Top 50 Museum News Reviews, Resources & Services

• $5 Million Reward - "FBI and Gardner Museum Seeking Recovery of Stolen Art."
• 7 Best UNESCO World Heritage Sites You Can Visit Without Leaving Home - "The coronavirus has brought travel to a standstill. The good news is that there are ways to indulge your wanderlust and exercise your mind without leaving the house. Thanks to Google and UNESCO, you can visit many of the world’s most awe-inspiring official World Heritage Sites without the crowds or the jet lag."
• 10 most misleading American historical sites - "Historical plaques are often anything but informative. Here are some of the worst offenders."
• 10 of the world’s best virtual museum & art gallery tours - "The originals are out of reach for now, but you can still see world-class art - without the queues or ticket prices - with an online tour of these famous museums."
• 10 virtual tours of the world’s most famous landmarks - "They’re closed for now but you can still take an interactive online tour, to gaze over the edge of Machu Picchu and marvel at the Pyramids from every angle."
• 13 ancient heritage sites ruined by vandals - The Telegraph.
• 20 greatest modern landmarks on Earth - The Telegraph.
• 20 incredible new World Heritage Sites - The Telegraph.
• 20 Most Beautiful Museums in the World - Flavorwire.
• 25 amazing new World Heritage Sites for 2017 - The Telegraph.
• 25 Years After Gardner Museum Heist, Video Raises Questions - The New York Times.
• 42 incredible museums to visit in your lifetime - The Telegraph.
• 123 World Museums & Galleries List - the ultimate source of authentic and reliable information about the Museums and Galleries on the net.
• 1,000 Years of Art at the Edge of the Gobi Desert - The New York Times.
• 2016 World Monuments Watch - features 50 sites in 36 countries that are at risk from the forces of nature and the impact of social, political, and economic change.
• 2019 WHC Session added 21 bringing the total to 1113 - World Heritage Site for World Heritage Travellers. Pictures, Info and Travel Reports.
• 4,500-Year-Old Ramp Contraption May Have Been Used to Build Egypt's Great Pyramid - "Archaeologists have long wondered exactly how the ancient Egyptians constructed the world's biggest pyramid, the Great Pyramid. Now, they may have discovered the system used to haul massive stone blocks into place some 4,500 years ago."
• $42,000 way to experience Florence's Accademia art museum - CNN travel.
• A glimpse behind the scenes of Giza’s Grand Egyptian Museum - "Egypt’s vast, much-delayed museum is scheduled to open in 2020. But while Tutankhamun’s treasures are being readied for tourists, some critics see the building as a vanity project."
• After the deluge: A tourist visits flood-hit Venice - CNN travel.
• An App That Will Forever Change How You Enjoy Museums - Wired.
• An Everyman Museum to Celebrate American Writers - The New York Times.
• Antiquity - since 1927. Academic journal dedicated to the subject of archaeology. It publishes six issues a year, covering topics worldwide from all periods. Since 2015, the journal has been published by Cambridge University Press.
• Architect unveils striking proposal for 'green' Notre Dame - "The rebuilt Notre Dame could feature a futuristic glass design, solar power, and an urban farm that supports vulnerable and homeless Parisians, if one architecture firm's vision is realized."
• art & artefacts destroyed by the world’s greatest museums - "A sitar that once belonged to George Harrison was broken at the V&A - and this was far from the first time a gallery has had to make an awkward apology."
• ART PROJECT - explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels, and even create and share your own collection of masterpieces. Powered by Google.
• Arts & Culture - Google’s New App Brings Hundreds of Museums to Your Phone.
• AUGMENTED REALITY IS TRANSFORMING MUSEUMS - Wired.
• Austria is giving Hitler's birthplace a $5.6M facelift - "Austrian architects will transform Hitler's birthplace into a police station."
• Axe that killed Trotsky & waterboarding 'kit' stir up controversy. The dark side of Washington's spy museum - "The bugged shoes and poison brollies are fun and fascinating. But why are the sections about state-sponsored torture and assassination so uncritical?"
• Ayasofya: the mosque-turned-museum at the heart of an ideological battle - "Turkey’s decision to secularise the building was symbolic - so is Erdoğan’s support for reversing it."
• Babylon – how war almost erased ‘mankind’s greatest heritage site’ - The Guardian.
• 'Bent' pyramid: Egypt opens ancient oddity for tourism - "Pharoah Sneferu’s structure marks key step in Egyptian architecture, as builders had to change the angle when it started to crack."
• Britain's equivalent to Tutankhamun found in Southend-on-Sea - "Burial chamber of a wealthy nobleman in Prittlewell shows Anglo-Saxon Essex in new light."
