Piazza Navona is a square in Rome. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans went there to watch the agones (“games”), and hence it was known as “Circus Agonalis” (“competition arena”). It is believed that over time the name changed to in avone to navone and eventually to navona. read more…
The Papal Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls, commonly known as St. Paul’s outside the Walls, is one of Rome‘s four ancient, Papal, major basilicas, along with the Basilicas of St. John in the Lateran, St. Peter’s, and St. Mary Major. The Basilica is within Italian territory and not the territory of the Vatican City State. However, the Holy See fully owns the Basilica, and Italy is legally obligated to recognize its full ownership thereof and to concede to it “the immunity granted by International Law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agents of foreign States”. On 6 December 2006, it was announced that Vatican archaeologists had confirmed the presence of a white marble sarcophagus beneath the altar, perhaps containing the remains of Paul the Apostle. A press conference held on 11 December 2006 gave more details of the work of excavation, which lasted from 2002 to 22 September 2006, and which had been initiated after pilgrims to the basilica expressed disappointment that the Apostle’s tomb could not be visited or touched during the Jubilee year of 2000. The sarcophagus was not extracted from its position, so that only one of its two narrow sides is visible. read more…
Cinecittà (Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constructed during the Fascist era as part of a scheme to revive the Italian film industry. In the 1950s, the number of international productions being made there led to Rome’s being dubbed Hollywood on the Tiber. The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini, his son Vittorio, and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi under the slogan “Il cinema è l’arma più forte” (“Cinema is the most powerful weapon“). The purpose was not only for propaganda, but also to boost the Italian feature film industry, which was in crisis at the time. Mussolini himself inaugurated the studios on April 21, 1937. Post-production units and sets were constructed and heavily used initially. Early films such as 1937’s Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal and 1941’s The Iron Crown showcased the technological advancement of the studios. Seven thousand people were involved in the filming of the battle scene from Scipio Africanus, and live elephants were brought in as a part of the re-enactment of the Battle of Zama. read more…
The Casa di Goethe is a museum in Rome, in Via del Corso 18, dedicated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, his Italian Journey and his life at Rome in the years from 1786 tthrough 1788. During his journey Goethe wrote a journal and also many letters which would be published in 1816-17 as the Italian Journey. read more…
Villa Borghese is a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the second largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 148 acres) after that of the Villa Doria Pamphili. The gardens were developed for the Villa Borghese Pinciana (“Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill”), built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection. The gardens as they are now were remade in the early nineteenth century. read more…
Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. The Vatican City is the world’s smallest state, being only around 44 ha (110 acres). In July 2007, the Vatican agreed to become the first carbon neutral state. They plan to accomplish this by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions with the creation of a Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary. Vatican City was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of the Holy See and by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued. read more…
Marino is an Italian city and comune in Lazio (central Italy), on the Alban Hills, 21 kilometres (13 miles) southeast of Rome, with a population of 38,000. The territory of Marino was inhabited by Latin tribes from the 1st millennium BC. The Grape Festival (Italian: Sagra dell’uva) is held every 1st Sunday of October. This festival is very famous in the surrounding area because, for about one hour, some of the city’s fountains spill wine instead of water, recalling the memory of the old vintage and the historical event of the return to Marino of Marcantonio Colonna with 260 “Marinesi” from the Battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571). read more…
The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary Major), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome. Other churches in Rome dedicated to Mary include Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, and Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but the greater size of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major justifies the adjective by which it is distinguished from the other 25. read more…
Atlantropa, also referred to as Panropa, was a gigantic engineering and colonization project devised by the German architect Herman Sörgel in the 1920s and promulgated by him until his death in 1952. Its central feature was a hydroelectric dam to be built across the Strait of Gibraltar, which would have provided enormous amounts of hydroelectricity and would have led to the lowering of the surface of the Mediterranean Sea by up to 200 metres (660 ft), opening up large new lands for settlement, for example in a now almost totally drained Adriatic Sea. read more…
