Recent Activity

• December 30, 2011 Incognita has been to Torre Argentina - Roman Cat Sanctuary
  

  Torre Argentina - Roman Cat Sanctuary

  Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered

  In Rome the cats have an ancient temple-complex all to themselves. Known as Largo di Torre Argentina, this archaeological wonder was excavated as part of Mussolini's rebuilding efforts in 1929,... »

  Fascinating Fauna, Long Now Locations | Edited by Annetta, wythe and 2 others

• December 30, 2011 Incognita has been to Père Lachaise Cemetery
  

  Paris, France

  Père Lachaise Cemetery

  France's Most Famous Cemetery

  A large cemetery by itself wouldn't seem too odd; even one containing famous remains might not be enough to more than raise an eyebrow. Instead, it's the culture and atmosphere that set Père... »

  Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by meelar, Dylan and others

• December 30, 2011 Incognita has been to Museé Fragonard
  

  Paris, France

  Museé Fragonard

  The only remaining collection of flayed figures made by French "madman" Honoré Fragonard

  Founded in 1766, the Fragonard Museum is one of the oldest museums in France. Honoré Fragonard was one of the first medical masters of France, and his extensive collection contains rooms devoted... »

  Strange Science, Medical Museums, Obscura Day Location | Edited by Dylan, Salamalecs and 2 others

• December 29, 2011 Incognita liked Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
  

  Paris, France

  Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

  A French museum dedicated to the art of hunting

  Housed in the 17th century Hotel de Guenegaud in Le Marais, The Museum of Hunting and Nature is noted for its room of taxidermy trophies and its many paintings and tapestries depicting the art of... »

  Natural History, Hunting and Taxidermy | Edited by Josh, holling and others

• December 29, 2011 Incognita has been to Musée des Arts et Métiers
  

  Paris, France

  Musée des Arts et Métiers

  France's national museum of scientific and industrial instruments

  The Musée des Arts et Métiers houses one of the world's most outstanding collections of scientific and industrial instruments. Founded by anti-clerical French revolutionaries to celebrate the... »

  Unique Collections, Instruments of Science | Edited by Josh, Henry and 2 others

• January 7, 2011 Incognita liked The Museum of Jurassic Technology
  

  The Museum of Jurassic Technology

  A modern day curiosity cabinet

  You may be aware when you enter the museum that the appearance of anything that could be considered Technology didn’t occur until about 150 million years after the Jurassic period. You may also... »

  Wonder Cabinets, Strange Science, Outsider Art, Natural History, Unique Collections | Edited by Dylan and Henry

• January 7, 2011 Incognita has been to Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
  

  Oxford, United Kingdom

  Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

  Used as an example in one of the first dictionary entries for "museum" in 1706

  In the early 1600s, John Tradescant the Elder and his son, the Younger, opened their house as a cabinet of curiosities with natural and man-made specimens from around the world. (The word "museum"... »

  Wonder Cabinets, Unique Collections | Edited by M Rebekah Otto and Dylan

• January 7, 2011 Incognita has been to Colossal Squid at the Te Papa Museum
  

  Wellington, New Zealand

  Colossal Squid at the Te Papa Museum

  The world's only complete colossal squid specimen on display

  Te Papa is New Zealand's national museum, and attempts to give an overview of the nation's art, history, peoples, and wildlife. Among the wildlife that Te Papa currently displays is the world's... »

  Watery Wonders, Fascinating Fauna, Unique Collections | Edited by Dylan, re_nakaba and others

• January 7, 2011 Incognita has been to Sir John Soane's Museum
  

  London, United Kingdom

  Sir John Soane's Museum

  A cluttered and astounding collection of ethnographic items

  Sir John Soane was an architect and dedicated collector. He established his museum for the benefit of "amateurs and students," and it has been open to the public since the early 19th century. The... »

