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Perhaps the most vivid and heart-wrenching site in Pompeii is the Garden of the Fugitives. Here, archaeologists found 13 almost perfectly preserved bodies, buried in ash. Among the 13 were entire families with children that were caught by surprise by the eruption while fleeing Pompeii, headed towards the sea. Believed to be one of the…

  With nearly a thousand years of history in Ancient Rome, myth and folklore about gladiator battles has had a lot of time to grow.  Even the first ancient Romans to write about gladiators couldn’t come to an agreement about the origins of the battles.  Add another two thousand years and a seemingly endless number…

Castel Sant’Angelo, also known as Hadrian’s Mausoleum, lies in Parco Adriano, very close to St. Peter’s Square. Commissioned by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 123AD as a mausoleum for himself and his relatives, it later became a fortress a few hundred years later in 401, under the orders of Emperor Honorius. It underwent intensive looting during…

Although the Greeks invented the bathing regimen, which then became the foundation for modern spa procedures, the ancient Romans elevated it to an art form. Baths became the center of social and cultural life. Thanks to its complicated system of aqueducts, the Romans always had fresh water readily available. The bath structures ranged from pretty…

When the Pope approaches the pilgrims in St. Peter’s square, during the weekly Wednesday audience, he’s usually riding what most of us now call “the Popemobile”. The Popemobile is, quite literally: a pope-carrying vehicle. Before the Popemobile, there was the sedia gestatoria, which was a chair carried on the shoulders of papal attendants. The sedia…

The Vatican Museums are an incredible trove of art, sculpture and architecture. One could go back ten times and still discover new things. Here’s a list of what you should absolutely see.   The Sistine Chapel – Michelangelo’s breathtaking masterpiece is, quite obviously, at the top of this list. You will strain your neck admiring…