Prior to European colonization, the Nipmuck people inhabited the Quinebaug River. In the early 19th century, the land on which Old Sturbridge Village now stands was a farm owned by David Wight which included a sawmill, a gristmill, and a millpond. The millpond was dug in 1795 and still powers the mills today. In 1795, Wight's son went to Boston to conduct some business on behalf of his father. While in Boston, he bought tickets to the Harvard Lottery which was a fund-raising technique for Harvard College. He won $5,000 (equivalent to $82,734 in today's dollars). He gave his father money to pay off the mortgage on his farm and logged the timber of the cedar swamp which today is the millpond. After the logging was complete, they dug the pond with a team of oxen and a scoop. This entire process took two and a half years.
George Washington Wells started a small spectacle shop in Southbridge, Massachusetts in the 1840s which became the American Optical Company. His sons Channing, Albert (called "AB"), and Cheney followed him into the business, which continued to expand. In 1926, AB began to shop for antiques, and this influenced Cheney to collect early American timepieces and Channing to collect fine furniture. By the early 1930s, AB had more than 45 rooms full of antiques in his Southbridge home.
The Wells family and others formed the Wells Historical Museum in 1935, gave it title to the various collections, and charged it with the care and exhibition of the artifacts. In July 1936, the Museum's trustees met to determine how the collections would best be presented to the public. AB wanted to create a small cluster of buildings in a horseshoe around a common, but his son George B proposed creating a live village with operating shops and a source of water power. Within a week of the meeting, the Museum purchased David Wight's farm and soon after hired Malcolm Watkins as the first curator of the museum, which they called Quinnebaug Village in honor of the river. Architect Arthur Shurcliff was called in to help lay out a suitable country landscape. By 1941, the Fitch House, the Miner Grant Store, and the Richardson House (now the Parsonage) were on the common and the Gristmill was in operation.
After a pause for World War II, George B.'s wife Ruth became acting director of the Village. They changed its name to Old Sturbridge Village and opened it on June 8, 1946. Attendance climbed, mostly through word of mouth. In a 1950 article in The Saturday Evening Post, the village was featured as "The Town That Wants to be Out of Date". By 1955, it acquired the Meetinghouse from the Fiskdale neighborhood of Sturbridge, the Salem Towne House from Charlton, Massachusetts, the Fenno House, the Friends Meetinghouse, the Pliny Freeman House, the Printing Office, and the District School.
On August 18, 1955, gale-force winds and a torrential downpour from Hurricane Diane created flood waters that broke dams in surrounding towns and flooded the Village, stranding 15 staff members. The Freeman Farmhouse was flooded and the Covered Bridge was swept off its foundation. Helicopters kept staff members supplied for three days until the waters receded. The damage was estimated to be $250,000 in 1955 dollars, but Village employees managed to re-open the Village in just nine days.


Old Sturbridge Village has more than 40 structures, including restored buildings purchased and relocated from around New England, as well as some authentic reconstructions, and the entire village is divided into three main sections. The Center Village represents the center of town, with the town green as its focal point. Countryside consists of outlying farms and shops. The Mill Neighborhood features various commercial structures that rely upon the millpond for their power.


The Center Village contains:
Friends Meetinghouse – a meetinghouse of the Religious Society of Friends, known as Quakers
Center Meetinghouse – churches often served as a location for town meetings, elections, lectures, and political events
Tin Shop – tin imported from England was used to make a variety of household goods
Salem Towne House – a prosperous farmer's home
Law Office – a small, free-standing office of a lawyer
Parsonage – the home of a Congregational minister and his family
Asa Knight Store – a country store, transported from its original location in Vermont
Thompson Bank – a bank that was originally located in Thompson, Connecticut
Fenno House – a historic house with exhibits that highlight domestic textile production
Fitch House – a residence exhibit that highlights children and family life
Small House – a small home based on those of less affluent families and renters, which was built from scratch at the village using period-appropriate techniques.
Printing Office
Cider Mill – a horse-powered mill for the production of hard cider
Shoe Shop – a historic ten footer, which was a small backyard shop structure built in the 18th and 19th centuries in New England to serve as a shoemaker's shop. Such structures were usually 10 feet (3.0 m) by 10 feet (3.0 m) in area. They were forerunners of the large shoe factories that developed in New England later in the 19th century.
Town Pound – for the confinement of livestock found wandering loose
Bullard Tavern – an early 19th-century tavern room
The Stage Coach – a stage coach marked "Hartford & Worcester" which makes trips through Center Village


The Countryside section contains:
Freeman Farmhouse – a typical New England farm of approximately 70 acres (280,000 m²) with barn, outbuildings, and fields
Blacksmith Shop – a shop where farm implements and other hardware were made and repaired and horses and oxen were shod
Bixby House – the home of the blacksmith
Cooper Shop – where wooden barrels, buckets, and pails were made
Pottery Shop – New England potters made utilitarian items out of local clay, such as milkpans, mugs, crocks, flowerpots, and mixing bowls
District School – a typical publicly funded one-room school
Covered Bridge – Covered bridges extended the longevity of wooden bridges in the harsh New England weather.


Mill Neighborhood features:
Gristmill – uses water power to turn a 3,000-pound millstone for grinding grain
Sawmill – a working replica of an "up-and-down" sawmill powered by a reaction-type waterwheel
Carding Mill – a water-driven facility to prepare wool for spinning


Old Sturbridge Village has several buildings devoted to displaying their assorted collections of early American antiques.
Firearms – many displays feature firearms from colonial America through the post-Civil War era
Glass – there are three categories of displays: blown glass, molded glass, and pressed glass
Lighting Devices – early lighting devices from ancient oil lamps and candles to whale oil, camphene, and argand lamps
Herb Garden – a living collection of native and heirloom varieties of ornamental plants and those used for cooking, medicine, dying cloth, and making traditional crafts


The Village hosts history- and seasonal-themed events such as homeschool days, kids' summer camps, Christmas by Candlelight, Fourth of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Old Sturbridge Village is frequently host to a naturalization ceremony on the fourth of July. In 2018, 152 new United States citizens were naturalized at Old Sturbridge Village.
The Village is a popular wedding location.


Old Sturbridge Village has been used as a set in many historical movies, TV shows, and documentaries, including Hawaii (1966) starring Julie Andrews, Reading Rainbow (1984), Glory (1989), and Slavery and the Making of America (2005).
Filmmaker Ken Burns's Hampshire College undergraduate thesis was an educational film made at Old Sturbridge Village called Working in Rural New England. Burns remains a patron and supporter of the museum. Old Sturbridge Village now awards a yearly "Ken Burns Lifetime Achievement Award" to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the preservation of history through the arts. Recipients have included Norm Abram, Cokie Roberts, John Williams, Tom Brokaw, Sam Waterston, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Laura Linney.


In July, 2017, Old Sturbridge Village CEO Jim Donohue, who had previously founded the first charter school in Rhode Island, announced the opening of Old Sturbridge Academy Charter School, which would open in modular classrooms on the museum's premises the following fall.


The Hathorn-Olson House was built in the late 1700s by Captain Samuel Hathorn II (b abt. 1750). The house was substantially altered in 1871 by Captain Samuel Hathorn IV (1822–1892). The 1871 alterations included the addition of several bedrooms on the third floor and the construction of a steeply pitched roof. The property was inherited in 1929 by Christina Olson and Alvaro Olson from their mother Katie Hathorn (b. Feb. 15 1858 - d. Nov. 1929), a descendant of Captain Hathorn.


Between 1939 and 1968, the house was depicted in paintings and sketches by the American artist Andrew Wyeth, including his 1948 masterpiece, Christina's World.  Wyeth was inspired to paint Christina's World by the story of Christina Olson, who had lost the use of her legs to, at the time unknown, Charcot—Marie—Tooth disease.
Wyeth befriended the Olsons and maintained a studio in the house. Wyeth later recalled, "I just couldn't stay away from there. I did other pictures while I knew them but I'd always seem to gravitate back to the house." Christina and Alvaro Olson lived at the house until they died in 1968 and 1967, respectively. The Olsons, as well as Andrew Wyeth, are buried in the Olson family cemetery on the property.


After Christina's death, the house was purchased in 1968 by movie director Joseph E. Levine, who was an admirer of Wyeth's work.  Levine operated the house as a museum for two years starting in 1971 but the operation met with opposition from local residents.  In 1974, Levine announced that he would give the property to the State of Maine, but Levine withdrew the offer in 1975 over concerns that the state lacked funding to maintain the property.  The house was purchased by Apple Inc. CEO John Sculley, who put the house up for sale in 1989. Sculley eventually donated the house to the Farnsworth Art Museum in 1991.
The Olson House remains under the ownership of the Farnsworth Art Museum, which maintains it as a facility that is open for public visitation.  Farnsworth executive director Christopher Brownawell noted, "This nondescript saltwater farmhouse and its connecting structure has become one of the most recognized images in American art."


The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2011.


WikiWeb_Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park_0

Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park is a Florida State Park in the Osceola National Forest, near the town of Olustee. The site of Florida's largest Civil War battle, the Battle of Olustee.  The park is located 50 miles (80 km) west of Jacksonville and 15 miles (24 km) east of Lake City, on U.S. 90. It also has the distinction of being the first park in the Florida State Park system.
The State of Florida actually owns only 3.09 acres (12,500 m²) of the Park, but manages another 688 acres (2.78 km²) of the original battlefield under a Special Use Permit from the United States Forest Service.
Under the title of Olustee Battlefield, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on 12 August 1970.


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The Battle of Olustee was fought on the afternoon of  20 February 1864. It is recreated annually during that month by Civil War reenactors.
In 1897, the Florida Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) began raising funds to place a monument at the battle site. Two years later, the Florida Legislature appropriated $2,500.00 and established a commission to oversee construction of the monument. The project was completed in 1912, and the monument was officially dedicated on 23 October 1912. The UDC administered the Olustee Battlefield Memorial until 1949, when the Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials assumed responsibility. Today the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park is administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Recreation and Parks.


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Year-round park activities include hiking, picnicking, and viewing interpretive displays. Amenities include a one-mile (1.6 km) hiking trail with interpretive displays, picnic tables and a small interpretive center about the battle. In addition, the Florida Trail goes through the Historic Site, with the Olustee Trailhead close to the main entrance on U.S. 90.
The park has a very active Citizen Support Organization of volunteers who put on an annual reenactment.
On Presidents' Day weekend each February (see Notes), thousands of reenactors from across the U.S. and even from overseas come to the Park to reenact the Battle of Olustee. Reenactors begin arriving as early as Thursday to set up. Friday is designated "School Day" as thousands of students arrive to spend the day watching demonstrations and listening to living historians discuss various aspects of the war and as well as life in the United States during the 1860s. The public is invited to attend on Friday (no battle reenactment), and on Saturday and Sunday. On all three days visitors can tour the camps, view demonstrations, interact with living historians, shop at numerous sutler tents for authentic Civil War merchandise, and attend the battles reenacted on Saturday and Sunday only. A large selection of modern-day food is continuously available from Friday through Sunday at the park.


