Cultural Preservation

Firefighters work to control the blaze at the National Art Gallery in Abkhazia on January 21.

Fire Destroys 4,000 Paintings at Abkhazia's National Art Gallery

The blaze, which spared only some 150 artworks, is a devastating cultural loss for the region

Turkey’s government hopes the new policies will help protect the 1,500-year-old landmark in Istanbul.

Hagia Sophia Introduces Entry Fee for Foreign Tourists

Worshippers will be able to use a separate entrance to gain free access to the 1,500-year-old landmark in Istanbul

The National Portrait Gallery in London is missing 45 items, according to PA Media's investigation.

What Are the 1,700 Items Missing From England's Museums?

Freedom of information requests have revealed more details about absent artifacts from the last 20 years

An illustration of Lucayan divers spearfishing for parrotfish, turtles and conch

How Archaeologists Are Unearthing the Secrets of the Bahamas' First Inhabitants

Spanish colonizers enslaved the Lucayans, putting an end to their lineage by 1530

Marie Curie was the first individual to win two Nobel Prizes.

Building Used by Marie Curie Saved From Demolition

Cultural heritage supporters are hoping to see the facility listed as a protected site

Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral under renovation on December 8, 2023

Plans to Install Contemporary Stained-Glass Windows in Notre-Dame Cathedral Spark Backlash

French officials have called on artists to submit designs for six new windows in the structure's south aisle

As many as 23,000 tourists visited the Acropolis per day last summer.

You Can Soon Take a Private Tour of the Acropolis—For a Steep Price

Scheduled to begin April 1, the off-hours visits will cost €5,000 ($5,500) per group

The Two Towers in Bologna, Italy, on December 14, 2023

Donations Help Save Bologna's 12th-Century Leaning Tower

Officials recently shut down the area around the increasingly delicate structure

Aerial view of construction work on the Maya Train on August 31, 2023

First Section of Mexico's Controversial Maya Train Opens

The rail system, built to connect tourist destinations, has been criticized for endangering archaeological and environmental sites

A crane lifts the new golden rooster to the top of Notre-Dame Cathedral's spire on December 16, 2023.

Notre-Dame Gets New Spire and Golden Rooster

The return of these two distinctive features marks a poignant milestone in the cathedral's reconstruction

Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990)

'Home Alone,' 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and More Join the National Film Registry

Twenty-five films were chosen based on their "cultural, historic or aesthetic" importance

Italian opera singing is now among the hundreds of cultural practices officially recognized by UNESCO.

Italian Opera Singing Is Now Protected by the U.N.

UNESCO announced 55 new additions to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The biocrust is made up of lichen, mosses and cyanobacteria.

Parts of China's Great Wall Are Protected by a 'Living Cover' of Biocrusts

The layer of lichen, moss and cyanobacteria helps shield the historic structure from erosion, a new study finds

The Banksy mural in Dover, England, showed a worker chipping away a star on the European Union flag.

Banksy's Brexit Mural in Dover Has Been Demolished

Contractors are working to determine whether restoration of the piece's remains is possible

A visitor examines artifacts from the exhibition "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam in 2014.

Hundreds of Crimean Treasures Return to Ukraine After Long Legal Battle

When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the artifacts were on loan to a museum in the Netherlands

Banksy's Migrant Child has endured damage from the elements since it appeared in 2019. 

Why Restoring a Banksy Mural in Venice Is So Controversial

Critics argue that the street artist may have intended for the work to deteriorate over time

Detail of the rediscovered "fiend" in Joshua Reynolds' painting The Death of Cardinal Beaufort (1789)

Hidden Demon Revealed in the Shadows of a Joshua Reynolds Painting

Conservators have restored the malignant spirit, which generated controversy among 18th-century audiences

These five creepy dolls are in the running for this year's competition.

Which of These Vintage Dolls Do You Find the Creepiest?

Now in its fifth year, an annual contest spotlights a Minnesota museum's historical doll collection

The Aztec snakehead was discovered beneath a law school in Mexico City after an earthquake.

Earthquake in Mexico City Reveals 500-Year-Old Aztec Snakehead

The nearly six-foot-long sculpture features well-preserved colors on 80 percent of its surface

Crews painstakingly removed mud layer by layer to expose the vessel.

Workers Unearth 19th-Century Shipwreck Beneath a Road in Florida

The 19-foot-long vessel was found alongside a kerosene lamp, leather shoes, coins and other artifacts

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