After the decline of the ancient world, countless masterpieces of art lost their value in the eyes of men

After the decline of the ancient world, countless masterpieces of art lost their value in the eyes of men. Marble sculptures were smashed so that their bases could be used in the foundations of outhouses, and magnificently wrought bronze statues were melted down for scrap. By the fifth and sixth centuries AD, the export of old bronze had become a specialised trade in certain regions. It is impossible to imagine how many works of art were melted down into dishes and lanterns, but the Archaeological Museum of Brindisi displays this mighty Hellenistic warrior of the turn of the era, who was likewise destined for the crucible, except that the ship carrying a cargo of scrap non-ferrous metal, on board which this statue also sailed, went down. Thus a shipwreck preserved for future generations dozens of highly artistic objects

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

After the decline of the ancient world, countless masterpieces of art lost their value in the eyes of men

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s