Five little known cultural sites

from Charitable Traveller Magazine - March/April 2021 - Issue 4

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PROCIDA ISLAND, ITALY

One of the Flegrean Islands in southern Italy’s Bay of Naples, tiny Procida has been named Italian Capital of Culture for 2022. The island has been featured in films including The Postman and The Talented Mr.Ripley and is famous for its picturesque ice cream-coloured houses. Procida took the culture crown thanks to its “model for sustainable development based on the culture of the island,” which has a strong arts scene and a rich history that includes the ancient Greeks.

BADA VALLEY, INDONESIA

Hidden in the mountainous central mass of Indonesia’s fourarmed island, Sulawesi, are scattered some 400 ancient stone megaliths of unknown origin. These intriguing relics could be over 5,000 years old and a good selection can be found – with the help of a guide – in the Bada Valley. Enigmatic statues, reminiscent of the Easter Island megaliths, join huge, mysterious stone jars and giant faces which are carved into the jungle-clad rock cliffs like a rugged version of Mount Rushmore.

MEROË, NORTHERN SUDAN

Sudan’s ancient city of Meroë was the southern capital of the kingdom of Kush, which has the largest number of pyramids in the world and reigned for over 1,000 years in the Nubia region around the River Nile. Though overshadowed by their neighbours, the Egyptians, the Kushites had a distinctive, rich and sophisticated culture, famous for its warrior queens. Meroë’s 200 tall and slender pyramids spike out of the stark, windswept Nubian desert and the Sudanese government wants to increase visitors to this overlooked wonder.

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CUEVA DE LAS MANOS, ARGENTINA

This remote marble ‘cave of a thousand hands’ is in Patagonia’s Río de Las Pinturas canyon and is best accessed off Ruta 40, Argentina’s longest road which travels about the equivalent of Amsterdam to Kabul. The vividly painted hands are believed to have been inscribed 10,000 years ago and other paintings, depicting hunting scenes and geometric patterns, are thought to be even older.

PERISTERA, GREECE

The first underwater museum in Greece should be a much-needed boost for tourism this year, at the site of an ancient shipwreck in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and Northern Sporades. This part of the Aegean is the largest protected marine area in Europe and the 2,500 year-old Athenian merchant ship supports a colourful eco-system of sponges, coral, fish and eels, which peek out from ancient jars used to store wine and olive oil. On the surface, non-divers can watch live video and spot rare Mediterranean monk seals.