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February 24, 2010

Mission to Port-au-Prince

Following the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, WMF Program Director for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, Norma Barbacci traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and reports that scores of monumental public buildings, including the Government Palace, as well as many of the most important churches, lay in ruins.

February 18, 2010

Mission to Santo Domingo and Jacmel

The aftershocks of the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12 were still being felt three weeks later when, from February 3 to 6, 2010, WMF Program Director for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, Norma Barbacci, joined an international mission to Santo Domingo and Jacmel.

February 12, 2010

Earthquake in Haiti

As the people of Haiti recover from this catastrophe, WMF is committed to helping in recovery efforts, bringing our expertise in disaster response to this devastated country. We will be coordinating our work in Haiti with HELP (Haitian Education & Leadership Program), the group that nominated the Gingerbread Houses of Port-au-Prince to the 2010 Watch.

February 03, 2010

A Nice Day For A Ride Along The Merritt Parkway

I lucked out when I scheduled my ride on the <a href="/project/bridges-merritt-parkway">Merritt Parkway</a> on a perfectly sunny, clear, cold day in early January. Jill Smyth, the Director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy (MPC), picked me up at the Stamford train station and we began our visit with a drive to the southern gateway.

December 21, 2009

Climbing the Blue Mosque’s Minaret

Have you ever climbed a minaret? Admittedly, it can be scary to perch on a small balcony, over 100 feet above the ground. Next question: have you ever climbed a minaret FROM THE OUTSIDE?

December 18, 2009

Illuminating St. George’s Bloomsbury

The installation of a 17th-century Dutch chandelier this November marked the completion of WMF Britain’s seven-year, nine-million-pound restoration project at St. George’s Bloomsbury, master architect Nicholas Hawksmoor’s sixth and last London church.

December 16, 2009

Santiago: Heroic City

After <a href="/journal/old-havana-no-receipt-you">Havana,</a> I flew to Santiago, the second city of Cuba, located in the Oriente region at the eastern end of the island. It is called “heroic city” for its role as the cradle of all the revolutionary wars of Cuba. It was founded in 1515 and its first mayor was Hernán Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico. Its wealth came from the production of coffee, copper, sugar, and, more recently, rum.

December 15, 2009

In Old Havana: No Receipt for You

Going to Cuba is always an adventure. On this, my fourth trip to the island, I stood out at the Miami airport while waiting in line with an all-male church group and several Cuban American families bringing multiple plastic-wrapped bundles.

December 14, 2009

Locals Celebrate Placement of Ujumbe Palace on 2010 Watch

In the Comoros Islands, an African archipelago near Madagascar, the local community of Mutsamudu celebrated the placement of Ujumbe Palace on the 2010 World Monuments Watch.