• Colosseum reopens to tourists: 'With so few of us we can enjoy it more' - "Roman site begins admitting small groups as Italy scrambles to salvage its tourism sector."
• Dead Sea scrolls study raises new questions over texts' origins - "Salts used on Temple scroll are not common to Dead Sea region, researchers find."
• Did the romans really reach Scotland? - "Hadrian's Wall may be older, bigger, stronger and better known, but the Unesco-listed Antonine Wall was the real final frontier of the Roman Empire."
• Discovering King Tutankhamun's tomb - BBC.
• Dubai's next iconic landmark - "Dubai's Museum of the Future: A new world icon?"
• Dutch gallery removes racist artwork titles - The Telegraph.
• Easter Island moai statue destroyed by truck - "One of Easter Island's world-famous moai statues has been destroyed in an accident."
• Egypt archaeologists find 20 ancient coffins near Luxor - "Archaeologists have found more than 20 ancient wooden coffins near the Egyptian city of Luxor, the country's antiquities ministry says."
• Egypt's Great Pyramid: The New Evidence - Daily Mail.
• Elgin's casts of Parthenon marbles reveal details since lost from statues - "Findings could shine fresh light on some of the most celebrated monuments in classical art."
• European Heritage Days - European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, Europe: a common heritage. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. It aims to widen access and foster care for architectural and environmental heritage. These events are also known as Doors Open Days and Open Doors Days in English-speaking countries.
• EUROPEANA - since 2008. "Think Culture." Currently provides access to over 50 million objects from European libraries, museums, archives, galleries, and audiovisual collections. More than 3,500 heritage institutions contribute cultural content in Europeana. Their number and geographic coverage are steadily growing.
• EVERY WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN ONE HOLIDAY - 962 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE sites - VeryFirstTo.com.
• Experience The Met, Anywhere - 5,000 years of art online. How do you want to experience it today? The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
• Farnese collection - the classical sculptures in the Farnese Collection, one aspect of this large art collection, are one of the first collections of artistic items from Greco-Roman Antiquity. It includes some of the most influential classical works, including the sculptures that were part of the Farnese Marbles, their collection of statuary. The works are now displayed in the Naples National Archaeological Museum in Naples and the British Museum in London.
• fountains that make up to a MILLION dollars a year from loose change thrown in the water - Daily Mail.
• French museum discovers half of its collection are fakes - The Telegraph.
• Getty Search Gateway - allows users to search across several of the Getty repositories, including collections databases, library catalogs, collection inventories, and archival finding aids.
• GLAM - acronym for "galleries, libraries, archives, and museums".
• GOOGLE ART PROJECT - "Powered by Google". Online compilation of high-resolution images of artworks from galleries worldwide, as well as a virtual tour of the galleries in which they are housed.
• Google’s New App Brings Hundreds of Museums to Your Phone - Wired.
• Historical Hitler Sites - "This website gives information about the exact locations of historical Hitler sites. The places Adolf Hitler grew up, the houses he lived in, the trips he made and the halls he spoke in: most of them can be found back on the Hitler Pages."
• Hong Kong's richest man opens $380M Buddhist museum - "Hong Kong's richest man is opening a multi-million-dollar Buddhist art museum at a monastery in the territory."
• How King Tut exhibitions became a multimillion-dollar industry - "In 1922, Howard Carter made the most exciting archaeological discovery of the 20th century. Working with backing from George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, the Egyptologist uncovered a tomb just west of Luxor and the Nile River, in the Valley of the Kings."
• Hundreds of Roman gold coins found in basement of old theater - CNN style.
• International Committee of the Blue Shield | ICBS - founded in 1996 "to work to protect the world's cultural heritage threatened by wars and natural disasters". It has been described as the "Cultural Red Cross", and its name derives from the usage of the blue shield as specified in the 1954 Hague Convention on Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict.
• International Museum Day (IMD) - since 1977. International day held annually on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The event highlights a specific theme which changes every year to reflect the basis of the international museum community's preoccupations. Each year, all museums in the world are invited to participate in IMD to promote the role of museums around in the world, creating unique, enjoyable and free activities around a theme discussed within the ICOM community for this special day.
• Iran's sites of cultural importance In pictures - "Following the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, US President Donald Trump has threatened to respond to any Iranian retaliation by attacking Iranian cultural sites. There are hundreds of such sites with historical significance in Iran, more than 20 with Unesco World Heritage status. Here is a selection of some of the most important."
• It's time for museums to return their stolen treasures - "No less than 90% of African cultural property resides in European museums, according to a report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has decided that much of it must be returned. However, the British Museum has refused to give back to Greece the half of the Parthenon Marbles stolen by Lord Elgin."
