Inhabited bridges were marvels of the medieval age.

By far the longest was London's, considered a wonder of the world.

A brief thread on living bridges... 🧵

A thread on the Paris expositions for those interested:

I've made the executive decision to make the world better by sharing more beauty.

The world's most beautiful (and unique) villages... 🧵

1. Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland 🇨🇭

What are some perfectly preserved medieval towns that are like stepping back in time? Here are a few... 🧵

Update: 17,000 newsletter readers in just over a month! THANK YOU.

Remember: one free article every week - art, architecture, and everything else.

A thread of monumental buildings that were planned but never realized... 🧵

13. The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum - John Martin (1822)

The Taj Mahal is wonderful, but it isn't unique.

So here's an introduction to Mughal Architecture...

If you like the countryside then you will love John Constable.

He was probably the most boring landscape painter in history — and that's why he was one of the best...

What does Satan look like?

Strange, disturbing, and unintentionally funny: this is a brief history of the Devil in art...

But, as trade increases, the need to rely on local materials disappears.

Along with the invention of new materials: steel and reinforced concrete were the game-changers that made skyscrapers possible.

Technology is a big part of the story.

Their embrace of mysticism suggests a struggle with the rise of science and technology, whether the theory of evolution or electricity.

There was seemingly no mystery left on earth, so Symbolism responded by retreating into history, the mystical, the dreamlike, the occult.

Prokudin-Gorsky's work almost didn't survive.

He moved to Paris and there his sons stored his photographs in a basement, unsure what to do with them, where they slowly deteriorated.

Until 1948, when they were bought by US Library of Congress.

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon in Beijing! Last night, Shichahai area dazzled with a dragon-shaped light installation, marking the Lunar New Year. This year, the dragon, a symbol of good fortune in the Chinese zodiac, takes center stage, promising a year of prosperity

A 26-year-old painted this.

What's your excuse?

The Art Deco era brought not just great stations, but great trains to boot. Take the "Mercury", a streamliner passenger train which operated in the Midwest between 1936 and 1959:

FYI, this is the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading in Rio.

I often post wonders from the distant past. What about the churches we still build today?

These will surprise you (all built in the last 20 years)... 🧵

Architecture is supposed to inspire awe. Few understand this better than the Hungarians.

Reminder that the US built some of the greatest train stations ever seen.

These are the most beautiful (thread) 🧵

What exactly is preventing you from moving to London?

Detail of Michelangelo's David