By Andrea M. Gáldy – Archbishop Antonio Agustín y Albanel (1517-1586) died on 31 May 1586 at Tarragona, a city of notable traditions both as the Roman capital of Hispania Citerior, then Hispania Tarraconensis and as the seat of one of the oldest archdioceses in Spain, established even before […]
Classics
Dreams and the Psyche Through an Ancient Lens
Katherine Joplin – The study of the psyche is generally considered a relatively modern form of science. One thinks of 20th century archetype thinkers like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, who founded psychoanalysis and the beginnings of modern psychology. However, the actual term “psyche” has a much older origin, and […]
Petrarch’s Virgil: Simone Martini’s Frontispiece Examined
By Patrick Hunt Francesco Petrarch’s (1304-74) father Ser Petracco – reputed to have known Dante – commissioned a copy of Virgil’s poetry (Publius Vergilius Maro) when the poet was young and this work formed a singular part of Petrarch’s peerless library. [1] This manuscript was so special to him that he […]
Alexander the Great’s Dream of the Nemeses at Smyrna
By Patrick Hunt – “Alexander was hunting on Mount Pagos, and that after the hunt was over he came to a sanctuary of the Nemeses, and found there a spring and a plane-tree in front of the sanctuary, growing over the water. While he slept under the plane-tree it is […]
Scythians in Central Asia
By Aigerim Korzhumbayeva – Once a former Soviet Union state, this country is currently stepping into its third decade as an independent republic since 1991. Geographically, it is located in Central Asia and is the largest landlocked country, stretching from the Caspian Sea on the west to the Altay Mountains on […]
Albrecht Dürer’s 1515 Imagines coeli Star Charts
By Patrick Hunt – Albrecht Dürer is an artist famous for multiple endeavors, including woodcut and painting media. But he is also a pioneer illustrator of European star charts, especially his 1515 collaborative work for making a pair of woodcuts of the northern and southern hemisphere night sky images that […]
Istanbul’s (Constantinople) 6th Century Basilica Cistern
By Aigerim Korzhumbayeva – Amid the teeming bustle of exotic Istanbul’s overall population of 13 million people there is yet a darkly quiet place to find serenity. Much of the time you must turn your head sideways to view Istanbul’s impressive architecture in entirety if close; around the thoroughfares you […]
Celtic Collections at the Liechtenstein Landesmuseum
By Patrick Hunt- Several times in the past year, both in summer and spring, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the national museum in Vaduz, the Liechtenstein LandesMuseum, currently celebrating 300 years of history through its collections. With my own current research on medieval castles and Celtic antecedents in the […]
Villa Farnesina, Jewel of Renaissance Rome
By Patrick Hunt – In the green Trastevere area of Rome on the Via della Lungara along the Tiber River, the Villa Farnesina is one of the Renaissance jewels of Rome, splendid with art and architecture from its inception between 1506-10. Its name has been associated with the Farnese Family […]
Charlemagne, Rhine and Alsatian Wines: Riesling and Gewurztraminer
By Patrick Hunt – Tradition and some evidence have it that Charlemagne (768-814) revitalized the remnant Roman viticulture in his Frankish kingdom, especially in the northern Rhine region and also oversaw its viticultural progress. Alsace has been famous for wine since Roman colonists settled there; some also believe that […]