• Italian court blocks loan of Leonardo's famed 'Vitruvian Man' to Louvre - "Culture and heritage group Italia Nostra argued that Leonardo's "Vitruvian Man" sketch was too fragile to be transported to the Louvre, where it was expected to be included in an exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of the artist's death."
• Italy's new ruins: heritage sites being lost to neglect & looting - "Overgrown and weathered, many historical monuments are disappearing as public funds for culture fail to match modern Italy’s inheritance."
• Leaning Tower of Pisa loses some of its tilt - "The Leaning Tower of Pisa has slowly started defying its name, losing four centimeters of its tilt over the past 17 years."
• Leonardo da Vinci five centuries on: Louvre in Paris opens long-awaited exhibition - "It took more than a decade to prepare and was almost thwarted by a diplomatic row. Now, one of the world's most expensive art exhibitions - to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death - is finally opening to the public."
• LIST OF LANDMARKS - a comprehensive list of major landmarks around the world.
• LIST OF MAGIC MUSEUMS - Wikipedia.
• LISTS OF THE WORLDS MUSEUMS BY COUNTRY - Wikipedia.
• Louvre debuts its biggest ever Leonardo exhibition - "Biggest Leonardo da Vinci show ever opens (But without two key paintings)."
• Lutetian Limestone - a variety of limestone particular to the Paris, France, area. It has been a source of wealth as an economic and versatile building material since ancient Roman times and has contributed markedly to the unique visual appeal of the “City of Light”. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Lutetian limestone was extracted by tunneling through hill-sides south of Paris. The stone comprises many of the grandest Paris buildings from the 17th century onwards, including parts of the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde and Les Invalides.
• Mapped: All the world's 1,031 World Heritage Sites - The Telegraph.
• Marie Antoinette's Versailles apartments on display - "After three years of renovation, French Queen Marie Antoinette's apartments are to reopen to the public at the Château of Versailles."
• MEMORY OF THE WORLD - UNESCO's programme aiming at preservation and dissemination of valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide.
• METRO MUSEUMS - an international list of metro / subway, railway and tram museums.
• Mona Lisa is moving - what does it take to keep her safe? - "She's one of the world's most recognisable faces, with a smile that's been printed on mugs, bags and T-shirts across the globe. But she's only left her country a handful of times, and has stayed in the same room for 14 years."
• Monuments of Slave Traders, Genociders & Imperialists Are Becoming Flashpoints in Global Anti-Racism Protests - "Protesters in Bristol pulled down an Edward Colston statue—and now there's a movement to get rid of other monuments that serve as reminders of racial injustice."
• most overrated tourist attractions based on TripAdvisor reviews - INSIDER.
• mummies' secrets uncovered in Egypt - The Guardian.
• museum culture: take your time - "The crowds being hurried through galleries too often miss out on the experience they came for - but opportunities remain."
• New discovery throws light on mystery of pyramids' construction - "Egyptologists stumble across ramp that helps explain how huge blocks of stones were hauled into place."
• New Palmyra - "Join us in making #NEWPALMYRA reality!"
• New sphinx uncovered in Egypt - CNN travel.
• NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD - Wikipedia.
• New York’s Arts for All - "A library card opens the door to culture in New York."
• Not Your Average Autograph Collection - The New York Times.
• Notre Dame rector: Fragile cathedral might not be saved - "The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there’s a '50% chance' the structure might not be saved, because scaffolding installed before this year’s fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument."
• Notre-Dame: The story of the fire in graphics & images - "An investigation has begun into the fire that swept through the medieval cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, destroying its roof and spire. Much of the roof was covered in scaffolding as part of a big renovation programme, which is being investigated as a possible cause of the blaze."
• On the Trail of a Lover Boy in the Age of Enlightenment - "Seducer, scammer, courtier: Giacomo Casanova hovers like a governing spirit over the art of the 18th century in a sumptuous new show at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts."
• Open Content Program - The Getty. "The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images (approx. 4,600) to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required."
• Perfectly preserved ancient Roman mosaic floor discovered in Italy - "A beautiful and remarkably well preserved mosaic floor from ancient Rome has been discovered by archaeologists in northern Italy."
• Pompeii dig unearths fighting fresco in 'gladiators' tavern' - "Well-preserved find on wall beneath stairwell is latest discovery at Regio V site."
• Pompeii ruins show that the Romans invented recycling - "Excavations reveal that rubbish left outside the city walls wasn’t just dumped. It was being collected, sorted and resold."
• Pompeii's destruction date could be wrong - "Vesuvius eruption may have been later than thought."
• Pompeii's House of Lovers reopens to public after 40 years - "Jewel of ancient Roman city was severely damaged by destructive earthquake in 1980."
