Latest news with #LordByron
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
The Flagship Venice Hotel Offering Tranquility In The Tides Of Tourism
Aerial View of Campanile di San Marco and San Marco Square at Sunrise in Venice The pointed pinnacle of Campanile di San Marco looms over the docks of San Marco in Venice. Its shadow—cast from a gilded weather vane in the shape of archangel Gabriel 323-feet in the air—has marked the passing of days over the most famous plaza in Venice for more than a century. Other towers on this site have done the same for more than a millennia. Each year, around 20 million visitors disembark in Venice. They arrive via train, airplane and most famously, by boat. Nearly all of them pass beneath Gabriel's golden wings, where bobbing gondolas and pop-up villages of souvenir stands peddle everything from Venetian flags to magnets, underwear and bobble heads of Rocky Balboa and Lebron James. 80-percent of Venetian tourism takes place from March to September, when warmer weather and friendly skies cast a golden glow over one of the world's most famous small cities. Once the capital of a sprawling maritime empire, Venice has long been a crossroads of human civilization and an epicenter for tourism. In the 17th century, Venice became a seminal stop on Europe's 'Grand Tour,' a semi-educational sojourn for the continent's young aristocrats. Enlightenment-era writers like Lord Byron and Johann Wolfvang von Goethe penned glowing accounts of visits to the water-bound city; and tourism in Venice has been increasing ever since. Three centuries since the popularization of tourism in the city, Venice is still a bucket list destination for any 'grand tour' of Europe. Despite efforts from the Venetian government to stem some of the relentless tide of tourism, the undeniable draw of the city's canals and culture has proved insatiable. All of those visitors have an impact: 70-percent of the city's income in its historic center is directly related to tourism. It's estimated that the city's population has declined from about 175,000 in the 1950s to fewer than 50,000 today. And in April 2024, Venice became the first metropolis in the world to charge an admission fee to day trippers, in an effort to curb over tourism. During peak season stepping off of a boat and onto the city's stone streets can feel like entering a human pinball machine—especially near the city's main attractions of St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge. But centuries after travelers first started flocking to Venice, braving the crowds, lines and pickpockets still feels worth it. Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, ... More April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) A day spent in Venice during peak season means barreling through narrow streets in pursuit of cannoli's and side-stepping selfie seekers en route to Aperol spritz. Yet, it also means opportunities to venture away from the throngs in search of quieter neighborhoods where curious travelers can peer into ancient crypts, gaze at the relics of Catholic saints and marvel at the scale, horror and detail of masterworks of Renaissance art. Venice means tourism; yet it also means modern art, ancient industrial works and a mercurial history of a city-state turned empire that tells a story like few in the world. Venice in peak season is a paradox: a city strained under the weight of its own allure. In the summer months, the narrow alleys of San Marco echo with the chatter of global accents. The canals teem with hundreds of gondolas vying for space while charging Є90 for 30-minute tours. The city's charm is undeniable, but so is the challenge of navigating it amidst the crowds. While strolling the quieter confines of neighborhoods like Castello, Dorsoduro or Cannaregio offers respite during the day, Marriott's flagship brand—JW Marriott—is hanging its hat on a reprieve that lasts all night. A 20-minute boat ride from San Marco brings travelers to Isola delle Rose, a 16-acre, manmade island in the Venetian lagoon that formerly housed a respiratory hospital. The JW Marriott Venice occupies Isola delle Rose or Sacca Sessola, one of the largest manmade ... More islands in the Venetian lagoon. In 2001, Marriott acquired the island and converted it into the JW Marriott Venice, a flagship hotel on its own private island designed to host upscale travelers and their families. On Isola della Rose, olive groves line green spaces flanked with crowd-free paths ripe for biking. Cooking classes hosted by Sapori Cooking Academy give visitors to Venice insight into classic, Italian cuisine in a family-friendly environment. And a rooftop restaurant delivers panoramic sunset views of Venice that can only be seen outside of the city proper. 'The property is gorgeous,' says American sports broadcaster Jessica Benson, who ventured to Venice for a honeymoon. 'From the moment we saw a video of the dreamy boat entrance into the JW Venice, we knew we wanted to stay there on our honeymoon. It was so picturesque.' Bensons says she had husband Chris Luther were enticed by the hotel's secluded location, 'an oasis away from the city." La Maisonette accommodations provide enough room for families to spread out away from the crowded ... More streets of Venice. The JW Marriott Venice still feels like a Marriott, a stylish but intentionally subdued place. The hotel's modern styling sits in contrast to the Renaissance architecture dominating the city. While honeymooners like Benson can enjoy private studio suites and fine dining at Agli Amici Dopolavoro, run by a Michelin-starred chef, there is also an on-site pizza restaurant for kids. Junior suites deliver enough space for a family of three to sprawl out in between taxi rides into Venice, and a poolside rooftop bar offers respite for parents monitoring high energy kiddos swimming away summertime twilight. Families are a major focus for the property, says Marriott marketing specialist Andrea Congregalli. The hotel hosts an on-site "Kids Club" for guests as young as four years old. Activities include Venetian mask making, badminton, archery classes and special STEM enrichment games designed in collaboration with LEGO. 