Southern Europe

A stone church with a small open bell tower in its center with 4 bells visible.

Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of Asturias

Six buildings that are unique to the short-lived Asturian monarchy.

A drawing of a horse, black outlines and tinted red on the body.

Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain

Some of the earliest art by the earliest humans.

A jumble of buildings on the edge of a steep gorge.

Historic Walled Town of Cuenca

A medieval fortress town in a dramatic location, perched on cliffs.

View down a hill with mountains in the background. On the hill below some of the ruins are visible: the amphitheater and some columns and low walls.

Archaeological Site of Delphi

An important religious site for ancient Greeks, who considered it the center of the world.

On the left, the Leaning tower, with its rings of pillars on each level; next to that, the Cathedral.

Piazza del Duomo, Pisa

Four masterpieces of Pisan Romanesque architecture, including the world-famous Leaning Tower.

A pillared building with a shallow pool in front of it.

The Great Spa Towns of Europe

Towns in seven countries where an early tourism industry thrived around natural hot springs.

Semi-circular rings of stone benches slant down to the circular stage area at the bottom.

The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus

Ruins of an ancient place of healing, with a huge and still intact Greek theater.

The church itself, with two towers, and elegant curved stairways up to its entrance on either side.

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga

An exquisite example of Portuguese Baroque architecture expressing a spiritual journey.

A ruined temple in stone, with tall pillars holding up a pediment, that is mostly broken off.

Acropolis, Athens

The most famous remnant of ancient Greece, standing high above the city of Athens.

Looking down a long rectangular courtyard with arches supported by double pillars all around it: They're ornately decorated in an Islamic style. The upper story is also lined with arches supported by single pillars.

Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville

Three properties that are central to the history of Spain’s “Golden Age.”

Seen across a broad flat area, a large palace, white and symmetrical.

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy

A series of palaces and estates in and around Turin that exemplify baroque architecture.

Looking at the building of Mafra from an angle: a very baroque design. Trees are flowering pink nearby.

Royal Building of Mafra

One of the most impressive baroque structures in all of Portugal.

The Library of Celsus seen from close by: columns frame 4 doorways on the ground floor and 3 on the upper floor. Each set of pillars holds a square pediment over the door.

Ephesus

An ancient port city with ruins from the Greek, Roman and early Christian periods.

A view down a street of pretty 2-story buildings.

Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica

A city with the traces of three thousand years of civilization.

The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera

More than 1000 cave dwellings, churches and other rock-cut structures going back centuries.

A view over the city of Angra do Heroismo in Terceira, Azores, with the sea beyond it.

Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroísmo

An important port in the busy shipping routes between Europe, the Americas and Africa from the 15th-19th centuries.

A long portico stretching ahead, the end point not visible. Just a couple of people walk on it in the distance.

The Porticoes of Bologna

An architectural element that, over centuries, has become an integral part of life in Bologna and around the world.

Trulli of Alberobello: A row of whitewashed houses with conical grey slate roofs.

The Trulli of Alberobello

Picturesque whitewashed houses with conical roofs, built using age-old dry-stone techniques.

An archway, with the arch standing on a pillar on each side.

The Caliphate City of Medina Azahara

Ruins of a 10th-century fortified Umayyad city.

A field with wildflowers with, in the background, a mountain that looks just like the face of a person lying on their back.

Antequera Dolmens Site

Megalithic tombs and the natural features that align with them.

Doñana National Park

A protected natural wilderness area that is essential for birds migrating between Africa and Europe and for other species.

Archaeological Area of Agrigento

An exceptional collection of ancient Greek temples dating to the 5th century BC.

Gently rolling hills covered with rows of grapevines, very green, and a small village on one of the hills with a tall church spire.

Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene

A uniquely beautiful landscape of hills and valleys, with vineyards and wineries producing world-famous Prosecco wines.

The castle and its walls of stone, perched dramatically on a small peak, with a huge view in the distance.

San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano

The world’s oldest republic, a tiny surviving city-state on a mountain surrounded by Italy.

A view down onto a barren landscape with at least two craters visible, and a peak beyond them.

Mount Etna

An ancient and still active volcano, influential in the sciences of volcanology and geology.

The church is primarily rectangular shapes, with no high church tower, but all of the edges - the roof lines and the windows - are embellished with detailed gothic-style stone lacework.

Monastery of Batalha

A well-preserved and impressive masterpiece of Late Flamboyant Gothic architecture with Manueline Baroque elements.

In a museum, on a small stand, a carved statue of a cow or ox. It's quite detailed in terms of the muscles that show, and the animal's face. It is missing two legs.

Archaeological Site of Olympia

Ruins of an important temple complex dedicated to Zeus, and the site of the first Olympic games.

Below where this photo was shot is a line of large statues of saints along the edge of the church's roof. Beyond that is Saint Peter's square, which is round, with pillared colonnades around the sides, except the far section which is open to a straight boulevard. The city of Rome spreads very far in the distance.

Vatican City

A tiny city-state with a long history at the center of the Catholic Church and containing magnificent works of art and architecture.

A very elegant central entrance: stairs up to an arched doorway, a rose window above that, rows of statues on the ground floor and above the door, three square towers on top, all with detailed carved ornamentation. The rest of the building is much smaller and extends on both sides out of the picture, two stories tall with simple rows of windows.

Monastery of Alcobaça

A masterpiece of Gothic Cistercian art and architecture.

Ruins of a temple, with tall columns supporting ornate pediments.

Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape

A collection of 9 archeological sites covering several historical periods of an important city’s grand monuments.

A sloped landscape with a scattering of ruins: a well is visible, and a small building, as well as foundations of more buildings and some retaining walls at Troy Archaeological Site.

Archaeological Site of Troy

Excavation of the ancient Greek city of Troy, site of the Trojan War.

Val d’Orcia

A beautiful agrarian landscape reflecting a Renaissance aesthetic.

A view of the Piazza del Plebiscito, with its elegant porticos, in the historic center of Naples.

Historic Centre of Naples

An ancient Italian city containing a wealth of elements – architecture, art, archeology – displaying its long history.

A view from the land over a section of the Amalfi Coast: clusters of houses on steep hills that drop into the sea.

Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast)

A scenic and dramatic landscape of rugged mountainous coastline and small towns crowding the slopes above the sea.

Convent of Christ in Tomar

An architectural retrospective of Portugal and the Knights Templar in the form of a monastic center dating to the 12th-16th century.

Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Ruins of a Bronze Age society that built unique circular defensive structures.