World Heritage: Fontainebleau & Tikal

Streaming video - 2016

The Palace and Park of Fontainebleau (France) - Profoundly impressed by the art of the Renaissance, Francis I called Italian artists to the forest of Fontainebleau in order to have them build a luxurious palace. The Fontainebleau forest on the outskirts of Paris, France, had been a royal hunting ground since medieval times. It was here in 1528, that Francis I constructed the Renaissance style Fontainebleau Palace. From that time on, successive monarchs poured their wealth into the palace tailoring it to their tastes. Tikal National Park (Guatemala) - Slumbering in the jungle of northern Guatemala, Tikal is the largest and oldest ruined city of the Maya civilization. The site contains around 3000 structures including temples and residential ...buildings. In 1696, a group of Spanish missionaries who had lost their way in the jungle while fleeing from the indigenous people stumbled upon an unbelievable sight. They saw four white temples rising high up above the sea of trees- it was the ruined city of Tikal with its countless ancient ruined structures. Even today, the magnificent sight of the ruined buildings causes people who visit the city to gasp in astonishment. more