'There aren't many places in Venice where you can enjoy the outdoors like this,' adds Congregalli, a Venice-area native whose watched tourism return to pre-pandemic levels in his hometown. 'The island doesn't even really feel like the city," he adds. 'It's a quiet place to escape.'
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Fury as half-naked 'British' pole dancers hold 'disgraceful' photoshoot at historic Greek palace
A troupe of pole dancers have sparked fury in Greece after video circulated of them staging an underwear photoshoot in front of the Old Palace on Corfu. Greek media shared video showing British onlookers watching the performing artists outside the Palace of St. Michael and St. George in the early hours of this morning. Two women were seen balancing together on a pole in bright red underwear. As local outlet Protothema assessed: 'Understandably, there were several reactions regarding who gave permission for such a photo shoot in the city centre.' The former royal residence, commissioned by British Lord High Commissioner Sir Thomas Maitland and designed by Colonel George Whitmore, stands pride of place in the Old Town of Corfu, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Dozens of residents expressed furious reactions on social media over the photoshoot in little clothing outside the historic palace. Some commenters claimed, without providing evidence, that the dancers were British. 'The Corfu Palaces: they once hosted royals. Now, pole dancing,' commenter Panagiotis Kalogeros wrote on Facebook. 'If Lord Byron saw pole dancing at the Palaces, he would have returned to England without a second thought.' 'Would they do the same at Buckingham [Palace]?' wrote another. 'Of course, here we have been the inferior in Europe for years on vacation and binge. [sic]' Another worried how the pole was supported, fearing 'that they pierced the slabs in the ground' to hold it in place. There was no evidence the site had been damaged. The Palace of St. Michael and St. George was designed by British architects in the early 19th century, using neoclassical styles typical of the time. For more than two centuries it has stood in the old city of Corfu, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2007. The building is still in use today and remains a well preserved instance of Regency architecture towards the end of the Georgian period. Greek users on Facebook were anxious that part of the site could have been damaged during the photoshoot, several asking how they gained permission. 'Did the permanent residents of the historic center and their association take a position for this event?' one asked. 'Who gave the permission slip???' said another. 'Someone should call the police,' added a third. The Directorate of the Museum of Asian Art, today housed inside the palace, was unaware of the event, according to local media. Not all abhorred the dancers for performing outside the historic building, however. User Bill Metallinos defended the performers. 'Basically, what we see is the backstage of some photography,' he said of the video. 'Otherwise dancing is part of culture[.] it's just that this one is misunderstood... 'Yes the concept offends the monument but as an open space unguarded and unmarked disappointing swimsuits or extra items I see no reason someone who wants to take photos to be banned, it is an open public space. 'But to see how hypocrit[ical] we are, we have passed a road of heavy vehicles through the Palace and under its Arch and we are sending all the exhaust pollution to Tufopetra that has been consumed by all this fuel gas... 'And instead of shouting about the damage we are doing to it we ourselves are shouting about the photography that was done by some professionals in the area. 'In the end, who damages the monument? Them or us?' Another user disagreed and expanded: 'What do traditional dances have to do with stripping there? 'Me personally if my daughter was there I would be ashamed.' The palace in Corfu was built over a five year period in the immediate aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 saw the Ionian Islands, including Corfu, become a protectorate of the UK through the Treaty of Paris. In turn, Corfu became the seat of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It was Sir Thomas Maitland who commissioned the Palace of St. Michael and St. George as the official residence for the Lord High Commissioner. There was a boom in Regency architecture building across Britain and its overseas holdings after the end of the Napoleonic Wars as government spending steadily recovered and timber shortages eased without the war demand. Closer to home, examples of Regency architecture can be seen in the work of John Nash across London. Britain revived some of the classical architectural styles of the Greeks and Romans during its imperial rise, after architects like Inigo Jones brought back to the British Isles techniques recovered by the Italians through the 16th and 17th centuries.
