1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
2.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
3.
Lazio
–
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With almost 5.9 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the second most populated region of Italy and its capital is Rome, capital and largest city of Italy. Lazio comprises an area of 17,236 km2 and it has borders with Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche to the north, Abruzzo and Molise to the east, Campania to the south. The region is flat and hilly, with small mountainous areas in the most eastern and southern districts. The coast of Lazio is mainly composed of beaches, punctuated by the headlands of Circeo. The Pontine Islands, which are part of Lazio, lie opposite the southern coast, behind the coastal strip, to the north, lies the Maremma Laziale, a coastal plain interrupted at Civitavecchia by the Tolfa Mountains. The central section of the region is occupied by the Roman Campagna, the southern districts are characterized by the flatlands of Agro Pontino, a once swampy and malarial area, that was reclaimed over the centuries. To the south of the Tiber, other groups form part of the Preapennines, the Alban Hills, also of volcanic origin. The highest peak is Mount Gorzano on the border with Abruzzo, see also, History of Italy The Italian word Lazio descends from the Latin word Latium. The name of the region also survives in the designation of the ancient population of Latins, Latini in the Latin language spoken by them. Although the demography of ancient Rome was multi-ethnic, including, for example, Etruscans and other Italics besides the Latini, in Roman mythology, the tribe of the Latini took their name from king Latinus. Much of Lazio is in flat or rolling. The lands originally inhabited by the Latini were extended into the territories of the Samnites, the Marsi, the Hernici, the Aequi, the Aurunci and the Volsci, all surrounding Italic tribes. This larger territory was still called Latium, but it was divided into Latium adiectum or Latium Novum, the lands or New Latium, and Latium Vetus, or Old Latium. The northern border of Lazio was the Tiber river, which divided it from Etruria, the emperor Augustus officially united almost all of present-day Italy into a single geo-political entity, Italia, dividing it into eleven regions. However, the wars against the Longobards weakened the region. With the Donation of Sutri in 728, the Bishop of Rome acquired the first territory in the region beyond the Duchy of Rome, the strengthening of the religious and ecclesiastical aristocracy led to continuous power struggles between secular lords and the Pope until the middle of the 16th century. Other popes tried to do the same, during the period when the papacy resided in Avignon, France, the feudal lords power increased due to the absence of the Pope from Rome
Lazio
–
Panorama of the
Aniene Valley.
Lazio
–
Latium Lazio
Lazio
–
The
Appian Way (Via Appia), a road connecting
Ancient Rome to the southern parts of Italy, remains usable even today.
4.
Provinces of Italy
–
In Italy, a province is an administrative division of intermediate level between a municipality and a region. There are currently 107 provinces in Italy, a further 4 such cities were added later. The reorganization of the Italian provinces became operative by January 2015, a province of the Italian Republic is composed of many municipalities. Usually several provinces together form a region, the region of Aosta Valley is the sole exception – it is not subdivided into provinces, the three main functions devolved to provinces are, local planning and zoning, provision of local police and fire services, transportation regulation. The number of provinces in Italy has been growing in recent years. Usually, the name is the same as that of its capital city. According to the 2014 reform, each province is headed by a President assisted by a body, the Provincial Council, and an executive body. President and members of Council are elected together by mayors and city councilors of each municipality of the province, the Executive is chaired by the President who appoint others members, called assessori. Since 2015 the President and others members of the Council will not receive a salary, in each province there is also a Prefect, a representative of the central government who heads an agency called prefettura-ufficio territoriale del governo. The Questor is the head of States Police in the province, there is also a provinces police force depending from local government, called provincial police. Sardinia - following the outcome of the referendums of 2012 it was decreed that such institutions should be reformed or abolished by March 2013. In January 2014 the Sardinian Regional Administrative Court declared unconstitutional the abolition of the Sardinian provinces, sicily - provinces were replaced by Free Communal Consortia in 2013. In 1861, at the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, however, at that time the national territory was smaller than the current one, regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige and Lazio were not included in the kingdom. In 1866, following the Third Independence War, territories of Veneto, Friuli, there were therefore nine more provinces, Belluno, Mantua, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza and Udine, all previously part of the Austrian Empire. Eventually, in 1870, following the annexion of Rome and its province from the Papal States, after the First World War, new territories were annexed to Italy. The Province of Trento was created in 1920, Provinces of La Spezia, Trieste and Ionio in 1923. In 1924 the new provinces of Fiume, Pola, and Zara were created, in 1927, following a Royal charter, a general province rearrangement took place. 17 new provinces were created and the province of Caserta was suppressed, in the same year the institution of circondari, sub-provincial wards created before the unification, was abolished
Provinces of Italy
–
Italian Republic
5.
Metropolitan cities of Italy
–
The metropolitan city is an administrative division of Italy, operative since 2015. In 2009, amendments added Reggio Calabria to the list, the metropolitan areas individuated by the autonomous regions were, Trieste in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Cagliari in Sardinia, Catania, Messina and Palermo in Sicily. On 3 April 2014 the Italian Parliament approved a law that establishes 10 metropolitan cities in Italy, the new metropolitan cities have been operative since 1 January 2015. The metropolitan city is composed by the municipalities that before had been members of the same province, each metropolitan city is headed by a metropolitan mayor assisted by a legislative body, the Metropolitan council, and by a non-legislative assembly, the metropolitan conference. Members of the Metropolitan council are elected and chosen by mayors and city councilors of each municipality in the metropolitan city, the metropolitan conference is composed by the mayors of the municipalities closest to the capital. The main functions devolved to the new cities are, local planning and zoning, provision of local police services, transport. Regions of Italy Provinces of Italy Municipalities of Italy Media related to Metropolitan cities of Italy at Wikimedia Commons
Metropolitan cities of Italy
–
Metropolitan cities of Italy.