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The park is open between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM every day.


Olyka Castle was the principal seat of the Radziwill princely family in Volhynia (nowadays in Ukraine) from 1564 until the late 18th century. The founder of the castle was Prince Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł (1515–1565) who gave Olyka to his youngest son Stanisław. Two senior branches of the Radziwill family were based in Nesvizh and Kletsk.

The Olyka Castle was immensely influential as the first square fort with corner bastions in the Kresy and the prototype of many similar structures found in Eastern Europe. It was almost continuously under construction for eight decades and sustained numerous sieges between 1591 and 1648. It is probably the biggest aristocratic residence in Ukraine, with 365 rooms.
During Napoleon's invasion of Russia a Russian military hospital moved in and continued in use until 1837. An 1840 document refers to the castle as untenanted. In 1883, a campaign of restoration was launched but it was not taken to its conclusion until after the First World War.
The Olyka Castle comprises four residential buildings of unequal height, forming a court in the middle and encircled by a moat. The towers of the original castle have crumbled to the ground, but the network of bastions is still in place. The main palace of three storeys, although originally built in the 16th century, is essentially the upshot of renovations carried out in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Other buildings of the castle complex include a 17th-century gateway, a two-storey clock tower, and the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity (1635–1640), an elaborate replica of Il Gesu.
During World War II, the Radziwill Fortress was the site of Nazi persecution of Olyka Jews in the Holocaust. As part of the Einsatzgruppen action of August 1941, 720 Jews were murdered at the Olyka Castle and nearby. In July 1942, several hundred more Jews were killed in the castle. Memorials outside Olyka mark the place of execution of more than 4,000 Jews in Summer 1942 – in and around the Olyka ghetto, Radziwill Fortress, Olyka Castle, and surrounding areas. Israel's Holon Cemetery also has a memorial to the murdered Jews of Olyka and surrounding areas.
A psychiatric hospital, Volyn’s Hospital No. 2, is now located at the site of the Olyka Castle. The only part of the castle currently closed for visitors is a chamber for the Princes and their servants.


The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is North America's first covered speed skating oval; it was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics and opened 35 years ago on September 27, 1987. Located on the University of Calgary campus, it is the official designated training centre for Speed Skating Canada and the Elite Athlete Pathway.


The precursor for construction of a speed skating oval came with Calgary's successful bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics in September 1980. Calgary's bid originally envisioned a temporary outdoor speed skating oval constructed on the Calgary Stampede grounds for a mere C$3.4 million. After Calgary was awarded the Games, the University of Calgary commissioned a study to evaluate whether a covered speed skating facility would fit into the university's expansion plan, the study was completed in June 1982 and found value in the proposal. The University of Calgary agreed to host the facility on the condition that the university would own the facility, no aspect of the construction would be paid for by the university, the design and construction was delegated to the university, and the facility would be designed to maximize public use.
In December 1983, the organizing committee, Olympiques Calgary Olympics '88 (OCO'88) was able to secure C$200 million in funding from the Government of Canada for the games which included C$35 million (indexed to inflation) for a covered speed skating facility, along with an additional C$68 million in project funding on the university campus. The University of Calgary competitive bid awarded Graham McCourt Architects the contract as prime consultant for the design of the Oval, with a contract that provided a fixed budget, with no cost overruns, and a completion date of April 1987.
The Olympic Oval was designed as the first covered speed skating oval in North America, and was the first at a Winter Olympics. This provided the unique challenge of designing a unique facility that had never been used in competition before. A competitive bid amongst 6 pre-qualified general contractors was run for the construction contract, and when tenders closed in February 1985 W. A. Stephenson Construction (Western) Ltd. was selected as the general contractor with a bid of C$27.3 million. Construction was controversial as labour unions expected the facility to be deemed a federally funded project under the Fair Wages Act, requiring wages for workers to be paid in accordance with the Act, while the university argued that the Oval was a university project and not subject to the Act.
Like the Olympic Saddledome, most of the Oval's structure was built using precast, prestressed concrete. Twenty eight beams were laid along the outside of the perimeter of the building to support 84 additional beams used to construct a lattice frame for the arched roof. The interior scaffolding used to hoist these 84 beams had to be lowered a centimetre at a time in a predetermined sequence in order to distribute the load of the roof equally to each of the 28 exterior support beams.
Substantial completion of construction occurred in April 1987, officially opening on September 27, 1987, five months before the Olympics. The official opening included demonstrations of figure skating, short track speed skating, and a ribbon cutting ceremony by the Canadian National Speed Skating Teams. The Olympic Oval's opening was witnessed by over 3,000 people, with Otto Jelinek, the Minister for Fitness and Amateur Sport hosting the ceremony, along with University President Norman Wagner, Minister of External Affairs Joe Clark, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, and other speakers.
It was during the speed skating events of the Olympic Winter Games in 1988 that The Oval became known as "The Fastest Ice in the World" as world records were set in seven events (Men's 500 m, 1500 m, 10,000 m, and Women's 500 m, 1000 m, 3000 m, 5000 m), and Olympic records were set in the other three events (Men's 1500 m, 5000 m, and Women's 1500 m). The combination of the climate-controlled facility and the effects of high altitude have been credited for the fast ice surface.
In 1991, the Oval hosted Speed Skating for the 1991 Winter Deaflympics held in Banff.
Throughout the last 32 years, over 300 world records have been set at the Oval. By 2019, the Olympic Oval has produced (as a world class training facility) 32 Canadian Olympic medalists, including Ted-Jan Bloemen, who won a silver in the men's 5000m and a gold in the men's 10,000m at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games in 2018.


Along with the 400m long-track ice, the Olympic Oval also includes two international-sized ice rinks for short track speed skating and ice hockey, a 450m running track surrounding the main oval, and an eight-lane 110m sprint track for year-round athletics training. At present, hundreds of Canadian athletes are training at the Oval year round.
Saskatoon-native Catriona Le May Doan, who won the gold medal in speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics and in the 2002 Winter Olympics, began training at the Oval soon after its construction.
The Oval continues to be regarded as a premier speed skating venue, and a preferred training facility for speed skating teams across the globe.


When not hosting hockey games and speed skating competitions, the Olympic Oval is Calgary's premier public skating facility. During the ice-out months of April and May, the Oval hosts the Judo and Taekwondo Canadian National Championships, and major volleyball, gymnastics, floor hockey, running, and billiards events. In addition, the Oval hosts major car shows, science fairs, expos, robotics shows, science and engineering events, major film and television shoots, fundraisers, the RBC training ground and University of Calgary events.


One Churchill Place is a 156 m tall skyscraper with 32 floors, serving as the headquarters of Barclays Bank. It is in the Docklands area of London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Canary Wharf. The building is the 13th-tallest office block in the United Kingdom and the sixth tallest building in the Docklands.
The building was formally opened in June 2005 by the Chairman of Barclays, Matthew Barrett, and merged Barclays offices across London into one building. The former corporate HQ was at 54 Lombard Street in the City of London.
Barclays occupy 100% of the building; floors 18-20 were previously leased to BGC Partners/Cantor Fitzgerald.  Several floors were previously occupied by the Olympic Delivery Teams prior to 2012, and a portion of level 17 was occupied by the Metropolitan Police.


The building was designed by HOK International and constructed by Canary Wharf Contractors.
Designed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the building is constructed around four staircase columns with a large, central column containing the lifts and toilet facilities. The building manual states that there is enough room in these columns to contain everyone who works in the building, in the event of a security alert.
The building was planned to be 50 storeys in height, but was scaled down to 31 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
It is linked by walkways to the Canada Square shopping mall and Canary Wharf Underground station.


Ongi Monastery (Mongolian: Онгийн хийд, Ongiin Khiid) is the collective name for the ruins of two monasteries that face each other across the Ongi River in Saikhan-Ovoo district of Dundgovi Province, in south-central Mongolia. The Barlim Monastery is located on the north bank of the river while the Khutagt Monastery sits on the south bank. The older southern complex consisted of various administrative buildings as well as 11 temples. The northern complex, built in the 18th century, consisted of 17 temples – among them one of the largest temples in all of Mongolia. The grounds housed also 4 Buddhist universities.  Founded in 1660, it was one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia and housed over 1000 monks at its height. The ruins are situated about 18 km south of the town of Saikhan Ovoo.
Both complexes of Ongi Monastery were completely destroyed in 1939 during anti-religious purges carried out under Khorloogiin Choibalsan, the leader of the Communist Party of Mongolia. Over 200 monks were killed, and many surviving monks were imprisoned or forcibly laicized and conscripted into the Communist controlled army.
A large number of ruins including a tall stupa can be seen on the river and on the surrounding hills. In the 1990s, it was decided to rebuild the monastery. The first temple was inaugurated in 2004. There is a small museum in a ger in front of it. One of the stupas has just been reconstructed as well. It has a commemorative plaque indicating the names of the monks who were killed in 1939.


The Opéra de Marseille, known today as the Opéra Municipal, is an opera company located in Marseille, France. In 1685, the city was the second in France after Bordeaux to have an opera house which was erected on a tennis court.
However, the first real theatre, the Grand-Théâtre or Salle Bauveau was constructed in 1787. During its period of great opulence following the Revolution, it was the site of many major opera presentations, including Verdi’s Rigoletto and Il Trovatore in 1860 and performances in 1866 of Lucia di Lammermoor and Il Barbiere di Siviglia by the famous soprano, Adelina Patti. Also, French premieres of major operatic works were given in the theatre: these include Aida (1877), La Fanciulla del West (1912), and an historic performance by Dame Nellie Melba in Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet in 1890. Some years following the installation of electricity, in November 1919 a fire destroyed the 18th century theatre, leaving only its shell and an exterior stone colonnade.
The present day opera house, the Opéra Municipal de Marseille, dates from its opening on 4 December 1924. It seats 1,800. It features a classic urn-shaped auditorium, three rings of boxes, two balconies and a gallery. A large sculpted frieze by sculptor Antoine Bourdelle frames the stage.
Designed by the three architects Ebrard, Castel, and Raymond, the theatre preserved the stone colonnade and, located the surviving original box office in the centre of the entrance hall, up from which led two staircases to the elegant main foyer. Beauvert describes it as "an Art Deco temple", the "soul mate" of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.
Many well-known contemporary singers made their French debuts in this opera house. Among them are Alfredo Kraus, Plácido Domingo, and Renata Scotto. The house has a reputation for its very critical audience, especially those members seated in the top gallery, "the gods". Past music directors of the company have included János Fürst.
After World War II the Marseille opera house staged Sigurd by Ernest Reyer in 1963 and 1995.


