Genoa's seafaring past (Italy, Turkey)

Genoa was in the Middle Ages the capital of the Republic of Genoa, a powerful maritime republic and colonial power. In 1451 Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa. The Republic of Genoa was an independent state until it was replaced by the Ligurian Republic in 1797, when it became a client state of the Napoleonic France. 

Via Garibaldi (Strade Nuove) and the Palazzo Doria-Tursi

Palazzo Doria Tursi - Palazzo Reale -
 Palazzo Pantaleo Spinola - Palazzo Rosso

In the middle of 13th century the Republic of Genoa was actively trading all over the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It was one of the most important trading nations in the Middle Ages and made its fortunes by maritime trade. The Treaty of Nymphaeum, signed with the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261, helped the Genoese to virtually monopolize the trade in the Black Sea. 

The communities of Genoese merchants were located at key points of trade and communication in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. One of their trading posts was the Galata Tower in Istanbul, their main hub in Anatolia. The Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea are currently on Turkey's Tentative List, as they are considered to be exceptional structures which reflect trading and international relationships of the medieval era.

20.05.2016

Religious Art in Olomouc (Czech Republic)

The Diocese of Olomouc was first mentioned in 1063 and back then covered the area of whole Moravia. The monasteries in the diocese became centres of art, culture and education in the following centuries. In 1777 the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese. In Czechoslovakia the seat of the archbishop remained vacant, but in 1989 a new archbishop was consecrated.

The Archdiocesan Museum of Olomouc preserves and shows the works of art of the Olomouc Archdiocese. Its collection represent thousand years of Moravian culture and its picture collection is the second largest in the Czech Republic. It was also one of the first museums in the Czech Republic with a lecturing department. In 2015 the Olomouc Premyslid Castle and Archdiocesan Museum got the European Heritage Label.

Official European Heritage Label postcard

950 years Minsk (Belarus)

Minsk was first mentioned in 1067 and in 1499 it got town privileges. Under Russian rule in the 19th century the city became a railway and manufacturing hub. In 1919 it became the capital of the Belorussian SSR, one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. Since 1991 is Minsk the capital of Belarus and the administrative centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States. 

In 2014 it hosted the IIHF World Championship and in 2019 it will host the European Games. In 2017 Minsk celebrates the 950th anniversary of its first written reference.