Stop Press

A compilation of media articles on heritage topics. Obviously, these all reflect the viewpoints of the authors.

22 December

• Velázquez at Metropolitan Museum of Art is genuine, experts claim
  Telegraph, United Kingdom
  A 17th Century painting of the Spanish monarch Philip IV by Diego Velázquez is being reinstated to its rightful place in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art years after it was wrongly identified as not being a genuine work.

• Turkish town cashes in on Saint Nick legacy
  CNN, United States
  The hometown of the man who inspired the legend of Santa Claus is a long way from the snow and arctic lights of the North Pole.

21 December

• Neanderthal family found cannibalised in cave in Spain
  BBC, United Kingdom
  Archaeologists in Spain have unearthed the remains of a possible family of 12 Neanderthals who were killed 49,000 years ago.

20 December

• Philip IV, Restored
  New York Times, United States
  After technical studies and a yearlong restoration, curators and conservators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art now believe that a full-length portrait of Philip IV that has been in the Met's collection since 1914 is by Velázquez and not his workshop.

• Obama effect: Footfall up at Humayun’s Tomb
  Times of India, India
  All it takes is one VVIP to boost tourism at a heritage site.

• Napoleon-proof your home: convert a Martello tower
  The Guardian, United Kingdom
  Britain's Martello towers were built to keep the French navy at bay. Jonathan Glancey reports on how one rotting relic in Suffolk was turned into an extraordinary new home.

18 December

• Doha et le culot de l'art moderne arabe
  Le Monde, France
  Ouvert au public à partir du jeudi 30 décembre, le Mathaf (musée en arabe) a été inauguré mercredi 15 décembre à Doha, la capitale du Qatar.

17 December

• Germany Announced It will Give $80 Million in the Next Year to Fix Auschwitz Memorial
  Art Daily
  Germany pledged Wednesday to pay euro60 million ($80 million) over the next year into a fund for Auschwitz-Birkenau to preserve the barracks, gas chambers and other evidence of Nazi crimes at the former death camp, some of which are deteriorating to the point of collapse.

13 December

• Chinese archaeologists unearth 2,400-year-old 'soup'
  BBC, United Kingdom
  Chinese archaeologists have unearthed what they believe is a 2,400-year-old pot of soup, state media report.

• Les yeux de la Joconde pourraient cacher un secret
  Le Figaro, France
  Un responsable du Comité italien pour le patrimoine culturel affirme que le regard de Mona Lisa dissimulerait en réalité de curieuses lettres.

5 December

• Westminster Abbey to get million pound makeover in time for the royal wedding
  The Telegraph, United Kingdom
  Westminster Abbey, the wedding venue for Prince William and Kate Middleton, is to undergo a major conservation programme to restore its most precious works of art.

3 December

• Spain's cultural heritage under threat amid economic crisis
  The Guardian, United Kingdom
  Economic woes risk sweeping away cultural riches as modern gems such as the Chillida museum closes through lack of funds.

2 December

• Pompeii wall collapse damage inspected by Unesco team
  BBC, United Kingdom
  After a series of wall collapses at Italy's ancient city of Pompeii, a team from UN cultural organisation Unesco has arrived to examine the site.

updated on: 22 December, 2010