The Opernplatz (Opera Square) is a central city square in Frankfurt, Germany, located in the district of Innenstadt (Inner City) and within the central business district known as the Bankenviertel (Banking District). The Opernplatz is the most central square of the Bankenviertel. It is named for the Alte Oper (Old Opera) building, which today serves as a concert hall. The Sofitel Frankfurt Opera hotel is located at Opernplatz 14. The Opera Quarter with some of Germany's most well known luxury shopping streets is located to the east of Opernplatz.
The seven adjacent streets are:
Goethestraße, one of Germany's most exclusive shopping streets
Große Bockenheimer Straße, better known as Freßgass
Neue Mainzer Straße, leading to the centre of the Bankenviertel
Hochstraße
Bockenheimer Anlage
Taunusanlage
Bockenheimer Landstraße


Ōrākei Kōrako is a highly active geothermal area most notable for its series of fault-stepped sinter terraces, located in a valley north of Taupō on the banks of the Waikato River in the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. It is also known as "The Hidden Valley".
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of adornment near the white [sinter flat]" for Ōrakei Kōrako.


From earliest times the Waikato Valley near Ōrākei Kōrako was occupied by Māori of the Ngāti Tahu sub-tribe of Tuwharetoa. By the early 19th century the Māori population had congregated at Ōrākei Kōrako, probably attracted by the hot springs, which they used for cooking and bathing. The date when the Ngāti Tahu vacated the valley to settle at other locations is not recorded, but it has been suggested that they left after the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886, when great changes are alleged to have occurred in the hot springs. By the turn of the 20th century all but two families had moved from Ōrākei Kōrako.
The earliest known route from Rotorua to Taupō for early European travellers passed right through Ōrākei Kōrako, and it was the existing Māori who provided a dugout canoe for the river crossings. It was at this point in the early 20th century that the geothermal area was established as a visitor attraction. To transfer visitors across the then-swift Waikato River they used the dugout canoe, until in the 1930s a wire-strop and pulley system was erected across the river, and a punt with a guiding rudder was used to catch the flow and propel the punt to the other side. The tourist resort was officially opened on 15 December 1937.
The first proposal for power development at Ōrākei Kōrako was made in 1904, but it was not until 1955 that the scheme was finally approved. By May 1960 an earth-filled dam, rising 49 metres above the original river level, was placed and consolidated. The filling of Lake Ohakuri began on 19 January 1961 and was completed in 14 days.
Two of the world's largest geysers were drowned by the lake: Minginui Geyser, which was once observed erupting up to 90 metres high (equal to the world's tallest currently active geyser, Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park), and the Orakeikorako Geyser, which on occasion could erupt up to 55 metres, and which gave the whole region its name.


The lowest terrace at Ōrākei Kōrako is the jade-green Emerald Terrace, the largest of its kind in New Zealand since the presumed destruction of the famed Pink and White Terraces in the Mount Tarawera eruption of 1886. However, researchers recently rediscovered the Pink and White Terrace locations. In peak wet conditions up to 20 million litres of silica-enriched water per day may flow over the terrace and into Lake Ohakuri.
The Emerald Terrace continues 35 metres under the lake, which was formed for hydropower generation in 1961. This raised the Waikato River level by 18 metres at Ōrākei Kōrako, flooding approximately 200 alkaline hot springs and 70 geysers (or two-thirds of the active thermal area). Some of these thermal features still discharge, with their presence evident as gas bubbles rising from the vents in the lake bed.
Despite the loss of so many of its thermal features under the artificial lake, Ōrākei Kōrako remains the largest geyser field in New Zealand, with up to 35 active geysers. The most famous of these is the Diamond Geyser, whose unpredictable eruptions can last from a few minutes to many hours, ejecting boiling water as high as nine metres.
The three terraces above the lakeside Emerald Terrace are great fault scarps formed by an earthquake in 131 AD, around the time when Lake Taupō (a supervolcano) was last erupting. They are mostly covered in hot water algae, or cyanobacteria, which grows in temperatures between 35–59 degrees Celsius (95-138.2 degree fahrenheit), the colours dependent on the species, with green, yellow and black the most common.
At the base of the two lower terraces – named Rainbow and Cascade Terraces – are several small geysers, including the intermittently active Sapphire Geyser, and the Hochstetter Pool (named after Austrian pioneer geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter, who visited the area in 1859), which erupted in November 1954 and played as a geyser until mid-1955, ceasing suddenly after swarms of subterranean earthquakes.
The third and largest great fault scarp in the valley is called the Golden Fleece Terrace (named Te Kapua by the Māori people, meaning "The Cloud"), which is five metres high and 40 metres long, with a beautiful white crystal-like sinter coating. At the base are numerous vents where geysers have come and gone over the years, with the most recent, Wairiri Geyser.
Atop this terrace is the Artist's Palette, a 10,000 m² silica sinter terrace covered with clear blue alkali chloride pools and irregularly erupting geysers. To one side of this topmost terrace a new geyser began to erupt in 2001, possibly the beginnings of a further terrace.
Also at Ōrākei Kōrako is the Ruatapu Cave, one of only two caves in the world known to exist in a geothermal field. The cave extends 45 metres, with a vertical drop of 23 metres, to a shallow pool of clear, sulfate-rich, warm acid water. (The pool's chemical composition gives it the unique ability to clean jewellery.)
Another notable feature at Ōrākei Kōrako is the Soda Fountain, which burst into life in 1984 after a 17-year dormancy.
To the south of this feature, high atop a cliff above Lake Ohakuri, are three further geysers, Kurapai, Ellan Vannin and Benedix Washer Geysers, in an area not accessible to the public because it is too dangerous. Temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius (212 degree fahrenheit) have been recorded here just 100 to 150 mm below the ground. Of these geysers, Kurapai Geyser is the most significant, and can sometimes be seen erupting from across the lake in the visitor's centre.
The Ōrākei Kōrako geothermal system now has some protection from further development, although the nearby Ngatamariki Geothermal Development at Tahorakuri gained resource consent in 2010 despite its possible effects on Ōrākei Kōrako.


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The Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts (大阪市立美術館) is a museum located in Tennōji Park, Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan. The museum focuses on Japanese and east Asian art.


WikiWeb_Osaka Prefectural Government Sakishima Building_0

The Osaka Prefectural Government Sakishima Building (大阪府咲洲庁舎, Ōsaka fu Sakishima chōsha), or Cosmo Tower (コスモタワー, Kosumo Tawā), is the second tallest building in Osaka, and the third-tallest building in Japan. The former name is  Osaka World Trade Center Building (大阪ワールドトレードセンタービルディング, Ōsaka Wārudo Torēdo Sentā Birudingu), or WTC Cosmo Tower (WTCコスモタワー, Daburyūtīshī Kosumo Tawā) until June, 2010. It is located in Nanko Cosmo Square near the Osaka harbor, Suminoe-ku, Osaka, and is the same height as the Rinku Gate Tower Building in Rinku Town.
The 52 story building rises 256 m (840 ft) and is topped by a skylobby. It contains three basement floors, a museum, restaurants, observation deck, office space and a conference room. The observation deck is in an inverted pyramid at the top of the structure. A transparent elevator can take passengers from ground level to the top in just 80 seconds.
The building houses trade offices for companies around the world and the working office for the governor of Osaka Prefecture.
It was built in 1995.


The Oscar B. Balch House is a home located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The Prairie style Balch House was designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1911. The home was the first house Wright designed after returning from a trip to Europe with a client's wife. The subsequent social exile cost the architect friends, clients, and his family. The house is one of the first Wright houses to employ a flat roof which gives the home a horizontal linearity. Historian Thomas O'Gorman noted that the home may provide a glimpse into the subconscious mind of Wright. The Balch house is listed as a contributing property to a U.S. federally Registered Historic District.


The Oscar Balch House was one of the first homes designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright upon his return from an extended trip to Europe, during which he designed no houses. Wright had traveled to Europe with Mamah Borthwick. This flaunting of public morality lost him friends, clients and his family. Amongst those who by contrast stood by Wright was the interior decorator Oscar Balch. Balch was one of two partners in the decorating firm Pebbles & Balch. Wright had previously designed a building remodel for Balch's storefront on Lake Street in Oak Park, in 1907, a structure long since demolished.


The Balch House is one of Wright's first flat-roofed houses and its proportions are taller compared with later flat-roofed homes he designed. Wright brought new drama to his Prairie style with the addition of the flat roof. The expansive roof further refined the simplicity of Wright's Prairie style house. The house has broad, overhanging eaves, common to Prairie houses and in the case of the Balch House they further emphasize the Prairie theme. The exterior is sheathed in stucco which provides a sculpting effect on the exterior. The original color of the stucco on the exterior is unknown but photographs show that the house has undergone color changes.
The design of the house is symbolic in its heightened terrace walls, the security walls and its hidden and obscured entryway. The house clearly shows the signs of someone who feels trapped or "under siege." The events of Wright's personal life may be reflected in the design of the Balch House. Regardless, the house has a remarkable linear proportion and Wright managed to raise the eyeline with the rows of windows on the home's second floor. The home is part of a series of geometric, cubic homes with overhanging, flat roofs designed by Wright in the early 20th century. The first was the Laura Gale House in Oak Park, Illinois, followed by the Oscar B. Balch House, also in Oak Park, Coonley Kindergarten, the Bogh House and then the Bach House.
The first floor plan is similar to the Edwin H. Cheney House; both have a three part first floor layout that includes a library, a dining room and a living room. The interior spaces are separated by "low decks set at the window heads." In the living room the house is anchored by a Roman brick fireplace at its center and there are libraries on either side of two small setback pavilions. These features help the building's interior flow and symmetry. Copious use of glass brings natural light into the interior.


