An octagonal architectural treasure Jul 21, 2021

An octagonal architectural treasure

Built in the 1240s by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in southeast Italy, Castel del Monte (Castle of the Mount) features an unusual octagonal design. Eight stone walls stretch between eight octagonal towers and enclose an octagonal courtyard. Each of the two floors also has eight trapezoidal rooms. Acclaimed and protected as a World Heritage Site in 1996, the castle symbolically reflects a harmonious integration of classical Roman, Arabic, and medieval architecture and design—and to some, its octagonal symmetry suggests a connection between heaven and earth.

© Toni Spagone/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Jul 21, 2018And you thought moths were boring
Jul 21, 2019A peek behind the royal curtain
Jul 21, 2020Belgium celebrates its independence
Jul 21, 2022Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds, England
Jul 21, 2023Storseisundet Bridge, Norway
Jul 21, 2024Kendwa village, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Jul 21, 2025Coral Reef Awareness Week

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 25, 2022Merry Christmas!
Jun 7, 2022Haaga Rhododendron Park
May 17, 2024Endangered Species Day
Jan 14, 2018Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland
Jun 4, 2025The beach at Cala Luna, Sardinia, Italy
Mar 27, 2018Macro photograph of a migrant hawker dragonfly
Jul 8, 2023Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Arkansas
Dec 5, 2022Saint Nicholas Day in Verbier, Switzerland
Jul 22, 2022Our Lady of the Rocks
Mar 13, 2018Wayag Islands in the Raja Ampat Islands of Indonesia
Nov 11, 2018Poppies for Armistice Day
Apr 17, 2022Easter
Oct 27, 2019A festival of lights in India
Mar 4, 2023Mount Pico, Portugal
Mar 28, 2022Kawachi Fuji Garden
May 20, 2023World Bee Day
Jul 7, 2023World Chocolate Day
May 3, 2020World Laughter Day—it s a hoot
May 23, 2025World Turtle Day
Dec 11, 2018‘The mountains are calling’
Mar 2, 2019You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
Jan 28, 2020US Coast Guard: Protecting us for 105 years
Aug 10, 2023World Lion Day
Apr 5, 2022Goðafoss waterfall, Iceland
Apr 15, 2019Celebrating World Art Day
Oct 7, 2019From the mind of Frank Gehry
Mar 10, 2022Bobbio, Italy
Apr 17, 2024Black bear cub emerging into spring
Sep 20, 2022Sea Otter Awareness Week
Apr 29, 2024Fujian Tulou, China