The Latin term phalera indicates decorative metal elements, circular in shape, chiselled or embossed with a central decoration. The phalerae could be fixed as pendants on the harnesses of horses, or used on the armour of soldiers, tied with orthogonal straps and hooked onto the breastplate symmetri...

The restoration work on the Villa involved the roofing of the archaeological complex, which was entirely replaced in order to adequately preserve the floor mosaics and wall paintings; appropriate measures have been taken to drain the water away from the walls. The restorations involved the entire m...

Vertical element with a load-bearing function, to support the weight of the upper part of a building. Columns or pillars are also considered to be imposts. In the case of an arch, the impost is identified as the brickwork element, which the base of the arch is set....

The ogival is an architectural element, also called the Roman arch because of its main use in constructions of that period. An ogival arch is a pointed Gothic arch drawn with compasses or using the arcs of an ellipse. What distinguishes it from other types of arches is its perfect semicircular shap...

Large opening indicating a passage, used for public transit, as in the case of entrances to cities through the city gates, or relating to the triumphal arches. The fornix was usually defined as an arch and covered by a semicircular vault, called a barrel. [dettaglio_immagine id="35265"]...

The myth of Arion of Methymna is narrated by some sources including the Histories of Herodotus. The young composer was the first to write dithyrambs, original forms of tragedy, and was not inferior to anyone in his time. After a long stay with Periander of Corinth, his desire was to reach Italy and ...

“At his sweet strains the rushing stream / Its uproar stilled, and all its waves / Paused in forgetfulness of flight; ... All winged creatures of the wood / And e’en the woods themselves came near / To listen; or, if far on high / Some bird was wheeling through the air, / To that sweet music swi...

The cubiculum, a Latin word, was the bedroom of the Roman house, usually small in the domus and larger in Roman villas. Used only for sleeping, the furniture was simple, composed of a bed, often single, the lectulo, used by spouses to sleep separately; only newly-weds used a double bed called the le...

Careful observation of the subjects represented in the floor mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale offers a precise decorative project that links the scenes that animate the various rooms. It is evident that the owner of the late antiquity residence wanted to illustrate not only the life and cultu...

The protagonists of the circus races were the chariots pulled by four horses and those who drove them, the charioteers. They were some of the most popular competitions in the Roman world and required careful preparation of the crews, clearly visible in the mosaic floor in the northern apse of the ha...