12+ hour, 40+ min ago   (592+ words) Monocle It’s 05.00 when soldiers at the Austrian Armed Forces’ Alpine base in Hochfilzen rise for a morning routine that might look rather old-fashioned. They muck out the stables, lay down fresh bedding and feed their 50 Haflinger horses and eight serving…...

12+ hour, 40+ min ago   (196+ words) Monocle It has been a bit of an odyssey – partly of the Italian variety, partly on-screen. You might recall that last week I was bound for Forte dei Marmi, and I’m pleased to report that all was tasty as ever…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago   (760+ words) In Canada’s far-flung communities the established media can seem distant, out of touch and even irrelevant. We take a look at some of the independent media outlets covering the country’s more isolated corners. Most nations have a media bubble; there’s…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago   (51+ words) Monocle Are you a plate flipper? I can’t stop myself. Same with glasses. The labels on the towels. Where is this stuff made, I wonder? Often the answer is a delight but too often a…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago   (609+ words) To understand what makes Australia special, look to its dynamic design community. Monocle meets a choice selection of the nation’s crafty creators making their mark at home and abroad. Australian designers have always drawn on local materials, international ideas and…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago   (474+ words) Africa’s island of São Tomé isn’t a paradise lost but an opportunity squandered. Monocle reports on why corruption and misguided ambition blight an otherwise unspoilt landscape, as new development dreams emerge. São Tomé’s big dream slowly evaporated, leaving behind a…...

1+ day, 12+ hour ago   (457+ words) Monocle When the owner of Munich’s Arabellahaus announced in 2018 that the building would have to come down, residents were furious. Completed in 1969, the enormous, skinny, rectangular structure long functioned as a miniature city, earning comparisons with Le Corbusier’s L’Unité d’Habitation…...

1+ day, 19+ hour ago   (634+ words) Monocle The UK’s Frasers Group – owner of discount sportswear chain Sports Direct – has announced the acquisition of British department store Harvey Nichols from administrators. Frasers paid a measly £40m (€46.8m) for the retailer’s six shops across the UK, as well as its…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago   (815+ words) How do you balance the welfare of livestock with an architectural aesthetic that befits bucolic surroundings? We pulled on our wellies to find out. Humans have long been fascinated with home-building for furry and cloven-hoofed friends, from old European pig…...

2+ day, 12+ hour ago   (264+ words) Monocle Unesco’s decision to inscribe Aalto Works – a series spanning 13 landmark Alvar Aalto-designed sites across Finland – on the World Heritage List has been widely celebrated in the late-modernist architect’s homeland. Many locals believe the designation will act as a catalyst…...