Heritage

Steve Bannon’s nationalists can stay in medieval monastery (for now)

In the first round of a lengthy legal battle, an Italian court has ruled in favour of a right-wing Catholic organisation which the Ministry of Culture is trying to oust from a historic abbey

Geneva-based foundation Aliph directs $10m to heritage conservation projects in conflict zones

Sites targeted range from a Yemeni palace in ruins to a shrine destroyed by the Islamic State in Iraq

'A catastrophe for the system of protecting historic buildings': the saga of London's Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Plans to turn the foundry that cast the bells of Big Ben, St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey into a boutique hotel have been put on hold—but they should never have gone ahead in the first place

Derelict iron flaxmill is brought back to life in Shrewsbury

Building was considered an audacious architectural experiment when it was built in 1797

Castle opening crowns £150m revival of Bishop Auckland

Millionaire Jonathan Ruffer’s ambitious regeneration of a small former mining town in northern England reveals 1,000 years of history and art

Cultural heritage experts rally in Edinburgh to find solutions to climate crisis

Supporters of new international Climate Heritage Network argue that the sector has a “moral duty” to act

Southampton's new art space takes over tower of 700-year-old city gateway

Exhibition venue and heritage attraction inside Grade I-listed monument God's House Tower is called GHT

Inside Notre Dame: a blow-by-blow account of the restoration process

Five months on we look at the steps and measurements implemented by experts to start rebuilding the fire-ravaged cathedral

Icom Kyoto 2019 conference: key takeaways from the decolonisation and restitution panel

Discussion argued for community empowerment, new skillsets, and focus on contemporary colonialism

Artists demand rethink in rebuilding of Potsdam church where Hitler cemented power

Open letter describes the Garrison Church, damaged in the Second World War, as the symbol of an “unholy alliance” between church, military, and state

New York Public Library shores up its marble lions

Two-month conservation effort for the sculptures follows a public appeal to donors

African American leaders object to erasure of controversial school mural in San Francisco

Local figures defend portrayal of the nation’s blemished early history

Podcastspodcast

Top of the Pods: climate crisis with Olafur Eliasson, Justin Brice Guariglia and Anna Somers Cocks

As many parts of the world record their highest ever temperatures, we look back on three interviews focusing on climate change and the anthropocene.

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

British Library shares conservation experts with Palestinian Museum

New partnership will preserve the Birzeit museum’s most ‘at-risk’ objects on paper

Quarries, quarrels and a lesbian affair: the life of sculptor Mary Spencer Watson

The Dorset farmhouse in which she lived with her father, the portrait painter George Spencer Watson, has been recently restored by the Landmark Trust

Gaudi’s Sagrada Família secures building permit—137 years later

A deal between the city and the church foundation aims to complete construction work on the architect’s quixotic final project

Former Louvre director donates his collection to forthcoming museum devoted to the 'Sun King'

Pierre Rosenberg has pledged his collection of works by Charles Le Brun and other artists to the new museum

Booksreview

What was the real purpose of the English country house library?

Mark Purcell's study explores 19th-century bibliomania and rejects the notion that books in historic libraries were "bought by the yard"

Planned cable car attraction over Belgrade historic fortress ‘should be suspended’

Kalemegdan served as a military site for the Roman Empire and is a candidate for Unesco World Heritage status

Exhibition resurrects East Germany's demolished Palast der Republik

Kunsthalle Rostock, the only museum built under the GDR, remembers Berlin's asbestos-riddled parliament building and culture hub

Anti-Semitic 'Jewish Sow' relief may be removed from Luther’s church

Medieval sculpture on façade of Unesco World Heritage site in Wittenberg is one of around 30 similar pieces across Europe

Booksreview

Book review | Recent archaeological finds on Keros bring new authoritative scholarship on Cycladic art

Excavation campaigns on the Greek island have raised questions about our knowledge of Cycladic art and culture

Opposition flares as Peru’s government makes way for airport near Machu Picchu

A petition has been launched to prevent the Peruvian government from continuing the project

Nazi site in Nuremberg to be preserved but not restored

German city launches €85m plan to prevent further decay of infamous rally grounds

Exhibition of Gormley’s figures repopulates a Greek island’s ancient ruins

Life-size "bodyforms" are positioned amid ancient grottoes, agoras and sculptures

Notre Dame: experts explain why Macron's five-year restoration deadline is impossible

Complex conservation issues mean it could easily take a decade or more to rebuild the Medieval cathedral

Sri Lankan government steps in to rebuild St Anthony’s church after bomb attacks

Crowdfunding campaigns have also launched to support victims and restore heritage sites after deadly blasts