Tatler Asia
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
10 inspiring horse movies that gallop straight to your heart
2. 'Seabiscuit' (2003) This Depression-era underdog story stars Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and a scrappy horse with the soul of a heavyweight champ. Based on a true story, Seabiscuit is the ultimate against-all-odds tale: a horse too small, a jockey too broken and a nation too sad—until they all start winning. Bonus: the movie features lavish 1930s costuming and enough slow-motion horse galloping to bring a tear to even the most stoic cowboy. 3. 'War Horse' (2011) Bet you didn't think horse movies could make you cry. Steven Spielberg delivered a sweeping World War I drama centred on a horse named Joey and the teenage boy devoted to him. Joey ends up on the frontlines, galloping through barbed wire and breaking hearts on both sides of the trenches. Bring tissues and a blanket. 4. 'The Horse Whisperer' (1998) Robert Redford plays a horse therapist, while Scarlett Johansson (in her breakout role) is a traumatised teen. Add a majestic Montana ranch and a horse recovering from a terrible accident, and you've got yourself an emotionally charged romance-drama that's equal parts cowboy ASMR and soul-repair retreat. 5. 'Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron' (2002) This animated gem follows a wild mustang voiced by Matt Damon. Spirit battles humans, captivity and colonisation to keep his herd and freedom intact. The movie features Bryan Adams power ballads, sweeping Western landscapes and the kind of noble, untamed energy that makes you want to quit your job and move to Wyoming. 6. 'Horse Girl' (2020) This one veers sharply into psychological territory. Alison Brie stars as an awkward woman obsessed with her childhood horse and increasingly unsure of what's real. It's more of a meditation on mental illness than dressage, but it's a reminder that for some, horse girl isn't a phase but a cosmic calling. This film is a must-watch if only for its unique take on horse movies. 7. 'Dreamer' (2005) A wholesome entry starring Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell about a broken-down racehorse and the little girl who refuses to give up on her. It's got all the warm-and-fuzzy underdog energy of Seabiscuit , just in a more family-friendly, mid-2000s cardigan aesthetic. 8. 'The Black Stallion' (1979) Part survival epic, part mythic friendship tale, this film follows a boy and an Arabian stallion stranded on a desert island. What follows is gorgeously shot bonding and a comeback story so poetic, it could've been written by Lord Byron (if Lord Byron had a GoPro and a deep affection for slow-motion). See more: The sport of kings: investing in thoroughbred horses 9. 'Racing Stripes' (2005) We need to include this on a list of horse movies because there's not enough material for a curation of zebra films. Here, a zebra that thinks it's a racehorse dreams of competing. Absurd? Absolutely. Delightful? Undoubtedly. This talking-animal family comedy proves that with enough heart and a training montage, even a striped outsider can win the Kentucky Derby—or at least your Saturday night. 10. 'Hidalgo' (2004) Viggo Mortensen, playing a half-Lakota cowboy, rides his mustang across the Arabian desert in an epic endurance race. The horses are majestic, the vibes are Lawrence of Arabia -meets-Wrangler ad, and Viggo looks like he's been kissed by the sun.
