Boston, the capital of the American state of Massachusetts, has a heritage stretching back to the early years of the American colonies. Founded by Puritan colonists in 1630, the city was the site of several significant events at the time of the American Revolutionary War, including the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre. Several battles of the war, such as the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill also took place in the city and nearby areas.
Today Boston is a thriving city, and with the presence of many universities and colleges in proximity to the urban centre, and has established a reputation as a leading venue for higher education. Boston is also in the vanguard in areas such as medicine, engineering, electronics, technology, finance and research.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, founded in the early 1900s remains one of Boston’s premier cultural attractions. Isabella Gardner was a wealthy American fascinated by the arts and culture. She and her husband Jack Gardner travelled around the world, visiting exotic locations such as Cambodia, India and Egypt, experiencing the culture of each area. In the 1890s Isabella began to collect Italian and Dutch paintings, guided by the advice of Bernard Berenson, an art historian.
Isabella made it her life’s mission to purchase exquisite works of art and to display them for the benefit of the American public. Realizing that the museum she had envisioned required a new location and buildings, she acquired a suitable plot of land and gave minute instructions to the builders, masterminding the design and construction of the museum at every stage. Once the building, designed to resemble a Venetian palace of the 1400s was complete Isabella painstakingly installed her beloved collection at the new site.
The museum’s collection includes sculpture, paintings, drawings, textiles, furniture, rare manuscripts, photographs, silver and ceramics, many of them priceless and among the most valuable in their category. The collection spans medieval Europe, ancient Rome, Renaissance Italy, Asia, the Islamic world and 19th century America and France with artifacts from each era.
If you desire an exemplary Boston hotel, there is no better choice than Millennium Bostonian Hotel Boston. An oasis of luxury in the midst of the cultural and economic centre of Massachusetts, the Millennium Bostonian Hotel Boston is unequalled among Boston hotels, providing sumptuous accommodation in a tranquil setting.