The Boxer at Rest is a bronze sculpture from the Hellenistic period , the most iconic ancient bronze statue in the world. When it was discovered in Rome during an excavation in the 19th century it...
The Battle of Zama was a decisive battle of the Second Punic War (also known as the Hannibalic War, or the War Against Hannibal), which was fought between Rome and Carthage. The battle was won by the...
When we talk about the ancient ages of the Italian Peninsula, we often focus on Rome and the early history of its people. But the history of this crucial European region is very rich and intricate,...
A 2,300-year-old drainage system carved into bedrock beneath Pompeii will be used again to divert increasing rainwater into the sea. Mount Vesuvius on the west coast of Italy is the only active...
There is a fascinating architectural structure that comes to us from the distant past. It is found almost everywhere on Earth and many independent researchers propose a unique cultural origin for its...
An ancient set of footprints commonly known as the ‘ devil footprints ’ on the side of an extinct volcano have long frightened and intrigued people in southern Italy . In reality, it was thought that...
In Italy, archaeologists have unearthed what they are calling a ‘prince’s tomb’, found using the latest non-invasive archaeological methods. The royal burial is believed to come from an enigmatic...
Neanderthals are known to have used tools, but the extent to which they were able to exploit coastal resources has been questioned. New research shows they collected clam shells and volcanic rock...
The early medieval and early AD history of Europe saw many emerging nations, and plenty of migrations as well. Tribes were restless, axes sharpened, and old kingdoms were growing weak. And in such...
During the Bronze Age (3300 – 700 BC), the Nuragic civilization built what are known as the Tombs of Giants (Tomba dei Gigantic). These megalithic gallery graves were used by the Nuragic people as...
Stone and tile diagrams in an ancient Pompeii building have been linked to Roman surveyors and their sophisticated measuring tools and highly guarded secret craft. Ancient Roman measuring specialists...
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (known more commonly as Raphael) was a painter and architect who lived in Italy between the late 15th and early 16th centuries, during a period known as the High...
The Flower of Battle is an Italian martial arts manual from the Renaissance. This manual was written by Fiore Furlano, a knight , diplomat, and itinerant fencing master who lived between the 14th and...
The first subject of our enquiry must be Caesar Augustus himself. He is often described as the first Roman emperor, but that is a wholly misleading description. What causes the misunderstanding is...
Scholars have been studying Rome for hundreds of years, but it still holds some secrets - for instance, relatively little is known about the ancestral origins of the city's denizens. Now, an...
Ostia Antica is an archaeological site located on the outskirts of Rome . Although the Romans referred to the site as Ostia, this article will use the term Ostia Antica, so as to avoid confusion with...
Archaeologists in Pompeii have unearthed a well-preserved fresco in a gladiators’ tavern illustrating the end of a fight in gory detail. The fresco of two gladiators fighting was discovered beneath a...
The ruined city of Pompeii that was devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD continues to provide insights into Roman history and society. An inscription on the tomb of an unidentified...
In the Friuli region of Italy in 1580, during the peak of the Roman Inquisition’s foray into witchcraft, an inquisitorial examination of a local town crier produced the following eerie testimony: “…...
Archaeologists in Milan have uncovered the shattered remains of a young man believed to have been broken on a wheel of torture. In medieval Italy different methods of torture were assigned depending...
Because Italy is so rich in archaeological and historical sites , visitors often do not have the time to visit as many as they wish. One site which should not be missed is the remarkable Capitolium...
Marcus Aurelius is famed for various accomplishments—his title as the last of the Five Good Emperors; his extensive study of and literary accomplishments in the field of Stoicism; and, last but not...
Two skeletons intentionally buried hand-in-hand – the so-called ‘Lovers of Modena’ – were always assumed to be male and female. But a new study finds they were both men, raising questions as to their...
Civita di Bagnoregio is a small town located in Viterbo , a province in the central Italian region of Lazio . The town is situated about 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the north of Rome . Due to its...