The Independent
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
FA Cup: Why every neutral will be backing Nottingham Forest at Wembley today
On Sunday at 4.30pm, I will be among 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium to see my football team, Nottingham Forest, play – and possibly even beat – the mighty, moneyed Manchester City in an FA Cup semi-final. 'We' – I don't actually play for Forest, you understand – are also currently fourth in the Premiership, which means we may soon be in the European Champions' League, playing the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. Non-football people, please don't stop reading, because this is not really a piece about football at all, but about the way a provincial population can be galvanised and real elation can be had by thousands who have no 'skin in the game' other than fun, pride and romance. Romance not just because Nottingham, my dearly loved adopted city (even though I haven't lived there since I was a student) is sopping with redolent cultural touchpoints – Robin Hood, Lord Byron, DH Lawrence and more. What's happening to its football this season is romantic because, like so much of Nottingham's story, it's also about the unlikely triumph of the underdog. Let me illustrate how improbable our men's team's sudden success is. (Our women, I should say, are doing even better – top of their league and unbeaten). The odds eight months ago on what is now unfolding were between 250 and 500 to 1 – making it between twice and 20 times less likely than the official chances the bookmakers offer on the discovery of sentient alien life by the end of 2025. Fifty years ago, after the brilliant Brian Clough was installed as manager, we became very successful for a short while. But you have to be 60 to remember those times, and football was very different then. Wealthy foreign owners and talented players coming from every which where to earn millions a year were unknown. Our boys were mostly local, had a beer before a game, and included an electrician and a carpet fitter. As money and glamour overtook the sport, Forest were chronic losers for decades. Yet suddenly, and against all expectations, we have become utterly, mesmerically brilliant, acclaimed and admired the world over. We are loved, too. In our distant glory days, opposition fans sang 'We hate Nottingham Forest ' to the tune of 'Land of Hope and Glory'. Today, the pundits who were once unanimous that we would be relegated fall over themselves to say how fantastic we are, and even fans of other teams tell us how much they enjoy watching Forest and wish us well. Perhaps it's the Robin Hood connection, or the peculiarly English name, but Nottingham Forest – a reference, of course, to Sherwood Forest – is loved by the football cognoscenti abroad too, many of whom are barely aware we have been in the doldrums for decades. In Europe, from our appearances there in the 1980s, there is still real affection, and to this day, in Milan the Nottingham Forest Cocktail Bar, which is distinguished, I am told, by having no reference beyond the name to our team. Maybe it has something to do with the club's colour, a shade of red chosen a little randomly at the club's founding in 1865 to honour Garibaldi, the hero of Italian unification. Our arcane attraction also stretches across the Atlantic. As I work partly in New York, I watch Forest games live there in a Forest supporting bar, which attracts many devout fans, some expats, but many Americans. A midday kickoff can mean a 7am start, but it still gets crowded. There is no equivalent venue I know of in New York dedicated to any other British 'soccer' team. The essence of Nottingham is that it's quite idiosyncratic; nobody quite gets it, not even the students who these days come in large numbers from all over the world. Nottingham is not northern, not typically midlands, and definitely not southern. It's a bit rough – always has been – but also rather cultured and elegant, with some marvellous Georgian and earlier architecture and two pubs a thousand years old each. When a notable food critic visited recently to try a much lauded new Japanese restaurant, he described the city as 'a ravaged place of boarded-up buildings and disused churches'. I truly can't imagine where he was referring to. Perhaps it was nearby Derby? For Nottingham Forest fans, our team's transformation has shone like honeyed sunshine over everything. Whatever else is falling apart, there's always the next match to be excited about. And, lord, it's exciting. Nottingham people are not renowned for being the most passionate, but the atmosphere at the club's somewhat decrepit stadium on the River Trent is scorching, the noise level such that my smartwatch regularly warns me that the decibel level is officially dangerous. How this has all happened is