Collection Wonders of Ancient and Modern

The wonders of the modern world in spectacular pictures

A few years ago, a poll conducted worldwide chose the seven new wonders of the world. It was the Swiss aviator and filmmaker Bernard Weber who pitched the idea in 1999, because he wanted to replace the list of monuments unveiled the Greek poets and historians about 200 years before Christ. Monuments that, except for the pyramids of Giza were destroyed mostly by cataclysms. In this new selection is admitted structures created since humanity there until 2000, with the proviso that at present follow up. The names of the winners were announced on July 7, 2007.

Below we show, through spectacular photographs, not just those that were proclaimed seven wonders of the modern world but also those that were finalists in the international competition.

The Pyramid of Cheops was named Honorable Wonder to be the only one that still exists of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Temple of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza, in the Mexican state of Yucatan. Vestige of the Mayan civilization and World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1988

The Colosseum in Rome, built in the first century, is a great amphitheater of the period of the Roman Empire and one of the most famous monuments of classical antiquity

The Christ the Redeemer statue, 38 meters high, was inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro on 12 October 1931 after about five years of work

The Great Wall of China, built in the V century a. C. and the sixteenth century to keep invading Mongol tribes, measures approximately 6,400 kilometers

Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca Andean village of stone built in the middle of the fifteenth century on the eastern slope of the Central Andes in southern Peru

Petra, an archaeological site in Jordan. Its name comes from Greek and means 'stone', it is a city carved and sculpted in stone

The Taj Mahal was built between 1631 and 1654 in the Indian city of Agra by Emperor Shah Jahan of the Mughal dynasty in honor of his wife Arjumand Bano Begum

The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens in Greece, which was a finalist in the voting. A spectacular piece V century BC built by ancient Greek artists

The Alhambra in Granada, one of the greatest exponents of Islamic art, failed to be among the winners, but still marveling at its breathtaking beauty

The temple of Angkor in Cambodia, dedicated to the god Vishnu Hindu, was in ancient times an important city of the Khmer Empire and was built in the twelfth century

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, one of the most visited places in Germany, was one of the finalists for its popularity and rich culture and history

The Statue of Liberty, south of the island of Manhattan, was a gift from the French to the Americans in 1886 and was inaugurated on October 28, 1886

The Kiyomizu-dera, in the Japanese city of Kyoto, was a finalist in the vote and was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1994

The stone statues of Easter Island, known as "moai", were carved between X and XVI centuries. Its meaning is still unknown

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous and distinctive buildings of the twentieth century. Declared in 2007 a World Heritage Site, was inaugurated on October 20, 1973

St. Basil's Cathedral, an orthodox temple located on the Red Square in Moscow, is famous worldwide for its features domes

The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, is one of the most sublime works of Byzantine art. It was built from 532 to 537, during the reign of Justinian I

The monument of Stonehenge in Britain, was built between 3000 and 1600 BC its purpose is unknown, it may be religious or astronomical funeral

The sacred city of Timbuktu in the Republic of Mali, dating from about the fourteenth century and in 1988 was declared World Heritage Site by Unesco

The Eiffel Tower, designed by Frenchman Gustave Eiffel on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889. At the time was the world's tallest monument.

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