Roman Quarantine – Day 43

Augustus, Coronavirus, Origins

Tweet Today is Rome’s birthday. On the 21st April, 753 BCE (which I think we can agree is very specific for a legend), the city was founded by her first king, Romulus. He and his brother Remus, were twin sons of Mars and the Vestal Virgin, Rhea Silvia. She was the...

The Baker’s Tomb at Porta Maggiore

Archeology, Architecture, Augustus

Tweet In front of the Porta Maggiore, of which I wrote in my last post, is the tomb of an Augustan era bread magnate. Built about 30 BCE, on the cusp of Republic and Empire, it predates the aqueduct (of which the Porta Maggiore is part) by eighty years. The master...

When in Rome… : A Visit to the Mausoleum of Augustus

Archeology, Art History, Augustus, Empire, Rome, Underground Rome

Tweet Last month saw a momentous anniversary of the sort that doesn’t happen often; on the 19 August it was 2000 years exactly since the death of Augustus, Rome’s first emperor. Much hand-wringing was employed over Rome’s lack of festivities, and it...

From Virgil to Vitruvius: some thoughts on the House of Augustus.

Aeneas, Aeneid, Archeology, Architecture, Art History, Augustus, Empire, Legend, Origins, Palatine Hill, Roman Art, Roman Painting, Rome, Virgil

Tweet This year is a big anniversary for all things Augustus; the two thousandth anniversary of the death of the first Emperor of Rome. The exploitation of art, religion, legend, history, poetry, dodgy family trees, you name it, in the relentlessly sophisticated...

Paradise regained: the painted garden of Livia at Palazzo Massimo

Archeology, Art History, Augustus, Empire, Esquiline, Fresco, National Roman Museum, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Roman Art, Roman Painting, Rome

Tweet In a city filled with extraordinary works of ancient art, perhaps one of the most breathtaking is one of the least visited and one of my favourites. After visiting the “Monsters” exhibition (excellent, go) at Palazzo Massimo today I went to the top...

Rus in urbe – a bucolic stroll across the Palatine

Aeneas, Aeneid, Archeology, Architecture, Art History, Augustus, Empire, Legend, Origins, Palatine Hill, Roman Art, Roman Forum, Roman Painting, Rome

Tweet This year December is treating Rome very well indeed. It has been largely dry, as warm as one can hope for, and the rich blue sky sets everything off wonderfully.   On Monday I took myself off to the Palatine Hill for a wander amid the ruins in the winter...