TRAVEL

The latest posts about travel; practical guides and travel tales from your personal wannabe Bruce Chatwin.

The Wadi Rum desert (Jordan)

The Wadi Rum desert in Jordan: a majestic, superlative natural spectacle, and a highly efficient commercial machine for mass tourism.

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Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges (Bruges)

The Bruges Madonna: a magnificent early work by Michelangelo preserved in Flanders

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The New Restoration of the Sistine Chapel and the Protection of Italy’s Major Fresco Cycles

Think the Sistine Chapel is just another overcrowded bucket list stop? Think again. Inside the scaffolding, chemistry, humidity, and calcium lactate are quietly threatening Michelangelo’s Last Judgment—and the new restoration proves that conservation is a high-stakes balancing act between mass tourism and masterpiece survival.

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The Monreale Cathedral (Palermo): a Norman and Byzantine Treasure

Monreale Cathedral: a Medieval Treasure of Norman Architecture and Byzantine Mosaics

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Rome, the Church of Sant’Ignazio, Andrea Pozzo, and the social media apocalypse

Rome, the Church of Sant’Ignazio, the wonders of Andrea Pozzo, and the aberrations of the selfie zombies

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Diving in the Maldives: Everything You Need to Know

Diving in the Maldives: do I really need to say anything else?

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DIVING

If you think that the Assyrians invented scuba diving by breathing out of a goat's stomach, that tanks are filled with oxygen, and that megalodons still swim in the oceans, this is your blog.

Diving in the Maldives: Everything You Need to Know

Diving in the Maldives: do I really need to say anything else?

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Diving. Why descents go straight to the bottom: the hidden logic behind a fundamental safety rule

Dive profiles and gas absorption in body tissues

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EPIRB and PLB: GPS Location Devices for Diving. Garmin inReach Mini vs Nautilus Lifeline

EPIRB, PLB, GPS Locators. The Safety Devices for Diving That Can Save a Diver’s Life When Lost at Sea

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Weighting in scuba diving: weight belt or integrated BCD pockets? A choice (less trivial than it seems)

How to distribute your weight while diving: belt or BCD pockets?

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Is scuba diving dangerous? Awareness and management

Scuba diving: is it dangerous? What about sharks? Is there a risk of drowning? How to manage an underwater emergency.

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The Thistlegorm: The Story of a Ship, Its Tragic Fate, and the World's Most Famous Shipwreck

Thistlegorm: an advanced wreck dive at 30 meters. Penetrations, currents, nitrox — everything you need to plan your dive.

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ART

Pontormo, Michelangelo, Piero della Francesca, Goya, Correggio, Parmigianino, Bernini, Bronzino, Piranesi, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Klimt...

The New Restoration of the Sistine Chapel and the Protection of Italy’s Major Fresco Cycles

Think the Sistine Chapel is just another overcrowded bucket list stop? Think again. Inside the scaffolding, chemistry, humidity, and calcium lactate are quietly threatening Michelangelo’s Last Judgment—and the new restoration proves that conservation is a high-stakes balancing act between mass tourism and masterpiece survival.

Open post

The Monreale Cathedral (Palermo): a Norman and Byzantine Treasure

Monreale Cathedral: a Medieval Treasure of Norman Architecture and Byzantine Mosaics

Open post

Rome, the Church of Sant’Ignazio, Andrea Pozzo, and the social media apocalypse

Rome, the Church of Sant’Ignazio, the wonders of Andrea Pozzo, and the aberrations of the selfie zombies

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The Hagia Sophia Basilica in Istanbul (Turkey)

The Hagia Sophia Basilica in Istanbul: history, architecture, and visiting experience

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Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges (Bruges)

The Bruges Madonna: a magnificent early work by Michelangelo preserved in Flanders

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Antonio Canova's Pauline Borghese: Marble Venus and Imperial Ego

Antonio Canova’s Paolina Borghese: marble, vulgar glamour, and aristocratic embarrassment set to the beat of banlieue hip-hop. Un poil de chatte tire plus qu'une charrette de bœufs.

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FOOD

You want to know where and what to eat? I got you covered.

Where (not) to eat street food in Istanbul: the balık ekmek stalls in Eminönü.

A Balık ekmek in Eminönü (Istanbul): a simple, popular fish sandwich, a lively atmosphere on the Golden Horn, and an authentic taste of everyday Istanbul.

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Where to eat in Istanbul: Sultanahmet Köftecisi - the Lamb of God, butchered and cooked to perfection just steps from Hagia Sophia.

Eat like the locals in Istanbul: Sultanahmet Köftecisi - lamb morsels, meatballs, and nothing else.

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Eat like the locals in Florence: Florentine lampredotto

Discover Florentine lampredotto: the best street food in Florence — a traditional sandwich rich in history, bold flavors, and true local authenticity.

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