This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble head of Hypnos, the Greek god of Sleep. Hypnos is represented as a young man with wings attached to his temples (now lost). The head must have been part of a full-length statue showing Hypnos running forwards, holding poppies and a vessel from which he presumably… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Marble head of Hypnos
When I was planning my archaeological trip to Sardinia I discovered, thanks to vici.org (an Archaeological Atlas of Antiquity I have mentioned here before), that there were many Roman bridges still standing all across the country. Some are left abandoned and almost completely covered with vegetation but others are perfectly preserved. Ancient Roman bridges are an… Continue reading Looking for Roman bridges in Sardinia
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble head of a companion of Odysseus, copied after a famous work of the Hellenistic period. This head shows the face of a man who probably belonged to a multi-figure group depicting Odysseus with his twelve companions blinding the one-eyed giant and the most famous Cyclopes, Polyphemus,… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Marble head of a companion of Odysseus
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble statue of a young nude, the so-called 'Capitoline Antinous'. It was found in 1723/24 when Giuseppe Fede undertook the earliest concerted excavations at the Villa Adriana. However, its exact provenance within the Villa is unknown. Considering that this work was found at Villa Adriana and owing… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Statue of the young god Hermes, known as ‘Capitoline Antinous’
Just a short walk from the Pantheon, in Piazza di Pietra, are the majestic remains of the Temple of the deified Hadrian (Hadrianeum), built by Antoninus Pius, Hadrian's adopted son and successor. Only eleven columns with capitals and the cella wall of the original temple are still visible today. In 1696, during the pontificate of… Continue reading The Hadrianeum and the personifications of provinces
Last weekend I travelled to Toulouse to visit the fabulous exhibition on Roman frescoes being held at the Musée Saint-Raymond. The exhibition, entitled 'L'Empire de la couleur - De Pompéi au sud des Gaules' ('Empire of colour - From Pompeii to Southern Gaul'), opened last November and runs through March 2015. The majority of Roman… Continue reading Roman frescoes on show in Toulouse (France)
This month's masterpieces from Hadrian's Villa are the black-and-white mosaics with geometric and floral motifs from the Hospitalia (guesthouse). The Hospitalia (guesthouse) was a two-storey building. It contained ten T-shaped bedrooms (cubiculae) on the first floor, on each side of a long and wide central hallway, at the southern end of which was a hall.… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Black-and-white mosaics with geometric and floral motifs
Following my visit to Minturnae (see previous post here), I continued my journey north along the Appian Way to reach Terracina, a picturesque town on the Tyrrhenian coast situated approximately half-way between Rome and Naples. Legend has it that Odysseus sailed here on his travels and surrendered to Circe's enchantment. Circe is said to have… Continue reading A journey to Terracina on the Riviera of Ulysses
On a recent trip to Italy, I visited the Archaeological Area of Minturnae, a little-known but impressive archaeological site along the Appian Way. Minturnae was originally an Auruncian city (of which no archaeological traces have been found), one of the three towns of the Aurunci which allied themselves with the Samnites and made war against… Continue reading Exploring Minturnae, a forgotten ancient city on the Appian Way
With its three magnificent large Doric temples, Paestum became a well-known site thanks to the 18th century engravings by Piranesi and Goethe’s impressive descriptions in his Italian Journey. However Paestum is also renowned for its tombs decorated with painted scenes. During excavations in the 1960s, around 200 richly painted tombs from the Lucanian period (4th century… Continue reading The Painted Tombs of Paestum
