Museum education in Florence results in these gorgeous shoes, inspired by the Chimera of Arezzo.
More here (in Italian).
The ancient site of Herculaneum near Pompeii in southern Italy was shut to the public Monday afternoon because of a staff shortage that officials blamed on understaffing. The Superintendent for Cultural Heritage responsible for the sites at Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia said in a statement that the closure “highlights the critical situation…at Mt. Vesuvius archaeological sites”. The 36 staff members at Herculaneum are divided between five shifts daily but that is inadequate for a site that covers an area of 4.5 hectares and requires six or seven staff per shift to supervise and protect the ancient site, officials said. A sudden illness threw the schedule off and forced Monday’s closure to the public, they added. Herculaneum - like the more famous Pompeii - was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Both are UNESCO World Heritage sites and concerns about their protection and preservation have been increasing amid reports in recent years about cave-ins, natural disasters, and outright thefts of priceless archaeological relics.
Astronomers show ancient Rome’s sun
New Zealand astronomers have helped re-create the skies above Rome for simulations showing how ancient emperors built structures to align with the movements of the sun.
The Trip to Italy, Coogan and Brydon in the Stabian Baths at Pompeii.
The Roman harbour city of Portus lay at the heart of an empire that extended from Scotland to Iraq. Established by Claudius and enlarged by the emperor Trajan with spoils of the Dacian wars, the port was the conduit for everything the city of Rome required from its Mediterranean provinces: the food and, particularly grain, that fed the largest urban population of the ancient world, as well as luxuries of all kinds, building materials, people and wild animals for the arena.
On this course you will chart a journey from the Imperial harbour to its connections across the Mediterranean, learning about what the archaeological discoveries uncovered by the Portus Project tell us about the history, landscape, buildings, and the people of this unique place. Although the site lies in ruins, it has some of the best-preserved Roman port buildings in the Mediterranean, and in this course you will learn to interpret these and the finds discovered within them, using primary research data and the virtual tools of the archaeologist.
Largely filmed on location at Portus, the course will provide you with an insight into the wide range of digital technologies employed to record, analyse and present the site. In addition to the lead educators, our enthusiastic team of student archaeologists will support your learning.
You can use the hashtag #UoSFLPortus to join and contribute to Twitter conversations about this course.
Layers of Pompeii (by Emily Felder & Kevin Anderson)
Layers of Pompeii is a documentary film addressing the range of interests and interpretations of both the ancient and modern cities of Pompeii, Italy. The film is concerned less with the eruption of 79AD and more with the contemporary inhabitants of the archaeological site and those living in the adjacent modern city that supports a tourist industry of 10,000 visitors a day. The juxtaposition of ancient and modern, the archaeological and the touristic, questions the role that archaeology can (and should) play in contemporary society. Unearthing the perspectives and desires of modern Pompeiians and placing these alongside those of the archaeologists, creates a dynamic representation of the variety of meanings that Pompeii inspires – as a site for cultural identity, local economy, and archaeological research.
Engraved Penises Reveal Birth Date of Italian City
Two penises engraved on a 2,000 year old stone may shed light on the foundation of the city of Aosta in northern Italy, revealing its deep connection with the Roman emperor Augustus.
Carved on both sides, the block features two very clear figures on one side – a phallus and, over it, a spade – and some partly damaged reliefs on the other. There, a phallus is again represented. Over it, a plough and a partly eroded character which appears to be a Capricorn.
The plough and the spade openly hint to the sulcus primigenius, the original trench plowed to mark the perimeter of a new city in the Roman foundation ceremony. Related to the god Priapus, the phallic effigies most likely had an “apotropaic” function, evoking some sort of protection from evil forces.
More at the link.