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…
The Castel Sant’Angelo (Castle of the Angel) is one of the most conspicuous buildings along the river Tiber. 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…
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,…
Summary The consul Publius Claudius Pulcher suffers a humiliating defeat against the Carthaginians at the naval Battle of Drepana; Pulcher is put on trial and fined; The other consul, Lucius Junius Pullus, loses most of his fleet in a storm; Pullus manages to capture Mount Eryx near Drepana; Aulus Atilius…
Summary Hamilcar Barcas lands on Sicily and starts a guerrilla war against the Romans from Mount Hercte (247 BCE); Foundation of Roman colonies at Fregenae and Alsium and a Latin colony at Brundisium (245 BCE); Hamilcar Barcas captures the town of Eryx and continues his guerrilla from there (244 BCE).…
Summary The number of praetors is increased from one to two (242 or 241 BCE); Once again, the Romans build a new fleet from scratch (242 BCE); The consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus besieges Drepana with his army and fleet; Catulus wins a decisive victory over the Carthaginians at the naval…
The San Francesco is small church in Trastevere, located near the western shore (ripa) of the river Tiber. It is of course dedicated to none other than Saint Franciscus of Assisi, one of the best-known and most important saints in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. His preaching was…
I have previously discussed three churches on the Caelian Hill: the Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the Santa Maria in Domnica and the Santo Stefano Rotondo. One church is still missing: the San Gregorio Magno. If you approach the Caelian Hill from the Circus Maximus, this is the first church you…
It is difficult to explain why a tourist in Rome should visit the San Giorgio in Velabro. There is not much of interest to see. The architecture is clumsy, there are no artistic treasures inside and the only thing that can be considered ‘art’ – the apse fresco – is…