Faith · Society · People · Rome

Today the 87-year-old Pope Francis I marks the eleventh anniversary of his accession to the papal throne

The Vatican reports that the Bishop of Rome enters the twelfth year of his pontificate in a dark hour, when the fate of humanity lies in the hands of rulers unable to weigh the consequences of their decisions, who appear to be surrendering to the inevitability of war. We, for

Fresco detail: a grey-bearded old man in a pink cloak looks over his shoulder, with other figures in yellow and blue robes beside him.

NB! · Art · People · Rome

Daniele da Volterra portrayed his friend Michelangelo as an apostle in a fresco in Rome

Portrait of Michelangelo in the guise of one of Christ's apostles. Michelangelo sat for the portrait for his friend Daniele da Volterra, who later transferred it to a fresco in Rome

Faith · Mores · Rome · Ethnography

The name of February from the Etruscan god Februus and the Roman Lupercalia

In most European languages, February is named after the Roman tradition. In Rome the month was called februarius mensis, after the Etruscan god of the underworld Februus, who was associated with rites of purification (februa, februare, februum), as was the month named in his honour. In mid-February the Romans

NB! · Geography · Maps · Rome

The Limits of the World Known to Rome by the Year 150

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Mores · Rome

Shops and Shopkeepers in the Arcade of the Theatre of Marcellus in Rome, 1914

Coming Up · Archaeology · Art · Museums · Observations · Rome

Reconstructed statue of a seated emperor at the Recycling Beauty exhibition in Milan

Until the end of 2025, a 13-metre copy of the ancient Colossus of Constantine, which once stood in the apse of the Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum, can be seen in the grounds of the Villa Caffarelli, part of the Capitoline Museums complex. The reconstructed statue of

NB! · Faith · Observations · Rome

Snowballs in Saint Peter's Square in Rome, 2018

Architecture · Art · Heritage · Rome

Caravaggio's only fresco at the Villa Ludovisi in Rome and its alchemical symbolism

"Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto", the only fresco painted by Caravaggio, is found in the alchemical study of his patron, Cardinal Del Monte, in the hunting lodge of his villa. Today the sixteenth-century building on the highest ground in Rome, the Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, is often called the

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Heritage · Rome

The Arch of Constantine in Rome beside the Colosseum, shielded from bombing during the Second World War

Art · Books · Observations · Rome

"Gods!

"Gods! What horror! My father's head!" cries Tullia, beholding the remains of the executed Cicero. Mark Antony, who together with Lepidus and Octavian Augustus had established in Rome the regime of the Second Triumvirate, declared Cicero, the most influential of the senators, an enemy of the

NB! · Faith · Society · Rome

Pope Francis Gives Formal Permission to Bless Same-Sex Unions

NB! · Art · Museums · Science · Rome

The Laocoön and His Sons of the Rhodian school from the Museo Pio-Clementino, and the Austrian anatomist Josef Hyrtl's reflections on the legendary sculpture