Villa Crespi, in Piedmont's Lake Orta, is blessed with lake views, botanical gardens, Michelin-starred restaurants, and 19th-century interiors inspired by ornate Baghdad palaces.

Heavy snow in recent weeks has already wreaked havoc across Europe -- now it is damaging some of the continent's most recognized historic monuments.

The Colosseum in Rome has been forced to shut after small pieces of its walls crumbled away as a result of freezing temperatures.

During  the 2012,Ghent Light Festival Ghent,  Belfortstraat (Belfort Street) will be the  domain of the Luminarie Cagna. More than half-a-million people were drawn to the Luminaire De Cagna LED-light display at the festival. Luminaire De Cagna became the main attraction of the Festival that included more than 30 other displays and exhibitions. Just like fireworks, originally used in celebrations to reach up to and greet the spirits in the sky, this LED-light cathedral aimed VERY VERY high! via cool hunter.

The 6 million Euro, three-year-long project was completed this summer. The most significant features of the restaurant are the magnificent glass curtain walls that protect the original stone; the curved structures that define the new space and also create the seating areas and even some of the seating; and the simple use of white and red. The result is both minimal and grandiose, contemporary and historic. French architect Odile Decq and her late partner, architect and doctor Benoit Cornette have never feared bold, big, challenging projects.

Ice skating on Paterswoldse Meer, a lake just South of the city of Groningen in the Netherlands