6.
Demonym
–
A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
Demonym
–
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has not adopted the term "demonyn" for these adjectives and nouns
7.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
8.
Central European Summer Time
–
It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
Central European Summer Time
–
light blue
9.
Metropolitan City of Rome
–
The administrative area of the Metropolitan City of Rome is one of the constitutional Metropolitan cities of Italy in the Lazio region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Rome and it replaced the Province of Rome and comprises the city of Rome and other 121 municipalities. It was firstly created by the reform of local authorities and then established by the Law 56/2014 and it has been officially operative since 1 January 2015. The Metropolitan City of Rome Capital is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor, since 20 June 2016 Virginia Raggi, as mayor of the capital city. The Metropolitan City of Rome Capital covers almost one-third of the territory of Lazio, the western boundary of the province is represented by the Tyrrhenian Sea on which spread to about 130 kilometres from the coast near Rome from Civitavecchia to Torre Astura. In the territory there are lakes, almost all of volcanic origin. Today Rome is circled, at a distance of about 10 km from the Capitol, due to its location in the centre of the Italian peninsula, Rome is the principal railway node for central Italy. Romes main railway station, Termini, is one of the largest railway stations in Europe, the second-largest station in the city, Roma Tiburtina, has been redeveloped as a high-speed rail terminus. Rome is served by three airports, the intercontinental Leonardo da Vinci International Airport is Italys chief airport, is located within the nearby Fiumicino, south-west of Rome. The older Rome Ciampino Airport is a joint civilian and military airport and it is commonly referred to as Ciampino Airport, as it is located beside Ciampino, south-east of Rome. A third airport, the Roma-Urbe Airport, is a small, low-traffic airport located about 6 km north of the city centre, although the city has its own quarter on the Mediterranean Sea, this has only a marina and a small channel-harbour for fisher boats. The main harbour which serves Rome is Port of Civitavecchia, located about 62 km northwest of the city, a 3-line metro system called the Metropolitana operates in the Metropolitan City of Rome. Construction on the first branch started in the 1930s, the line had been planned to quickly connect the main railway station with the newly planned E42 area in the southern suburbs, where the 1942 World Fair was supposed to be held. The event never took place because of war, but the area was partly redesigned and renamed EUR in the 1950s to serve as a modern business district. The line was opened in 1955, and it is now the south part of the B Line. The A line opened in 1980 from Ottaviano to Anagnina stations, in the 1990s, an extension of the B line was opened from Termini to Rebibbia. This underground network is generally reliable as it is relatively short, the A and B lines intersect at Roma Termini station. A new branch of the B line opened on 13 June 2012 after a building cost of €500 million
Metropolitan City of Rome
–
Metropolitan City of
Rome Capital
Metropolitan City of Rome
–
Satellite picture of
Rome metropolitan area.
10.
Falisci
–
Falisci is the ancient Roman exonym for an Italic people who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic language, Faliscan, closely akin to Latin, originally a sovereign state, politically and socially they supported the Etruscans, joining the Etruscan League. This conviction and affiliation led to their ultimate near destruction and total subjugation by Rome, an Etruscan inscription calls them the feluskeś. The Latin cannot be far different from the original name, the -sc- suffix is distinctive of the Italic ethnonyms. To the west, the corners of the square area were on the slopes of the Monti Sabatini in the south. Pollen samples from Lake Bracciano, Lake Monterosi and Lake Vico reveal that the montane forests, the arable land was contained within an enclosure of volcanic highlands and the Tiber River. The inner slopes are drained by streams pointing at the Tiber, which collect into converging canyons and finally into the canyon of the Treia River and these streams required an extensive network of bridges. The Falisci lived in a natural stronghold surrounded by Etruscan cities, most of the through traffic went along the Via Tiburtina on the west bank of the river, which could only be crossed south of Capena or at Grotta Porciosa in the north. There the Via Flaminia, earlier the Via Amerina, led inland into the country of the Sabines via the valley of the Nar River, on the western side, the Via Cassia or its predecessor led to the coast over Sutri gap. The Falisci therefore prospered by being on a protected crossroad and their most important centre was Falerii, which became known as Falerii Veteres after the Romans moved them to a less defensible position, Falerii Novi. Both locations are near the modern Civita Castellana, archaeologists have discovered other major municipalities, unmentioned by the ancient sources, at Corchiano, Vignanello, Gallese and Grotta Porciosa. The Falisci, often allied with the Etruscans, resisted Rome for a long time and they were allied with Veii when it was defeated in 396 BC. In the aftermath, Falerii was occupied by the victorious Romans, when, in 358, Tarquinia rebelled, the Falisci again took arms against Rome, but were again crushed c.351 BC. This time an alliance was signed between the contenders, and a Roman garrison was settled in Falerii, Faliscan language Pelasgians Bakkum, Gabriël CLM. The Latin Dialect of the Ager Faliscus,150 Years of Scholarship and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
Falisci
–
View from the general vicinity of Falerii to Monte Soratte on the southern border.
Falisci
–
Map of early Italic languages.
Falisci
–
Faliscan red-figure flagon, attributed to the Fluid group ca. 350/25 BC; now Antikensammlung Würzburg, inventory number L 813
11.
