Sunday, June 29, 2025

Vjetrenica Cave, Ravno - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Located in the Dinaric mountain range, the property stands out with its remarkable cave biodiversity and endemicity. 
Known since antiquity, the well-conserved representation of karst topography is one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots for cave-dwelling fauna, notably subterranean aquatic fauna. 
It is home to a number of globally threatened vertebrate species, and the only subterranean tubeworm in the world, as well as a diversity of plant species endemic to the Balkans. 
Additionally, several of the species found in Vjetrenica Cave are tertiary and pre-tertiary relict species, meaning that many of them can be considered living fossils whose closest relatives went extinct a long time ago.








Bornholm

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, known as the "sunshine island" and "rock island" because of its sunny climate and granite geology. 
With an area of ​​588 km² and approximately 39,000 inhabitants (2025), it has been part of the Bornholms Regionskommune, under the Region Hovedstaden, since 2003. 
The largest town is Rønne, with ferry connections to Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland. 
Tourism and agriculture are the main sources of income. 
The island has a rich history, with medieval round churches and the ruins of Hammershus, the largest medieval fortress in Northern Europe.
Bornholm was once disputed by Denmark, Sweden and Lübeck, but became Danish in 1660 after a local uprising.








Saturday, June 28, 2025

Via Appia. Regina Viarum - Italy

More than 800 kilometres long, the Via Appia is the oldest and most important of the great roads built by the Ancient Romans. 
Constructed and developed from 312 BCE to the 4th century CE, it was originally conceived as a strategic road for military conquest, advancing towards the East and Asia Minor. 
The Via Appia later enabled the cities it connected to grow and new settlements emerged, facilitating agricultural production and trade. 
This property, composed of 19 component parts, is a fully developed ensemble of engineering works, illustrating the advanced technical skill of Roman engineers in the construction of roads, civil engineering projects, infrastructure and sweeping land reclamation works, as well as a vast series of monumental structures including, for example, triumphal arches, baths, amphitheatres and basilicas, aqueducts, canals, bridges, and public fountains.








Liverpool Cathedral

Liverpool Cathedral, officially the Church of Christ in Liverpool, is an Anglican cathedral in Liverpool, England. 
It is one of the largest cathedrals in the world and an iconic example of Gothic Revival architecture. Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, construction began in 1904 and was completed in 1978. 
The cathedral has the tallest bell tower in the world (100 metres high) and boasts an impressive interior with colourful stained glass windows. 
It is a spiritual and cultural centre, with concerts, events and breathtaking views of the city from the tower.








Friday, June 27, 2025

Umm Al-Jimāl - Jordan

The property is a rural settlement in northern Jordan that developed organically on the site of an earlier Roman settlement around the 5th century CE and functioned until the end of the 8th century CE. 
It preserves basaltic structures from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods that represent the local architecture style of the Hauran region, with some earlier Roman military buildings re-purposed by later inhabitants. 
The settlement formed part of a broader agricultural landscape that included a complex water catchment system, which sustained agriculture and animal herding. 
The earliest structures uncovered at Umm Al-Jimāl date back to the 1st century CE, when the area formed part of the Nabataean Kingdom. 
A rich epigraphic corpus in Greek, Nabataean, Safaitic, Latin and Arabic uncovered on the site and spanning many centuries provides insights into its history, and sheds light on the changes in its inhabitants’ religious beliefs.








Transantarctic Mountains

The Transantarctic Mountains are a mountain range in Antarctica that divides the continent into East and West Antarctica. 
At approximately 3,500 km long, it is the fifth longest mountain range in the world. 
The highest peak is Mount Kirkpatrick (4,528 m). 
The mountain range, which is 65 million years old, consists mainly of sandstone and dolerite and extends from the Ross Sea to the Weddell Sea.
It was first sighted in 1841 by James Clark Ross and first crossed in 1901-1904 by the British National Antarctic Expedition. 
The name was established in 1962 by the American Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN)








Thursday, June 26, 2025

The Historic Town and Archaeological Site of Gedi - Kenya

Surrounded by a remnant coastal forest, away from the coastline, the abandoned city of Gedi was one of the most important Swahili cities on the East African coast from the 10th to 17th centuries. 
During this period, it was part of a complex and international network of trade and cultural exchanges that crossed the Indian Ocean, linking African coastal centres with Persia and other areas. 
The opulent settlement is clearly delineated by walls and features remains of domestic, religious, and civic architecture, and a sophisticated water management system. 
It strongly represents the characteristics of Swahili architecture and town planning, utilising materials such as coral rag, coral and earth mortar and wood.








Osijek-Baranja

Osijek-Baranja is a county in eastern Croatia, located in Slavonia and Baranja, around the confluence of the Drava and Danube rivers. 
The administrative center is Osijek, the fourth largest city in Croatia (approx. 96,000 inhabitants in 2021). Other cities are Đakovo, Našice, Valpovo, Belišće and Beli Manastir. 
The region is known for its fertile agricultural lands, wine production and the Kopački Rit Nature Park. 
It has a rich history with Croatian, Hungarian and German influences and a diverse population (88% Croats, 6% Serbs, 2.3% Hungarians in 2021).








Wednesday, June 25, 2025

The Flow Country - Scotland

The serial property, located in the Highland Region of Scotland, is considered the most outstanding example of an actively accumulating blanket bog landscape. 
This peatland ecosystem, which has been accumulating for the past 9,000 years, provides a diversity of habitats home to a distinct combination of bird species and displays a remarkable diversity of features not found anywhere else on Earth. 
Peatlands play an important role in storing carbon and the property’s ongoing peat-forming ecological processes continue to sequester carbon on a very large scale, representing a significant research and educational resource.








Shanghai

Status: Shanghai is not a province, but a central city (municipality) with provincial status, directly under the central Chinese authority, comparable to Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing. 
Location: Located on the east coast of China, in the Yangtze Delta, bordering the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. 
Population: Approximately 24.9 million inhabitants (2023), of which 9.7 million in the urban core. Significance: Economic and financial center of China, with one of the world's largest ports. 
Known for its skyline (Pudong), historic Bund, and role as a world city in trade, technology and culture. Governance: Divided into 16 districts, including Huangpu (center) and Pudong (financial district).