Wonders of the World

[AndreaDraco]

Yesterday I was researching the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and, out of curiosity, I checked out the New Seven Wonders: I obviously had read about them in 2007, but I had already forgotten which monuments were included in the final list and which were discarded at the semi-finals, so to speak.

Well, I must say I don't agree with the final winners

If it were up to me, these are the final seven monuments (in no particular order) I'd have chosen to represent humanity!

1. Eiffel Tower (Paris, France)
2. Colosseum (Rome, Italy)
3. Statue of Libery (New York, USA)
4. Acropolis (Athens, Greece)
5. Opera House (Sydney, Australia)
6. Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain)
7. Neuschwanstein (Fussen, Germany)

However, I'm not that convinced that adding the Colosseum and the Acropolis is entirely fair, since they are both ancient buildings. In this case, if I was forced to change them, I'd choose Versailles, the Tower of Pisa or the Louvre.

I'd be really interested to know what are your Wonders

[Rath Darkblade]

I don't think the Colosseum even belongs on the list - the Flavian Ampitheatre (to give it its proper name) was hardly the biggest ampitheatre in antiquity. That honour goes to the Circus Maximus, which could house up to 500,000 people; the Colosseum only accommodated 50,000. The only reason people think of the Colosseum nowadays is that parts of it have survived the centuries, whereas the Circus Maximus has not.

One of my "Wonders" is not a tall structure, a la the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa or Big Ben, but is much more influential. I refer to the First Transcontinental Railroad (also known as the Pacific Railroad), which was built between 1863 and 1869, and traversed the whole of the United States from east to west, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The men who made it possible - the labourers and smiths, the artisans and architects - are hardly known today; yet its influence on the North American continent is immeasurable.

I can't really think of more 'Wonders' that haven't been covered, but I think the ancient wonders and the modern ones tend to be rather Euro-centric. Have you considered:

1. The Taj Mahal
2. The Angkor Wat Temple
3. The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
4. The Hagia Sophia
5. Chichen Itza
6. The Old City of Jerusalem
7. The Incan ruins at Machu Picchu

etc., etc. etc... see wikipedia for many more.

[AndreaDraco]

The only reason people think of the Colosseum nowadays is that parts of it have survived the centuries, whereas the Circus Maximus has not.

Well, that's sort of the point, no? I mean, if Circus Maximus had survived, maybe there could be a comparison between the two, but given that it was destroyed this is pretty much a moot point. We're talking about the New Wonders, voted by contemporary people, so they simply couldn't acknowledge something that was lost to time centuries ago. And the Colosseum is pretty much astounding in its own rights, not only because it has survived.

I can't really think of more 'Wonders' that haven't been covered, but I think the ancient wonders and the modern ones tend to be rather Euro-centric. Have you considered [...]

To me, the ones you mentioned are not so great a symbol of what we, the human race, have achieved since the Ellenistic Period. Perhaps I'm biased, but when I see the Tour Eiffel or the Statue of Liberty, I see a symbol of what we've become since the antiquity and - more importantly - a symbol of what does it mean to be human, of our progress, of our success. When I see the Taj Mahal I see a pretty white building I'm exaggerating, of course, but this is how I see it.

Oh, and Hagia Sophia may soon be European as well

[DeadPoolX]

"Ellenistic?" Do you mean "Hellenistic?"

[AndreaDraco]

"Ellenistic?" Do you mean "Hellenistic?"

Yes, sorry. In Italian it's "ellenistico," so I made a mistake.

[BBP]

I can't really think of more 'Wonders' that haven't been covered, but I think the ancient wonders and the modern ones tend to be rather Euro-centric.

The Ancient Seven Wonders wasn't a democratically chosen top-7 of all things beautiful in the world (like the new ones were supposed to be), it was a travel guide made by an ancient Greek, all the places are either in Greece or Turkey. So it's not all that surprising that he didn't choose anything in the Americas or basically anything that's too far away.

I recall there was a gigantic lobby for the Latin-American countries, particularly for that Jesus-statue which I strongly dislike. Why prefer that over Stonehenge? The theatre in Orange, the papal palace in Avignon? Or the cathedrals of Chartres and Rouen? St Basil's cathedral in Moscow?
All the same I'm glad Petra made the new list. And Macchu Picchu. And Burubudur, and the Colosseum. Seven is just a too small number.