Etruria
–
Etruria was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria. Such trade occurred either directly with Egypt, or through intermediaries such as Greek or Phoenician sailors, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany styled itself in Latin as Magnus Ducatus Etruriae. The name Etruria was also applied to the Kingdom of Etruria, a particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H. Lawrences Sketches of Etruscan Places and other Italian essays. Etruscan was the language for meetings. When Etruria was conquered by the Roman Republic, Latin became the official language, cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, by George Dennis, an overview of Etruscan civilisation
Etruria
–
History
Etruria
–
The area covered by the
Etruscan civilization.
12.
Veii
–
Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etruscan city 16 km north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome, many other sites associated with and in the city-state of Veii are in Formello, immediately to the north. Formello is named after the channels that were first created by the Veians. Veii was the richest city of the Etruscan League and on the border of Etruria. It was alternately at war and in alliance with the Roman Republic for over 300 years and it eventually fell in the Battle of Veii to Roman general Camilluss army in 396 BC. Veii continued to be occupied after its capture by the Romans, the site of Veii is a tuff elevation of 190 hectares. The Valchetta flows a few miles eastward to join the Tiber River on the side of Labaro along the Via Flaminia. Veii might be considered to be on the bank of the Tiber. Its proximity to the Tiber and the route to the interior. The site is now an area, part of the Parco di Veio established by the regional authority of Lazio in 1997. The largest visible monument is the temple of Apollo of 510 BC, also, tumuli and tombs have been found cut into the rock. Tombs were cut into tuff. but tumuli were not, the most famous is the Grotta Campana, uncovered in 1843, a chamber tomb with the oldest known Etruscan frescoes. There are additionally long tunnels leading into the mound of the city, the walls of Veii, of which small sections remain, bordered the two intersecting streams using the streambeds as a ditch, with a wall across the plateau closing the triangle. Veii is well known for its statuary including the Apollo of Veii of 510 BC, every Etruscan stronghold was built on an elevation, and Veii was no exception. An archaeological site, Piazza dArmi, marks the location today, the settlement and the growth of the city by conurbation can be traced by demographic analysis of the cemeteries and settlements on and around the plateau. The earliest evidence of dates from the 10th century BC in the Late Bronze Age. Small settlements were scattered over an area than the plateau. In the 9th century BC, the Early Iron Age, the finds are localized to the plateau but appear to be associated with independent settlements, each with its own cemetery
Veii
–
Ruins of the temple of Veii
Veii
–
Map from The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria.
Veii
–
History
13.
Falerii
–
Falerii was a city in southern Etruria,50 km northeast of Rome,34 km from Veii,16 km form Rome) and about 1.5 km west of the ancient Via Flaminia. It was the city of the Faliscans, a people whose language was a Latin dialect and was part of the Latino-Faliscan language group. The Ager Faliscus, which included the towns of Capena, Nepet, according to legend, it was of Argive origin. Strabos assertion that the population, the Falisci, were of a different race from the Etruscans is supported by the evidence of the inscriptions which have found here. They were written in a Latin dialect, most of the surviving inscriptions date back to the second half of the fourth century BC and the first half of the third century BC. The Faliscan language survived the domination of the Etruscan culture, as well as, for a long time, due to Falerii being relatively close to Rome, the Faliscans felt that Rome was a threat to their security. For this reason, they supported the Etruscan cities of Veii and Fidenae in their conflicts with Rome in the fifth century. Livy noted that, “As these two States were nearest in point of distance, they believed that if Veii fell they would be the next on whom Rome would make war. ”There had been a history of conflicts between Rome and Veii, which often involved Fidenae. The Romans had placed a colony at Fidenae to garrison the city, in 437 BC Fidenae revolted, attacked the Roman settlers and sided with Veii. Romans envoys who were sent to Fidenae were killed on the order of the king of Veii, the Faliscans sent troops in support. The Veientes and Fidenates wanted to prolong the war, but the Fidenates wanted a pitched battle, the Romans routed the combined enemy forces. In 436 BC the Romans raided the territory of Veii and Falerii, in 435 BC the Fidenates crossed into Roman territory to raid it and called in the army of Veii. Falerii did not want to renew the war, in 434 the Romans seized Fidenae. They sent envoys to the Etruscan League (a council of the twelve major Etruscan cities, however, the council refused to help Veii. In 403 BC war broke out between Rome and Veii, the Romans begun a siege which lasted until 396 BC when they seized and destroyed this city. In 402 BC Falerii and Capena bound themselves by an oath and they attacked the smaller the two Roman camps from the rear. The Veientes attacked the Roman siege works form the front, the lack of unity between the Roman commanders led to a rout of the Romans, and the capture of the smaller camp. Some Romans escaped to the camp and some withdrew to Rome
Falerii
–
The apses of the church of Santa Maria di Falleri.
Falerii
–
Tre ponti necropolis
Falerii
–
Terracotta antefix from Falerii Veteres, 5th century BC
Falerii
–
Falerii Novi - Porta di Giove
14.
