Visual Arts

Miracles of Mankind NEW 7 WONDERS OF THE WOLRD

Over the centuries in the past, if not to say millennia, historians sought to define which were the most extraordinary architectural structures created by man in the world known at that time.

Even though the name of the individual who drew up the complete list of the Seven Wonders of the World is unknown, thus it was that, almost unexpectedly, the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world was drawn up. The only one of these which has survived the vicissitudes of time is the everlasting and fascinating Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, all of the others having been destroyed along the way.

But the desire to celebrate afresh man’s greatness and his ability to compete with nature has survived, and so, during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the Swiss-Canadian Bernard Weber suggested a global referendum to choose the new Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

The initiative enjoyed success from the beginning, so much so that under the pressure of public opinion of countries all over the world, the list of architectural candidates was extended from the initial 17 to more than 200. Seven years later, on 7th July 2007, the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’ were announced after 100 million votes had been cast through the Internet or by telephone, and a panel of seven judges including the former president of UNESCO, Federico Mayor, had closely scrutinized them.

The Pyramid of Cheops was given the status of honorary wonder during the ceremony: apart from being the sole survivor of the original list, it has, with its 4,500 years of history, become one of the longest-lasting and exceptional works of art still in existence.

From the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’ photo gallery. Many of the photographs are accompanied by a brief description, giving the reader further information.

May 2017