5 secret jewels to discover in Europe

5 joyaux secrets à découvrir en Europe

L'Œil magazine has curated a list of five European cities rich in art historical treasures, highlighting hidden gems for cultural getaways. The first city profiled is Mainz, Germany, featuring the Romanesque-Gothic Mainzer Dom (Imperial Cathedral of St. Martin), the Gutenberg Museum showcasing the 42-line Bible as a landmark of printing history, and the Church of St. Stephen with its iconic blue stained-glass windows designed by Marc Chagall. The second city is Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where the old town blends ancient Roman ruins (a stadium, forum, odeon, and theater from the 2nd century) with 19th-century Bulgarian National Revival houses, such as the Balabanov, Hindliyan, and Kuyumdzhioglu houses, now converted into museums.

amenhotep iii colossi of memnon restoration 2729898

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities unveiled the newly restored Colossi of Memnon, two monumental quartzite statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, at the entrance of his 86-acre Luxor tomb site. The restoration, led by German-Armenian archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian and involving Waseda University, the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and the World Monuments Fund, began in 2006 after decades of damage from earthquakes, floods, and looting. The team cleaned, 3D-scanned, and reassembled the statues using original fragments and new additions, also uncovering nearly 300 other sculptures and fragments. The Colossi now stand 45 feet tall, with the pharaoh depicted in royal regalia alongside smaller figures of his wives.

borso deste bible on view in rome 2713488

The Borso d'Este Bible, often called the 'Mona Lisa of Illuminated Manuscripts,' has gone on rare public display at the Italian Senate in Rome as part of the Vatican's Holy Year celebrations. The two-volume manuscript, commissioned by Duke Borso d'Este in the mid-15th century and created by calligrapher Pietro Paolo Marone and illuminators Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi, is usually kept in a safe at a library in Modena. It was transported with elaborate security and is now showcased behind humidity-controlled glass with a digital touch-screen experience for visitors.