In Porto, in between the Igreja do Carmo and Igreja dos Carmelitas, there exists a hidden, narrow three-storey house called Casa Escondida. Some claim this house inspired J.K. Rowling, but did it?
Tag: 1750-1759
The Cippi of Melqart, discovered in Malta, are priceless because they were the key to deciphering Phoenician script.
This article explains who Melqart was, what cippi are and what this Maltese Rosetta Stone is all about.
I’m fascinated by the rotundas in Prague. This city has more of them than I’d ever seen in my life. St Martin’s rotunda sits inside the Vyšehrad castle complex and its history is as varied and complex as any other.
There are a few chapels and churches around Malta which sport an intriguing Latin sign: “Non gode immunity ecclesiastica” (“Doesn’t provide ecclesiastical immunity”). I wanted to understand why a church would not be a place of refuge, and why some other churches still were.
Of all the wars Prague was an active participant in, few leave their mark on the city today. One exception is on the church of Charlemagne in Prague’s New Town – the Siege of Prague from 1757.
Nothing cheers up a good ghost story than a juicy double entendre. One of London’s most famous 18th century hauntings took place in the marvellously named Cock Lane.
I had hoped I would have slept a little on the red-eye from San Francisco but I had not. This is why I was groggyRead More
Earthquakes, uncommon as they are, are as realistic to me as World War II or a sensible lawyer. I know they exist but I’ve neverRead More
The Seven Years’ War took place between 1756 & 1763 when Prussian troops invaded Bohemia under King Frederick II. The story behind most wars isRead More