The beautiful Romanesque basilica of Santa Maria Assunta was the official seat of the Patriarch of Aquileia until the patriarchate was finally suppressed in 1751. The basilica we see today was erected in the eleventh century, but there has been a church at this site since the early fourth century,…
Modern Aquileia is just a small and pleasant town of some 3.500 inhabitants in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Northeast Italy. Ancient Aquileia, however, was a large and prosperous city with a population that is estimated to have exceeded 100.000 souls. Founded in the year 181 BCE, Aquileia occupied…
The island of Murano has been famous for its glassmaking industry for over 700 years. In 1291, the government of Venice ordered all glassmakers in the city to move their foundries to Murano. The official reason was that this move was necessary to protect the city against fires (making glass…
A church is a place where people can find shelter. In July 2017, my better half and I found shelter in the church of Santi Maria e Donato on the island of Murano in the Venetian lagoon. The previous sentence can be taken quite literally: there was a violent rainstorm…
Why, someone might ask, would anyone want a church on Torcello to be right next to the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta? This is a fair question, a question that I myself have asked as well. Unfortunately, none of my travel guides could tell me why the lovely and elegant…
When discussing the early history of Venice, we should always keep in mind that settlement in the Rialto archipelago – now the nucleus of Venice – did not start in earnest until the early ninth century. Before that time, the Venetians were scattered across the lagoon and lived on various…
Het hier besproken boek van historicus Luc Panhuysen (1962) is een dubbelbiografie over enerzijds stadhouder-koning Willem III (1650-1702), Prins van Oranje, en anderzijds koning Lodewijk XIV van Frankrijk (1638-1715), de Zonnekoning. Het boek is omvangrijk (bijna 600 pagina’s) en gedetailleerd, maar leest door de vlotte pen van de auteur en…
Summary King Philippos V of Macedonia and an anti-Macedonian alliance led by Pergamum and Rhodos fight each other to a draw at the naval Battle of Chios; Philippos wins a minor victory over the Rhodians at the naval Battle of Lade; Pergamum and Rhodos send envoys to Rome to ask…
Summary Using a Macedonian attack on Athens as a casus belli, the Romans decide to declare war on King Philippos; Since the funds in the treasury are needed for the war with Philippos, creditors that have lent money to the State during the Second Punic War are allowed to lease…
Summary Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus and Publius Aelius Paetus serve as censors; Scipio becomes the new princeps senatus; The praetor Gnaeus Baebius Tamphilus is heavily defeated by the Insubres; The proconsul Lucius Manlius Acidinus is awarded an ovatio for his victories in Spain, but it is vetoed by a people’s…
Summary In spite of his young age, Titus Quinctius Flamininus becomes one of the new consuls; he is given the war against Macedonia as his province; The praetor urbanus Lucius Cornelius Merula suppresses a slave revolt in Latium, presumably the first in Roman history; Flamininus outflanks the Macedonian positions and…
Summary For the first time in their history, the Romans elect six praetors instead of four; two of them are sent to the two new Spanish provinces; Titus Quinctius Flamininus’ command in the war against King Philippos of Macedonia is prolonged; The consul Gaius Cornelius Cethegus wins a major victory…
Summary The popular assembly votes in favour of peace with Macedonia; decemviri are sent to Greece; The situation in Spain is grave after a heavy Roman defeat; The college of the tresviri epulones is set up in Rome; The praetor Manius Acilius Glabrio suppresses a slave revolt in Etruria; After…
Summary The consul Marcus Porcius Cato is sent to Nearer Spain to quell the rebellion there; The Lex Oppia, a sumptuary law from the Second Punic War, is abolished; The consul Lucius Valerius Flaccus defeats the Boii; Cato wins a hard-fought, but decisive victory over an Iberian army at the…
Summary The war in Macedonia and Greece is officially ended; The Senate decides that Latins that have settled in Roman colonies are not Roman citizens; Sextus Aelius Paetus and Gaius Cornelius Cethegus serve as censors; Scipio Africanus is again nominated princeps senatus; The proconsul Lucius Valerius Flaccus defeats the Boii…
Summary A Lex Sempronia curbs usury; Many Romans seek exemption from military service, but the Senate refuses to grant dispensations; A large army of Ligurians surrounds Pisa, but withdraws when the consul Quintus Minucius Thermus arrives with his army; The consul Lucius Cornelius Merula wins a bloody, but decisive victory…
Summary The Romans declare King Antiochos III of the Seleucid Empire an enemy of the State; More Roman successes in the Spanish provinces; The proconsul Quintus Minucius Thermus defeats the Ligurians in a battle near Pisa; The consuls Lucius Quinctius and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus devastate the territories of the Boii,…
Summary The Romans declare war on the Seleucid Empire; King Antiochos attacks Larisa in Thessaly, but is forced to withdraw when a small Roman relief force arrives in the region; The consul Manius Acilius Glabrio lands at Apollonia, marches into Thessaly and recaptures all the cities that had previously fallen…
Summary The Senate releases Demetrios, son of King Philippos of Macedonia, and cancels the king’s obligation to pay an annual tribute; Negotiations between Rome and the Aetolian League break down as the Romans continue to demand a deditio; the war continues; Manius Acilius Glabrio captures Lamia and besieges Amphissa in…
Summary The Latin colony of Bononia is founded; The new praetor of Hispania Ulterior, Lucius Baebius Dives, is killed on the way to his province; Lucius Aemilius Paullus continues his campaigns against the Lusitani and wins a great victory; The pontifex maximus Publius Licinius Crassus prohibits the praetor and flamen…