Lucus Feroniae
–
Lucus Feroniae was an ancient sacred grove dedicated to the Sabine goddess Feronia. It was located in Etruria, across the ancient Via Tiberina, in what is now the territory of the commune of Capena, Lazio. It was visited both by Latins and Sabines even in the time of Tullus Hostilius and was plundered by Hannibal in 211 BCE, a museum houses parts of statues, some of them with interchangeable hands and heads, depending from the current emperor ruling. The villa of the Volusii Saturnini is located nearby, lucus Pisaurensis Gladiators Rescued from Tomb Raiders Lie Forgotten under Sheets Soprintendenza Beni Archeologici Etruria Meridionale Sito Istituzionale > AREE ARCHEOLOGICHE > Villa dei Volusii
Lucus Feroniae
–
View of the archaeological site of Lucus Feroniae
Lucus Feroniae
–
Roman amphitheater of Lucus Feroniae
15.
Western Roman Empire
–
Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Republic. Antony received the provinces in the East, Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus, Bithynia, Pontus and Asia, Syria, Cyprus and these lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great, thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West, Italia, Gaul, Gallia Belgica and these lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the province of Africa. Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia to his holdings, upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization, minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion, while this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for example in the Great Jewish Revolt. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under such as Vespasian, were far more numerous. To ensure a commanders loyalty, an emperor might hold some members of the generals family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, governor of Ostia, the rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a sword of Damocles, were often perceived as being of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the increased participation in the civil wars. The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine, Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg reversal. The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the hand, was too remote. Those distant territories were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more healthy, the Parthians were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
–
Tremissis depicting
Flavius Julius Nepos (474-480), the de jure last Emperor of the Western Court
Western Roman Empire
–
The organization of the Empire under the
Tetrarchy.
Western Roman Empire
–
Europe in 477 AD. Highlighted areas are Roman lands that survived the deposition of
Romulus Augustulus.
16.
Benedictine
–
Each community within the order maintains its own autonomy, while the order itself represents their mutual interests. Internationally, the order is governed by the Benedictine Confederation, a body, established in 1883 by Pope Leo XIIIs Brief Summum semper, individuals whose communities are members of the order generally add the initials OSB after their names. The monastery at Subiaco in Italy, established by Saint Benedict of Nursia circa 529, was the first of the monasteries he founded. He later founded the Abbey of Monte Cassino, there is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the Rule of Saint Benedict presupposes the autonomy of each community. It was from the monastery of St. Andrew in Rome that Augustine, the prior, at various stopping places during the journey, the monks left behind them traditions concerning their rule and form of life, and probably also some copies of the Rule. Lérins Abbey, for instance, founded by Honoratus in 375, probably received its first knowledge of the Benedictine Rule from the visit of St. Augustine, in Gaul and Switzerland, it supplemented the much stricter Irish or Celtic Rule introduced by Columbanus and others. In many monasteries it eventually displaced the earlier codes. Largely through the work of Benedict of Aniane, it became the rule of choice for monasteries throughout the Carolingian empire, Monastic scriptoria flourished from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Sacred Scripture was always at the heart of every monastic scriptorium, as a general rule those of the monks who possessed skill as writers made this their chief, if not their sole active work. In the Middle Ages monasteries were founded by the nobility. Cluny Abbey was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910, the abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict. The abbot of Cluny was the superior of all the daughter houses, one of the earliest reforms of Benedictine practice was that initiated in 980 by Romuald, who founded the Camaldolese community. The English Benedictine Congregation is the oldest of the nineteen Benedictine congregations, Augustine of Canterbury and his monks established the first English Benedictine monastery at Canterbury soon after their arrival in 597. Many of the sees of England were founded and governed by the Benedictines. Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak, the monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of the sick. Germany was evangelized by English Benedictines, willibrord and Boniface preached there in the seventh and eighth centuries and founded several abbeys. In the English Reformation, all monasteries were dissolved and their lands confiscated by the Crown, during the 19th century they were able to return to England, including to Selby Abbey in Yorkshire, one of the few great monastic churches to survive the Dissolution. St. Mildreds Priory, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent, was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by the daughter of the first Christian King of Kent, currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns
Benedictine
–
Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. 480–543). Detail from a
fresco by
Fra Angelico (c. 1400–1455) in the
Basilica San Marco,
Florence.
Benedictine
–
Design on the obverse side of the
Saint Benedict Medal
Benedictine
–
Benedict of Aniane (747–821).
Benedictine
–
The two sides of a Saint Benedict Medal
17.
Tuff
–
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is compacted into a rock in a process called consolidation. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly used as construction material. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered tuffaceous, Tuff is a relatively soft rock, so it has been used for construction since ancient times. Since it is common in Italy the Romans used it often for construction, the Rapa Nui people used it to make most of the moai statues in Easter Island. Tuff can be classified as either sedimentary or igneous rocks and they are usually studied in the context of igneous petrology, although they are sometimes described using sedimentological terms. The material that is expelled in a volcanic eruption can be classified into three types, Volcanic gases, a mixture mostly of water vapour, carbon dioxide. Lava, the name of magma when it emerges and flows over the surface, and tephra, chunks of solid material of all shapes and sizes ejected and thrown through the air. Tephra is made when magma inside the volcano is blown apart by the expansion of hot volcanic gases. It is common for magma to explode as the gas dissolved in it comes out of solution as the pressure decreases when it flows to the surface and these violent explosions produce solid chunks of material that can then fly from the volcano. When these chunks are smaller than 2 mm in diameter they are called volcanic ash and it is made of small, slaggy pieces of lava and rock that have been tossed into the air by outbursts of steam and other gases. Among the loose beds of ash that cover the slopes of many volcanoes, in addition to true ashes of the kind described above, there are lumps of the old lavas and tuffs forming the walls of the crater, etc. In some great volcanic explosions nothing but materials of the kind were emitted. The ashes vary in size from large blocks twenty feet or more in diameter to the minutest impalpable dust, the large masses are called volcanic bombs, they have mostly a rounded, elliptical or pear-shaped form owing to rotation in the air before they solidified. Many of them have ribbed or nodular surfaces, and sometimes they have a crust intersected by many cracks like the surface of a loaf of bread, any ash in which they are very abundant is called an agglomerate. But many volcanoes stand near the sea, and the ashes cast out by them are mingled with the sediments that are gathering at the bottom of the waters, in this way ashy muds or sands or even in some cases ashy limestones are being formed. As a matter of fact most of the found in the older formations contain admixtures of clay, sand, and sometimes fossil shells. The showers of ashes often follow one another after longer or shorter intervals, the coarsest materials or agglomerates show this least distinctly, in the fine beds it is often developed in great perfection
Tuff
–
Welded tuff from
Bandelier National Monument,
New Mexico
Tuff
–
18.5 million-year-old tuff exposed at Hole In The Wall,
Mojave National Preserve, California.
