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A Byzantine Secret worth Billions
There is no doubt that the Byzantines have bequeathed us a culturally rich, and, at times, mysterious, legacy. Emperors came and went, but tradition and culture were passed down, leaving aspects of Byzantine history which yet linger, in legend or Eastern Orthodoxy, even to this day. Legend, you may ask? Certainly! Greek fire: a Byzantine invention (despite the misnomer). What proved to be a fearful weapon against their enemies also served as hazardous for Byzantium’s own forces, so it was eventually disregarded, and the secrets of its alchemy have been lost to us.
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To Live and Die by Mount Vesuvius
There is something tragically romantic about Pompeii and her fellow seaside town Herculaneum, both destroyed by the villainous Vesuvius in 79 CE. Ironically, the volcano, initially merely thought of as a mere mountain, erupted on 24 August, the day after Vulcanalia – the festival of the Roman god of fire.
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Rome, ville caméléon ?
Rome est symbolique, culturelle et éternelle. Si la ville de la Dolce Vita de Fellini attire toujours aujourd’hui des milliers de touristes c’est parce qu’elle fascine par son passé, par ses vestiges antiques et par sa nourriture (il est bien connu, au niveau gastronomique que l’Italie est une valeur sûre). Qui a-t-il de plus agréable, après une journée de visites, que de déguster un gelato assis sur les marches de la Piazza di Spagna, ou de boire un apéro à la tombée de la nuit, en regardant le spectacle de la rue, les hommes d’affaires ultra gominés en costard-cravates, chaussures cirées ayant terminé leur journée, les italiennes, féminines à souhait, les…
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Le Caravage, génie scandaleux
Ombre et lumière, Mal et Bien, anges et démons, voilà le contraste qui marque tout l’Œuvre du Caravage et qui continue de frapper les esprits des admirateurs de ses toiles. Il s’agit de l’antagonisme le plus simple de tous les temps, presque manichéen, celui qui passionne l’homme depuis toujours. La vie du Caravage, faite de pauvreté, de rixes, d’affaires de mœurs, et les quelques soixante toiles qui nous restent de lui, sont l’illustration parfaite de l’attraction du public pour le scandale. Le Caravage n’appartenait à aucune école de peinture. Même de son vivant, il était suivi d’une réputation à l’odeur de soufre. Quand il ne travaillait pas sur des scènes…
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Naughty but … Nice?
Michelangelo da Caravaggio – what a drunken, jealous, hot-headed mess. I’m sure if psychiatric hospitals existed in the late 1500s, he would have spent time in one – and probably lived a bit longer because of it. Today it seems artists (mostly actors and singers) encourage us commoners to “feel our crazy”, you know, to see where it takes us. But Caravaggio wouldn’t have even made it to even 39 were he alive today if he kept up his shenanigans. Fun to party with, perhaps, but no one you could possibly (read: should) take too seriously. Upon discovering Caravaggio, you generally learn about his tumultuous behaviour and mis-behaviour. We’re all…
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Bernini: The Beauty and The Beast
Rome is the city of light, certainly, but it is also the city of water. Tourists may visit for the city’s celebrated history and architecture, but they leave entranced by the babbling fountains which dot the city like stars. What most don’t realize is that most of those fountains were designed by the same man: the astoundingly talented Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Immortalized in countless great works of cinema, from Frederico Felini’s La Dolce Vita to Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love, Bernini’s fountains are essential to the character of this most romantic of cities. His Fontana della Barcaccia on the Spanish Steps even provided the backdrop for Gregory Peck and…
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