The Oscar Balch House represents Frank Lloyd Wright's defiant return to the streets of Oak Park and to architecture after his absence and concurrent trip to Europe with Mamah Borthwick Cheney. The house was called "forged of Wright's personal courage and cheeky moral humbridge" by historian Thomas O'Gorman. O'Gorman concluded it was possible that the Balch House provides a rare glimpse into the subconscious mind of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Balch House is an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's fully mature Prairie style. Its flat roof and horizontal linearity are a continuation of the ideas Wright began to manifest in the Mrs. Thomas H. Gale House in 1909.
The Oscar B. Balch House is listed as a contributing property to the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District. The historic district was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1973. The Balch House stands across the street from the home where Ernest Hemingway spent his boyhood years.


Oshki  (Georgian: ოშკი Oshki, Turkish: Oşkvank Manastırı/Çamlıyamaç) is a Georgian monastery from the second half of the 10th century located in the historic province of Tao, now part of the territory of Turkey. Located in the historic province of Tao (modern north-eastern Turkey).  The main church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was built between 963 and 973. The Monasterys location in Turkey is in the village of Çamlıyamaç, in northeastern Erzurum Province, bordering Artvin Province.
Oshki monastery was a major centre of Georgian literature and enlightenment during the Middle Ages. The monastery is considered "one of the largest and architecturally most complex buildings produced anywhere in the Eastern Christian world."
It is considered one of the four Great Cathedrals of the Georgian Orthodox world.


The construction of the monastery at Osk/Oshki was sponsored by the Grand duke/King Bagrat II of Tao and David III of Tao.
The blind arches are an important part of the whole decoration. In Oshki they stretch along the outer walls of the church in the south, east and north. It is an early example of the use of decorative blind arches on the facades. They divide the wall in line with the general architectural rhythm. The central part of the facade is mainly decorated with bas-reliefs.
Bas-reliefs, placed high above the central arch, are given the place of honour on the southern facade, which is the main facade of the church. They stand out from the flat surface. The eagle with an animal in his talons probably symbolises victory, and the whole sculptural composition the triumph of the heavenly forces represented by the archangels Michael and Gabriel.
In the province of Tao the power lay in the hands of the ruling dynasty of the Bagrationi, whose members Bagrat eristavt-eristavi and David Magistros are depicted lower down on the same facade, near the deesis, to show that the heavenly forces were the family's patrons.
The figures are well proportioned, elegant in contour and form. The static postures of earlier donor portraits give way to free movement, and an equal attempt can be traced in the near three-dimensional renderings of the archangels and the deesis of the southern facade, as well as on a column in the southern gallery. The decorative system of the Oshki church also includes the low reliefs characteristic of the so-called transitional period in medieval Georgian art (8th - 10th centuries), when the old style had not yet given way completely, and new ways were evolving. Sculptors of the different generations must have worked on it. The church in Oshki already shows the tendencies that would eventually develop in the 11th century.


There are two different views regarding the etymology of the place name ოშკი (ošḳi; IPA: ɔʃkʼi): according to Kakha Shengelia and Valeri Silogava the word ოშკი (ošḳi) derives from Megrelian word შქა (shka), meaning "being in the middle"; according to Merab Chukhua,  is Laz word and means "dog rose" (rosa canina), which corresponds to Georgian ასკილი (asḳili) and Kartvelian *ასკილ- (*asḳil-). In Armenian and Turkish languages this monastery is named "Oshk vank" (from Armenian language "vank" - "cathedral").


The first inscription in Oshki temple is drawn with Sanguri (Georgian: სანგური) color and is located over the southern main entrance to the temple. Nowadays 12 lines still exist. All inscriptions are written with Mrgvlovani, the earliest version of Georgian script. The original can be seen on the illustration in the right. The first scientist who explored this inscription was Marie-Félicité Brosset, a French orientalist who specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies. Later these inscriptions were researched by Ekvtime Takaishvili and Wachtang Djobadze. As noted by Wachtang Djobadze, the first inscription gives a lot of information about the temple. It mentions the names of Ktetors of the church - Georgian kings Bagrat Eristavt-Eristavi and David III of Tao. Also there is information about architect of the church - someone called Grigol.
მოწყალებითა ღ(მრ)თისაჲთა რ(ომე)ლი სცავს ყ(ოვე)ლთა მოშ(ი)შთა მ(ი)სთა და წარმოჳმართ(ე)ბს მოყოჳარეთა სახელისა მისისათა ყ(ოვე)ლთა ს(ა)ქმ(ე)
თა კ(ე)თ(ი)ლთა ამის წ(მი)დისა ს(ა)მ(ე)ბ(ი)სა სარწმოჳნოვებ(ი)თა და მ(ეო)ხ(ე)ბ(ი)თა წ(მი)დისა დ(ე)დოფლისა ჩ(უე)ნისა ღ(მრ)თ(ი)სმშობ(ე)ლისაჲთა მ(ა)დლითა წ(მი)დ(ა)ჲსა ძ(ე)ლისაცხოვრებისაჲ
თა შეწ(ე)ვნითა და მეოხ(ე)ბ(ი)თა დიდებოჳლისა ნათლი[ს]მცემლისაჲთა და ყ(ოვე)ლთა წმიდაჲთაჲთა რ(ომელ)ნი საოჳკოჳნითგ(ა)ნ სათნო ეყ(უ)ნ(ე)ს ღ(მერ)თსა  ამათ ყ(ოვე)ლთა
წმიდათა სადიდებ(ე)ლ(ა)დ და საქებ(ე)ლ(ა) იწყ(ე)ს ღ(მრ)თივ გოჳრგოჳნოს(ა)ნთა მ(ე)ფ(თ)ა ჩ(უე)ნთა შ(ე)ნ(ე)ბ(ა)დ ამის წმიდისა ს(ა)ყდრისა რ(ა)თა ამას შ(ი)ნა აღესროჳლებოდიან დღესა
სწაოჳლნი და შეიმკვებოდიან ჴსენებ(ა)ნი წმიდათანი ვ(ითარც)ა წერილ არს ჴსენებასაწმიდათასა ეზიარებოდ(ე)თ ამათ ყ(ოვე)ლთა წმიდათა სოჳრვილითა
ამათ დიდეოჳ[ლ]თა მ(ე)ფ(ე)თა ჩ(უე)ნთა ოჳშოჳრვ(ე)ლ ყ(უ)ნენ საფას(ე)ნი წარმავ(ა)ლნი წარ[ო]ჳვალისა მ(ი)სთოჳის რ(ა)თა ყ(ოველ)ნი წმიდანი შემწ(ე)დ მოიგნენ და ღმერთმან შ(ეე)წ(იე)ნ ორთავე
ცხოვრებ(ა)თა ძ(ე)თა ღ(მრ)თ(ი)ვ კოჳრთხეოჳლისა ადარნასე კოჳრაპალატისატა ბ(ა)გრ(ა)ტ ერისთავთა ერისთ(ა)ვმ(ა)ნ დავით მაგისტროსმ(ა)ნ სამებამ(ა)ნ წმიდამან
სამნივე დაიფარენ მორჯოჳენითა თ(ჳ)სითა და ა(დი)დ(ე)ნ ორთავე ცხორებ(ა)თა და მე გრიგოლ ღირს მყო ღ(მრერთმა)ნ მსახოჳრებ(ა)სა ამას მ(ა)თსა ღ(მრ)თისა მიმართ და მე ვიყ
ავ სა[ქ]მესა ზ(ედ)ა-მ[დ]გომი და არწმოჳნა ღ(მერთმა)ნ გონებასა მ(ა)თსა ერთ-გოჳლობაჲ ჩ(ე)მი მ(ო)ნისა მ(ა)თისაჲ ესე იყო გალატოზთა და მოქმედთა მიზდი და აზავერთა მექოჳიშე
თაჲ რ(ომე)ელ წელიწადსა წარეგების დრამაჲ :კ: ათასი ღოჳინოჲ ფ(ისო)სი :ჭ: რკინაჲ ლიტრი :ნ: ხოჳარბალი გრივი :ს:მ:ი: გალატოზი და ხო[ჳ]როჲ და მჭედელი  რ(ომე)[ლმა]რადის შ(უ)რებო
და ჲ:ი: ჴ(ა)რი რ(ომ)ელ  ქვასა კრ(ე)ბდა  :ლ: ჯორი და სხ(უ)აჲ აზავერი რ(ომე)ლ გრიგოჳლ-წმიდით სპონდიკსა კრ(ე)ბდა  :ლ: სხოჳაჲ აზავერი რ(ომე)ლ [-] [კრ(ე)]ბდა :ჲ: [-]
ჲდა [-] [ყი]ერი და მოქმედი :პ:


Ostankino Tower (Russian: Останкинская телебашня, romanized: Ostankinskaya telebashnya) is a television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia, owned by the Moscow branch of unitary enterprise Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network. Standing 540.1 metres (1,772 ft), it was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. As of 2022, it is the tallest free-standing structure in Europe and 11th tallest in the world. Between 1967 and 1974, it was the tallest in the world. The tower was the first free-standing structure to exceed 500 m (1,600 ft) in height. Ostankino was built to mark the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It is named after the surrounding Ostankino district of Moscow.


Construction began in 1963 and was completed in 1967. Extensive use of prestressed concrete resulted in a simple and sturdy structure. It surpassed the Empire State Building to become the tallest free-standing structure in the world. It held this record for eight years until it was overtaken by the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada in 1975, which surpassed its height by 13 metres (43 ft).


In 1994, a plan to increase the tower's height to 561 metres (1,841 ft) was introduced, by adding an antenna. However, this was not implemented due to lack of funding.


In April 2009, the observation platform reopened, and the Seventh Heaven restaurant reopened in November 2016.
On 21 July 2018, there was a race up the tower, featuring athletes from 12 countries. They ran up the narrow, spiral staircase and reached the location at an altitude of 337.0 meters. The fastest of the 28 athletes was German, Christian Riedl, who made it to the top in 9 minutes and 51 seconds. The women's winner was Cynthia Harris (USA), who reached the top in 12 minutes and 15 seconds. Absolute records were then broken into the categories of men and women.


Over the course of its 21st century history, there have been accidents at the tower, including a fire in 2000, the tower struck by a parachutist in 2004, and a minor fire in 2007.


