Pompei Italy

Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in Italy. It was destroyed, and completely buried, during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in AD 79. The volcano collapsed roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is both one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Albarracin Spain

Albarracin is a small, colorful village in the northeastern part of Spain in the autonomous community of Aragon. The village is known for its beautiful structures built of carved wood and stone decorated with ornate iron fixtures produced in the local forges. A striking reddish color dominates the houses that are perched on narrow streets on the steep hillsides. The region, one of the least populated of Spain, is famous for its cured ham and Moorish influence.

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Antigua Guatemala

Antigua is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruins of colonial churches. Spanish conquistadors founded present-day Antigua in 1543. For more than 200 years it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, a large region that included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost State of Mexico. In 1773, a series of earthquakes destroyed much of the town. Antigua is noted for its very elaborate religious celebrations during Lent, leading up to Holy Week (Semana Santa) and Easter. Each Sunday in Lent, one of the local parishes sponsors a Procession through the streets of Antigua. There are many Spanish language schools located in Antigua and tourism is a major part of the local economy. Three large volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This article is based on work found at Wikipedia. A list of contributors is available a the original article. This article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license.