From the early days of the Roman Republic, if not from the time of the Roman Kingdom, the House of the Vestals served as the residence of Rome’s most important priesthood. It was here that the city’s six vestal virgins…
You often hear that ancient sites like Pompeii and Herculaneum offer valuable windows into the past. More than windows, I think of them as glass-bottom boats. Constantly moving, constantly changing, and, for those who want to dive in and explore…
The reign of the emperor Domitian (81 – 91 CE) is one characterised by infamy. Immortalized for posterity on account of his brutal and unforgiving nature, Domitian comes down to us as the runt of the Flavian family. A tyrannical…
Some regard him as the greatest leader France has ever had. Others as a warmongering tyrant. Few historical figures polarize public opinion like Napoleon Bonaparte. On the one hand, he can be credited with upholding some of the best ideals…
Last week, Italy’s Ministry of Tourism launched its latest campaign entitled Italia: Open to Meraviglia (‘Italy: Open to Wonder’). Fronted by Botticelli’s Venus in the role of a ‘Virtual Influencer’, and conveyed almost entirely in Italian, the €9 million campaign has…
For weeks my LinkedIn feed has been inundated with posts about ChatGPT. Some of these are from recognized authorities. But many more are penned by content marketers and/or tech-dudes-turned-AI experts. Experts I’ve come to label as Chad-GPTs. A recent graduate…
It’s little surprise that when the summer heat hit, the ancient Romans were eager to trade the stench and squalor of the capital for the salty sea breeze of the coast. From the picture Juvenal paints, the Eternal City has…
