NB! · Faith · Heritage · Rome

There were several Christian figures named Valentine at around the same time, and alas there is no way of establishing exactly whose remains are the holy ones

There were several Christian figures named Valentine at around the same time, and alas there is no way of establishing exactly whose remains are the holy ones. But the skull in Santa Maria in Cosmedin is venerated by many

NB! · Faith · Heritage · Rome

In the small Roman basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in the left aisle of the church, there is a reliquary containing the skull of the Christian priest Valentine, who may well be the very saint glorified in 496

Nativity scene on a staircase in a Baroque interior, with figures of the three kings on red cloth, fir trees and moss, and Mary and Joseph at the top.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Rome

Nativity scene on the Holy Stairs in Bonn, a copy of the Roman shrine

A nativity scene in Bonn has been set up on the famous Holy Stairs, an exact copy of the Roman relic. According to legend, Jesus once climbed this staircase in Pontius Pilate's palace, before it was brought to Rome in the time of Saint Helena

Baroque church facade with a central dome and two bell towers under an overcast sky.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Rome

The Church of Saint Agnes and the legend of its construction on the site of a brothel

The Church of Saint Agnes, a twelve-year-old girl who was publicly stripped, tortured and consigned to a brothel. They say the church stands on the site of that very brothel, but most likely this is merely a legend

Observations · Heritage · Rome · Humour

A French guide in the Belvedere and the Napoleonic removal of treasures from Rome's palaces

In every room of the Belvedere the French guide cried: Vive la France! And why not, for nobody ever carried off so many treasures from the palaces of Rome as the French did under Napoleon

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Art · Rome

Not all of Rome's obelisks are genuine: this 16-metre fake in Piazza Navona was raised by the family of Pope Innocent X to lend their house an air of importance

Not all of Rome's obelisks are genuine: this 16-metre fake in Piazza Navona was raised by the family of Pope Innocent X to lend their house an air of importance. Later Bernini built the Fountain of the Four Rivers here and saved the view

Underground ruins of the Stadium of Domitian with a wooden enclosure for an educational excavation area and a sign showing the entrance 50 metres away.

NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Observations · Rome

Remains of Rome's first stone athletics stadium beneath Piazza Navona

From my window I observe the remains of the first stone athletic stadium in Rome, a building quite unique in the history of sport. Where the stadium once stood there is now a residential district, piazza Navona

Archive · Faith · Society · People · Rome

In 1938 Pope Pius XI, known for having refused to excommunicate Hitler, delivered a speech in defence of the Jews to a group of Belgian pilgrims:

"We know well from the Catholic Mass that Abraham is our patriarch and forefather. Antisemitism is incompatible with the lofty ideals of Christianity. It is a movement in which we Christians can have no part whatever. No, no, I tell you that it is impossible and impermissible for a

NB! · Faith · Art · Moscow · Observations · Rome

Jules Eugène Lenepveu, Saints in the Catacombs (of Rome)

Jules Eugène Lenepveu, Saints in the Catacombs (of Rome). One more thing I love about Moscow is that there are no mass burials beneath it, as there are under so many European capitals. Only rivers. Somehow life is calmer with that thought

Marble statue of a nude youth in a Phrygian cap, holding a sword in one hand and a torch in the other, against a brick wall, with a Latin inscription below.

NB! · Faith · Museums · Rome

Statue of Mithras with a torch, sword and Phrygian cap in the Baths of Diocletian

A depiction of Mithras in the Baths of Diocletian, with a torch in one hand, a sword in the other and a Phrygian cap on his head. Among the Hellenes this cap was a symbol of freedom, as it was, incidentally, during the French Revolution.

NB! · Art · Nature · Rome · Humour

An Incredibly Detailed Female Leopard in Giallo Tigrato Marble (the Stone That Adorns Santa Maria Maggiore)

An incredibly detailed female leopard in giallo tigrato marble (the stone that adorns Santa Maria Maggiore). The cat has glass eyes 😍 And her two cubs live in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Faith · Rome