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Villa Romana Del Casale
The Villa Romana del Casale ( Sicilian: ''Villa Rumana dû Casali'') is a large and elaborate Roman villa or palace located about 3 km from the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily. Excavations have revealed Roman mosaics which, according to the Grove Dictionary of Art, are the richest, largest and most varied collection that remains,R. J. A. Wilson: ''Piazza Armerina''. In: Akiyama, Terakazu (Ed.): ''The Dictionary of Art. Vol. 24: Pandolfini to Pitti.'' Oxford 1998, . for which the site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The villa and its artwork date to the early 4th century AD. The mosaic and '' opus sectile'' floors cover some 3,500 m2 and are almost unique in their excellent state of preservation due to the landslide and floods that covered the remains. Although less well-known, an extraordinary collection of frescoes covered not only the interior rooms, but also the exterior walls. History The visible remains of the villa were constructed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gino Vinicio Gentili
Gino Vinicio Gentili (Osimo, 27 September 1914 – Bologna, 29 July 2006) was an Italian archaeologist. Biography He earned his degree in Fine Arts and Letters at the University of Rome La Sapienza and graduated in archaeology at the Italian School of Archaeology in Rome. He earned a doctorate in archaeology and in history of Greek and Roman arts, first at the University of Catania and later at the University of Bologna, where he taught etruscology and ancient Italy's art. In 1945 he was elected mayor of Osimo. He was also an official in the administration of the Antiquities and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Education and Chief Inspector and Superintendent of Antiquities for Eastern Sicily (1946 to 1963) and for Emilia-Romagna. In 1973 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Civic Merit by the municipality of Osimo "for having paid tribute to the city with the brightest fame acquired in the field of archaeology, and especially for his valuable and irreplaceable contribution to the knowl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly popular in the Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman world. Mosaic today includes not just murals and pavements, but also artwork, hobby crafts, and industrial and construction forms. Mosaics have a long history, starting in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. Pebble mosaics were made in Tiryns in Mycenean civilisation, Mycenean Greece; mosaics with patterns and pictures became widespread in classical times, both in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Early Christian basilicas from the 4th century onwards were decorated with wall and ceiling mosaics. Mosaic art flourished in the Byzantine Empire from the 6th to the 15th centuries; that tradition was adopted by the Norman dynasty, Norman Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century, by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International security, security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It has 194 Member states of UNESCO, member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the Non-governmental organization, non-governmental, Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental and private sector. Headquartered in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 National Commissions for UNESCO, national commissions. UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.English summary). UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the events of World War II, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboratio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Proconsular Africa
Africa was a Roman province on the northern coast of the continent of Africa. It was established in 146 BC, following the Roman Republic's conquest of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, and the coast of western Libya along the Gulf of Sidra. The territory was originally and still is inhabited by Berbers, known in Latin as the Numidae and Maurii'','' indigenous to all of North Africa west of Egypt. In the 9th century BC, Semitic-speaking Phoenicians from the Levant built coastal settlements across the Mediterranean to support and expand their shipping networks. In the 8th century BC, the settlement of Carthage became the predominant Phoenician colony. Rome began expanding into the Province of Africa after annexing Carthage in 146 BC at the end of the Punic Wars, and later into Numidia in 25 BC, establishing Roman colonies in the region. Africa was one of the wealthiest provinces i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Villa Del Casale (9528003795)
The Villa Romana del Casale ( Sicilian: ''Villa Rumana dû Casali'') is a large and elaborate Roman villa or palace located about 3 km from the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily. Excavations have revealed Roman mosaics which, according to the Grove Dictionary of Art, are the richest, largest and most varied collection that remains,R. J. A. Wilson: ''Piazza Armerina''. In: Akiyama, Terakazu (Ed.): ''The Dictionary of Art. Vol. 24: Pandolfini to Pitti.'' Oxford 1998, . for which the site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The villa and its artwork date to the early 4th century AD. The mosaic and ''opus sectile'' floors cover some 3,500 m2 and are almost unique in their excellent state of preservation due to the landslide and floods that covered the remains. Although less well-known, an extraordinary collection of frescoes covered not only the interior rooms, but also the exterior walls. History The visible remains of the villa were constructed in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Naxos (Sicily)