The tower caught fire on 27 August 2000, killing three people. A firefighter and lift operator died when their elevator cabin crashed to the ground level due to the fire. In addition, television and radio signals were disrupted around Moscow. The fire broke out at a height of about 458 m (1,502.6 ft), or approximately 98 metres (322 ft) above the observation platform and the Seventh Heaven restaurant, after a short-circuit in wiring belonging to a paging company. The fire forced the evacuation of all visitors and staff from those locations. According to Russian news agencies, the evacuation was complete 90 minutes after the start of the fire. The loss was substantial due to the age and poor maintenance of the electronic equipment, much of which was installed in the 1960s. In addition, the tower had become increasingly packed with equipment.
The failure of the fire suppression systems allowed the fire to destroy most of the tower's interior. Although more than 300 firefighters and other emergency workers were called in, firemen were forced to haul heavy equipment, including chemical fire extinguishers, by hand up the tower to halt the fire. Temporary firewalls of asbestos placed 70 metres (230 ft) up stopped further spread. The fire knocked out virtually all television broadcasts in Moscow and the surrounding regions. The only television station unaffected was the private NTV station, but the government decreed that state channels took priority, and as such, the RTR TV channel began transmitting to several Moscow districts.
The fire caused the tower's upper spire to tilt slightly, triggering fears the tower might collapse. The subsequent inspection determined that although the structure sustained heavy damage, the tower was not in danger of collapse. Efforts began immediately to rebuild the tower, which proved to be a long and expensive task.
The fire was the third disaster in Russia in a month, following an explosion in Moscow's Pushkinskaya Metro Station (which killed 12 people and injured 150), and the sinking of the submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea, in which 118 died. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that "This latest accident shows the shape of our vital installations and the overall state of our country. We should not fail to see major problems in the country behind this accident, and we should not forget the economy. Whether or not such accidents happen again in the future will depend on how we work in this vital direction."
On 25 March 2005, the first new elevators since the August 2000 fire, made by the German company ThyssenKrupp, were tested and put into service. The new elevators travel at a speed of 6 metres per second (20 ft/s)


On 1 July 2004, Austrian BASE jumper Christina Grubelnik struck the tower during her descent, receiving a concussion and losing consciousness.  Her parachute snagged on a lower-level service platform and she was rescued by Russian emergency services.


On 25 May 2007, the Ostankino again caught fire, though it was less serious this time and isolated to a platform on the outside of the tower. All people inside the tower were evacuated and the fire was successfully extinguished, with no casualties.


In Moscow and the Moscow Region, along with 18 other regions, analogue television closed on 15 April 2019, at 12:00 (UTC+3).


The Osum is a river in southern Albania, one of the source rivers of the Seman. It is 161 km (100 mi) long and its drainage basin is 2,073 km² (800 sq mi). Its average discharge is 32.5 m³/s (1,150 cu ft/s). Its source is in the southwestern part of the Korçë County, near the village Vithkuq at an altitude of 1,050 metres (3,440 ft). It flows initially south to the Kolonjë municipality, then west to Çepan, and northwest through Çorovodë where it flows through the famous Osum Canyon, Poliçan, Berat and Urë Vajgurore. It joins the Devoll near Kuçovë, to form the Seman. The discharge of the river is reported to vary between 5.11 m³ (180 cu ft)/s and 74.11 m³ (2,617 cu ft)/s.


In classical antiquity, the Osum river was known as the Apsus, which is a derivative of the Indo-European root *ăp- "water, river". The contemporary Albanian name Osum (definite form: Osumi), which is used to indicate the upper course of the river, evolved from *Apsōn(em) through Bulgarian phonetic changes. In Bulgaria there is a river with the same name origin - Osam. Also the contemporary Albanian name Seman/Semen (definite form: Semani/Semeni), which is used to indicate the lower course of the river, evolved from *Apson-, but through Albanian phonetic changes.


Otmuchów Town Hall - a Renaissance building built in 1538, with the tower in 1604. In the later years the town hall was renovated and restored numerous times, and in between 1973 and 1976 underwent extensive renovation and restoration. Currently, the town hall is the seat of the Otmuchów City Council.


The town hall was raised in 1538, funded by Bishop of Wrocław Jakub von Salza. The tower was built in 1604, financed by Bishop Jan VI von Sitsch. In 1678, the town hall was renovated, and in the years 1828, 1921, and 1933 underwent reconstructions. The town hall was renovated and restored between 1973 and 1976.


The Oudenaarde Town Hall was a late flowering of secular Brabantine Gothic architecture, carrying on the stylistic tradition of the town halls at Leuven, Brussels, and Middelburg. Above the ground-story arcade with vaulted ceiling, the building displays typical features of its regional forerunners: a richly decorated facade with pointed-arch windows separated by canopied niches, and a steep, dormered roof surrounded by an openwork parapet. The niches, although designed to contain statues, stand empty.
Atop the central belfry tower of six stories with three terraces, a stone crown supports a gilded brass figure of Hanske de Krijger (Hans the Warrior), mythical guardian of the city. The crown on the tower and the double-headed eagles over the attic windows pay homage to a famous visitor to Oudenaarde, Emperor Charles V, who fathered Margaret of Parma here a few years before construction of the Town Hall began.


WikiWeb_Our Lady of Most Holy Rosary Parish Church_2

The church was built in 1941 with its patron Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario (Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary), a Marian title in relation to the Rosary. Devotion to the Virgin Mary under this title goes back to 1571 when Pope Pius V instituted "Our Lady of Victory" as an annual feast to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Lepanto. The victory was attributed to a rosary procession that day in St. Peter's Square in Rome for the success of the mission of the Holy League to hold back Muslim forces from overrunning Western Europe. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this feast-day to "Feast of the Holy Rosary". in 1716 Pope Clement XI added the feast to the General Roman Calendar and assigned it to the first Sunday in October. Pope Pius X changed the date to 7 October in 1913, in his effort to restore celebration of the liturgy of the Sundays.
In 1940 the parish priests Pastor Luciano (d. 1985) suggested to Church authorities in Bulacan to build a small ermita or Kapilya. The new parish covered the Barangays of Tarcan, Santa Barbara, and even Taal and Santo Cristo in Pulilan, Bulacan. The small chapel is made of wood, nipa and light building materials, while its attached convento was made of nipa.
Fr. Jovito Reyes reconstructed the dilapidated chapel, adding concrete buttresses, including the walls, roof and convento. Wealthy residents, headed by Councilor Carmen Fernando García, Delfin Cruz and Salud S. Tesoro, helped build the new patio and grotto of the Sagrada Corazón and Our Lady of Lourdes.
Fr. Amador Wisco Cruz ("Amador" to parishioners) succeeded Fr. Jovito as parish priest on July 20, 1957. He bought the 4,000 sq.m. lot wherein the parishioners built the Parish Hall of the Cursillistas and Catholic Women's League. He is also known as the translator/editor of the most popular version of the Pasyón (Copyright 1949), the "Casaysayan nang Pasióng Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoón Natin na Sucat Ipag-alab nang Pusò nang Sinomang Babasa". In the early 1990s, Fr. Expedito Caleon and Fr. Jess Cruz assisted the then ailing Fr. Amador, who died in 1992 after having served the parish for 35 years. Then came Fr. Ronald Ortega, Fr. Walderedo Castillo (d. 2008), and Msgr. Macario R. Manahan (d. 2013).
In preparation for its 75th Jubilee in October 2016, the Pastoral Council initiated repairs and improvements on the church building and its environs, under Fr. Winniefred F. Naboya, J.C.L.


Ouvrages du Libron (English: Works of Libron) is a structure like no other on the Canal du Midi.  It allows the Libron River, near Agde in south-west France, to traverse the Canal du Midi. At the point of intersection, the Libron is more or less at the same level as the Canal du Midi so a traditional aqueduct was not an option. The problem was further exacerbated by the Libron's propensity to flash flood up to twenty times a year. The problem was originally solved by the building of a pontoon aqueduct known as the Libron Raft which utilised a flush-decked barge to protect the canal channel in times of flooding. However, this was replaced by the present structure in 1855.


The Canal du Midi was opened in 1681, a year after the death of its designer and implementer Pierre-Paul Riquet.  Between its opening and the creation of the Ouvrages du Libron, the Libron would periodically overflow and fill the canal with silt and debris.  During periods of flooding, a special flush-walled barge would be placed in the canal, like a raft, with high walls on either end, forming a large walled area that would allow the Libron to flow over the canal without depositing its silt and trash. Canal traffic was unable to pass whilst the barge was in place and would have to wait for the flood to recede and the barge to be removed.
In 1855, the Ouvrages du Libron (Works of Libron) were built to better allow the two streams to coexist.  The engineer Urbain Maguès designed a structure that allowed the Libron to be directed in such a way as to allow a canal boat to safely pass and to limit the mud and debris being deposited into the canal by the flooding river.


The Libron can be either a dry bed, or a tranquil stream, or a torrent caused by melting snow and heavy rains.  During light volume, the Libron flows through a culvert beneath the intersection.  During times of heavy runoff, the Libron carries significant amounts of silt and vegetation.  The surface levels of the two streams are very similar during normal circumstances.  This intersection at such close levels would not allow for an aqueduct or any other usual means of passing, one stream over the other.
The river bed of the Libron was modified so that the stream would split into two paths as it approached the Canal du Midi.  The paths crossed the canal through the Ouvrages du Libron, consisting of six "gates" on each side of a "protected area" 30.5 metres (100 ft) in length.
In a flooding situation, the Libron crosses the Canal du Midi in two bodies.  Each body passes through the "works" through six gates opening into six sluice bodies.  Each sluice is made up of three portions of walls.  The river comes into the works, when the sliding gate is up, and is bounded by the stone walls of the "works", then by walls that have been slid into place over the canal body, and finally the stone walls on the exiting side.
The bed of the Libron was set close to the normal level of the surface of the Canal du Midi at the crossing. Thus the beds of the sluices across the canal lie almost on the water surface of the canal.
The works allowed the river path nearest an approaching boat to be stopped for a period of time to allow a canal boat to cross through that area and rest for a time in the "protected area" between the two paths.  The river path behind the boat would now be returned to flow and the path in front of the boat is halted.  The boat can now cross this second path without interference.
The Libron River is in the French department of Hérault in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and flows into the Mediterranean.


Ovan lake (also known as Evan Lake) (Persian: اوان) is a small alpine lake in the Alamut region of the Alborz mountain range, in Qazvin province of Iran. The centre point of the lake is approximately located at 36°28′58.98″N 50°26′37.39″E. The only tributary that flows into the lake, is a stream with the same name, Ovan, coming down from northern mounts. The north of the lake is surrounded by three small villages, namely from east to west: Varbon, Avan and Zarabad.


Because of the heavy seasonal rainfall and snowfall in the winters, which at times reaches a few meters, it has numerous water resources.
Surrounded by Avan, Varbon, Zavardasht and Zarabad villages, the lake is located in an altitude of 1800 meters above sea level, its maximum length is 325 meters, and it has a width of 275 meters. The deepest section of the lake is 7.5 meters and extends over 70,000 square meters. The water of Ovan lake is provided by rainwater and springs in its ground which results in very clean and transparent clear water. The excess water of the lake which forms a small river which irrigates farmlands in the villages of Kushk and Ain. Most residents of these two villages either breed livestock or work their land.
Ovan Lake is suitable for fishing, swimming and riding boats in summer while in fall it hosts migratory birds such as swan, goose and duck. In winter, the lake can be used for sports such as skiing and ice skating while its surface becomes slippery with ice in winter.


