My name is Carole Raddato, I am French and I live in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. My favourite hobby is travelling and for the last 15 years, I have taken a huge interest in the history of the ancient world. I usually don’t do things by halves, so I have dedicated all my free time to this passion. I love to share with other history fans all the incredible facts and stories that I discover throughout my journeys. I am neither a professional photographer nor an ancient history scholar, but I hope that everybody can enjoy my photos.
I am particularly interested in everything related to the emperor Hadrian whom I find fascinating. He was himself an incessant traveller, visiting almost every province in the Empire during his reign. When I am looking for new ideas for my travels I usually take inspiration from his journeys and it is a great motivation for me to follow him in his footsteps. Like Hadrian, I like to see things for myself, to go where the events happened, to be on the spot. This is how Hadrian ran his empire.
With my Hadrian 1900 project starting in 2017, I intend to reserve this blog for Hadrian related content while I will use my new blog Following Hadrian Photography to cover all the other places I have visited. The focus of my new blog is on photography rather than text. Following Hadrian Photography will always be a work in progress and new archaeological sites and museums will be added on a regular basis.
If you wish to contact me: madge@hotmail.fr
All my photos are published under the Attribution-ShareAlike license. Feel free to contact me if you require high-resolution images. You can also download my photos in high-resolution via my Flickr photostream.
Hi Carol, You are doing something I have always wanted to do. Especially travelling to where the ancient Romans once were. Your photo’s are brilliant most of all the Mosaics. Thanks for sharing your travels with us.
Thank you so much for your kind words Rita 🙂 I always put a lot of dedication in what I do. I feel very privileged to have explored so much of the ancient world already. And as always, thank you for your support.
Hi carol, I need your assistance if possible and would appreciate if you could email me. I love your blogging and the details you put into your comments .
Many thanks
Hi, I enjoy very much looking your photos and also of the comments and informations about country you visited. There are also some alternativs about official history, espacially if you drope a time lines and countries one over the other ones.
hi carol,
i lke and enyoy following hadrian vey much.
thank you and compliment,
toias
I think this is an amazing idea! I absolutely love Hadrian. I feel that if you love travel and love history than you probably love Hadrian. He also built the Pantheon so he wins in my book for that too! Hope you keep having amazing travels!
Ashley
Carole, I have been enjoying your posts on Following Hadrian on Facebook! I have read many books on Hadrian and the Roman Empire, but these books tend to recycle the same pictures again and again, whereas your amateur photos show us glimpses of some of the less famous sites, and you often show angles of them I have never seen before. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with those of us who cannot travel as you do!
Thank you very much for your support Nathan! 🙂
How are you able to afford all this travelling?
Hi Carol.
I traveled to Venice, Florence and Rome last year as it was a dream of mine to see the ancient world. I am now having my first child, so travelling is off the cards(for now), your blogs are a constant source of inspiration. I hope when I am lying in bed in my twilight years, that I can look back and see the life you are living, and be happy. Thanks for bringing back so many good memories.
Hi Carole, I am an ArchaeologicL tour manager and last week completed Rheinbrohl to Saalburg on foot
http://www.andantetravels.co.uk/tour/686/Germany/Walking-the-German-Limes-.html
I did not see the museum at Ehrenbreitstein on your map – well worth a visit:
Museum EBS https://flickr.com/photos/96034185@N07/sets/72157633554989981
Simon Ashley
Dear Carole,
please I need an image of the work: ” Emperor Hadrian from Perge” (Antalya Museum)
I’m working for an Italian Publishing House….my request it’s very urgent.
Please, can you send me a mail address for to contact you??
Thank you and kind regards
Simona
You can contact me at madge@hotmail.fr
Carole
Thank you for allowing me to use your pictures for my aqueduct exhibit.. I have given you credit of course. You can see the exhibit on Youtube at: http://youtu.be/8FeC7LIgaaM
Gary
Salve Carole!
Since you are a dedicated Hadrian fan, perhaps you would be interested in the current course “Hadrian’s Wall: Life on the Roman frontier” on Futurelearn at https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/hadrians-wall. It’s a six week course with an excellent program, offered by Newcastle University. It’s entirely free of charge and you don’t have to finish it within six weeks, you can take as long as you wish or your schedule allows. We are enjoying this course, which offers many new and fascinating aspects of life on the Roman frontier in Britannia.
Vale!
Corvina
I am glad someone pointed you out to me. I have started a map of all the sites and museums associated with the Roman military, emphasizing the original artifacts, as a guide to those wishing to refer to them. I am still a novice at Google maps.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zu09zh40zouE.k8kEZpE6GkFI
Hi Everyone, I’ve just started following Carole on twitter and i’m so pleased to have found her on FB. Not only are her pictures fantastic and informative, she has been most helpful on place to go, on my up and coming trip to rome. Keep up the good work Carole …love it.