Naxos or Naxus () was an ancient Greek city of Magna Graecia, presently situated in modern Giardini Naxos near Taormina on the east coast of Sicily. Much of the site has never been built on and parts have been excavated in recent years. Its remains are open to the public and an on-site museum contains many finds. Location The city occupied a low rocky headland, now called Cape Schisò, formed by an ancient lava flow, immediately to the north of the Acesines (modern Alcantara) stream. Name There can be little doubt that the name was derivedHellanicus FGrH 4 F82 from the origin of the first colonists from Naxos in Greece. This has become even more definite since 1977 when the marble ''cippus'' (or sacred stone) inscribed with a dedication to the goddess Enyo was found in the large sanctuary west of the Santa Venera river. The characters are written in the unique 7th c. BC script of Greek Naxos. History Foundation Ancient writers agree that Naxos was the most ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Punta Secca
Punta Secca (), locally nicknamed ''’A Sicca'', is a small southern Italian fishing village and hamlet (''frazione'') of Santa Croce Camerina, a municipality in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily. In 2011 it had a population of 226. History The ancient city of Kaukanai is located a few hundred metres from Punta Secca. The village, anciently settled, was named ʿAyn al-Qasab during the Arab domination of Sicily. Geography Punta Secca lies on the Mediterranean Coast, between Punta Braccetto, Kaukana and Casuzze, and next to Marina di Ragusa. It is 5 km from Santa Croce Camerina, 16 from Scoglitti, 18 from Donnalucata, 27 from Scicli, 32 from Modica, 23 from Vittoria and Comiso, and 27 from Ragusa. Main sights The village has a lighthouse, a small port and an old watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kaukana
Kaukana, also spelled Caucana, is a hamlet (''frazione'') of Santa Croce Camerina, a municipality in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. It is located a few hundred metres from Punta Secca and a few km from Marina di Ragusa. It lies near Kaukanai (), an ancient Greek port city. History Ancient city The fertile territory is rich in water and became the location of tiny settlements early in the Greek period, which together took the name ''Kaukanai''. When the Roman consul Aulus Atilius Calatinus destroyed Camarina in 258 BC, the city's inhabitants found refuge here. The Romans in the Imperial period expanded the port of Kaukanai which remained important for several centuries, up until the Byzantine period. There are remains of a three-naved cemetery church with tombs dug in the floor. Kaukanai was destroyed by Saracens around 827. The excavations have revealed an interesting urban settlement with simple rectangular houses of two or three rooms as well as buildings wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sciacca
Sciacca (; ; , , , or ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has views of the Mediterranean Sea. History Thermae was founded in the 5th century BC by the Greeks, as its name suggests, as a thermal spa for Selinunte, 30 km distant, whose citizens came there to bathe in the sulphurous springs, still much valued for their medical properties, of Mount San Calogero which rises up behind the town. There is no account of the existence of a town on the site during the period of the independence of Selinunte, though the thermal waters would always have attracted some population to the spot. It seems to have been much frequented in the time of the Romans. At a later period they were called the Aquae Labodes or Larodes, under which name they appear in the Itineraries. Pliny was most likely mistaken in assigning the rank of a '' colonia'' to the southern, rather than northern, town of the same name. Strab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mansio
In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling.James W. Ermatinger "The Roman Empire, A Historical Encyclopedia" ABC-CLIO 2018 pp 272-273 Background The roads which traversed the Ancient history, Ancient World were later surveyed, developed and carefully maintained by the Romans, featuring purpose-built rest stops at regular intervals, known as ''castra''. Probably originally established as simple places of military encampment, in process of time they included barracks and magazines of provisions (''Horreum, horrea'') for the troops. Over time the need arose for a more sophisticated form of shelter for travelling dignitaries and officials. The Latin term ''mansio'' is derived from ''manere'', signifying to pass the night a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Itinerarium Antonini
The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes the roads of the Roman Empire. Owing to the scarcity of other extant records of this type, it is a valuable historical record. Publication History Manuscripts Almost nothing is known of its author or the conditions of its compilation. Numerous manuscripts survive, the eight oldest dating to some point between the 7th to 10th centuries after the onset of the Carolingian Renaissance. Despite the title seeming to ascribe the work to the patronage of the 2nd-century Antoninus Pius, all surviving editions seem to trace to an original towards the end of the reign of Diocletian in the early 4th century. The most likely imperial patron—if the work had one—would have been Caracalla. Stemma There are many manuscripts preserving the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Latifundium
A ''latifundium'' (Latin: ''latus'', "spacious", and ''fundus'', "farm", "estate") was originally the term used by ancient Romans for great landed estates specialising in agriculture destined for sale: grain, olive oil, or wine. They were characteristic of Magna Graecia and Sicily, Egypt, Northwest Africa and Hispania Baetica. The ''latifundia'' were the closest approximation to industrialised agriculture in antiquity, and their economics depended upon slavery. In the modern colonial period, the word was borrowed in Portuguese ''latifúndios'' and Spanish ''latifundios'' or simply ''fundos'' for similar extensive land grants, known as '' fazendas'' (in Portuguese) or ''haciendas'' (in Spanish), in their empires. Ancient Rome The basis of the ''latifundia'' notably in Magna Graecia (the south of Italy including Sicilia) and Hispania, was the ''ager publicus'' (state-owned land) that was confiscated from conquered people beginning in the 3rd century BC. As much as a third of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