frankly baffling. Our owner, Evangelos Marinakis, is an eccentric, corpulent Greek shipping billionaire, currently facing trial in Greece on charges he says are trumped up. Most of the club's hierarchy is also in Greece. The owner has, until very recently, been considered in Nottingham only marginally less useless than the previous proprietor, a Kuwaiti air conditioning mogul who made the players wear shirts advertising his company and whose products are only available in the Gulf. We now, obviously, love Evangelos Marinakis as one of our own. Then there's our Portuguese-São Toméan manager, a gentle equestrian enthusiast who bears the not unflorid name Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo. Nuno, as we know him and adore him by the banks of the Trent, is a former goalkeeper of moderate repute. Before us, he managed a team in Saudi Arabia, then for a bleak four months, Tottenham Hotspur. Nuno is now regarded widely as a genius, and we love him too as one of our own. The players, like the management, would equally have been considered a tad exotic when Nottingham was home (well, sort of) to Robin Hood and our assorted historical all-stars. In our first team of merry men, we have two from Nottingham, four Brazilians, two Nigerians, two from the Ivory Coast, two Welshmen, a Belgian, a German, a Spaniard, an Argentinian, a New Zealander, a German, a Serbian, a Portuguese, a Swede and a Paraguayan. Such a multinational squad would have been inconceivable as late as the 1970s, when almost the only foreign restaurants in Nottingham were Italian and the local tastemaker, Paul Smith, opened his first menswear shop in the city's then embryonic artisan area, the still rather lovely Lace Market. But I suspect it's the Nottingham-ness of Nottingham which accounts for the sheer joy our team's renaissance has caused in what has always felt to me like a slightly glorified country town. The spirit is possibly similar to the Geordiness of Newcastle, where the scenes of joy when they won a pretty minor cup the other day reminded me of how we might be if things get even bigger. So, as we face Manchester City on Sunday, remember that those of us in Garibaldi red feel we're from a bit of an outpost. And also that the idea very much prevails for us of the little guy for the ages, with his quiver full of arrows and sights on the privileged and entitled.
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Class act: can Harrow sell an elitist British boarding school fantasy to New Yorkers?
This fall, the British boarding school Harrow will open its first offshoot in the US: a lush 170-acre waterfront campus in Long Island. For $75,000 a year, parents can wave away their children to the prestigiously named school, renowned for its centuries-old traditions (such as calling teachers 'beaks' and bad behaviour 'skew'). Classes will take place in the Bourne mansion, the opulent former home of a wealthy American businessman, around which modern facilities will be built. A shiny teaser video paints an idyllic picture of an anglophile life at Harrow New York. 'The school is like an oasis,' says Nick Page, former deputy head of Harrow UK, as drone footage pans out over pristine lawns and lakes, where ducklings and deer roam wild. 'Yet so close to this huge metropolis of New York.' (The new school is almost equidistant from New York City and the Hamptons, so parents who have a seaside pied-à-terre can whisk away their darlings for the holidays.) In the video, students stroll about the verdant campus wearing Harrow's trademark straw hats, and are seen painting, playing soccer, wearing VR goggles, reading poetry by Lord Byron and books about Winston Churchill. Boarding schools have a long history in the US, but top schools such as the New Hampshire-based Phillips Exeter Academy (where Mark Zuckerberg went) and Phillips Academy in Massachusetts (attended by George W Bush) have no mandatory uniform and emphasise sports like lacrosse and hockey. Americans have long romanticised the British boarding school, from Hogwarts to Goodbye, Mr Chips (the novella and subsequent film about a British boarding school teacher, which was initially serialised in the Atlantic). It's not just the schools: castles, honorifics, lavish parties, a sense of history and the royal family have long made the British aristocracy attractive to American elites. Young Americans are even adopting British accents and using an increasing amount of British English vocabulary. But while parents might be hoping that British educational traditions will rub off on their progeny, the school will in fact be owned, managed and operated by a company called Amity Education Group, which also runs a Harrow school in Bengaluru, India, but is a distinct entity from the UK school. It has led some to wonder whether the school's international