IT-266744

I've been to Naples almost 4 years ago and one of the things i wanted to see the most, was Mt. Vesuvius. It not everyday that we get to see a volcano. I saw it and i bought cards, one of them was this very same card. Now i've it stamped & written in italian.  

Daniele Minopoli Editore

IT-266744, sent by Betty.

Mount Vesuvius has experienced eight major eruptions in the last 17,000 years. The 79 AD eruption is one of the most well known ancient eruptions in the world, and may have killed more than 16,000 people. Ash, mud and rocks from this eruption buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pompeii is famous for the casts the hot ash formed around victims of the eruptions. The unfortunate people suffocated on ash in the air, which then covered them and preserved amazing details of their clothing and faces. 

Starting in 1631, Vesuvius entered a period of steady volcanic activity, including lava flows and eruptions of ash and mud. Violent eruptions in the late 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s created more fissures, lava flows, and ash-and-gas explosions. These damaged or destroyed many towns around the volcano, and sometimes killed people; the eruption of 1906 had more than 100 casualties. The most recent eruption was in 1944 during World War II. It caused major problems for the newly-arrived Allied forces in Italy when ash and rocks from the eruption destroyed planes and forced evacuations at a nearby airbase. - in: http://geology.com/volcanoes/vesuvius/

DE-3070715

Another german official but this one really showing a place in Germany, in this case, Oldenburg, city in the state of Lower Saxony. 

© Schöning GmbH & Co. KG 

DE-3070715, sent by Sven.
The yellow building on the card is the Oldenburg Palace.

The site of the splendid Oldenburg palace used to be the location of a moated castle. The palace as it now stands was built by Count Anton Günther (1583-1667). From 1607 to 1615 he had the medieval-style castle converted into a splendid Renaissance-style palace. From then on it served as the residence of all counts and grand dukes of the city.

 The appearance of the palace also changed frequently in the following centuries. During the period of Danish rule from 1737 to 1753 the palace underwent a great deal of conversion work: The shape of the roof was changed, the tower entrance was closed and a main gate was built instead. In addition a north-east wing was built from 1774 to 1778. It served to house the Danish governor and minister Friedrich Lewin Graf Holmer. Duke Friedrich August probably named this wing the "Holmerflügel" after him. His successor Duke Peter Ludwig had the two-floor "library wing" built and had the inside of the palace refurbished by the court painter Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (1751-1829) in a classicist style. In 1894 the dilapidated "Kanzlei-Flügel" was torn down.

Since 1921 the Oldenburg palace has been part of the Federal State Museum for Art and Art History. - in: http://www.oldenburg.de/sprachversionen/gb/tourist-information/sightseeing-highlights/historic-city-centre.html

DE-3070941

Although this is a german official, the card is actually showing a spanish beach on Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands.

© mauritius images / Tolo Balaguer

DE-3070941, sent by "hot2121".

Cala del Pilar is one of the less accessible pristine beaches throughout Menorca. This isolated sea inlet is the origin of a shell-shaped beach, virgin and isolated, not very big, covered by gravel and sand, rare vegetation, the orientation is toward north, the swell is quite moderate, whereas the wind blows strongly and it is surrounded by the steep cliffs of the hills of Marina de Santa Elisabet. 

Fátima Sanctuary - Portugal

The beautiful picture of this card was taken by Dúlio, the sender of the card. Its a wonderful shot and it really deserves to be a postcard. 

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was built to satisfy the express request of Our Lady: “I want you to build Me here a chapel in My honor, because I am the Lady of the Rosary…” (October 13, 1917). It was built on the site where, on May 13, 1917, the three Little Shepherds were playing (...).

The blue print for the project was conceived by Dutch Architect Gerardus Samuel van Krieken and finished by Architect João Antunes.

On May 13, 1928, the first stone was blessed by Archbishop of Évora, Most Rev. Manuel Mendes da Conceição Santos. The dedication was celebrated on October 7, 1953. 

The title of Basilica was granted by Pius XII, through the Brief “Luce Superna” of November 11, 1954.

The building, 70.5 meters long and 37 meters wide, was constructed only of local stone (...). It has capacity to accommodate about 650 people seated. The bell tower, erected at the center of the façade, is 65 meters high and topped with a 7.000kg bronze crown. - in: http://www.santuario-fatima.pt/portal/index.php?id=42324

Penedono Castle - Portugal

I fell in love with this castle when I saw an image of it for the 1st time. That was long time ago and i finally had the opportunity to visit it in 2011. It's a very small and unique castle, really worth to visit. 

This card was sent by Margarida. 

Penedono castle is located in the Portuguese district of Viseu, in the west central part of Portugal. 

In the 11th century Penedono Castle already existed, but this appearance had remained the stronghold of the late 14th century. The later centuries followed a time of progress and decline, and ultimately the state of the 18th century castle was pretty bad.

In the early 20th century Castle Penedono was classified as a national monument by decree, published on June 23rd, 1910. In 1940 a decision was taken to begin the full restoration of Penedono - the structure was strengthened and the facades and towers were restored.

Penedono Castle was built by large gray stone blocks. It also was quite an unusual triangular architectural plan and its four jagged towers are something impressive. Overall Castle Penedono is a typical medieval fort with its high walls, prisons, etc. - in: http://travelinos.com/castles/n22-14199-Penedono_Castle

Furna do Enxofre - Azores

Furna do Enxofre - Sulphur Cavern -  is a large cave of volcanic origin located on the Graciosa Islanda, Azores.

This place is one of the portuguese sites on the UNESCO Tentative List. 

Photo by Jorge Góis

It's a huge cave located in the only caldera of the island, whose origin is related to the collapse phase and drainage of a lava lake in the interior of the caldera. It is formed by an unique and huge dome that shows the existence of basaltic prisms. its maximum altitude is 100m and its diameter is 150m. In the bottom of the cave a big lagoon can be seen. There is a permanent fumarolic activity which exhales the CO², H²S, H² gases There are two holes in this cave that allow the entrance of the sun light. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/566/

Fortaleza Cathedral - Brazil

 Besides the 4 previous cards, Mauro also sent me a 5th card, the 1st of these night views of the Fortaleza's Cathedral. 

The 2nd card was sent back in 2011 by Paulo.

Foto: Wilson Polano

The construction of Fortaleza's Metropolitan Cathedral began in 1939 but it was close to four decades later when it was actually completed in 1978. 

The cathedral was designed by French architect George Mounier and built in Gothic-Roman style. With a capacity for 5,000 people, it's Brazil's third largest cathedral.