Tuff
–
10 by 15 cm sample of tuff containing angular fragments of other rocks (
Germany)
Tuff
–
Rocks from the
Bishop Tuff in
California, uncompressed with
pumice on left; compressed with
fiamme on right.
18.
Renaissance
–
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word also occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance, money and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money. Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
Renaissance
–
David, by
Michelangelo (
Accademia di Belle Arti,
Florence) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.
Renaissance
–
Renaissance
Renaissance
–
Leonardo da Vinci 's
Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) shows clearly the effect writers of Antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in
Vitruvius '
De architectura (1st century BC), Leonardo tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man.
Renaissance
–
Portrait of a young woman (c. 1480-85) (
Simonetta Vespucci) by
Sandro Botticelli
19.
Papal States
–
The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
Papal States
–
The
Quirinal Palace, papal residence and home to the civil offices of the Papal States from the
Renaissance until their annexation
Papal States
–
Flag in 1870
Papal States
–
Antichristus (1521) by
Lucas Cranach the Elder is a woodcut of the Papal States at war during the Renaissance.
Papal States
–
The Breach of Porta Pia, on the right, in 1870.
20.
Tiber
–
It drains a basin estimated at 17,375 square kilometres. The river has achieved lasting fame as the watercourse of the city of Rome. The river rises at Mount Fumaiolo in central Italy and flows in a southerly direction past Perugia. However, it does not form a delta, owing to a strong north-flowing sea current close to the shore, to the steep shelving of the coast. The source of the Tiber consists of two springs 10 metres away from each other on Mount Fumaiolo and these springs are called Le Vene. The springs are in a beech forest 1,268 metres above sea level, during the 1930s, Benito Mussolini placed an antique marble Roman column at the point where the river arises, inscribed QUI NASCE IL FIUME SACRO AI DESTINI DI ROMA. There is an eagle on the top of this column, the first miles of the Tiber run through Valtiberina before entering Umbria. It is probable that the genesis of the name Tiber was pre-Latin, like the Roman name of Tibur, the same root is found in the Latin praenomen Tiberius. There are also Etruscan variants of this praenomen in Thefarie and Teperie, the legendary king Tiberinus, ninth in the king-list of Alba Longa, was said to have drowned in the river Albula, which was afterward called Tiberis. Yet another etymology is from *dubri-, water, considered by Alessio as Sicel and this root *dubri- is widespread in Western Europe e. g. Dover, Portus Dubris. According to the legend, Jupiter made him a god and guardian spirit of the river and this gave rise to the standard Roman depiction of the river as a powerfully built reclining god, also named Tiberinus, with streams of water flowing from his hair and beard. The Tiber was also believed to be the river into which Romulus and Remus were thrown as infants, according to legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC on the banks of the Tiber about 25 kilometres from the sea at Ostia. The island Isola Tiberina in the centre of Rome, between Trastevere and the ancient center, was the site of an important ancient ford and was later bridged. Legend says Romes founders, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, were abandoned on its waters, the river marked the boundary between the lands of the Etruscans to the west, the Sabines to the east and the Latins to the south. Benito Mussolini, born in Romagna, adjusted the boundary between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, so that the springs of the Tiber would lie in Romagna and it was later used to ship stone, timber and foodstuffs to Rome. During the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, the harbour at Ostia became a key naval base and it later became Romes most important port, where wheat, olive oil, and wine were imported from Romes colonies around the Mediterranean. Wharves were also built along the riverside in Rome itself, lining the riverbanks around the Campus Martius area, the Romans connected the river with a sewer system and with an underground network of tunnels and other channels, to bring its water into the middle of the city. Wealthy Romans had garden-parks or horti on the banks of the river in Rome up through the first century BC and these may have been sold and developed about a century later
Tiber
–
The Tiber in
Rome
Tiber
–
Mussolini's headstone near the source of Tiber
Tiber
–
Roman representation of Tiber as a god (
Tiberinus) with
cornucopia at the
Campidoglio, Rome.
Tiber
–
View of the Tiber looking towards the
Vatican City.
21.
