italy

29 March, 2019 - 00:41 mrreese

The Madness of Caligula: Rome’s Cruelest Emperor?

Caligula was Rome’s most tyrannical emperor. His reign from 37-41 AD is filled with murder and debauchery, to levels even his infamous nephew Nero could not reach. The great-great grandson of Julius...

Hannibal crossing the Alps on elephants by Nicolas Poussin

21 October, 2018 - 14:03 ancient-origins

Military Historian Discovers Hannibal’s Long-Lost Battlefield

The history of Hannibal Barca , one of the greatest military commanders of the ancient world, is one which has fascinated historians and generals throughout the last two millennia, and yet his final...

A portrait of Michelangelo flanked by his sculpture ‘Madonna of Bruges’ and a detail of the Redeemed from his painting of ‘The Last Judgement.’

3 October, 2018 - 03:18 dhwty

Michelangelo: A Mixture of True Talent Meeting Great Luck and Perseverance

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, better known as Michelangelo, is one of the most famous figures of the Italian Renaissance period (between the 14th and 16th centuries AD). The Renaissance...

Painted burial chamber (from 2nd century B.C.) excavated in 2018

27 September, 2018 - 22:56 ancient-origins

A Banquet Frozen in Time: Rare Painted Tomb Discovered in Italy

At the foot of the hill on which sits the ancient city of Cumae, in the region of Naples, Priscilla Munzi, CNRS researcher at the Jean Bérard Centre (CNRS-EFR), and Jean-Pierre Brun, professor at the...

5 September, 2018 - 02:12 dhwty

The Praetorian Guards: To Serve and Protect the Roman Emperors… Most of the Time

The Praetorian Guard is said to be one of the most prestigious military units in the ancient world, and is arguably one of the most well-known today. These elite soldiers are best known for serving...

8 July, 2018 - 22:32 dhwty

The Mithraic Mysteries and the underground chamber of San Clemente

Prior to the adoption of Christianity as its official religion at the end of the 3 rd century AD, the Roman Empire’s religious policy was one of tolerance. Along with the official Roman religion,...

Ötzi Memorial, Austria (GFDL), Ötzi Arrow (Wierer et al), Ötzi Reconstruction (CC BY SA 3.0 )

22 June, 2018 - 02:00 ancient-origins

The Final Days of Otzi: Stone Tools Reveal What the Iceman Endured

Stone tools found with a 5,300-year-old frozen mummy from Northern Italy reveal how alpine Copper Age communities lived, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ursula...

The hand missing its index finger from a monumental bronze statue of Constantine.

3 June, 2018 - 13:47 Ed Whelan

Giant Finger of Emperor Constantine Found At Last

Experts at the Louvre Museum in Paris have made a rather important but strange discovery. They have discovered that an apparent bronze toe, is in fact a finger, and it belongs to a famous statue of...

1 June, 2018 - 03:33 Mark Miller

2,200-Year-Old Moat with Artifacts Linked to Hannibal Unearthed in Spain

Spanish university students trying to retrace Hannibal’s war march through northeastern Spain found a huge buried moat with ancient objects in it. The moat may have been meant to protect the ancient...

31 May, 2018 - 13:57 Ed Whelan

The Oldest Tree in Europe has been Discovered in Italy

In Italy, researchers have found what they believe to be the oldest living tree in Europe, having calculated its age to be approximately 1230 years old, according to a report from Discovery. The tree...

Interior of Etruscan Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri, Italy

28 May, 2018 - 21:24 dhwty

The Cerveteri Necropolis, Etruscan City of the Dead

Prior to the rise of Rome, Italy was inhabited by a number of different peoples. The coastal region of southern Italy and Sicily, for instance, was colonized by the Greeks, whilst the interior of...

The remains of an ancient Roman horse have been found in Pompeii

13 May, 2018 - 19:31 Alicia McDermott

2,000-Year-Old Remains of Horse Killed by Pompeii Volcano Found in Tomb Raider Tunnel

Donkeys, pigs, and dogs have all been found amongst the ruins of Pompeii, but the remains of a carbonized horse are the first example archaeologists have come across of that animal. While the...

13 April, 2018 - 22:02 dhwty

The Hippie Town of Calcata - Hiding-Place of the Holy Foreskin of Christ

One of the most important relics in Christendom, the Holy Prepuce (Jesus’s circumcised foreskin) put this clifftop town on the map in the 16th century as a place of pilgrimage. In the 20th century it...

Medieval burial showing the remains of a woman and a fetus in Bologna, Italy.

24 March, 2018 - 17:49 aprilholloway

Medieval Woman Gave Birth AFTER Her Death

A team of scientists in Italy have revealed that the 1,400-year-old remains of a woman and a fetus discovered in Bologna, is a rare case of a ‘coffin birth’, in which the pregnant woman gave birth to...

Detail of two dancers from the Tomb of the Triclinium in the Necropolis of Monterozzi.

24 March, 2018 - 09:36 anya leonard

Do not Underestimate the Etruscans: Art and Culture of their Own

Many folks see the Etruscan civilization as merely a segue, a follow up to the Greeks and a foreshadowing to the Romans. But casting this ancient society as a sideline character might not do them...

Angel of the Ribaudo tomb, Staglieno cemetery

28 February, 2018 - 18:57 dhwty

The Dramatic and Intensely Moving Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno

The Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno is a well-known burial site located in the Italian city of Genoa, which is considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the whole of Europe. It is famous...