1.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
This is the monument that, among the others of the "Piazza dei Miracoli", stirs the imagination of everybody, from the old to the young. Firstly we like to give you some information and events regarding its long history. The construction of this imposing mass was started in the year 1174 by Bonanno Pisano. When the tower had reached its third storey the works ceased because it had started sinking into the ground. The tower remained thus for 90 years. It was completed by Giovanni di Simone, Tommano Simone (son of Andreo Pisano), crowned the tower with the belfry at half of 14th century. The top of the Leaning Tower can be reached by mounting the 294 steps which rise in the form of a spiral on the inner side of the tower walls.
2.
Hagia Sophia
Unfortunately nothing remains of the original Hagia Sophia, which was built on this site in the fourth century by Constantine the Great. Constantine was the first Christian emperor and the founder of the city of Constantinople, which he called "the New Rome." The Hagia Sophia was one of several great churches he built in important cities throughout his empire. Following the destruction of Constantine's church, a second was built by his son Constantius and the emperor Theodosius the Great. This second church was burned down during the Nika riots of 532, though fragments of it have been excavated and can be seen today. Hagia Sophia was rebuilt in her present form between 532 and 537 under the personal supervision of Emperor Justinian I. It is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture, rich with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings.
3.
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, China
The Porcelain Tower is in Nanjing, China, out on the banks of the Yangtze River. The Chinese people called it the Boa’ensi or the “Temple of Gratitude”. The base shape is octagonical. The base is about 95 feet in diameter; the tower itself is about 9 stories tall, which is about 250 feet high. When the tower was being built it was planned to be 13 stories tall and a total height of 330 feet. Every block in the tower was dried out in the blazing sun during the day and in the night there was 140 lamps to dry them out. The bricks were made of brilliant white porcelain that would shine in sunlight. As the stories went up it narrowed because if they were all the same size it would collapse on top of everything. A large spire came from the eighth story all the way up to the roof. The
spiral staircase went up 130 steps. In 1801 a bolt of lightning struck and knocked of the top three stories. Soon after that the Taiping Rebels gained control of the city and destroyed the Porcelain Tower of Najing.
4.
Great Wall of China
This newly elected world wonder was built along China's northern border over many centuries to keep out invading Mongol tribes. Constructed between the fifth century B.C. and the 16th century, the Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching some 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers). The best known section was built around 200 B.C. by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang Di.
5.
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
The Catacombs (meaning underground tunnels) lie in the district of Karmouz to the east of Alexandria. The area was called Kom El-Shouqafa or a pile of shards. The cemetery dates back to the
1st century A.D and was used until the 4th century A.D. It was discovered in 1900 when by pure chance, a donkey drawn cart fell into a pit, which led to the discovery. The Catacombs in Alexandria are so called because the design was very similar to the Christian Catacombs in Rome. Most likely it was a private tomb, later converted to a public cemetery. It consists of 3 levels cut into the rock, a staircase, a rotunda, the triclinium or banquette hall, a vestibule, an antechamber and the burial chamber with three recesses in it; in each recess there is a sarcophagus. The Catacombs also contain a large number of Luculi or grooves cut in the rock.
6.
The Colosseum, Rome, Italy
The only finalist from Europe to make it into the top seven—the Colosseum in Rome, Italy-once held up to 50,000 spectators who came to watch gory games involving gladiators, wild animals, and prisoners. Construction began around A.D. 70 under Emperor Vespasian. Modern sports stadiums still resemble the Colosseum's famous design.
7.
Stonehenge [United Kingdom]
Stonehenge is a megalithic rock monument of 150 enormous stones set in a purposeful
circular pattern, located on the Salisbury Plain of southern England, the main portion of it built about 2000 BC. The outside circle of Stonehenge includes 17 enormous upright trimmed stones of hard sandstone called sarsen; some paired with a lintel over the top. This circle is about 30 meters (100 feet) in diameter, and, stands about 5 meters (16 feet) tall. Inside the circle are five more paired-and-linteled stones of sarsen, called trilithons, each of these weighing 50-60 tons and the tallest 7 meters (23 feet) high. Inside that, a few smaller stones of bluestone, quarried 200 kilometers away in the Preseli Mountains of western Wales, are set in two horseshoe patterns. Finally, one large block of Welsh sandstone marks the center of the monument.
