Montemartini Atistia Detail 2019

Roman Portraits

By the 3rd Century (AD), the were two populations in Rome, the living and the immortalized statue. Glorified bodies were created in advance and heads were added when a patron …

April in Rome

Aprilis (April) was originally the second month. The calendar (from the ancient Latin Kalendae), supposedly introduced by Romulus when he founded Rome in 753 BC, consisted of 10 months in …

Athens in the Roman Empire

The statue of Athena upon the Acropolis suddenly turned to the west and spit blood. – Cassius Dio (AD155-235) In 87 BC, during the 1st of the Mithridatic Wars of Rome vs …

Greece and the Roman Empire

Much has been written about what the Romans took from the Greeks. The Greeks still say they were the originators. The Romans still say they made it better. Greek sculpture …

September in Rome – 2017

In 2017, Rome, and all of Italy, suffered the worst drought in 60 years. Rainfall was close to 80% below normal. The water flow to Rome has been continuous, without …

The most beautiful Piazza in Rome

Architects of the Renaissance created the concept of the Piazza in the 15th century, a redesign of the urban landscape into marketplaces and public spaces surrounded by buildings. Piazze (or …

Vicus Scelerata and the Evil Steps

A foreign visitor stopped me on the via Cavour and with two words he asked one of the most frequent tourist questions in Rome’s Monti District. “Saint Peters?” He phrased …