Some tourist attractions are so new that they are not yet mentioned in any travel guide. This was the case with Spello’s Villa dei Mosaici, which opened its doors to the public as late as March of 2018. The great thing about Italy is that one just has to stick…
The early history of Spello is poorly documented. The area of the town, which started as a settlement of the Umbrians, has been inhabited since at least the seventh century BCE. During the Roman era, Spello was known as Hispellum. It cannot have been more than a village, likely highly…
The Italian region of Umbria is a modern creation. Historically, the region where the Ancient Umbrians lived, ‘the oldest of the peoples of Italy’[1], was both much smaller and much larger. It was smaller because the western part of modern Umbria was in the hands of the Etruscans, who lived…
It took us a while to find the ruins of Carsulae, one of the most interesting archaeological sites in all of Umbria. This is a place where history becomes tangible and people from the twenty-first century can walk in the footsteps of Roman travellers, soldiers and traders. Carsulae was a…
The area around Spoleto has been inhabited since at least the eighth century BCE. Rich grave finds from several necropolises demonstrate that there must have been a settlement here of some importance. Excavations in 2008-2009 in the Piazza d’Armi, north of the railway station, have for instance uncovered the tomb…
I will readily admit that the famous Nile Mosaic was the reason I took the bus to Palestrina in the first place. This gorgeous piece of art, presumably from the late second century BCE, is the most prized possession of Palestrina’s National Archaeological Museum. The mosaic has a room of…
After Sulla had established a military colony at Praeneste after 82 BCE, the town enjoyed several centuries of peace. It prospered and grew and quickly became a popular destination for Romans during the summer to escape the scorching heat of Rome itself. I myself visited Palestrina on a very hot…
Getting from Rome to Palestrina by public transportation is pretty easy. You just have to know how. I travelled to the Ponte Mammolo metro station in the north of Rome and took a COTRAL bus to Palestrina from there. It should also be possible to make use of a similar…
Our ticket to the church of San Francesco allowed us to visit the National Archaeological Museum in Arezzo as well. The museum is special, because it is housed in a former monastery that was itself built into the remains of a Roman amphitheatre from the second century. We were short…
People who almost 2.000 years ago took the Limes road from Praetorium Agrippinae and travelled east for some eight kilometres would eventually arrive at the next castellum protecting the Rhine border. According to the Peutinger Table (Tabula Peutingeriana), this castellum was called Matilo(ne), a name of unknown origin. The precise…
Summary The people’s tribune Tiberius Gracchus launches a comprehensive land reform program; Gracchus’ proposal for a Lex Sempronia agraria is vetoed by his colleague, the tribune Marcus Octavius; After a second version of his land reform bill is again vetoed by Octavius, Gracchus issues a blanket veto on all public…
Summary The pontifex maximus Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio dies in exile in Pergamum; Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus is elected in his stead (132 BCE); The consul Publius Rupilius ends the First Servile War on Sicily (132 BCE); Scipio Aemilianus returns from Spain and celebrates a triumph for his…
Summary The former censor Appius Cladius Pulcher dies (ca. 130 BCE); The consul Marcus Perperna defeats and captures Aristonikos, but dies soon afterwards (130-129 BCE); The populares Marcus Fulvius Flaccus and Gaius Papirius Carbo become members of the land reform committee (ca. 129 BCE); The Lex Sempronia agraria leads to…
Summary Gaius Gracchus serves on Sardinia as the consul Lucius Aurelius Orestes’ quaestor (126-125 BCE); The consul Marcus Fulvius Flaccus introduces a bill to grant full Roman citizenship to Rome’s Latin and Italian allies, but it is withdrawn after encountering stiff opposition from both the Senate and the people (125…
Summary Gaius Gracchus is elected people’s tribune (124 BCE); The consul and later proconsul Gaius Sextius Calvinus defeats the Salluvii and the Vocontii of Southern Gaul and founds the colony of Aquae Sextiae (124-123 BCE); Gaius Gracchus launches an ambitious legislative program that includes bills about land reforms, grain prices,…
Summary The popular assembly adopts the Lex Sempronia de provinciis consularibus, which stipulates that the Senate selects the consular provinces before the consuls themselves are elected (122 BCE); Gaius Gracchus is opposed by his colleague, the people’s tribune Marcus Livius Drusus (122 BCE); Gaius Gracchus’ proposal to grant citizenship to…
Summary The people’s tribune Quintus Decius puts the former consul Lucius Opimius on trial for executing Gaius Gracchus’ supporters without trial; Opimius is acquitted (120 BCE); Gaius Marius is elected people’s tribune (120 BCE); A law tabled by the people’s tribune Lucius Calpurnius Bestia allows the former consul Publius Popilius…
In the first century BCE, very few people lived in what is now the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. Experts estimate that the population may have been 9.000 at most. The area was swampy and prone to flooding by the sea. The inhabitants were members of the tribe…
Summary The consul Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus successfully campaigns against Viriathus, but fails to end the war against the Lusitanians (145-144 BCE); King Ptolemaios VI Philometor of Egypt defeats Alexander Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire; the latter is succeeded by Demetrios II Nikator; Ptolemaios himself succumbs to his injuries…
Summary The consul Quintus Fabius Maximus Servilianus fights against Viriathus and the Lusitanians with mixed results (142-141 BCE); Scipio Aemilianus and Lucius Mummius Achaicus serve as censors (142-141 BCE); The new Jewish High Priest Simon confirms the treaty of friendship with the Romans (142 BCE); Viriathus is officially recognised by…