Having covered an area of 70 thousand square meters, Ovan Lake is the largest in Qazvin province. There in the lake also live fishes like salmon, carp, and pike in addition to plants like everglade and reed that grow in its vicinity. Thanks to these beauties and natural potentials, Ovan Lake is recorded as one of the most significant tourist poles in Qazvin province and is frequented by many visitors from around the country and all over the world during the whole year especially on holidays and in summer. The fact that it is being visited by tourists and travelers has helped locals economically in various ways.


The lake can be reached via a road which connects Qazvin to East Alamut. Starting from the south towards the north, there is a village at the beginning of the road, called Shinqor. After passing a relatively high hill there is a flat area called Rajaee-dasht. A few kilometers after this point, where the road branches off, the Moalem-kalaye road should be taken. At the last fork, there is a narrow road towards the north which directly goes to the lake.


The Ozren Monastery (Serbian: Манастир Озрен, romanized: Manastir Ozren) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas and located 6 kilometres from the town of Petrovo in northern Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the spiritual centre of the area of Mount Ozren. It was probably founded in the second half of the 16th century, during the office of Serbian Patriarch Makarije Sokolović, who was granted permission from the sultan of the Ottoman Empire to renovate and build churches and monasteries. Folk tradition, formed in the 18th century, has it that the Ozren Monastery was founded by King Dragutin, a member of the Serbian Nemanjić dynasty, who ruled north-eastern Bosnia from 1284 to 1316.
The frescoes in the monastery's church were painted in the early 17th century. After the Great Turkish War (1683–1699), the monastery fell into disrepair. The renovation of the church began in 1842, after it was allowed by Ottoman authorities. The bell tower outside the church was built in 1872. The church was also refurbished in 1920 and 1996. Among its icons is a Pietà painted in the 17th century by Emmanuel Lambardos, a painter of the Cretan School. The Ozren Monastery was designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.


This event honors the first and second founders.
It is established as a summer tradition in Kansai region.
You can see the fireworks not only in Tondabayashi but also in neighboring cities such as Ōsakasayama, Kawachinagano Sakai and Habikino. Above all, the gigantic Star Mine set off at the finale sounds like rumbling of the earth and lights up the whole neighborhood as bright as day for a few seconds.


The church of Padri Filippini, also known as the  Church of the Filippini, is a Neoclassical style, Roman Catholic church in Verona, which like the older and neighboring church of San Fermo Maggiore is dedicated to the saints Fermo and Rustico.


Finding the older church of San Fermo Minore too narrow and cramped, the Oratorians in 1746 decided to replace it with this larger structure using plans by Andrea Camerata. The adjacent oratory was designed by Adriano Cristofali. Construction of the church was completed in 1791. The neoclassical church was decorated with works transferred from the San Fermo Minore, when that church was destroyed.
The present Filippini church was heavily damaged during the Second World War, and subsequently rebuilt. The belltower contains a ring of 6 bells in G, cast in 1931 and rung with the Veronese bellringing art.


In earlier times Pagham Harbour was a working harbour with three ports. One port was situated at the western end, of the harbour near Sidlesham Mill, and was  known as Wardur. The port of Charlton was at the entrance to the harbour and the third was on the Pagham side of the harbour and was known as the Port of Wythering (Wyderinges).
The port of Wardur was part of 'New Haven' a development in the Middle Ages. The Port of Wythering was overrun by the sea in the 13th century and the whole harbour eventually silted up and ceased to be navigable, except for small craft.
An attempt was made to drain the harbour for farming in c. 1873 with an embankment constructed across the edge of the lagoon to hold back the sea; this failed during a storm in December 1910 and was not reconstructed.
At present the entrance to the sea is 50 metres wide.


Pagham Harbour  today, is one of the  few undeveloped stretches of the Sussex coast. It has a sheltered inlet. The harbour is designated as a nature reserve  and is an internationally important wetland site for wildlife. It is 629 hectares (1,550 acres) in size. The Reserve is made up of saltmarsh and tidal mudflats with shingle, open water, reed swamp and wet permanent grassland habitats.


The Palace of Charles V is a Renaissance building in Granada, southern Spain, inside the Alhambra, a former Nasrid palace complex on top of the Sabika hill. Construction began in 1527 but dragged on and was left unfinished after 1637. The building has never been a home to a monarch and stood roofless until 1967. Today, the building also houses the Alhambra Museum on its ground floor and the Fine Arts Museum of Granada on its upper floor.


The palace commissioned by Charles V in the middle of the Alhambra was designed by Pedro Machuca, an architect who had trained under Michelangelo in Rome and who was steeped in the culture of the Italian High Renaissance and of the artistic circles of Raphael and Giulio Romano. It was conceived in a contemporary Renaissance style or "Roman" style with an innovative design reflecting the architectural ideals of this period. The architecture espoused by Charles V in Spain at this time was also influenced by, among other traditions, the Plateresque style. The construction of a monumental Italian or Roman-influenced palace in the heart of the Nasrid-built Alhambra symbolized Charles V's imperial status and the triumph of Christianity over Islam achieved by his grandparents (the Catholic Monarchs).
Construction of the palace began in 1527. After Machuca's death in 1550 it was continued by his son Luis, who finished the facades and built the internal courtyard. Work was halted for 15 years when the 1568 Morisco Rebellion began. Work was still unfinished when Philip IV visited in 1628 and the project was finally abandoned in 1637, leaving the structure without a roof. As a result, the palace deteriorated in the following centuries, during which it was used as a storage facility for gunpowder and other materials. During the Peninsular War, when French troops occupied the Alhambra between 1810 and 1812, the French soldiers stripped any wooden furnishings they could find inside the palace in order to make fires.
The palace was only completed after 1923, when Leopoldo Torres Balbás initiated its restoration. The roof of the building was finally completed in 1967. A small "Arab museum" was first installed in the building in 1928. In 1942 it became the Archeological Museum of the Alhambra and in 1995 it became the current "Alhambra Museum", housed on the ground floor. In 1958 another museum, the Fine Arts Museum of Granada, was installed on the upper floor.


The plan of the palace is a 17-metre (56 ft) high, 63-metre (207 ft) square containing an inner circular patio. This has no precedent in Renaissance architecture, and places the building in the avant-garde of its time. The palace has two floors (not counting mezzanine floors). The classical orders are in pilaster form except around the central doorways. On the exterior, the lower floor is in the Tuscan order, with the pilasters "blocked" by continuing the heavy rustication across them, while the upper storey uses the Ionic order, with elaborately pedimented lower windows below round windows. Both main façades emphasize the  portals, made of stone from the Sierra Elvira.
The circular patio has also two levels. The lower consists of a Doric colonnade of conglomerate stone, with an orthodox classical entablature formed of triglyphs and metopes. The upper floor is formed by a stylized Ionic colonnade whose entablature has no decoration. This organisation of the patio shows a deep knowledge of Roman architecture, and would be framed in pure Renaissance style but for its curved shape, which surprises the visitor entering from the main façades. The interior spaces and the staircases are also governed by the combination of square and circle. Similar aesthetic devices would be developed in the following decades under the classification of Mannerism.


The first predecessor of this museum was a small "Arab museum" installed in Palace of Charles V in 1928, although a similar museum had existed in Granada since 1870. In 1942 its successor, the Archeological Museum of the Alhambra was installed here. Finally, in 1994–1995 it became the current Alhambra Museum, laid out in its present location on the ground floor of the palace. The museum houses numerous artifacts and art objects originating in the Alhambra, ranging from the early Islamic period of Granada up to the Nasrid period, in addition to some other Islamic art objects from other locations.  The objects on display include 10th-century marble pieces from Madinat al-Zahra and other sites of the Caliphate era, fragments and panels of original decoration from the Nasrid palaces (including some of the lost palaces such as the Alijares Palace), Nasrid marble fountains and sculptures (such as a marble lion from the Maristan), and various other Nasrid-era furnishings. Among the highlights is the Vase of the Gazelles, one of the so-called "Alhambra vases", a huge and richly-decorated ceramic vase from the 14th century.


The Fine Arts Museum was moved here in 1958 and is housed on the palace's upper floor today. It displays a collection of paintings and sculptures from Granada dating from the 16th to 20th centuries. The bulk of the collection is drawn from the properties of the Catholic church, such as the Cartuja in Granada and other monasteries and convents. Among the highlights are The Burial of Christ by Jacopo Torni, Thistle Still-Life by Juan Sánchez Cotán, a Limoges enamel piece, and paintings by 20th-century artist Manuel Angeles Ortiz.


The Palace of Justice's design incorporates influences of Classical Islamic culture like Taj Mahal in India, Moorish culture, like the Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala Lumpur and Western Classical influence, like Palladian. The classical design gives depths to the building skin and creates interesting articulated facade.
The complex comprises a five-storey building for the judiciary and a two-storey building to house the courts and offices.


WikiWeb_Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena_0

Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena (Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena) is an indoor sporting arena that is located in Málaga, Spain. The current seating capacity of the arena is 11,300 for sports, and 10,000 for large concert events.


Palaiokastritsa (Greek: Παλαιοκαστρίτσα meaning Little Old Castle place, referring to nearby Angelokastro) is a village in northwestern Corfu, Greece. Corfu has been suggested to be the mythical island of the Phaeacians and the bay of Palaiokastritsa to be the place where Odysseus disembarked and met Nausicaa for the first time. The monastery in Palaiokastritsa, which dates from 1225, houses a museum.


Palaiokastrites was a former municipality on the island of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece. Its including area was defined around the original village of Palaiokastritsa. Since the 2019 local government reform Palaiokastrites is part of the municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands as a smaller municipal unit. It has a land area of 48.379 km² and a population of 4,068 (2011 census) and is located on the west coast of Corfu just south of Angelokastro. The seat of the formerly independent Palaiokastriton municipality was the town of Lakones (pop. 384). The largest villages are Liapades (pop. 879), Doukades (627), Skriperó (500), and Lákones.


Palau Sant Jordi ([pəˈlaw ˈsaɲ ˈʒɔɾði], English: St. George's Palace) is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it was opened in 1990. The maximum seating capacity of the arena is 17,960. It is the largest indoor arena in Spain.
The Palau Sant Jordi was one of the main venues of the 1992 Summer Olympics hosting the artistic gymnastics, handball final, and volleyball final events. Today, it is used for a variety of indoor sport events as well as for concerts and other cultural activities, due to its great flexibility.