Dear Carol,
I first read Memoirs of Hadrian about three years ago. I have read it twice since. I think about this book so often, going back to skim and reread. How beautiful and fascinating your website is! I am so enthralled to have a chance to put even more images with the text that I love so much. Thank you so much!
Elizabeth
Salve Carol,
I am a Latin teacher at the European school in Bergen, The Netherlands. The text book I use with my students is called “Imperium”, and it’s all based on the life of…Hadrian!
You might want to have a look at the book’s Web-site: http://www.imperiumlatin.com/
As you can imagine, I am very happy to have discovered your site, which I find most interesting and inspiring.
Kind regards, Nienke Steenbeek
Hola Carole:
Sólo preguntarte si has visitado Itálica. Si alguna vez te acercas por Sevilla a visitar el sitio en el que transcurrió la infancia de Adriano, estaría encantado de ser tu Cicerone.
Salud
Carole, you are an inspiration to all the lovers of Antiquity out here, and, in my case, a fellow lover of Hadrian (scoot over, Antinous!).
By the way, yoyr email link seems to be dead. But I will folliw you on Twitter, etc!
Denny
Globeandorbit@gmail.com
Hi, As historian, I like so much your posts in Twitter and Facebook. You show very interesting archeological places.
Marcus.
Hello, and thank you for your wonderful blog. I, too, am fascinated with Hadrian and have read many books about his life and travels. Walking Hadrian’s Wall in the UK is one of my dreams. Thanks for taking us all on vicarious journeys.
Hi Carole, love your blog and I’m very glad I found it. I love Ancient Rome and I have been travelling over the last few years. I noticed that you’re about to visit Aquincum- was there a few weeks ago. You’ll enjoy it.
Hallo Carole, if you are living in Frankfurt, maybe I may address you in German? Ich bin Gerda aus Athen und habe eben zu meiner großen Freude dein Hadrian-Blog entdeckt. Ich werde jetzt erst mal lesen, was du schon alles beschrieben hast, und bin gespannt auf weiteres. Liebe Grüße aus der Mani (Süd-Peloponnes)
Hello Carole
Thank you for your excellent Site. I too have taken an interest in Emp Hadrian. An interesting person who secured the empire, spoke Greek, travelled and was an amateur architect.
I would like to see a photo of the Venus/Knidos he had made and now in the Tivoli Museum. He visited Knidos and reproduced the Temple in Tivoli, so his copy would be the closest we get to the original by Praxitilles, 4thCBC.
I will be in Rome in mid Nov and may visit Tivoli again.
Thanks
Anthony Pulle
Freiburg & Nerja
Anthony, quite a few Hadriophiles are following Carole with interest; if you also have any photos to share from your trip to Rome I for one would love to see them. Regretfully I’m not able to visit Europe in this year of Hadrian’s anniversary.
Dear Carole,
We have an ancient coin club in San Francisco, and if your travels ever bring you to California, we would love to have you as a guest speaker. We usually meet the second Saturday of the month. We have some very serious Hadrian collectors, including myself. We are also planning to hike Hadrian’s Wall next June, and the more the merrier if you would like to join us.
Hey Richard–
I also live in glorious SF, and likewise indulge an obsession with all things Greco-Roman, especially hominum virum omnium mundum princeps: Imperator Hadrian. Since we both apparently have enjoyed Carole’s blog, I’d love to hear more about your coin club. Feel free to send any message to my email below, which is fine to share with people in your club. I have accumulated a modest library of books about antiquity, and wish to acquire some 1st/2nd C. artifacts, ergo factum veritas lucemque libros meus Hadrianus!
Carole this is unbelievable I’m going crazy at your website. So admirable and what enviable knowledge you’ve built! Hadrian huh… Yes. I admire him. But, my favorite is Caracalla! I’m in love.
I see you have not been to Algeria (you’ve been practically everywhere there is a roman remain). Have you thought about it? I thought about it last year, but got cold feet. Maybe I do it this year.
All the best
Max
Hi Carole
Even though there is no concrete proof some historians seem to think Hadrian may of visited Cyprus in AD 123. Do you think this may of happened?
I will be visiting Cyprus in August and plan to visit the ruins of Salamis. This city was re-built during Hadrian’s reign and the last time I was there I spoke to a local archaeologist who told me Hadrian paid for the Temple of Zeus in Salamis to be re-built and suggested that Hadrian may of briefly visited Salamis.
Best regards
Akin
I also live in San Francisco and would love to talk to someone about the coin club!
