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When selfies go wrong: don’t smash, break or damage artworks!
An Italian student smashed a Greek sculpture at Milan’s Academy of Fine Arts of Brera after he hopped on its lap in order to capture that perfect selfie.
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In Oaxaca, Mexico, you can’t celebrate the holidays without radishes!
Every year on December 23, the Mexican state of Oaxaca presents the most impressive display of carved vegetables in the world.
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The Castle of San Antonio (Castillo San Antonio De La Eminencia) is a fortification built in the XVII century in the vicinity of Cumaná. The castle was built between 1659 and 1686 on the Pan de Asucar hill, from where it rises predominantly over the city. The castle grounds offer views of the Cariaco Basin and the Araya Peninsula. The fortification in the form of a four-pointed star, with walls two meters thick and powerful artillery: it remained an active defensive structure until the XIX century. Tunnels and underground passages connect the castle with the city to the present day.
Like many Venezuelan fortresses that had lost their defensive function, San Antonio served as a prison: political prisoners were held within its walls.
In 1906, the then President of the Republic, General Cipriano Castro, visited Cumaná and ordered the engineer Bartolomé Milá de la Roca Himiob to reconstruct the fortress. The old colonial walls were covered with masonry with towers, battlements, and other decorations typical of military architecture. Renovation work began in May 1906. However, in January 1929, an earthquake caused very serious damage to the old structure of the fortress, which had already been damaged by an earthquake in July 1853.
The castle was the headquarters of a military establishment until 1945. There were barracks named after Antonio José de Sucre, one of the leaders of the war of independence of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. After a new seism, restoration work continued. Cumaná engineer Jesús Salazar Boada supervised the reconstruction until 1956: the walls were restored and another structural damage was repaired. Efficient and competent work made it possible to prevent the castle from turning into ruins and debris.
The castle is accessible to the public and the guides ' stories will help you learn the impressive history of this architectural monument. Today, the Castle of San Antonio is a real historical fortification gem of Cumaná. The building rises in the center of modern Cumaná, near the Church of Santa Inés.
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