Thousands Gather at the Vatican to Celebrate Selection of Pope Francis

Earlier today in Vatican City, thousands gathered to witness the selection of a new pope. The election came on the first full day of the cardinals’ conclave in the Sistine Chapel, and a week after Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience. Argentina’s Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, addressed the crowd after his selection and will take the name Pope Francis.

Instagrammers were there capturing scenes from the announcement today. To view their photos, visit the Città Del Vaticano, Piazza San Pietro and Vatican City location pages.

Shipwrecked, Two Years after Tōhoku

For more photos of the Kyotokumaru, visit the 第十八共徳丸 location page.

On 11 March 2011, a 9.03 magnitude earthquake focused off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku struck Japan. It was the most powerful known earthquake ever to have hit Japan, and triggered tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) and travelled 10 km (6 mi) inland.

Remnants of Tōhoku’s destruction remain today in northern Japan. In Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, 17 ships ran aground but just one—a 330-ton, 200-foot-long fishing boat called the No. 18 Kyotokumaru (第十八共徳丸)—still sits where the waves left it over 800 meters (.5 mi) from the city’s harbor. The city of Kesennuma is debating whether to leave the Kyotokumaru as a monument or dismantle it. While some visit the site to pay their respects, others find the ship to be a painful reminder of the disaster.

Sundial Bridge in Redding, California

See more photos of the Sundial Bridge by browsing the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay Exploration Park location page.

Late tonight, people around the world will kick off Daylight Saving Time (DST) by advancing their clocks one hour. Evenings will have more daylight and mornings less.

To mark the season, we’re celebrating Redding, California’s iconic Sundial Bridge. Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava designed the bridge in the form of a massive sundial. It spans the Sacramento River, offering a photogenic route for bicycles and pedestrians.

The Sundial Bridge’s mast stands 217 feet (66 meters) tall and points due north at a cantilevered angle. This tall mast serves as the gnomon and casts its shadow upon a large dial to the north of the bridge.

#InstagramMeansToMe

In honor of the Instagram community growing to 100 million people actively sharing their lives through photos each month, we asked you to tell us your Instagram stories through the hashtag #InstagramMeansToMe. We were humbled and overwhelmed by all of your submissions, and we wish there were a way to showcase every one of the many messages we loved. Click the photos above to see the stories behind them.

For more stories, read what Instagram means to some of the people who have helped shape the community into what it is today: @awnoom, @chrisozer, @cubbygraham, @cucinadigitale, @idafrosk, @lauralawson, @moneal, @robinmay, @thiswildidea, @twheat.

And to see what Instagram means to us, check out the submissions from the Instagram team: @kevin, @josh, @jayzombie, @dantoffey, @grex, @ryangomba, @amy.

Architecture Feature: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

For more photos from the Welsh Assembly, check out the #senedd hashtag and National Assembly for Wales location page.

The Welsh National Assembly (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) in Cardiff, Wales, houses the legislative body of Welsh government. The building itself, known as the Senedd, was designed by architect Richard Rogers as an energy-efficient building seated directly on the waters of Cardiff Bay. The building features a distinctive undulating ceiling and large central “funnel” made of Welsh red cedar and over 1,000 tons of Welsh slate floors. Under the funnel lies a public viewing gallery from which the public can watch the proceedings of the 60 Assembly Members as they debate.

Frank Gehry & Vlado Milunić’s Dancing House (Tančící Dům)

If you ever visit Prague, the famous Nationale-Nederlanden building, nicknamed Dancing House (Tančící dům) or “Fred and Ginger,” is hard to miss. It sits in the middle of a densely built section of Prague, surrounded by other structures that are nearly all the city’s standard Baroque or Art Nouveau styles.

It was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić and Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot of great historical significance. Its site was the location of a house that was destroyed by the U.S. bombing of Prague in 1945 during World War II. The plot and structure lay decrepit until 1960 when the area was cleared.

The building’s deconstructivist dancing shape is supported by 99 concrete panels, each a different shape and dimension. On the top of the building is a large twisted structure of metal nicknamed Medusa. To see more photos of the quirky architectural marvel, visit the Tančící dům | Dancing House location page.

A Presidents Day Visit to Mount Rushmore

Want to see more? Visit the Mt. Rushmore National Monument location page.

Today, we’re celebrating George Washington’s birthday with an ode to Mount Rushmore.

The Mount Rushmore National Monument in Keystone, South Dakota, features 60-foot (18 meter) granite busts of Washington and fellow US presidents Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. A South Dakota historian named Doane Robinson is credited with the idea for Mount Rushmore to promote tourism in the Black Hills region of the state. Originally, Robinson wanted the carvings to feature western heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud and Buffalo Bill Cody, but sculptor Gutzon Borglum felt the monument should have a more national focus and opted for four presidents. The initial plan was to depict each president head to waist, but in 1941, after 14 years of construction, federal funding ran out and the project was forced to end prematurely.

A Pumpkin by the Sea

Want to see more? Visit the 南瓜 (黄色いかぼちゃ) and Benesse House location pages.

On the tiny island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea of southern Japan, artist Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin” (1994-2005) sits patiently at the water’s edge. Instagrammers flock to the sleepy island to see a world-class art collection that was made possible in large part due to the philanthropy of Benesse Corporation, a Japanese company that specializes in test prep and language schools. Kusama’s “Pumpkin” is perhaps the most photogenic artwork on the island, beckoning visitors to come closer and pose with the giant spotted squash that Kusama says represents her alter-ego.

Panoramic Rainbow Walkway Illuminates ARoS Museum

Want to see more? View Olafur Eliasson’s “Your rainbow panorama” through the ARoS location page, the “Your rainbow panorama” location page, and the #ARoS hashtag.

Imagine what it would be like to live inside of a rainbow. That is exactly what Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has created in his rooftop installation, “Your rainbow panorama.” Positioned atop ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, a 10-story art museum located in Århus, Denmark, the elevated walkway yields a spectacular 360-degree view of the city.

Made entirely out of glass with panels in every color of the spectrum, the rainbow installation’s walkway measures 150 meters (492 feet) around. It’s also visible from a great distance throughout the surrounding area, acting as a multicolored compass for those navigating Århus both during the day and at night when spotlights installed in the floor light it up from inside. The project, as Olafur Eliasson explains, inspires a rich dialogue between visual arts and architecture.

The World Celebrates Carnival

Instagrammers around the world are sharing scenes from this week’s Carnival festivities. In cities across Brazil, samba schools spend the four days leading up to Ash Wednesday competing in parades that can last for hours. In Trinidad and Tobago, Carnival’s extravagant street parades, calypso music, and limbo competitions make it the country’s biggest event of the year; it’s said that if the islanders are not celebrating Carnival, then they are preparing for it! In Venice, masked baroque revelers march through historic streets and dance at the Gran Ballo delle Maschere.

To see Carnival celebrations from around the globe, check out the photos Instagrammers are sharing at these location pages:

• Sambódromo, Rio de Janeiro
• Piazza San Marco, Venice
• Korzo, Rijeka, Croatia
• Queen’s Park Savannah, Trinidad and Tobago