Monterotondo
–
Monterotondo is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy. According to some historians, Monterotondo is the heir of ancient Sabine town of Eretum, the name derives from the medieval corruption of the original Mons Eretum. In the Middle Ages, due to its location across the Via Salaria, initially under the Capocci family, it was sold in the 12th century to the Orsini, who held it until the 18th century. In 1432 it was seized by the condottiero Niccolò Fortebraccio, in 1634 the Barberini acquired the town, restoring or enlarging several edifices, and building the Cathedral. On 28 April 1864 the Rome and Monterotondo Rail Road was opened for service, in 1943, after the Italian armistice with the Allies,800 German paratroopers tried unsuccessfully to reconquer it. The Baroque Duomo Church of Madonna delle Grazie Palazzo Orsini, including frescoes by Girolamo Siciolante, archaeological museum, with remains from Eretum, Crustumerium and Nomentum
Monterotondo
–
The Cathedral of Monterotondo.
Monterotondo
Monterotondo
–
The Tiber valley seen from Monterotondo, looking almost exactly north (≈ 5°).
22.
Lombards
–
The Lombards or Longobards were a Germanic people who ruled large parts of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. In the 1st century AD, they formed part of the Suebi, the Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552, his successor Alboin eventually destroyed the Gepids at the Battle of Asfeld in 567. The Lombards were joined by numerous Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, by late 569 they had conquered all north of Italy and the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and they established a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy, later named Regnum Italicum, which reached its zenith under the 8th-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, however, Lombard nobles continued to rule southern parts of the Italian peninsula, well into the 11th century when they were conquered by the Normans and added to their County of Sicily. In this period, the part of Italy still under Longobardic domination was known by the name Langbarðaland in the Norse runestones. Their legacy is apparent in the regional name Lombardy. The fullest account of Lombard origins, history, and practices is the Historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon, pauls chief source for Lombard origins, however, is the 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum. The Origo Gentis Langobardorum tells the story of a tribe called the Winnili dwelling in southern Scandinavia. The Winnili were split into three groups and one part left their land to seek foreign fields. The reason for the exodus was probably overpopulation, the departing people were led by the brothers Ybor and Aio and their mother Gambara and arrived in the lands of Scoringa, perhaps the Baltic coast or the Bardengau on the banks of the Elbe. Scoringa was ruled by the Vandals and their chieftains, the brothers Ambri and Assi, the Winnili were young and brave and refused to pay tribute, saying It is better to maintain liberty by arms than to stain it by the payment of tribute. The Vandals prepared for war and consulted Godan, who answered that he would give the victory to those whom he would see first at sunrise. The Winnili were fewer in number and Gambara sought help from Frea, at sunrise, Frea turned her husbands bed so that he was facing east, and woke him. So Godan spotted the Winnili first and asked, Who are these long-beards. and Frea replied, My lord, thou hast given them the name, from that moment onwards, the Winnili were known as the Longbeards. When Paul the Deacon wrote the Historia between 787 and 796 he was a Catholic monk and devoted Christian and he thought the pagan stories of his people silly and laughable. Paul explained that the name Langobard came from the length of their beards, a modern theory suggests that the name Langobard comes from Langbarðr, a name of Odin. Priester states that when the Winnili changed their name to Lombards, they changed their old agricultural fertility cult to a cult of Odin
Lombards
–
The Lombard possessions in Italy: The Lombard Kingdom (Neustria, Austria and Tuscia) and the Lombard Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento
Lombards
–
Wodan (Godan) and
Frigg (Frea) looking out of a window in the heavens...
Lombards
–
...and spot the Lombard women with their long hair tied as to appear as beards
Lombards
–
Lombard grave goods (6th-7th century) -
Milan,
Lombardy
23.
Denominazione di origine controllata
–
Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for Italian wines. The system is modeled on the French Appellation dorigine contrôlée designations, the Italian government introduced the system in 1963 and overhauled in 1992 to comply with European Union law on protected geographical designations of origin, which came into effect that year. There are three levels of labels, DO — Denominazione di Origine, DOC — Denominazione di Origine Controllata, all three require that a food product be produced within the specified region using defined methods and that it satisfy a defined quality standard. The need for a DOCG identification arose when the DOC designation was, in the view of many Italian food industries, a new, more restrictive identification was then created as similar as possible to the previous one so that buyers could still recognize it, but qualitatively different. A notable difference for wines is that DOCG labelled wines are analysed and tasted by government–licensed personnel before being bottled, to prevent later manipulation, DOCG wine bottles then are sealed with a numbered governmental seal across the cap or cork. Wines labelled DOC or DOCG may only be sold in bottles holding 5 litres or less, traditional food An excerpt from the relevant Italian law V. Q. P. R. D. Vini, Elenco e Riferimenti Normativi al 07.02, complete list of italian DOC wines
Denominazione di origine controllata
–
Labels of the Italian wine Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2004 from the Pegrandi vineyard produced by Vaona. The label indicates that this is a DOC class wine from the Classico region of Valpolicella.
Denominazione di origine controllata
–
DOCG seal on a bottle of
Chianti Classico Riserva 1995.
Denominazione di origine controllata
–
A paper strip denoting DOCG on a bottle of 2012
Barbera d'Asti
24.
