The Sant’Apollinare Nuovo is an early sixth century church in the centre of Ravenna that is renowned for its beautiful wall mosaics. In fact, it is one of only two churches in Italy of which the original wall mosaics have been preserved over the centuries, the other being the Santa…
When the Ostrogothic king Theoderic died in Ravenna in 526, Italy had been part of his kingdom for over 30 years. Theoderic was anything but the stereotypical barbarian ruler. He was just, cultured, educated and mostly tolerant. Furthermore, he had excellent strategic insight and most of Italy prospered economically under…
Ravenna’s Orthodox Baptistery was built by bishop Ursus just to the north of Ravenna’s cathedral, the Duomo, which was also Ursus’ work. However, it was bishop Neon (ca. 450-473) who rebuilt and redecorated the Baptistery, and the structure is now often named the ‘Neonian Baptistery’ after him. The decorations inside…
The full name of Ravenna’s immense cathedral or Duomo is the cattedrale metropolitana della Risurrezione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo. It is dedicated to the resurrection (anastasis) of Jesus Christ. The cathedral was built in the eighteenth century on the footprint of the Late Antique cathedral dating back to the…
The so-called ‘Mausoleum of Galla Placidia’ used to be part of the Santa Croce church, a part of which can be seen on the left behind the mausoleum. The Santa Croce is now closed to the public. It was possibly built between 417 and 421, when Galla lived in Ravenna…
The San Giovanni Evangelista is perhaps the oldest church in Ravenna that is still standing. It is possible that the Santa Croce in the same city is marginally older, but we cannot know for certain. In any case, the Santa Croce is now closed to the public, so there is…
Now that the Duomo, the Bapistery & Leaning Tower and the Camposanto have all been discussed, it is time to take stock of what else the city of Pisa has in store for history enthusiasts. When we walked from the railway station to the Piazza dei Miracoli and back –…
If you go to the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, you will have to buy tickets to visit the buildings. Combination tickets are available, and you can choose whether you want to see just one or several attractions, or everything. Since there was a long queue of people waiting to…
The Duomo, discussed previously, is the oldest building in the Piazza dei Miracoli, or rather the building whose construction started first. Numbers two and three are the Baptistery and the Leaning Tower. Almost everyone in The Netherlands knows the Leaning Tower. Not because they have all been to Pisa, but…
It was a horrible, windy, rainy day in early May of 2010 when we visited the famous city of Pisa in Tuscany. Pisa has a long and illustrious history, and nowhere is this illustrated more than at the Piazza dei Miracoli – the Square of the Miracles – in the…
It is difficult to imagine that this imposing cylindrical drum on a large square platform was once the tomb of the Roman Emperor Hadrianus (117-138), also known as Hadrian. The original decorations are all gone and the structure was turned into a formidable fortress long ago. It has also served…
The First Punic War between Rome and Carthage was, at the time, the largest conflict the Classical World had ever seen. The war lasted an almost unprecedented 23 years. Some of the largest naval battles in history took place during this conflict and there was a tremendous loss of life,…
Summary Rome and Carthage intervene on Sicily to aid the Mamertines of Messana; Carthaginian garrison expelled from Messana; Carthage and Syracuse form an alliance, but both are defeated by the consul Appius Claudius Caudex; The consul Marcus Fulvius Flaccus captures the Etruscan city of Volsinii and razes it to the…
Summary Successful Roman campaigns on Sicily by the consuls Manius Otacilius Crassus and Manius Valerius Maximus Messalla; Alliance between Rome and King Hiero of Syracuse; Now that order had been restored in Volsinii, the Romans could send both newly elected consuls to Sicily. Their names were Manius Otacilius Crassus and…
Summary The consuls Lucius Postumius Megellus and Quintus Mamilius Vitulus besiege Agrigentum, an important base for Carthaginian operations on Sicily (262 BCE); Carthage sends a large relief army led by Hanno to Agrigentum; The Romans defeat the Carthaginian relief army in the Battle of Agrigentum; The Romans capture Agrigentum and…
Summary The Romans build a fleet in record time; Disastrous start to the Roman naval campaign, as the consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina is captured; Using a new device called the corvus, the Romans win a decisive victory over the Carthaginians at the naval Battle of Mylae; The consul Gaius…
Summary The First Punic War continues without any major land or sea battles; First engagements between the Romans and Carthaginians near Corsica and Sardinia (259 BCE); Failed Roman attack on Panormus on Sicily (258 BCE); The Romans and Carthaginians fight each other to a draw at the naval Battle of…
Summary Decisive Roman victory at the naval Battle of Ecnomus (256 BCE); The consuls Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus sail to Africa with an army and capture the town of Aspis; After his colleague Vulso returns to Italy, the consul Regulus defeats the Carthaginians at the Battle…
Summary The consuls Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina and Aulus Atilius Calatinus capture Panormus (254 BCE); The consuls Gnaeus Servilius Caepio and Gaius Sempronius Blaesus fail to capture Lilybaeum (253 BCE); After raiding the African coast with limited success, the consuls lose much of their fleet in a violent storm; The…
Summary Aiming to assault the important Carthaginian city of Lilybaeum, the Romans decide to build new warships; The consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus start the siege of Lilybaeum; The Carthaginians manage to slip reinforcements past the Roman naval blockade of the city; During a successful sortie,…