Malta’s Lost Luxury: Palaces, Casinos & Wineries
(images via: anecdotes from malta, apes_abroad, pierre micallef-grim)
The island nation of Malta is packed full of mansions, hotels, shops, wineries and other establishments that were built during times of extraordinary prosperity and subsequently abandoned. But these aren’t your ordinary contemporary suburban houses made of wood framing and drywall; they’re often architectural gems, almost as beautiful in their disuse as they were when they were in their prime. Various vacation complexes can be found all over the island still containing furniture, toys, shoes and other personal items. Many of these places have been catalogued on the blog ‘Anecdotes from Malta.’
Abandoned Medieval Village of Anavatos, Greece
(images via: discover chios, flyingarchitect)
In 1822, the peace of the medieval village of Anavatos, Greece was shattered when tens of thousands of Greeks on the island of Chios were slaughtered by Ottoman troops in the midst of the Greek War of Independence. Anavatos is a Byzantine settlement built atop a conical cliff, looking out over the island some 450 meters above the sea. Fortified as it might have been, with only one access point, the town was invaded and its residents killed. No one ever took up residence in these stone houses again, and it became a national monument.
Underwater Statue of Jesus Christ, Mediterranean Sea
(images via: wikimedia commons, san-fruttuoso.net)
The original ‘Christ of the Abyss’ underwater statue can be found 17 meters (75 feet) below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea off San Futtuoso, Italy. Placed in the water in 1954, the bronze statue is the one from which others – including the famous tourist attraction in Key Largo – were cast. It was placed near the spot where Dario Gonzatti, the first Italian to use SCUBA gear, died in 1947. In 2009, scub-diving ‘satanists’ supposedly hacked off both of the statue’s arms, but it’s unclear whether they’ve since been restored.
