The Palazzo dei Normanni is the royal palace of Palermo. The name “palace of the Normans” dates from the twentieth century. It is a name that is not necessarily incorrect – the building was indeed a residence of the Norman kings of Sicily – but it does ignore that many…
The palace of the archbishop behind the cathedral of Ravenna is probably as old as the cathedral itself. After all, the bishop of the city – archbishop since 553 – needed a place to live and receive his guests. The palace was enlarged in several phases, the first known addition…
Twenty years ago, on 30 October 2002, the ‘House of the stone carpets’ in Ravenna opened its doors. The founding of a museum on this spot was more or less a coincidence. During excavations at a courtyard in 1993-1994, which had been launched prior to the construction of an underground…
In 2018 the Classis Ravenna museum opened its doors in an old sugar factory (zuccherificio). The factory had been closed down in 1982 and was now given a second life. As the Italian name of the museum – Museo della Città e del Territorio – suggests, Classis Ravenna tells the…
The historical centre of Verona, much beloved by tourists, is situated in a bend of the river Adige. But this is not where the city of Verona came into existence. That happened on the other side of the river, on the hill that is called the Colle San Pietro. From…
People standing in front of the church of Sant’Anastasia will probably not realise that this is one of the oldest churches in the city. The history of the church possibly goes back to the first quarter of the fourth century, when Christianity had just become an allowed religion (religio licita)…
I do not usually discuss a museum and a church in one post, but in this case the church is actually part of the museum. The church of Sant’Eufemia cannot even be visited separately; it can only be entered from the museum and potential visitors therefore have to buy a…
It just wasn’t my day. I had wanted to see the Santa Balbina church on the Aventine first and then proceed to the Santi Nereo e Achilleo near the Baths of Caracalla. Both turned out to be closed at the advertised opening hours, which was rather frustrating. I continued my…
Ravenna is by no means a large city, but it is home to an amazing eight UNESCO World Heritage sites. Most of these sites are within walking distance of each other. Combination tickets give access to the monuments at very reasonable prices, and admission to two of Ravenna’s most interesting…
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…
Not much is known about the lives of the twin brothers Cosmas and Damianus (Κοσμάς and Δαμιανός in Greek). Tradition dictates that they were born in Arabia, which is most likely Arabia Petraea, then part of the Roman Empire. Cosmas and Damianus both became physicians. They were apparently quite good…