Week 12 – Glittering mosaics and ruins: almost normal.

Archeology, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, Rus in urbe

Tweet This afternoon I zipped over to the fourth century Mausoleum of Constantina (aka the church of Santa Costanza about which I wrote this) to get some better photos of the mosaics for this week’s talk: the Roman-ness of Christian Art: A Look at Medieval Church...

Week 11: Freedom!

Coronavirus, Rus in urbe

Tweet A quick bit of self-promotion: the calendar for my June online talks is now up, please do take a look! What a difference a week makes! Last Monday all restrictions on movement within the region were lifted, yesterday we went to our local, Pigneto Quarantuno, for...

Roman Quarantine – Day 37

Coronavirus, Rus in urbe

Tweet Day thirty-seven of the Happening, and I’m definitely beginning to lose all track of time. It’s not an unpleasant feeling. The URL of yesterday’s blog ends “/day-37” because that’s what I called it at first. In fact today is day 37 after all, but to be...

Roman Quarantine – Day 23

Coronavirus, Rome, Rus in urbe, Uncategorized

Tweet After yesterday’s fifty metre foray to the bins, I indulged my wanderlust further today with a short walk along the most deserted & interesting road in our neighbourhood, via del Mandrione. I’d set my alarm for 7.30am, something which I...

Roman Quarantine – Day 22

Coronavirus, Rome, Rus in urbe

Tweet I took the bins out today. My first foray to street level in six days. I’ve started dreaming of long walks in Rome’s abundant and excellent parks. What Martial called, when speaking of the house of Sparsus (not without envy), rus in urbe. Literally the “country...

Roman Quarantine – Day 9

Coronavirus, Rome, Rus in urbe, Trastevere

Tweet Botanical Gardens, Rome. 28 February 2020. Three weeks ago (really, only three weeks?), and before this situation became a national emergency but after I’d already had all my work cancelled for what then then seemed like only a month, I went for a walk around...