The arena was the venue of the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics.
It was the venue of three EuroLeague Final Fours in 1998, 2003, and 2011. It also hosted the EuroBasket 1997, from the quarterfinals on, and the 2012 Copa del Rey.
The final of 2000 Davis Cup was the 89th edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. Spain defeated Australia at Palau Sant Jordi on 8–10 December, giving Spain their first title. The arena also hosted the finals of 2009 Davis Cup between Spain and Czech Republic with the victory for the Spaniards 5–0.
Palau Sant Jordi was the main venue of the 2003 FINA World Championships. A temporary, regulation swimming pool was installed for the occasion. It played the same role for the 2013 FINA World Championships, since the city of Barcelona hosted the Championships again after 10 years.
It was one of six sites that hosted the 2013 World Men's Handball Championship including the final. It was also one of six sites to host the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
On 5 October 2016, the arena hosted an NBA preseason game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and local team FC Barcelona Regal.


The 3,000-seat Sant Jordi Club opened in 2007 and is located behind the main building.


Recorded for a live album/DVD or TV
The concert was held at the Sant Jordi Club.
The Dani Martín concert on 13 November 2021, became the first full-capacity concert at the Palau Sant Jordi since 29 February 2020 after COVID-19 social distancing restrictions started to lift.


WikiWeb_Palau de la Musica de Valencia_0

The Palau de la Música de València is a concert, cinema, arts, and exhibition hall in València situated on the Riu Túria. It is the home of the city's municipal orchestra, the Orchestra of Valencia founded 1943. (not to be confused with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana founded 2006).


Palazzo Balbi is a palace on the Canal Grande, Venice, northern Italy. It is included in the sestiere (quarter) of Dorsoduro, to the right of Ca' Foscari. Currently it is the  seat of the President of the Veneto region and  of the regional council.
It was built from 1582, under design  by Alessandro Vittoria as the residence of the Venetian patrician family of the Balbi. In the 19th century it was acquired by Michelangelo Guggenheim and later by the Adriatic Electric Society. It became a property of the Veneto region in 1971.


The palace has two floors, over a double-height rusticated basement with a mezzanine and entresol, in a symmetrical façade on the Grand Canal.
The ground floor has a large portal in the center featuring a mascaron and tympanum; there are two minor entrances at the sides. The two ashlar upper floors are divided into three sectors by Ionic and Corinthian pilasters and separated horizontally by a wide entablature. In the center are triple mullioned windows featuring paired Doric columns and parapets. Between the first-floor windows are the coat-of-arms of the Balbi family. It is the first Palazzo in Venice featuring the window decoration of the interrupted tympanum.
In a frieze under the dentilled cornice are small oval windows in elaborate stone frames. On the top are two obelisk-shaped pinnacles, similar to those in the Palazzo Belloni Battagia.
The interior contains 18th-century frescoes by Jacopo Guarana.


Palazzo Belloni Battagia (also spelled Palazzo Belloni Battaglia) is a palace on the Canal Grande, Venice, northern Italy. It is located in the sestiere (district) of Santa Croce, between the  Fondaco del Megio and Ca' Tron, near the church of San Stae.
It was built in the mid-17th century, possibly to a design by Baldassarre Longhena, as the residence of the Belloni family.


It has two floors and a mezzanine, with a typically Baroque façade featuring a rich sculpture decoration.
The ground floor, surmounted by a parapet, has at the middle a big portal with a tympanum. The piano nobile has seven rectangular windows within a large set of decorations, including false columns, two large coat of arms and, above each window, a broken entablature.
The mezzanine, separated by the floor below by a frame, has six small windows.  The cornice has a notched frame and a long frieze with the Belloni coat of arms. At the top are two symmetrical, obelisk-shaped pinnacles: this theme is featured in a minority of palaces in Venice, such as Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, also designed by Longhena, and Palazzo Papadopoli.
Internally, there are 19th-century frescoes in the piano nobile and a private oratory with painted decorations.


Palazzo Corner della Regina, commonly known as Ca' Corner della Regina, is a Baroque-style palace in the Sestiere Santa Croce of the city of Venice, Italy. In the English language, the title conforms with Palace of the Queen from the "Corner (or Cornaro) Family"; it is so named because Caterina Cornaro, who became Queen of Cyprus by marriage, was born to this family and at this site in 1454. The palace is located on the Grand Canal, near Ca' Pesaro, and between Ca' Favretto and Palazzo Correggio. The opposite structure is Palazzo Contarini Pisani.


Palazzo Gabrielli-Mignanelli is a late-Renaissance palace in Rome, overlooking Piazza Mignanelli and Piazza di Spagna.
The palace was built around 1575 by Alessandro Moschetti for count Girolamo Gabrielli, of a noble family from Gubbio. The chosen location was at the edge of the Pincian hill, over what remained of the fabled gardens of Lucullus. In the 16th century the area was still considered periurban, and the palace was the first monumental building erected there.
As a result of the marriage between Carlo Gabrielli, Girolamo's nephew, and Maria Mignanelli, relative of cardinal Fabio Mignanelli, celebrated in 1615, the palace was presented by the Gabriellis to the Mignanellis, who owned the building until 1871 and gave their name to the square in front of the palace. After having been rented to different institutions from the late 18th century onwards, the building became the property of the Holy See in 1887, and on that occasion was restored and enlarged by Andrea Busiri Vici.
Palazzo Gabrielli-Mignanelli is today the residence of Valentino Garavani as well as the Roman headquarters of his maison.


The Palazzo Turchi, also called the Palazzo dei Diavoli, is a castle-like structure located outside the city wall of Siena, near Porta Camollia between Viale Cavour e via Fiorentina.


The site of this brick fortress house was the site where a combined Florentine and Papal army of Clement VII was defeated by the Sienese in 1526. The tall tower is the element remaining from medieval construction by the Turchi family, perhaps with architect Cecco di Giorgio. The name of Palace of the Devil is quaintly attributed by guides to Siena for a variety of possible reasons. Some claim the site was used for devil worship, others claim only with the help of the Devil could the Sienese triumph over Papal-blessed armies. The present structure owes much to 19th-century reconstructions.


Palazzo Versace is a luxury hotel located by the Southport Broadwater in Main Beach, and Marina Mirage shopping centre at Southport Spit on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The hotel was constructed by the Sunland Group on the site of the former Fisherman's Wharf complex. Opened on September 15, 2000, the hotel features 200 rooms, 72 apartments, 600 seater ballroom, bars, restaurants and a Versace retail store.
The design and furnishing of the hotel was overseen by Versace in Milan, Italy, and the design and architecture were intended to be a homage to the styles of the French Riviera. The building itself was created by Gold Coast architect Desmond Brook of DBI Design.


Soheil Abedian of the Sunland Group visited the House of Versace in 1997 to propose the idea of a Versace branded hotel. He claims Palazzo Versace Gold Coast to be the first fashion-branded hotel. On his reasons for approaching Versace, Abedian says "Gianni Versace was a lover of architecture in the first place, a person who used in his fashion all the elements of the Baroque style. ... Also, Versace was the only fashion house at the time that had a home collection and everything that a hotel needed from the porcelain to cutlery, pillows to fabric." The main building was designed in Postmodern architecture style in a broad interpretation of Neoclassical architecture.
In 2005, Emirates International Holdings acquired 50% of Palazzo Versace Gold Coast at the same time entering into a joint venture to develop a chain of hotels including a similar hotel in Dubai. In 2006 Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the United Arab Emirates Vice President and Prime Minister, suffered a heart attack and died while staying at the hotel. In September 2012 a conditional contract was entered into to sell the hotel complex to a Chinese consortium.


Palazzo Versace has 200 hotel rooms and suites and seventy-two neighbouring condominiums, and four restaurants. Palazzo Versace also has its own private 90 berth marina, and underground carpark.


WikiWeb_Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali_0

The Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali is a building  in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. Originally the Palazzo Fenzi, built for the Fenzi banking  family and designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by Giuseppe Martelli  and is one of the very few purpose built commercial buildings in the centre of the city though it housed on the upper floors reception rooms for the Fenzi family.
The site was formerly occupied by the "Pisan Loggia" and the "Chiese de Santa Cecilia"   While the architecture of the palazzo is undoubtedly inspired by that of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, also in Florence, the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali was never intended to be a  private house but the local headquarters of the General Insurance Company which was founded in Trieste in  1831.  There are other Palazzi delle Assicurazioni Generali in other Italian cities most notably Rome and Milan. During the latter half of the 19th century the Assicurazioni Generali (commonly known as "Generali") were expanding not only in Italy but also throughout Europe.
The Assicurazioni Generali generally employed retrospective architectural style to reflect the surroundings of their offices in Rome the palazzo imitates the Palazzo Venezia which it faces, while in Milan the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali is in a form of 19th century Baroque Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, Milano</ref> known as Beaux Arts.
The Florence Palazzo delle Assicurazioni unsuccessfully vies for dominance in the piazza with the more historical and architecturally important Palazzo Signoria, today known as the Palazzo Vecchio. In spite of its height and size the architecture of the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali harmonises with that of the surrounding buildings, and does not appear as a new imposter in the piazza. However, this is not a view shared by all, one source describes those buildings of Piazza della Signoria occupied by banks and Insurance companies as "seeming to belong to some cold northern climate rather than to the city that gave birth to the colour and vitality of the Renaissance"   Part of the ground floor is home to one of Florence's more fashionable and historical cafés – "Rivoire", founded in 1872.


The Palazzo di Propaganda Fide (in English: Palace of the Propagation of the Faith) is a palace located in Rome, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, then Francesco Borromini. Since 1626, it has housed the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and since 1929 is an extraterritorial property of the Holy See.


The building is located in the Rione Colonna, at the southern end of piazza di Spagna. Its southern facade is in front of the basilica Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, whose cupola and the bell were the work of Borromini. The main facade was created by Bernini (1644), and the front side of the via di Propaganda by Borromini (1646). This setting aside of Bernini's work was a request of Pope Innocent X, who preferred Borromini's style. The work was completed in 1667.


The building houses the chapel of the Biblical Magi, built by Borromini. On the outside, a ridge marks the separation between the ground floor and piano nobile. On the facade by Borromini, composed of pilasters, concave and convex curves in the windows design are alternating; it is one of the most famous examples of Italian Baroque architecture.