Malvasia del Lazio
–
Grape varieties in this family include Malvasia bianca, Malvasia di Schierano, Malvasia negra, Malvasia nera, Malvasia near di Brindisi and a number of other varieties. Malvasia wines are produced in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Corsica, the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, the island of Madeira, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Australia and Brazil. These grapes are used to produce table wines, dessert wines. Most ampelographers believe that the Malvasia family of grapes are of ancient origin, most likely originating in Crete, during the Middle Ages, the Venetians became so prolific in the trading of Malvasia wine that merchant wine shops in Venice were known as malvasie. A competing theory holds that the name is derived from the district of Malevizi, in any case, Malmsey was one of the three major wines exported from Greece in medieval times. Both Monemvasia and Candia have lent their names to modern grape varieties, in Greece, there is a variety known as Monemvasia, evidently named after the port, though now grown primarily in the Cyclades. In western Europe, a variety of Malvasia is known as Malvasia Bianca di Candia. DNA analysis does, however, suggest that the Athiri wine grape is ancestral to Malvasia, most varieties of Malvasia are closely related to Malvasia bianca. One notable exception is the variety known as Malvasia di Candia which is a distinctly different sub-variety of Malvasia. Malvasia bianca is grown throughout the world in places like Italy, the San Joaquin Valley of California, the Greek Islands of Paros and Syros. Throughout central Italy, Malvasia is often blended with Trebbiano to add flavor, in Rioja, it performs a similar function when blended with Viura. Malvazija Istarska Malvazija Istarska got the name after peninsula of Istria shared between Croatia, Slovenia and Italy and it represents one of the main white wines of Croatian Istria and the north Dalmatian coast. The vine was introduced to the area by Venetian merchants who brought cuttings from Greece, the malvasia is called malvazija in Croatian language. It is the white wine in the region. Other The Dalmatian Maraština is identical to the Italian variety Malvasia Lunga, Malvasia Istriana In Italy this wine is grown in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Collio DOC and Isonzo DOC. The name comes from the Istria peninsula spanning over Croatia, Slovenia, the vine was introduced to the area by Venetian merchants who brought cuttings from Greece. Malvasia Istriana is also found in the Colli Piacentini region of Emilia where it is used to make sparkling wine known locally as champagnino or little Champagne. Following World War II, lack of interest in the market lead to a sharp decline in plantings with many varieties on the verge of extinction
Malvasia del Lazio
–
Malvasia grapes on the vine
Malvasia del Lazio
–
A map of the island fortress of Monemvasia in the 17th century
Malvasia del Lazio
–
Malvasia grapes
Malvasia del Lazio
–
Bottles of Malvazija istarska (Istrian Malvasia) quality wine
25.
Trebbiano Toscano
–
Trebbiano is one of the most widely planted varieties of grape in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine and it can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Its high acidity makes it important in Cognac and Armagnac productions, also known as Ugni blanc, in particular in France, it has many other names reflecting a family of local subtypes, particularly in Italy and France. Trebbiano may have originated in the Eastern Mediterranean, and was known in Italy in Roman times, a subtype was recognized in Bologna in the thirteenth century, and as Ugni blanc made its way to France, possibly during the Papal retreat to Avignon in the fourteenth century. An Italian study published in 2008 using DNA typing showed a genetic relationship between Garganega on the one hand and Trebbiano and several other grape varieties on the other hand. During a series of trials between 1924 and 1930, Trebbiano was crossed with Gewürztraminer to create the pink-skinned Italian wine grape variety Manzoni rosa. Also, in the early 21st century, DNA analysis has suggested there may be a close genetic relationship between Trebbiano and the Emilia-Romagna wine grape Alionza. Like many Italian grapes, Trebbiano came to Argentina with Italian immigrants, white Hermitage came to Australia with James Busby in 1832. The major plantings are in New South Wales and South Australia and it is known as Thalia in both Bulgaria and Portugal. Ugni blanc is the most widely planted white grape of France, being found particularly along the Provençal coast, in the Gironde and it is also known as Clairette Ronde, Clairette de Vence, Queue de Renard, and in Corsica as Rossola. Most of the table wine is unremarkable and is often blended or turned into industrial alcohol. Under the name St. Émilion, Trebbiano is important in brandy production, in the Armagnac / Côtes de Gascogne area it is also used in the white Floc de Gascogne. The Trebbiano family account for around a third of all wine in Italy. Perhaps the most successful Trebbiano-based blend are the Orvieto whites of Umbria, Trebbiano is also used to produce balsamic vinegar. As in Bulgaria, the variety is known as Thalia in Portugal, Italian immigrants brought Trebbiano to California, but is seldom seen as a single variety table wine. The vine is vigorous and high-yielding, with long cylindrical bunches of tough-skinned berries that yield acidic yellow juice, Trebbiano shares at least three synonyms with the Spanish wine grape Viura including Queue de Renard, Rossan, Ugni blanc and the similarly spelled Gredelín/Gredelin
Trebbiano Toscano
–
Trebbiano in Viala & Vermorel
Trebbiano Toscano
–
Trebbiano (Ugni blanc) growing in the Charentais region in France.
Trebbiano Toscano
–
Trebbiano grapes growing in Marche, Italy.
26.
