)famous examples of its effects on architecture: The Leaning Tower of Pisa. A larger version is viewable here. By the way, the LEGO version leans, too.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold, Or: Entering The Alcazaba

One of the many archways of the Alcazaba of Málaga, Spain.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Window, Or: The Alcazaba Arch

There are several arches in The Alcazaba. This one near the top of the citadel doubles as a spectacular window.