The Rialto Bridge: Antonio da Ponte’s classical crossing of the Grand Canal

The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto; Venetian: Ponte de Rialto) is the oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Connecting the sestieri (districts) of San Marco and San Polo, it has been rebuilt several times since its first construction as a pontoon bridge in the 12th century, and is now a significant tourist attraction in the city.

Portrait of the Artist

Self-portrait of William Orpen, shown as part of the fantastic Glenn Brown: Fantasy Landscapes, Portraits and Beasts exhibition at the Laing.

Pietrasanta

Pietrasanta is a town and comune on the coast of northern Tuscany in Italy, in the province of Lucca. Pietrasanta is part of Versilia, on the last foothills of the Apuan Alps, about 32 kilometres (20 mi) north of Pisa. The town is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) off the coast (where the frazione of Marina di Pietrasanta is located).

Belsay Castle, Northumberland

Belsay Castle is a 14th-century medieval castle situated at Belsay, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building.

Belsay Hall, Northumberland

Belsay Hall is a notable Regency style 1807 country house located at Belsay, Northumberland. It is regarded as the first British country house to be built in entirely in new, Greek revival style. It is a Grade I listed building. It was built to supersede Belsay Castle and its adjoining earlier hall just a few hundred yards away, and part of the same estate.

Tynemouth Priory and Castle

Tynemouth Castle is located on a rocky headland (known as Pen Bal Crag), overlooking Tynemouth Pier. The moated castle-towers, gatehouse and keep are combined with the ruins of the Benedictine priory where early kings of Northumbria were buried. The coat of arms of the town of Tynemouth still includes three crowns commemorating the tradition that the Priory had been the burial place for three kings.

Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey was a 7th century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey. The abbey and its possessions were confiscated by the crown during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. The abbey church was situated overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England.

Scarborough Castle

Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The castle encompasses the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Anglo-Scandinavian settlement and chapel, the 12th-century enclosure castle and 18th-century battery.

Cædmon

Cædmon (/ˈkædmən/ or /ˈkædmɒn/; fl. c. AD 657–684) is the earliest English (Northumbrian) poet whose name is known. An Anglo-Saxon who cared for the animals at the double monastery of Streonæshalch (Whitby Abbey) during the abbacy (657–680) of St. Hilda (614–680), he was originally ignorant of “the art of song” but learned to compose one night in the course of a dream.

Canada Goose

The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a large wild goose species with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, its migration occasionally reaches northern Europe. It has been introduced to the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands.

Sunderland Minster

The Minster Church of St Michael and All Angels and St Benedict Biscop (commonly known as Sunderland Minster) is a church in Sunderland city centre, England. It was known as St Michael & All Angels Church, serving the parish of Bishopwearmouth, but was renamed on 11 January 1998 in recognition of Sunderland’s city status.

Kourion, Cyprus

Kourion (Greek: Κούριον) or Latin: Curium, was an important ancient city-state on the southwestern coast of Cyprus. The acropolis of Kourion, located 1.3 km southwest of Episkopi and 13 km west of Limassol, is located atop a limestone promontory nearly one hundred metres in height along the coast of Episkopi Bay.

Kolossi Castle

Kolossi Castle is a former Crusader stronghold on the south-west edge of Kolossi village 14 kilometres (9 mi) west of the city of Limassol on the island of Cyprus. It held great strategic importance in the Middle Ages, and contained large facilities for the production of sugar from the local sugarcane, one of Cyprus’s main exports in the period.

Thomas Bewick

Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 1753 – 8 November 1828) was an English engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, and illustrating children’s books.

Great Black-backed Gull

The great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), also known as the greater black-backed gull, is the largest member of the gull family. It breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and is fairly sedentary, though some move farther south or inland to large lakes or reservoirs. The adult great black-backed gull has a white head, neck and underparts, dark grey wings and back, pink legs and yellow bill.

The Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England and its length (excluding tributaries) is 73 miles (118 km). It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed ‘The Meeting of the Waters’.

Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne

The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne (or the Lit & Phil as it is popularly known) is a historical library in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and the largest independent library outside London. The library is still available for both lending (to members) and as a free reference library.