Aristocracy · Architecture · Faith · Observations · People
Monsignor Vincenzo Giustiniani, a Genoese patrician turned diplomat, in his 64 years gave Apulia, the region where he served as bishop, several churches and public buildings. Among them is the unique church of Madonna della Grazia in Gravina. Have you ever seen so majestic an eagle on the façade of
Architecture · Faith · Observations
Everything you need to know about this church in the Italian town of Gravina is written on its face. Madonna della Grazia above the entrance is the name of the church. The eagle spreading its wings over a castle with three towers comes from the family coat of arms of
NB! · Art · Observations · Humour
Oskar Kokoschka, Theseus and Antiope. Or the old guard of society ladies against the Instagrammers
Observations · Mores · Society · Humour
In 301, Emperor Diocletian attempted to fix uniform prices for basic goods and issued the Edict on Maximum Prices. Footwear, for instance, could cost anywhere from 50 to 150 denarii. On average, that is the equivalent of 50 bricks, three weeks of a soldier's pay and two months
Books · Observations · Ethnography
The hero of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" is accompanied by a mysterious old man named Wednesday. Perhaps one ought to have guessed sooner, and the sly old fellow would have ceased to seem so enigmatic, but the text offers no special explanation. As the book unfolds,
Observations · Science · Education · People
Natalia Ivanovna Basovskaya, medievalist, popularizer of science, author of many books and a wonderful human being, has passed away. Until her last years Natalia Ivanovna headed our department at RSUH. Students and teachers held her in great respect and, I shall not be afraid to say, admiration. Her learning, her
London · Museums · Observations · Ethnography · Humour
I don't wish to make diagnoses, but what if Andrey Trubnikov, founder of Natura Siberica, who always wears a toad around his neck, took his inspiration from the old English custom of making an amulet from a dried toad to ward off fits? True, in England the toad&
Books · Observations · Mores
“Drink to me alone with your eyes... and, please, do not spill the wine, but add water to it and, raising the cup to your lips, fill it with kisses and pass it to the thirsty” (XXXIII, 5-7). “I sent you a wreath of roses not to do you
NB! · Art · Observations
Temperantia. Remember the name. Strange as it may seem, the goddess of virtue is often depicted as a nude female figure pouring liquid into a glass.
Books · Observations · Mores · Rome
What the Romans wore, how they furnished their houses and what they talked about, we can picture quite well; but what an ordinary Roman dinner looked like came as a revelation to me personally. In one epigram Martial lists the dainties prepared for his table, inviting a friend to a
Architecture · Observations · Rome
If you look closely, on the façade of this neglected sixteenth-century Tuscan-style building in the northern part of the Pincio gardens, directly above Piazza del Popolo, you can make out an inscription: ASCENSORI. Yes, it really is a lift. More precisely, it is the first public lift in
Observations · Society · Paris · Humour
Aaaaaaaaaa!!! I have found a YouTube channel whose author explains that the French judicial system is enmeshed in the cobwebs of Freemasonry, and that judges belonging to one lodge or another decide cases according to Masonic interests rather than the letter of the law. What is more, unlike in Great