Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Rome

Bernini's Unbuilt Church for the Colosseum and the Cross of Paolo Posi

One of the creators of Roman Baroque, the great sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), builder of Saint Peter's Square, contemplated the decline of another emblematic monument of Rome: since the fourteenth century the Colosseum had been in a lamentable state, crumbling ever more. Despite its worldwide fame

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Rome · Humour

Silver cup: "Drink until Emperor Hadrian swims out"

Black-and-white photograph of the sculpture of Laocoön and his two sons entwined by snakes.

NB! · Archaeology · Art · Museums · Rome

The sculpture of Laocoön and his sons, found in Rome in 1506, is kept in the Vatican

The sculpture of Laocoön and his sons being killed by serpents was found in Rome in 1506. The work of the renowned Rhodian masters Athenodoros, Polydorus and Hagesandros is now kept in the Pio-Clementino Museum in the Vatican

Monarchies · Observations · Rome

The Pythia's prophecy to Nero about 63 and versions of its interpretation

There is a legend that the Pythia told Nero to beware the year 63. He, so the story goes, took this as a reference to the age at which death threatened him. But the prophecy revealed itself where no one expected. It is said to have come true otherwise than

NB! · Art · Museums · Mores · Rome

Carriage of the Portuguese Ambassador to the Court of Pope Clement XI, Eighteenth Century, the Work of Italian Craftsmen

Roman castration tongs for animals in a museum case, with bronze busts and horse heads on the handles.

NB! · Archaeology · Monarchies · Rome · Humour

Castration as punishment for crimes against the emperor in Ancient Rome and China

In Ancient Rome and China, insulting the ruler, rebellion and other crimes against the emperor were punished by castration. Here, by way of illustration, are some Roman castration tongs. These ones, admittedly, were for animals. Something to ponder at your leisure

Faith · Heritage · Rome

Statue of the Infant Jesus from Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome, stolen in 1984

One of the shrines of Rome is the miraculous statue of the Infant Jesus in the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which tradition holds to have been carved 600 years ago from the trunk of an olive tree from the Garden of Gethsemane, and which was said to be

Fresco of a man in a light coat bowing before the Pope in a red cape, with riders and a hilly landscape behind them.

NB! · Faith · Art · Rome · Humour

Nobleman asks forgiveness of the Pope in a fresco in the Vatican

A man begs forgiveness of the Pope, a fresco in the Vatican. You cannot see it, but take my word for it: with his left hand the nobleman is slipping a purse of gold into the Pope's cassock. The Pontiff receives the believer into the embrace of the

Marble bust of a child with short hair, wearing a toga, on a round pedestal, Roman sculpture.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Rome · Humour

Third-Century Roman Child's Bust Found to Depict a Girl, Not a Boy

For a long time the child immortalised in a 3rd-century Roman sculpture was thought to be a boy, because of the short haircut. It has recently emerged that this type of toga was worn by girls. So much for assuming a gender identity

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Rome

This Is What Santa Maria sopra Minerva Looks Like Inside

A transparent Roman glass cup with green openwork netting below and dark letters of an inscription around the rim.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Observations · Rome

Roman glass cup with openwork netting and an inscription on the rim

A fine Roman tumbler. I would not say no to a whole service of them

A sheet of a French passport of 1830 with an ornamental border, a coat of arms, handwritten text and seals, lying on a wooden table.

NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Rome

French passport of 1830 issued to a Corsican student travelling to Rome

Authentic passport of a Corsican student in Rome, 1830. As is only proper, the king is mentioned in every document