Bombino nero
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Bombino nero is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in southern Italy, particularly the regions of Apulia, Basilicata, and Lazio, as well as on the island of Sardinia. It is a grape variety in the Denominazione di origine controllata wines of Castel del Monte. The grape is primarily a blending grape but it can also be used as a varietal for red, the name Bombino means small bomb in Italian and probably comes from a description of the globular shape that the clusters of Bombino nero fruit can take. While DNA profiling has confirmed that Bombino nero is a variety distinct from Bombino bianco, Bombino nero is a late-ripening variety that is often one of the last red wine grapes to be harvested in a vintage intended for regular table wine and not sweet late harvest wines. In the year 2000 there were 1,170 hectares of Bombino nero planted throughout Italy, here it is a permitted grape variety in the DOC wines of Castel del Monte in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani and the Lizzano DOC in the Taranto province. Other vineyards of the grape can also be found in Basilicata, Lazio, Montepulciano, Pinot noir, and Aglianico are permitted to provide the remainder of the blend. Bombino nero destined for DOC production needs to be harvested to a yield no greater than 14 tonnes per hectare, while mostly made a still wine, both the red and rosé can be produced in a semi-sparkling frizzante style. Bombino nero destined for DOC production in Lizzano needs to kept to a harvest maximum of 14 tonnes/ha with the finished wines at least 11. 5% alcohol by volume. In the Velletri DOC located in the province of Rome in Lazio, up to 10% of Bombino nero can be included in the predominantly Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Cesanese Comune based red wines of the DOC. Bombino nero destined for DOC production here needs to be kept to no greater than 16 tonnes/ha with a minimum alcohol level of at least 11. 5% for both regular and superiore bottlings. According to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, Bombino nero tends to produce light-bodied wines that have soft, the grape is often blended but can be used to produce varietal red and rosé wines. Over the years Bombino nero has been known under a variety of including, Bambino, Buonvino, Buonvino nero, Calatamuro nero
Bombino nero
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Most ampelographers believe Bombino nero and Bombino bianco probably originated in Apulia (vineyard there pictured)
27.
Anthony the Great
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Saint Anthony or Antony was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony by various epithets, Anthony the Great, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism and his feast day is celebrated on January 17 among the Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Egyptian calendar used by the Coptic Church. The biography of Anthonys life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism and he is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, the first to go into the wilderness, Anthony is appealed to against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases. In the past, many afflictions, including ergotism, erysipelas. Anthony was born in Coma in Lower Egypt in AD251 to wealthy landowner parents, when he was about 18 years old, his parents died and left him with the care of his unmarried sister. Shortly thereafter, he decided to follow the Evangelical counsel of Jesus which reads, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Anthony gave away some of his familys lands to his neighbors, sold the remaining property and he then left to live an ascetic life, placing his sister with a group of Christian virgins, a sort of proto-convent. For the next fifteen years, Anthony remained in the area, there are various legends associating Anthony with pigs, one is that he worked as a swineherd during this period. Anthony is sometimes considered the first monk, and the first to initiate solitary desertification, philo opined that this class of persons may be met with in many places, for both Greece and barbarian countries want to enjoy whatever is perfectly good. Christian ascetics such as Thecla had likewise retreated to isolated locations at the outskirts of cities, Anthony is notable for having decided to surpass this tradition and headed out into the desert proper. He left for the alkaline Nitrian Desert on the edge of the Western Desert about 95 km west of Alexandria and he remained there for 13 years. According to Athanasius, the devil fought Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and the phantoms of women, after that, he moved to a tomb, where he resided and closed the door on himself, depending on some local villagers who brought him food. When the devil perceived his ascetic life and his worship, he was envious and beat him mercilessly. When his friends from the village came to visit him and found him in this condition. After he recovered, he made an effort and went back into the desert to a farther mountain by the Nile called Pispir. There he lived strictly enclosed in an old abandoned Roman fort for some 20 years, according to Athanasius, the devil again resumed his war against Anthony, only this time the phantoms were in the form of wild beasts, wolves, lions, snakes, and scorpions
Anthony the Great
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A Coptic icon, showing, in the lower left, St. Anthony with
St. Paul the First Hermit
Anthony the Great
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Painting of Saint Anthony, a part of The Visitation with
Saint Nicholas and Saint Anthony Abbot by
Piero di Cosimo, c. 1480.
Anthony the Great
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The former main altar of the hermitage church in
Warfhuizen in the
Netherlands with a mural of Anthony the Abbot and a
reliquary with some of his
relics. Since then they have been moved to a new golden shrine on a side-altar especially made for them.
Anthony the Great
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A copy by the young
Michelangelo after
an engraving by
Martin Schongauer around 1487–9,
The Torment of Saint Anthony. Oil and tempera on panel. One of many artistic depictions of Saint Anthony's trials in the desert.
28.
Good Friday
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Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday and it is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday, though the last term properly refers to the Friday in Easter week. The date of the holiday on the Gregorian calendar varies from one year to the next and it is a widely instituted legal holiday in many national governments around the world, including in most Western countries as well as in 12 U. S. states. Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, the etymology of the term good in the context of Good Friday is contested. Some sources claim good to mean pious or holy, while others contend that it is a corruption of God Friday. In German-speaking countries, Good Friday is generally referred to as Karfreitag, the Kar prefix is an ancestor of the English word care in the sense of cares and woes, it meant mourning. The day is known as Stiller Freitag and Hoher Freitag. According to the accounts in the Gospels, the Temple Guards, guided by Jesus disciple Judas Iscariot, Judas received money for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas, there he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled. Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying I adjure you, by the Living God, to us, are you the Anointed One. Jesus testified ambiguously, You have said it, and in time you see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty. The high priest condemned Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin concurred with a sentence of death, Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also denied Jesus three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had predicted. In the morning, the assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar. Pilate questioned Jesus and told the assembly there was no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate referred the case to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod, Herod questioned Jesus but received no answer, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found guilt in Jesus, under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asked for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, pilates wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to have nothing to do with this righteous man
Good Friday
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A
Stabat Mater depiction, 1868
Good Friday
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The Judas Kiss by
Gustave Doré, 1866
Good Friday
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Antonio Ciseri 's depiction of
Ecce Homo with Jesus and
Pontius Pilate, 19th century
