An unprecedented finding in the San Felice Canal, located in the northern Venetian Lagoon, has unveiled the presence of a material used as an additive in Roman calcestruzzo: pulvis puteolana, a volcanic ash from the Phlegraean Fields near Naples. This discovery, documented by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Padua, the Ca’ […]
Venice
Posted inArt, Middle Ages
The Famous Lion of Venice Comes from China, Possibly Brought by Marco Polo’s Father and Uncle
A team of researchers from the fields of geology, chemistry, archaeology, and art history at the University of Padua and the International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (Ismeo), in collaboration with colleagues from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, has conducted new chemical analyses of the bronze alloy of the famous lion sculpture that […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
A Bronze Age Site Discovered in the Venetian Lagoon Area
In the municipality of Mira, near Venice, archaeological excavations uncovered a Bronze Age site identified within the framework of hydraulic management, renaturalization, and landscape reorganization works carried out by the Consorzio di Bonifica Acque Risorgive in the area of Parco delle Giare. Archaeological evidence reveals that the area was located near the edge of the […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
How the Republic of Venice was Born within the Byzantine Empire as a Defense Against the ‘Barbarians’
As it’s known, the Most Serene Republic of Venice, that mighty maritime state born in the 8th century (independent since the 9th) and lasting until the late 18th century, was governed by a series of institutions (Great Council, Senate, and Council of Ten) under the supreme command of the Doge. Although the Doge was elected […]
Posted inAncient Greece, Art
The Lion of Piraeus, the Sculpture that Guarded the Entrance to the Port of Athens and is Engraved with Norse Runes
One of the most representative symbols of the city of Athens is known as the “Lion of Piraeus”. It is an imposing marble sculpture in the shape of a lion, standing over three meters tall, which for centuries has guarded the entrance to the port of Piraeus. However, the current one is a copy of […]
Posted inCulture
Albinoni’s Adagio was composed by the Italian musicologist Remo Giazotto in 1945.
Surely this is surprising because, after all, the famous Adagio in G minor is not only one of the best-known pieces of classical music but also one of the most popular among music lovers with a closely linked name of title and author: “Albinoni’s Adagio”. It is ironic, therefore, that in reality the work is […]