expansion is no more than a 'rent-a-name' strategy, selling wealthy parents the British boarding school fantasy with little connection to the original institution. But will Americans buy it? To many Brits, boarding schools are emblematic of good old British elitism. That's in part because of how expensive they are. It costs £61,584 a year to send your child to board at the original Harrow school (the annual undergraduate tuition fee for a university in England and Wales is £9,535, for comparison). A school like Harrow is seen by some as a way to find an elusive seat at the top table of society: out of the UK's 58 prime ministers, 20 were educated at Eton College (which some Harrovians begrudgingly refer to as 'that other place') and 13 went to Harrow or Westminster. The Guardian spoke with a number of former Harrow students who said Americans would find some traditions such as students having to touch the brim of their hats when a beak (teacher) walks by a little strange. One former student, now 28 and living in New York, said that the launch of the school during Trump's presidency was particularly well-timed, given 'how revisionist the US is currently'. He said that there was a culture at Harrow that valorized the British empire and 'the good old days', which would fit in perfectly with the Trumpian vision of 'when America was great'. (The former student didn't want to give his name in case people at his job in the arts found out he went to boarding school.) Harrow was founded in 1572, when a landowner and farmer opened the school, providing free education for 30 'poor boys' from the Harrow parish. Soon, however, the school expanded to accept 'foreigners' (boys who lived outside Harrow), which led to its boarding model. In 1998, the school launched its first international campus in Bangkok; 'an appropriate location', according to the school's website, due to 'the strong links between Harrow School in London and Thailand's royal family' (23 princes of the royal household were apparently educated at Harrow in the UK). But beyond a fond transnational affiliation, there may have been financial incentives for opening a Harrow school in Asia. 'Parents are attached to the perceived track record and trust of branded schools,' Selina Boyd, the international editor of the Good Schools Guide, told the wealth management and luxury magazine Spear's. 'Branded schools can almost short-cut the process when they're setting up – it might take an unbranded school years to develop their name and demonstrate their credibility.' Harrow New York will add to the school's growing portfolio of campuses across the globe, with 12 Harrow-branded schools in 11 locations across Asia and two newly announced schools in the United Arab Emirates opening next year. Yet what may not be initially clear to prospective Harrow parents is that the schools outside the UK are owned by three separate companies. According to Harrow International Schools Limited (HISL), 'the educational, administrative, financial and other operational responsibilities of all Harrow-branded schools rest solely with their owners and operators.' However, HISL emphasised: 'All Harrow-branded schools are required under their sub-licences to reflect Harrow School's educational purpose, practice, strategy and philosophy.' It said HISL 'oversees this requirement' by 'regularly' sending 'teams of experienced educationalists' to the international schools 'to evaluate and report on their performance', and that members of HISL's oversight teams sit on the governing bodies of all Harrow-branded schools. The Guardian spoke with two teachers at Harrow schools in Asia (who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of losing their jobs). They shared worries that the schools were more concerned with profits than the highest educational standards. (AISL, which runs a number of Harrow schools in Asia, said that it took measures to ensure compliance with the Harrow standards.) A representative for HISL told the Guardian that it 'strongly refute[s]' the allegation that school is employing a 'rent-a-name' strategy. However, a report from the thinktank Private Education Policy Forum (PEPF) cited 'emerging evidence' that the relationships between British schools and their satellite campuses were 'limited in nature', with some overseas staff characterizing it as 'exchanging a 'brand' license for a royalty payment'. For now, HISL looks forward to the opening of the Long Island school – which a representative told the Guardian would be 'a sprawling, serene and secure' campus with 'state-of-the-art facilities' and 'exceptional athletic amenities'. Only time will tell whether British boarding school culture can be transplanted to the US, or whether anglophile Americans will be left pining after the carbon copy of British elitism they had in mind.