• RED TOURISM - definition & explanation.
• Rome city council & Church row over coins from Trevi fountain - "A row has broken out between the mayor of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church over what should happen to coins retrieved from the Trevi fountain."
• Seeing a Cash Cow in Museums’ Precious Art - The New York Times.
• Sinking city: how Venice is managing Europe's worst tourism crisis - "Venice’s booming tourism industry is threatening the city’s very survival. But grassroots initiatives are making a difference - and may even help other cities."
• Stonehenge: DNA reveals origin of builders - "The ancestors of the people who built Stonehenge travelled west across the Mediterranean before reaching Britain, a study has shown."
• Surprise! The world's oldest mummies are not in Egypt - "Oldest mummies found in driest place on Earth."
• Table of World Heritage Sites by country - Wikipedia.
• The American who bought London Bridge - "The bridge that crossed an ocean."
• The best of ancient Egypt - "Egypt's ancient discoveries keep coming."
• The Brazil Museum Fire: What Was Lost - "Some items in the collection are irreplaceable to science, as well as the country’s national memory."
• The Cultivist - "The world’s only global arts club offering uniquely privileged access to every aspect of the art world." With a single card, you glide through museums, galleries and art fairs worldwide: no tickets, no bookings, no complications.
• The Cultivist’s Top 12 International Hidden Art Gems - The New York Times.
• The Da Vinci mystery: why is his $450m masterpiece really being kept under wraps? - "When the unveiling of the long-lost Salvator Mundi was cancelled last month, there were cries of fake. But is there more to the controversy surrounding the world’s most expensive painting?"
• The Most Stolen Artwork of All Time - "When an entire cathedral has been searched six times and its floor x-rayed 10 meters deep to try and find a stolen painting, you know it's an important work of art that's gone missing."
• The mystery that still surrounds the Shroud of Turin - CNN travel.
• The ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’ - The New York Times.
• The real story behind some of America’s most iconic places - "Mount Rushmore, Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty: Story behind iconic places."
• The secret to skipping the queues at the world's most crowded attractions - The Telegraph.
• The secrets of London's most famous bridges - CNN travel.
• This 4,500-Year-Old Ramp Contraption May Have Been Used to Build Egypt's Great Pyramid - "Archaeologists have long wondered exactly how the ancient Egyptians constructed the world's biggest pyramid, the Great Pyramid. Now, they may have discovered the system used to haul massive stone blocks into place some 4,500 years ago."
• This is what ancient statues really looked like - "'Gods in Color' returns antiquities to their original, colorful grandeur."
• Triple-decker: how the Mary Rose had room for 500 men - "A new book shows how, to house its massive crew, Henry VIII’s favourite warship had one more deck than was originally thought."
• Tutankhamun's tomb: Evidence grows for hidden chamber - BBC News.
• UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE LIST - catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.
• Vatican's Secret Archives no longer officially secret after renaming - "Pope says new name for trove of priceless papers will be the Vatican Apostolic Archives."
• Venice is under water. Can its landmarks be saved? - "Venice is flooding -- what lies ahead for its cultural and historical sites?"
• Voice of a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy reproduced by 3-D printing a vocal tract - "The team were able to accurately reproduce a single sound, which sounds a bit like a long, exasperated 'meh' without the 'm.'"
• Want to See All the Vermeers in the World? Now’s Your Chance - "Meet Vermeer, a new augmented-reality app from the Mauritshuis museum and Google, is a virtual museum containing images of all authenticated Vermeer paintings."
• Why do so many Egyptian statues have broken noses? - "The ancient Egyptians, it's important to note, ascribed important powers to images of the human form. They believed that the essence of a deity could inhabit an image of that deity, or, in the case of mere mortals, part of that deceased human being's soul could inhabit a statue inscribed for that particular person. These campaigns of vandalism were therefore intended to 'deactivate an image's strength,'.
• Why India has been ordered to save the Taj Mahal - Lonely Planet.
• Why is the Taj Mahal crumbling? - "The Taj Mahal is India's most famous building, attracting millions of tourists. But a combination of neglect and pollution is threatening its existence."
• Why returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece would be madness - The Telegraph.
• Why the myths of Troy are still being told today - "The story of the epic war fought over a woman has been told many times. It now lies at the heart of an ongoing exhibition at the British Museum."
• Wonders of the World - Wikipedia.
• world’s 50 best museums - The Times.
• World's biggest dinosaur skeleton unveiled in New York - The Guardian.
• world's greatest monuments - the wrong way round - The Telegraph.
• world's largest churches - The Telegraph.
• World's most beautiful castles - CNN travel.
• World's most popular museums in 2018 - CNN travel.
• World’s top 500 sights revealed in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist 2015