The Alhambra Robert Irwin The Alhambra, the ‘red fort’ on its rocky hill above Granada, with its fountained courts and gardens, and intricate decoration, has long been a byword for exotic and melancholy beauty. In a stimulating new book in the ‘Wonders of the World’ series Robert Irwin, Arabist and novelist, examines its engrossing and often mysterious history. MORE
The Colosseum Keith Hopkins and Mary Beard Imperial Rome was a warrior state. The Colosseum (opened in A.D. 80) was Rome’s monument to warfare. Like a cathedral of death it towered over the city and invited its citizens, 50,000 at a time, to watch murderous gladiatorial games. It is now visited by two million visitors a year (Hitler was among them). MORE
Memorial to the Missing of the Somme Gavin Stamp Edwin Lutyens’ Memorial to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval in Northern France, visited annually by tens of thousands of tourists, is arguably the finest structure erected by any British architect in the twentieth century. MORE
The Parthenon Mary Beard The ruined silhouette of the Parthenon on its hill above Athens is one of the world’s most famous images. Its ‘looted’ Elgin Marbles are a global cause célèbre. But what actually are they? MORE
Piazza San Marco Iain Fenlon Piazza San Marco is a dynamic open space organically connected to the buildings which frame it. It shows how much is lost if the ensemble is divided into the individual structures of Doges’ Palace, Basilica of San Marco, Campanile and so on, each ‘marvellous’ in their own right but functionally separate. MORE
The Roman Forum David Watkin A radically new look at the ruins of the centre of ancient Rome, one of the best known wonders of the ancient world and a highpoint of the tourist route round Rome, yet for many visitors a baffling and unwelcoming place. MORE
