Built in the 1240s by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in southeast Italy, Castel del Monte (Castle of the Mount) features an unusual octagonal design. Eight stone walls stretch between eight octagonal towers and enclose an octagonal courtyard. Each of the two floors also has eight trapezoidal rooms. Acclaimed and protected as a World Heritage Site in 1996, the castle symbolically reflects a harmonious integration of classical Roman, Arabic, and medieval architecture and design—and to some, its octagonal symmetry suggests a connection between heaven and earth.
An octagonal architectural treasure
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
The (Inca) empire strikes back
-
Make your list and check it twice
-
Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland
-
Memorial Day
-
This view is brought to you by…
-
Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
-
World Penguin Day
-
Looking down on the Otter
-
Frost on autumn leaves
-
Ponta Delgada
-
A day for the oceans
-
It’s Draw a Bird Day
-
Wyoming celebrates its statehood
-
Frozen fun in the Canadian cold
-
Dance of the egret
-
Hay, what s up?
-
Haaga Rhododendron Park
-
Aw shucks, It s Oyster Day
-
Knuthöjdsmossen, a nature reserve in Sweden
-
International Beaver Day
-
Waiting for winter
-
Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
-
World Otter Day
-
Seasonal lights dazzle in Japan
-
Male kori bustard, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
-
World Migratory Bird Day
-
Happy Halloween!
-
A field of English lavender
-
An island for the birds
-
The owl that loved football