The park is located in a countryside area, near Pilancones Natural Park, towards south of the island; about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the tourist beaches and dunes of Maspalomas, but towards the interior. The park has a humid subtropical climate.


There is a terrace near a fountain, along a path that leads up to the amphitheater where flying birds of prey perform in shows. Next to the amphitheater there is a snack bar, and a small cafe can be found in the park.
One feature of the park is the great wealth of cacti and succulents. There are over 160 different cactus types, and 1000 palm trees of 42 different types.
Parrot-like birds are well represented in the park, but other types of birds can also be found, including swans and ducks. Overall, there are over 1,500 exotic birds of 230 different species. Many fly freely around the park.
Palmitos Park holds Europe's largest butterfly venue, as well as the biggest Orchid collection on the island.
Near the exit - behind the souvenir shop, one can admire hummingbirds that fly very visibly in front of their food.


Butterfly house with (mainly living) butterflies.
Pond with water birds
Dolphinarium with 6 dolphins, and live dolphin shows interacting with the audience.
Dolphin Photo Opportunity where members of the public can have their photo taken while stroking a dolphin (additional fee)
Swim with Dolphins opportunity (additional fee)
Glass cages with hummingbirds
House of orchids
Terrace near fountain
Amphitheater with shows with flying birds of prey
Presentation room with documentaries and shows with trained parrots
Souvenir shop
Aquaria with many kinds of fish and other underwater animals


On July 31, 2007 it was reported in the media that almost 65% of the park was burned due to ten forest fires, and that some exotic bird species - such as the toucan - may have been killed. The forest fires caused evacuations of certain parts of Gran Canaria and Tenerife. A local Forest Ranger was accused of starting the fires intentionally in order to keep him in employment as his contract was due to expire.
Over 2000 people from the village of Mogán were evacuated, as well as El Salobre. No human lives were lost during the fire, but many houses were burned to the ground. Smoke was clearly visible from space.
Because Palmitos Park was severely affected by the fire, it was closed for a whole year. The park opened for the public again August 4, 2008. It has a new section with information about the forest fire.


JustGranCanaria.com. "Palmitos Park". JustGranCanaria.com. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
"Palmitos Park | Other attractions". www.palmitospark.es. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
Palmitos Park Ceta-Base
"just me » Gran Canaria is still burning". julsko.net. Archived from the original on 2008-05-29.
"Spanish Leader To Visit Blazing Islands". news.sky.com. Sky News. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
"Canarias 7. Contenidos multimedia: Galerías de fotos: Imágenes de la cuarta jornada del incendio en Gran Canaria". www.canarias7.es. Archived from the original on 2008-01-28.


Pamban Bridge is a railway bridge which connects the town of Mandapam in mainland India with Pamban Island, and Rameswaram. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India's first sea bridge, and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in 2010. The rail bridge is, for the most part, a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers, but has a double-leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through. Until 1988, the Pamban bridge was the only surface transport that connected Tamil Nadu's island of Rameswaram to the mainland. In December 2018, the bascule of this bridge was damaged, which suspended transportation on the bridge for 3 months. Rail movement was again restored on 27 February 2019.
In 1988, a road bridge was also constructed parallel to the rail bridge. This road bridge is also known as Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge. The Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge connects the National Highway (NH 49) with the Rameswaram island. It stands on the Palk Strait and between the shores of Mandapam (a place on the Indian mainland)  and Pamban (one of the fishing towns on Rameswaram island). It was inaugurated by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on 2 October 1988. This 2.345 km long bridge took close to 14 years to be completed.


This bridge was built in 1914 to connect Rameshwaram Island with mainland India.


The Pamban railway bridge spans a 2.06 km wide strait between the Indian mainland and Rameswaram Island. The mainland end of the bridge is located at 9°16′56.70″N 79°11′20.12″E. The bridge is located in a  corrosive marine environment, making its maintenance a challenging job. The location is also a cyclone-prone high wind velocity zone.


Plans for a bridge to connect to mainland was suggested in 1870 as the British Administration sought ways to increase trade with Ceylon. The construction began in August 1911 and was opened on 24 February 1914. The adjacent road bridge was opened in 1988. As of 5 December 2018, the bridge was closed due to a crack in the bridge and the maintenance work is going on.  The Indian Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced that a new railway bridge will be constructed near the old Pamban Bridge at a cost of ₹250 crores.  This new dual track bridge is planned to be constructed in automotive mode, allowing two ships to pass this bridge at the same time.


The bridge was damaged during the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone and required repair work. Strengthening work was carried out on the bridge under the supervision of E. Sreedharan in 2009 to enable it to carry goods trains. On 13 January 2013, the bridge required repair work to the piers after suffering minor damage from a naval barge. In 2016, the Ministry of Railways sanctioned ₹25 crore (US$3.3 million) to replace the existing 65.23 metres (214.0 ft) long rolling type span with a 66 metres (217 ft) long single truss span which could be opened automatically. All train movement was stopped from 5 December 2018 when a fissure was noticed on 4 December 2018.
Rail movement on the bridge is restored as of 10 March 2019.


The railway bridge carried metre gauge trains connecting Mandapam on mainland India to Pamban. Indian Railways upgraded the bridge to carry broad gauge trains and the work was completed on 12 August 2007. From Pamban, the railway line bifurcated, one line towards Rameshwaram about 6.25 miles (10.06 km) up and another branch line of 15 miles (24 km) terminating at Dhanushkodi. The Boat mail express runs from Chennai Egmore to Rameswaram. The train ran up to Dhanushkodi until 1964 when the metre-gauge branch line from Pamban to Dhanushkodi was destroyed during the 1964 Dhanushkodi cyclone.


The national award winning Tamil movie Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) was filmed at the Pamban Bridge.
Parts of the Bollywood movie Chennai Express (2013) were filmed at the Pamban Bridge.


The Panguipulli Lake (/ˌpæŋɡiˈpuːji/ PANG-gee-POO-yee; Spanish: Lago Panguipulli) is one of the "Seven Lakes" in Panguipulli municipality, southern Chile. The lake is of glacial origin and it is enclosed by mountain ranges of the Andes, on all sides except the west, where the town of Panguipulli lies in the Chilean Central Valley. The lake is drained by the Enco River that flows south to Riñihue Lake.


It stands at the end of a block formed by Commerce Street, Ninth Street, and Broadway Plaza. The setting is characterized of downtown commercial activities and remains faithful to late 19th and early 20th century streetscapes. The theatre-office building measures 100 feet (30 m) on the north (Ninth Street) by  115 feet (35 m) along the west (Broadway). The building uses a steel framed with reinforced concrete walls. The Ninth Street and Broadway facades are white, glazed terra cotta in a matt finish. The Commerce Street façade is yellowish-toned brick.
The Ninth Street facade of the Theater is divided horizontally into three major sections, and vertically into five bays. The lower level of the facade, which conforms to the steep Ninth Street grade, has received a minimum of elaboration - typical of a Renaissance, palazzo base. The central level of this elevation, equivalent to three stories in height, features a triple-arched blind arcade set within the three central bays. Each individual archway: is punctuated by a pedimented, structural opening with a large ornamental cartouche above. These central bays are each framed by imposing, pseudo-Corinthian pilasters and half pilasters, full three stories, in height. The blind arcade is solidly flanked by sparsely-decorated outermost bays. Structural openings on the same level as those of the central bays are capped with segmental-arched pediments. Five bracketed balconettes underline these openings, creating a strong horizontal course, which firmly ties the variant bays together. A heavily proportioned entablature repeats the-horizontal movement across the full five bays on this facade. The entablature has a simple architrave, festooned frieze, and cornice with a boldly projecting dentil course. A substantial parapet above the cornice is simply ornamented with raised terra cotta rosettes, and rectangles. .


The auditorium is elliptical the proscenium arch and stage located on the south wall. The small orchestra pit can be entered through the greenroom below the stage. Dressing rooms flank the greenroom at that level. Because of the very steep grade on Ninth Street, large spaces below the auditorium level were available for rehearsals and storage. At the lowest level on Commerce Street, the heating and electrical systems were installed.
Decorative features of the auditorium rely upon the lavish use of. The proscenium arch is covered with classical motifs executed in plaster by European craftsmen.  At the center is an elaborate floral cartouche. Projecting from the cartouche is a torch. Fluted, engaged columns flank the proscenium. The auditorium's entablature has a dentil led cornice with shell finials. Above the entablature is the coved ceiling with gutter lighting. At the center of the ceiling is an art glass sunburst, instead of a traditional crystal chandelier. Boxes are located on either side in the ante-proscenium area. Each is an arch-shaped niche ornamented on its interior by rosettes and a large shell motif. The box entrance is enframed by a complex arrangement of pilasters, entablature, and broken pediment.


WikiWeb_Parkin Archeological State Park_0

Parkin Archeological State Park, also known as Parkin Indian Mound, is an archeological site and state park in Parkin, Cross County, Arkansas.  Around 1350–1650 CE an aboriginal palisaded village existed at the site, at the confluence of the St. Francis and Tyronza rivers. Artifacts from this site are on display at the site museum. The Parkin site is the type site for the Parkin phase, an expression of the Mississippian culture from the Late Mississippian period. Many archeologists believe it to be part of the province of Casqui, documented as visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1542.  Archeological artifacts from the village of the Parkin people are dated to 1400–1650 CE.
The Parkin site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964 for its significance as a type site of the Parkin phase.  In 1966, the Parkin Indian Mound was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Parkin Archeological State Park is located at 60 Arkansas Highway 184 North, Parkin, Arkansas.


WikiWeb_Parkin Archeological State Park_1

The Parkin site is the type site for an important Late Mississippian cultural component, the Parkin phase, which dates from about 1400–1700 CE. The Parkin phase was a collection of villages along the St. Francis and Tyronza rivers. This culture is contemporary with the Caborn-Welborn culture and Menard, Tipton, Walls and the Nodena phases. It has been determined that the site was continuously occupied for at least 500 years.
In the early 1540s, the Spanish Hernando de Soto expedition is believed to have visited several sites in the Parkin phase, which is usually identified as the Province of Casqui, with the Nodena phase being identified as the province of Pacaha.
The province was named by the De Soto Expedition for the chieftain Casqui, who ruled the tribe from its primary village. The De Soto chroniclers indicate that political provinces were the major political institutions of this area; they were characterized by a paramount chief living in a paramount town, with satellite vassal towns surrounding it. The Parkin phase is a series of twenty-one villages of varying sizes along the St. Francis and Tyronza rivers, most of them roughly 2.5 miles (4 km) apart from each other. These sites include the Rose Mound, Glover, Neeleys Ferry, and Barton Ranch.