Denny Smith,
globeandorbit@gmail.com
Hi Carol
We enjoyed an amazing visit to the Hadrians villa outside Tivoli. We were looking on this site http://vwhl.soic.indiana.edu/villa/mission.php and noticed buildings out side of the main complex – Academy and the South Theatre. We could not find any information on how to see these sites. Do you know anything about them? Thanks for your help. Mike
Hi Mike, unfortunately the Academy and the South Theatre are located on private land so they are not accessible to the public 🙁
Hi Miss. Carole
I’m leaving from Edirne to Turkey. Edi̇rne old name is Hadrianapolis. And I’m working a city museum this city. Did you search something about Edi̇rne (hadrianapolis) maybe we can share a lot information.
Regards,
Merhaba Recep, unfortunately, I have not visited Edirne yet but it is of course on my itinerary of places to visit in Turkey next time.
Thanks a lot for this interesting blog!
Fantastic blog – well done, I’m so happy to see so much interest in the Roman period, and such well-researched, wonderfully curated posts on this blog. Chapeau!
Thanks for the very interesting posts I have read so far. I hope you will continue to produce you stories.
Kind regards
Rik Rensen
Netherlands
Hi can I ask how you personally travel to Hadrian’s Villa ? We managed to get there once (from Rome) but I think it was pure luck that we caught the bus from Tibertina. Next time we tried and couldn’t find the bus.
Do you drive there yourself ? We have resigned ourselves to having to go on an organised tour next time, which will also stop at Villa d’Este. Not very interesting to us.
Hi Kathy, I have only been to Hadrian’s Villa by car so I am unsure how to reach it by bus. I guess Villa D’Este is easier to reach by public transport as it is located in the city but Hadrian’s Villa is quite isolated.
Hi Hadrians Villa is very easy to visit. Depending where you are staying. You can take the train to Tivoli from Rome. Then there is a bus – the number 4 (buy tickets from the tobacco kiosk) The bus runs from main square in Tivoli takes you straight to Hadrians villa.
What an amazing blog!! You have really done your research – I look forward to your next trip! Roman and Greek classics are my passion, so it’s so nice to see this blog. PS : I prefer the classic literature myself to modern novels, but (I’m sure you’ve read the classic novel by Marguerite Yourcenar), but if you haven’t read Kate Quinn’s Empress of Rome Series, I would recommend it! Somehow she really brings Hadrian to life for me. Hadrian always seemed rather remote to me in the ancient sources, and Kate Quinn instills him with what seems like his true personality- a little mysterious, vicious, passionate and a dreamer. It’s a great read!! Happy travels! I’ll be watching!!
Hello Carole, Je viens de découvrir votre excellent blog. J’ai toujours été un fan de Hadrian et je le considère probablement comme le plus grand empereur après Octavian. Je vous souhaite la meilleure des chances dans vos prochains voyages. J’aimerais pouvoir faire la même chose.
Looks like your next adventure is to Algeria … Lambaesis was located in the province of Numidia (modern Algeria), and was the base for the III Augustan legion at the beginning of the third century A.D. Lambaesis was established by Emperor Hadrian
When I was there there were storks nesting on the top of the main ruin – the bad part is their nest was full of plastic
Greetings from Scotland. I’ve just discovered your outstanding website. As a retired classics teacher I love travelling round the Mediterranean looking at ruins! Recently I took a group to Hadrian’s Villa and I am now finding your material a great help in understanding the site. I also visited Italica recently and identified Hadrian’s amphitheatre as appearing in the 7th season of Game of Thrones. Hoping to go to Algeria next Spring. I’m looking forward to exploring your website in detail.
Hello Carole
Greetings from Scotland. I’ve just seen your website and I am most impressed. As a retired teacher of Classics I like to travel around the ancient world and hope to visit Algeria next Spring. Recently took a group to Hadrian’s Villa and I have found your material most revealing. Last year I was in Italica and also saw the excellent museum in Seville with its good Hadrian bust. Looking forward to exploring your site in depth!
Magnífico blog. Comparto la pasión por Adriano
Hi. Carol well your articles and travels on Hadrian is just so awesome I can’t explain it. My question to you is regarding Antonius and Hadrian. They travels during 128-30 around the time Antoninus died in Egypt. what was the political climate like. Especially in Alexandria with the largest concentration of Jews in that city of the Roman Empire.
P.S. thanks for any insight you can give me. It will well appreciate.
Thanks again John
I am a retired university teacher of Classics and Roman archaeology and have long admired your site and your energy. You modestly disclaim any proficiency in photography – quite wrongly as your photos continually show, but your latest photos about The Acts of the Arval Brethren of AD 120 are not too helpful, as they are almost impossible to read. This is a common problem with inscriptions! Most often the answer is to use lighting at a very shallow from the inscription surface, but museum staff can be aghast and uncooperative if you use flash to do this or ask them to move the inscription to a more photogenic position!! Perhaps taking the photo at a different time of day or at a different angle (with the automatic problem of distortion) may help, but it does remain a serious problem: however it is well worth experimenting, while you are actually there! With admiration. Michael
Thank you for your constructive remark. I have now made all the images clickable so you can now get a better view and zoom.
