By Staff High above Palermo near Monte Caputo is one of Christendom’s jewels: Monreale Cathedral. It has been called the “Golden Temple” for centuries, at least since the poet Bartoldo Sirilli published these lines in 1596: “Like a crown on the distant mount on marble base a golden temple lies…” As […]
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Wine in Bolzano Under the Alps
By Patrick Hunt Why are the crisp Alto Adige wines not more well-known? In June I spent a week around Bolzano (Bozen in German), tasting and drinking great local wine. In the Alto Adige under the Alps, Bolzano is that wonderful combination of the best of both Italy and Austria. […]
Dante’s Paolo and Francesca in Ingres’ 1819 Ekphrasis
By Patrick Hunt Jean A. D. Ingres (1780-1867) painted Dante’s story of Paolo and Francesca as an ekphrasis in similar settings multiple times, beginning in 1819 and through at least to 1856. (1) This article summarizes Ingres’ Paolo and Francesca (48 cm x 39 cm), 1819, Angers, Musée des Beaux-Arts. […]
The Muse of History
By Staff What intellectual “postcard” should we choose to send ourselves from any great repository of history? Several of our Electrum Magazine staff-members (Patrick Hunt, A.C. Williams, P.F. Sommerfeldt and Melissa Guertin) were at the British Museum this past week (late March 2011) – and some of us for five […]
Mary Harrsch’s Classical Photo Essay
by Mary Harrsch Mary Harrsch has a love for Classics going back several decades, which she juxtaposes with her work as a professional photographer and media wizard. The images in this photo essay span at least a decade, but Mary’s presence, alongside her sharp eyes and keen eye provide many […]
Archaeology in the Peten: The Early Classic Maya Site of Holmul in Guatemala
by Brianna Rego Although I was born in Guatemala, I moved to Idaho when I was 5. My early-childhood memories are filled with larger than life books of Maya pyramids, dog-eared copies of Incidents of Travel in Yucatán, and parental controlled expeditions with my brothers through the vines and jungles […]
Mapping History: The Abbey Library of St. Gall
by A. C. Williams The Abbey Library of Saint Gall, known as the Stiftsbibliothek of St. Gallen, is one of the oldest and most illustrious libraries in the world. The Stiftsbibliothek and surrounding St. Gall Abbey precinct have together served for centuries as one of the leading cultural centers in […]
Marlin Lum’s Simplon Pass Switzerland Photo Essay
In 2005 while working with Cultural Heritage Imaging and monastery chanoine Jean-Pierre Voutaz, Archiviste for the Order of the Grand-St-Bernard at the Simplon Hospice in Switzerland’s Simplon Pass, Marlin Lum took these photographs of the local landscape and its environs. Electrum Magazine is proud to feature stunning photographs of our […]
Edges of Empire – the new excavations at Binchester Roman town, UK
by Gary Devore and Michael Shanks The new excavations of Binchester Roman town in the north of England, running since 2009, are seeking new answers to old questions about the Roman empire and its administration, about the character of military occupation, the life and experiences of locals and the soldiers […]
Cultural Heritage Imaging: Digital Pioneers in Archaeological Preservation
by Patrick Hunt While photography of archaeological artifacts for recording stretches back over a century plus, the needs to visually preserve a record of materials has only multiplied exponentially since the mid-19th century. In fact, archaeology was one of the first disciplines to employ the nascent medium of photography for […]