  Unique Collections | Edited by Dylan, Henry and others

• January 7, 2011 Incognita has been to Gabinetto Segreto
  

  Gabinetto Segreto

  The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum

  Roman sexuality was a big problem for the 19th-century archaeologists and curators responsible for excavating and preserving the remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Romans in general, and... »

  Unique Collections | Edited by Annetta and wythe

• January 7, 2011 Incognita liked Fontanelle Cemetery Caves
  

  Fontanelle Cemetery Caves

  The plague of 1656 and the bombings of WWII united by a cult dedicated to caring for the ancient dead

  Like many ossuaries in Europe, the Cimitero Fontanelle began as an secondary burial ground when the church yards and crypts began to overflow. Unlike other ossuaries, the skulls of the anonymous... »

  Ossuaries, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Curious Places of Worship, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Annetta

• January 6, 2011 Incognita has been to The Anatomical Machines of Cappella Sansevero
  

  The Anatomical Machines of Cappella Sansevero

  These "anatomical machines" are only one of the many strange items in this Italian crypt

  Once the private place of worship for Sansevero family, and then transformed into their burial chapel, this church museum holds some very strange and astounding objects. It was under the... »

  Medical Museums, Strange Statues, Memento Mori, Relics and Reliquaries, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by Dylan and Annetta

• January 4, 2011 Incognita has been to Quartiere Coppedé
  

  Quartiere Coppedé

  Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome

  Quartiere Coppedé is an unexpected and bizarre area in Rome, nestled within the Trieste district in the northern part of the city. The fantastical mix of Ancient Greek, Roman Barroque,... »

  Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes, Outsider Architecture | Edited by athomio, marquee and others

• January 4, 2011 Incognita liked The Criminology Museum
  

  The Criminology Museum

  Ever hear of the Milazzo Cage?

  Operated by Italy's federal Prison Administration, this unique collection of prisons, torture, and criminal anthropology was open only to government officials from its founding in 1931 until 1994.... »

  Unique Collections, Crime and Punishment | Edited by M Rebekah Otto and Annetta

• January 4, 2011 Incognita has been to Pyramid of Cestius
  

  Pyramid of Cestius

  The only "Egyptian" pyramid in Europe and the legendary tomb of Remus

  Egyptomania gripped Rome in the wake of the conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. Both massive original artifacts and inspired copies cropped up all over the city, but only two actual pyramids were known to... »

  Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by Annetta, adam and 2 others

• January 4, 2011 Incognita liked The dome illusion
  

  The dome illusion

  A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling

  The Jesuit church of Saint Ignazio was supposed to have a glorious dome, but when the money ran out in 1642, the plans were scrapped. Instead of foregoing the dome entirely, painter and Jesuit... »

  Optical Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Annetta, Sanglorian and others

• January 4, 2011 Incognita liked The Protestants' graveyard
  

  The Protestants' graveyard

  The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats

  The Protestants' graveyard, also known as the "non-Catholic cemetery" of Rome, is hidden behind the pyramid of Caius Cestius, in the Roman rione (district) of Testaccio. Because Rome has always... »

  Strange Statues, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by Spacedlaw, wythe and others

• January 4, 2011 Incognita liked Santa Maria della Concezione
  

  Santa Maria della Concezione

  The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises"

  In 1775, the Marquis de Sade wrote of it, “I have never seen anything more striking.” Granted, the crypt was to his tastes. Mark Twain wrote about it in his 1869 book Innocents Abroad. When... »

  Memento Mori, Relics and Reliquaries, Ossuaries, Mummies, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by michelle, Dylan and 2 others

• June 27, 2010 Incognita commented on Bologna Zoological Museum

  This is well worth visiting -- although the staff glare at you as tho' nobody else has ever had the temerity to want to enter when you do. So much strangeness, so much neglect -- and yet they obviously spent a huge amount on the pointless display in the foyer... there's more pics of it on my flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/incognita_mod/sets/72157601031558737/