Architecture · Moscow · Society · Rome · Humour
If you too sometimes feel that most Moscow architects, with all their arches, cappuccino colours and studiedly plain façades, are simply trying to copy some little-known famous building, your instinct has not failed you. Such a building exists. It is called the Palace of Italian Civilisation and was built
Archaeology · Art · Museums · Rome
In the spring of 1885, a magnificent bronze sculpture of a resting boxer was found during excavations on the Quirinal Hill in Rome. The most interesting thing is that, unlike many finds from antiquity, this sculpture was originally hidden on purpose. Its excellent state of preservation is explained precisely by
Faith · Society · Rome
Regrettably, the discord between calendars no longer allows Christians to celebrate together the most important feast of the liturgical year, which causes pastoral problems in communities, divides families and weakens trust. Pope Leo XIV, speaking in honour of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, proposed establishing a single
NB! · Faith · Society · Rome
Art · Museums · Observations · Rome
In the collection of the National Roman Museum there is an extraordinary block of marble with a relief of a half-naked woman being raised up by two handmaidens whose heads and shoulders, alas, have been knocked off. This monument of the 5th century BC is usually called the Ludovisi
Archive · Books · Heritage · Rome
The Vatican Apostolic Library Embarks on a Large-Scale Project to Restore and Digitise More Than 80,000 Ancient Manuscripts. The library's collection comprises more than 82,000 manuscripts and 1.6 million printed books, among them more than 8,000 incunabula, books printed before 1501. Its holdings
Faith · Art · Observations · Rome
Could the Vatican not have done without this gleaming sphere by Arnaldo Pomodoro? The so-called sculpture was installed back in the 1990s, under John Paul II, which does nothing to mitigate its ugliness. It looks more like some trinket from a metallurgical industry exhibition than a work of art
Archaeology · Observations · Heritage · Rome · Humour
A 20 kg Fridge Magnet Turns Out to Be the Base of an Ancient Column. The Rome police have detained a tourist who was carrying off an ancient chunk of marble from one of the city's archaeological sites. I am not sure what in this news item provokes
Faith · Society · Rome
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. The Apostle Paul, First Epistle to Timothy, 2:12 Pope Leo XIV has appointed the former superior general of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor as secretary of one of
Architecture · Cinema · Madrid · Observations · Rome
A little more on architecture. And on cinema. For the filming of The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), a full-scale reconstruction of the Roman Forum was built at Las Matas, near Madrid. Covering 92,000 square metres, four times the size of Red Square, it became the largest
Faith · Monarchies · Observations · Rome
The other day we recalled the papal portable throne, the Sedia Gestatoria. It was the very one used at the coronations of popes. On 31 June 1963 took place the first coronation of a Pope since 970 held not inside St Peter's Basilica but in the open air,
Faith · Observations · Society · Rome
In these days many pieces have appeared investigating how exactly the conclave went. Original hypotheses are advanced as to how, in what conjunction of circumstances and under which stars Pope Leo XIV came to be elected. For the most part it resembles the intriguing plot of a popular film. Let