Categoria: History
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Strange marks in Florence
I had actually seen these signs before but didn’t think they were related to this context. Often, along the walls of a religious building, such as that of the Florence Baptistery you can find spolia (i.e., the reuse of architectural or decorative elements from Roman times) or the famous and mysterious magic square, the Sator.…
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Piazza del Campo
The first warm sun of spring, but it’s still cold in the shade.I sit down on the warm bricks, lean back with my hands, and stretch my legs. I can’t eat the ciaccino yet, it’s too hot. The swallows fly all around while the pigeons approach you to pick up some crumbs. The light reflected…
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The origins of the Befana
Needless to say, we inherited the character of the Befana from the Romans. During the twelve nights following the winter solstice, the Romans dedicated themselves to celebrations for the birth of nature, during which mysterious female figures, guided by Diana, flew over the fields to make them more fertile. Another hypothesis has it that the flying women…
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Do you know the origin of the name “January”?
The King of Rome Numa Pompilius (753 – 673 BC) had a temple erected dedicated to the most ancient Latin god, the god of gods, namely Two-faced Janus (Ianus Geminus). He reigned in the golden age and hosted Cronus, who took refuge in Italy after he was chased away by Zeus. In Roman times, if you strolled…
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Zeno’s Adventure
Zeno is on his boat in the open sea, on his way back from Phenicia with his cargo of purple. He is over 30 now, he has gained experience as a merchant, he knows the risks of the trade, most of all the navigation one. But experience is never enough when you have to deal…