Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure

Discover Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, Italy: Overlooked amid the tourist bustle of Florence, this museum is dedicated to the craft of stone inlay.

Atomic Bomb Medical Museum

Discover Atomic Bomb Medical Museum in Nagasaki, Japan: A sobering scientific reminder of the human damage caused by the advent of the nuclear age.

The Tar Barrels of Ottery St. Mary

Discover The Tar Barrels of Ottery St. Mary in Ottery Saint Mary, England: Flaming barrels of tar race through these village streets on Bonfire Night, a tradition that dates back centuries.

The Waving Girl

Discover The Waving Girl in Savannah, Georgia: A statue honoring 44 continuous years of greeting passing ships.

Tigertail Beach

Discover Tigertail Beach in Marco Island, Florida: Wading through a small lagoon reveals a secret, wild stretch of pristine beach.

The Lowest Land Point in England

Discover Holme Fen Posts in Peterborough, England: Once-buried markers show England’s lowest land point keeps getting lower.

The Three Boar Heads of Gdańsk

Discover The Three Boar Heads of Gdańsk in Gdańsk, Poland: A mysterious emblem tucked in an small alleyway is actually the coat of arms of a heroic medieval family.

Bahá’í Temple of South America

Discover Bahá’í Temple of South America in Santiago, Chile: A fantastical and futuristic temple of light built from nine monumental glass veils.

Watermelons on a Greek Statue

Discover Watermelons on a Greek Statue in Ridgefield, Connecticut: What appears to be an act of fruit vandalism is actually a cultural statement.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 261 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 480 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 514 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 642 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 137 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 172 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 256 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 151 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 98 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 168

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