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We at Blue Guides were astonished when Amazon outed Drink & Think Venice for its explicit content. Amazon AI tells us when reading the reviews on the Amazon store: “Customers find the book readable and brilliant… They appreciate the sex scenes with one noting it’s an excellent guide to Venice’s…
Delighted to be featured in the latest issue of Antiqvvs magazine, with a piece about Aquincum, ancient Roman Budapest. Aquincum, both its civil and military towns, is covered in depth in Blue Guide Budapest. “Antiqvvs Magazine’s … focus is educational, showcasing ancient art and related civilisations of the Graeco-Roman world,…
Great to see the prestigious London bookshop John Sandoe Books recommending Tales from the Dual Monarchy for summer reading. Tales from the Dual Monarchy is an anthology of elegant and sometimes melancholy short stories from Austria and Hungary. All are set in the golden age from the Compromise of 1867…
The Pustertal artists of the Renaissance This South Tyrol valley gave birth to its school of artists in the 15th century. They generally worked in a northern Gothic style and many of them still remain anonymous. Most of their work can be seen in South Tyrol’s beautiful gothic churches, though some…
Buy Blue Guide Greece the Mainland. The 2007 classic Blue Guide Greece the Mainland went out of print, in its original form, many years ago. Since then to keep the title’s erudition and depth of coverage available to new readers we have been providing a black and white “print on demand”…
From Blue Danube: Tales from the Dual Monarchy, a collection of short stories translated from German and Hungarian is NOW OUT. The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary was formed in 1867. Dual because its titular sovereign, His Imperial and Royal Highness Franz Joseph, was both Emperor of Austria and King of…
White smoke above the Vatican recently announced the election of Chicago-born Robert Prevost as pope, the 266th incumbent of the Chair of St Peter. He has taken the regnal name of Leo XIV. The world waits to see what kind of a pontiff he will be. Meanwhile, we look at…
Farewell and Rest In Peace to His Holiness Pope Francis, who died on 21st April 2025. The task now must be to find a successor. But how is it done? Blue Guide Rome (12th edition) describes the process as follows: Popes are elected by the cardinals, who comprise the so-called…
“Siena: The Rise of Painting” at the National Gallery, London. Exhibition review. The Background In the late 13th century, the Tuscan city of Siena grew prosperous from trade, from banking, and from its position on the Via Francigena, one of the pilgrim routes to Rome. After it made political peace with…
Two fascinating intineraries, run by the Revd James Buxton, Chaplain in İzmir. Pilgrimage to the Seven Churches of Revelation » (May) These are the seven cities mentioned in the first three chapters of Revelation, in the Bible. They include Smyrna (İzmir) and six other six cities in the area. The…
From Alexander Faludy’s review of Blue Danube title, The Monkey and Other Stories by Miklós Bánffy, in the Hungarian Observer: “Count Miklós Bánffy (1873-1950) wrote captivatingly on a grand scale (his 3 volume epic Transylvanian Trilogy) but also a minute one—as this collection shows. The Monkey is a collection of nine stories…
In the first, 1924, edition of Blue Guide Northern Italy, one of the Blue Guides best-selling titles over the 100 years that followed, the Hotel Elephant was the recommended hotel in Brixen Bressanone. Brixen is a beautiful gothic and baroque town in South Tyrol, the inn has been a welcoming guests…
Mark Dudgeon, the Blue Guides rail correspondent, makes an epic winter trip from Sweden to Norway and back, across the Arctic Circle. It’s a chilly, dark early evening in February at Stockholm’s Central railway station. Sleek Arlanda Express train sets serving Stockholm’s principal airport glide in and out of platforms…
“Matthias is dead—now books will be cheap in Europe!” So Lorenzo the Magnificent is said to have exclaimed on hearing of the passing of the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus, in 1490. Matthias was the man behind the famous Corvina Library in Budapest, “one of the most renowned libraries of…
An important preservative as well as sweetener, honey was an indispensable ingredient in the Classical kitchen. The honey of Hybla, in Sicily, is among the most famous. Hybla honey and the classical world Along with the bees of Mount Hymettus and Mount Ida in Greece, the wild bees of Mount…
Is it possible to take Turkish tea or coffee with the sultan? You might not think so. But look carefully at the glassware. recognising the sultan’s insignia When you next order a Turkish coffee or a tea, have look at the glass of water that comes with it. If you…
The shifting fortunes of Ephesus, one of the great ancient cities of Turkey. traces of vanished splendour Visitors touring Ephesus might end their visit at the Terraced Houses, with their beautiful frescoes and opulent marble floors. The degree of preservation is stunning. Left to the elements, frescoes do not survive…
The 19th-century doctor Ignác Semmelweis was the Hungarian pioneer of hand-sanitization. His ideas were to revolutionise medicine, not just in Hungary but around the world. who was semmelweis? How many of us, while methodically washing our hands during the Covid-19 pandemic, spared a thought for Ignác Semmelweis? Semmelweis (1818–65) is…
The art of the Renaissance or the art of food? Do we go to Florence for the food or for the art? Has gastronomy replaced Giotto on the Florence bucket list? how it began ‘Yes,’ said Lucy. ‘They are lovely. Do you know which is the tombstone that is praised…
A look at how the streets of Rome are paved. All roads lead to Rome. And Rome still leads the world in roads. The streets of the ancient city were paved in huge, irregular blocks of stone known as basolato. Today only a very few segments of such paving survive: along…
