Lake Maggiore’s Treasure Island of Marionettes

On the serene waters of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, nestled among the Borromean Islands, lies Isola Bella, a place where history, art, and nature converge. While the island is renowned for its opulent Baroque palace and terraced gardens – including six incredible shell-encrusted grottos – there’s a lesser-known treasure within the walls of Casa…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 707)

1. A new hotel in Rome designed by Luca Guadagnino, director of Call Me By Your Name The Palazzo Talìa is 26 rooms and the Challengers director designed its public spaces and one of its suites. Book it here. Found via Will O’Connor on X. 2. Bulgarian beach bar sarcophagus turns out to be genuine…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 706)

1. The marbelised “Literatur” passageway in the Museumsquartier in Vienna Free to wander through, the mural (painted by Austrian artist Johanna Kandl) is inspired by the marbled endpapers used in Baroque book production. The vending machine dispenses literature written by young Austrian writers. Found on the Tess Newall Studio. 2. A Time Capsule Department Store…

The Ancient (and very Naked) Olympics

The original Olympic games got cancelled for 1500 years because … well … everyone was naked. The Ancient Greek Olympic Games, held from 776 BC to 393 AD, so that’s nearly 10 times longer than the modern Olympics have been running (since 1896), were celebrated almost entirely in the nude. While today’s spectators are used…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 705)

1. The oldest functioning planetarium in the world Hidden behind a pocket-sized door in a doll’s house-like building in the sleepy Dutch town of Franeker is a room so unique that even a King was star-struck. Explore the extraordinary world created by wool weaver turned astronomer, Eise Eisinga. His creation of a fully functioning planetarium in…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 704)

1. For sale: the only private island in the San Francisco Bay Red Rock Island was a site for manganese mining, and abandoned mining tunnels still exist, along with the coast guard’s old fog bell. Otherwise, the private island is undeveloped. The islet has been used as the Alaskan seller’s ‘family retreat’, who are now listing the San…

Meet the Richards: The Parisian Couple who Commercialised Fetishism

The Années Folles in Paris — a time for jazz, literature of the Lost Generation, and a little-known fetish fashion boom. Spearheaded by a husband and wife team largely forgotten by history, Nativa Richard and her husband L. Richard, were the dynamic duo behind a groundbreaking brand called Yva Richard, and opened the world’s first known…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 703)

1. Fellini’s Forgotten Masterpiece Fellini Satyricon, or simply Satyricon, is a 1969 Italian film written and directed by Federico Fellini and loosely based on Petronius’s work Satyricon, written during the reign of Emperor Nero and set in Imperial Rome. Fellini Satyricon was entered into the 30th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Pasinetti Award for Best Italian Film. It received acclaim from international critics,…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 702)

1. The Empty Louvre Paul Almásy, a Hungarian photojournalist who immigrated to France in 1934. Almásy’s photograph was taken at the Louvre Museum in Paris, articulating the theme of artworks needing to be remembered by documenting an actual historical event. In 1938 with the threat of war looming, the Louvre curators, under the direction of…

Fossil Hunting for Sea Creatures Beneath the Vineyards of Champagne

In the world-renowned vineyards of Champagne, known for producing some of the finest sparkling wines, an unexpected treasure trove lies hidden beneath the fertile soil. This region, famous for its bubbly delights, harbors a fascinating secret dating back to an era when it was not covered in lush grapevines but was instead a tropical beach,…