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AI illustration of King Arthur King of Britain and the sword in the stone. Source: dan/Adobe Stock

The True Story Behind the Sword in the Stone (Video)

The legend of King Arthur , with his famed sword Excalibur and the magical stone, has captivated imaginations for centuries. Rooted in the chaos of 5th-century Britain, the historical existence of...
Pena Palace at sunset, Sintra, Portugal. Source: onnybas / Adobe Stock

Eight Places Straight out of a Fairytale (Video)

In Portugal's Sintra Mountains, the Pena Palace stands as a showcase of King Ferdinand II's flamboyant taste, featuring a red clock tower and a yellow minaret. Abandoned in 1910, it earned UNESCO...
Montage of votive offering finds from San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy.   Source: Emanuele Mariotti/SABAP-SI / Municipality of San Casciano dei Bagni

Treasure Trove of Perfect Votive Offerings Found at Etruscan Thermal Baths

It’s amazing what treasures people will throw away in the hope of winning the favor of the gods. Rare items used as votive offerings found in an “exceptional state of preservation” have been...
Bust of an Etruscan woman. Source: Ana Tramont / Adobe Stock

Mysterious Origins of the Etruscans: DNA Study Solves the Riddle

A new study published in the journal Science Advances offers evidence to support the theory of local origins of the Etruscans, an advanced Iron Age peoples in central Italy. For the study, scientists...
Fourteen Living Descendants of Leonardo da Vinci Identified in Study

Fourteen Living Descendants of Leonardo da Vinci Identified in Study

Two Italian historians have announced they have found the “lost descendants” of Leonardo da Vinci after a 10-year-long quest into the family tree of the famous polymath, inventor, and artist. Italian...
The San Casciano dei Bagni ancient Roman bath site (left), next to the modern baths.

Ancient Roman Baths and Sanctuaries Found at San Casciano dei Bagni

In the culturally and historically rich province of Tuscany in central Italy there is an old way of blessing someone verbally. It translates into the phrase “...from the warm waters of San Casciano...
Lars Porsena: The Famous Etruscan Ruler Who Threatened Rome

Lars Porsena: The Famous Etruscan Ruler Who Threatened Rome

Lars Porsena was an Etruscan ruler mentioned in the earliest accounts of Roman history. His story is associated with Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last semi-legendary king of Rome. Lars...
Florence’s historic ‘wine windows’ have reopened in response to COVID-19                 Source: Buchette Del Vino

Historic Wine Windows Reopen in Italy, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The bubonic plague , otherwise known as the Black Death, originated in Asia during the late Middle Ages and spread north into Europe through the bacteria Yersinia pestis on infected fleas. To counter...
Italian Medieval Village Fabbriche di Careggine emerges from under Lake Vagli.         Source: Public domain

Sunken Italian Medieval Village May Rise Once Again

An Italian medieval village , that has been underwater since the 1940s, may soon reappear from the depths of Lake Vagli. It is reported that there are now plans to drain the man-made lake which would...
View of the Etruscan burial chamber. In the foreground bowls and animal remains and towards the back the deceased.           Source: Roland Haurillon, Inrap

Rare Etruscan Tomb of Treasures Excavated in Corsica

Over the last few months as the world was slowly shutdown with the prevailing pandemic, a team of archaeological and anthropological researchers led by Franck Leandri, head curator of the French...
Maiestas Domini page from Codex Amiatinus (fol. 796v), Firenze, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana and folio 5r from the Codex Amiatinus (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, MS Amiatinus 1), Ezra the scribe. "When the sacred books had been consumed in the fires of war, Ezra repaired the damage."

The Codex Amiatinus: The Skins of 500 Calves Were Used to Create this Monumental Manuscript

The Codex Amiatinus dates to the end of the 7th century AD; making it the oldest known surviving complete Catholic Bible written in the Latin Vulgate. It has been estimated that over 1500 calves were...
Ötzi’s Ancient Axe is from Tuscany, Giving Firm Evidence of Neolithic Travel and Trade

Ötzi’s Ancient Axe is from Tuscany, Giving Firm Evidence of Neolithic Travel and Trade

Scientists have officially verified that copper used to make Otzi the Iceman’s axe blade did not come from the Alpine region as was initially suggested, but instead it came from southern Tuscany in...
Ice Man, Otzi: A Treacherous Murder with Unexpected Links to Central Italy

Ice Man, Otzi: A Treacherous Murder with Unexpected Links to Central Italy

The copper used to make Otzi's axe blade did not come from the Alpine region as had previously been supposed, but from ore mined in southern Tuscany. Ötzi was probably not involved in working the...
Palazzo Vecchio by night.

Poppi Castle and the Murderous Madam Matilda

Poppi Castle is a medieval castle overlooking the Casentino Valley in the province of Arezzo in the Italian region of Tuscany. This castle is said to have been built around the second half of the 13...
Ruins of luxurious imperial Roman villa

Ruins of luxurious imperial Roman villa to share its majesty once again

The ruins of an imperial Roman luxury villa that had heated floors, lavishly decorated rooms and a dramatic marble staircase leading down to a beach, is ready to share its majesty with the world once...
Ancient Well, Etruscan and Roman

Ancient well sheds light on 1,500 years of Etruscan, Roman and medieval civilization

During a four-year excavation of an Etruscan well at the ancient Italian settlement of Cetamura del Chianti, a team led by a Florida State University archaeologist and art historian unearthed...
Medici children malnutrition - Italy Florence

Bones from the wealthy and privileged Medici children show they suffered from malnutrition

The Medici family rose to power in the 13 th century in Florence and Tuscany through banking and commerce and became one of the most powerful families of the Renaissance period. However, new research...