Outstanding information! It turns out, I have been following Hadrian for years, I just never knew it. I have loved Roman ruins since high school Latin class, and I visit them whenever I can. Almost everywhere I go, I find a monument to Hadrian, and it has been going on so long, it has become like running into an old friend. I have recently been reassigned to Turkey and I can’t wait to see what I find there! I will be in touch as I seek good ideas for visits. Thank you so much!
Hi David–I read this message a few times and I’m intrigued by your travels and assignments. Since Turkey is a place I’ve considered staying for a while, can I ask how you’re managing that? Is it contract work? No need to share more than you want, but anything is interesting. Thanks!
Hi Carole,
Love your website and what you are doing generally!
I am an amateur Roman historian & I arrange tours to places of interest from antiquity.
I am also writing a book, historical fiction, set at the time of Hadrian. Mindia Matidia, Hadrian’s sister in law, plays a part in the story. I wondered if you have come across any information about her or know anyone who does? My story is set around Minturnae and also Rome. I believe that her family had estates in the region and were major benefactors of the building programme at Suessa.
Thank you,
Robin
Hello Carole have been following from a distance for months and love the whole concept but keen to know how far you still have to go on this journey & over what timescale ?
Best wishes, well done indeed and thank you, Jake
Dear Jake, thank you for your kind words. I am currently into the third year of my Hadrian1900 project and they are 18 more years to go. Hadrian reigned from 117 to 138 so 2038 will be the end of the journey for me. The reason behind the 1900 project is because I was born exactly 1900 years after Hadrian, in 1976.
Oh dear, I wont be here when you finish in 38 years’ time but I am going to do my best to follow you as far as I can…….. 🙂
I very much enjoyed the recent article on Hadrian’s attempt to define the exact boundary of the Empire. His conceptual awareness of scale and size surprises me but then I think we often underestimate the spatial horizons of the Roman nobility given the travels that they so often made & which used up so much of their lifetimes. Plus they would have had far more military maps that have not survived and which would have provided the shape of their horizons.
Thank you for your reply.
Dear Carole, Allow me to wish you all success in life and your Hadrian Project 1900. I am very fascinated and inspired by your enthusiasm and detail in your work. Due to other pressures I have lapsed following your blog but not from now on.
Thank you and wishing you success in everything you attempt.
Anthony
Freiburg & Nerja
Dear Carole,
Wonderful to learn that your outstanding photographs will be archived at the American Academy in Rome… SUPER! We are proud (and fortunate) to have included some of your images in our book on Roman Architecture and Urbanism. Your perceptive eye and indomitable spirit have created, and now preserved, your stellar collection. Thank you.
Best wishes for 2021,
Diane Favro and Fikret Yegül
Dear Carole,
Thank you so much for this fantastic resource! I recently received a grant (as Latin faculty at my school) to design a tour of the Limes Germanische, and you provide great information for me as I plan my trip for this summer. And congratulations on getting your photographs archived at the American Academy in Rome!
Gratias maximas,
Laura
nice blog! RIC 2c. Denarius. Struck AD 117. Adoptio. Hadrian on Spartan coins looks really similar, there must be a designer for this
Hi from the North East of Scotland. I live about 12 miles from a Roman camp called Raedykes (Near Stonehaven) and as far as I know this was about the extent of the Roman Empire in Scotland. I believe Agricola was the main man during this campaign. I am a metal detectorist and found a Roman coin close to my home and have been advised that it is a Hadrian coin but cannot accurately identify it. I’m happy to send pics. Thanks Don
You can send me pics at madge@hotmail.fr
Hello Carole, I have just checked in to watch your You Tube video – you have a new career waiting for you ! I wanted to ask which of the museums in the south of France holds the best archives on the Roman occupation ? I have just completed a new biography on Cicero which will be published later this year and for this I travelled extensively in the area south of Rome to locate sites where I knew he lived. I now am writing another book in 2023/2024 on the Roman conquest of Gallia Narbonnensis. If you can advise me where I might start on the journeys of Hadrian through this region I would be very grateful. Philip
Hello Philip, what a great subject! I recently wrote about Gallia Narbonnensis. See https://followinghadrian.com/2022/11/28/autumn-ad-122-hadrian-returns-to-gaul-and-commemorates-his-horse-and-plotina-hadrian1900/
I’d recommend you visit:
– Musée de la romanité in Nîmes
– Musée Départemental Arles Antique in Arles
– Narbo Via in Narbonne
There are also many archaeological sites. See https://worldhistory.org/article/1316/top-10-archaeological-sites-in-provence/
The ‘wall of sculpture’ at Narbo Via is overwhelming. We visited that region 3 years ago, and completely agree with this set of recommendations.