Happy 1945th birthday, Hadrian! As is tradition, I baked Hadrian a birthday cake. This year, I chose to cook Cato's recipe for savillum (a kind of cheesecake), one of my favourite desserts from antiquity. Savillum recipe in Latin (from LacusCurtius): Cato’s De Agricultura 84: Savillum hoc modo facito. Farinae selibram, casei P. II S una conmisceto quasi libum, mellis P. et… Continue reading Felicem diem natalem, Hadriane!
https://villaludovisi.org/2019/11/15/new-an-unnoticed-portrait-of-hadrians-first-heir-l-aelius-caesar-in-romes-casino-aurora/ Did I make a great discovery in the Ludovisi collection of Roman antiquities? While in Rome at the beginning of November, Corey Brennan (Associate Professor of Classics at Rutgers University), who generously invited me to stay at the American Academy of Rome, brought me to the Casino of the Villa Ludovisi (also known as Villa… Continue reading NEW: An unnoticed portrait of Hadrian’s first heir, L. Aelius Caesar, in Rome’s Casino Aurora?
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a grey basalt Osiris-Canopus jar. The vase represents a form of the Egyptian god Osiris depicted as a jar topped by a human head known as Osiris-Hydreios, or commonly Osiris-Canopus, because it was originally exclusively connected to the Canopic region of Egypt. It was discovered in the middle… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Osiris-Canopus jar
This month’s sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa are a pair of marble herms whose heads are traditionally identified as Tragedy and Comedy. According to the Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista Visconti, both herms were found in 1735 by the owner of the Villa, Giuseppe Fede, near the entrance of the Greek Theatre. It was acquired in 1777 by Conte… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Herms of Tragedy and Comedy
I would like to wish you all a happy, prosperous and inspiring New Year! Here are some New Year's wishes from a Roman oil lamp which was traditionally given as present for New Year’s Day. This Roman lamp was made in Italy in around 50-100 AD to celebrate the New Year. On the discus, a… Continue reading Annum novum faustum felicem vobis!
The WordPress.com Team prepared a 2015 annual report. 2015 was another great year for my Following Hadrian blog. Let’s revisit some of the most important moments of the year. 'The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 150,000 times in 2015. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre… Continue reading Following Hadrian 2015: A Year in Review
The WordPress.com Team prepared a 2014 annual report for my blog Following Hadrian. I love how this report compares the number of views of my blog to the number of people seeing an exhibit at the Louvre! The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 110,000 times in 2014. If… Continue reading 2014 in review by WordPress
Vibia Sabina (83-136 A.D.), a relative of Trajan, was married very young to the future emperor, Hadrian. The comparison with coins, physiognomy, hairstyle and diadem allows for the portrait's identification as the Empress Sabina.
