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Italian Shirts S.R.L., Via Parigi, Andria, Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Italy

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Italian Shirts S.R.L., Via Parigi, Andria, Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Italy

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Italian Shirts S.R.L., Via Parigi, Andria, Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Italy

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explains clothing in italy

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CLOTHING IN ITALY - Italian Listening & Comprehension  Exercise [video in slow Italian]

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Irpinia Food Italy, Via Arco, Chiusano di San Domenico, Province of Avellino, Italy

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Irpinia Food Italy, Via Arco, Chiusano di San Domenico, Province of Avellino, Italy

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Irpinia Food Italy, Via Arco, Chiusano di San Domenico, Province of Avellino, Italy

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Talk about food it italy.

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ITALIAN FOOD EXPLAINED | What is Italian Cuisine

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Mt Vesuvius, Pompei, Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy

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Mt Vesuvius, Pompei, Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy

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Mt Vesuvius, Pompei, Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy

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Talks about the destruction of Pompei, and how many people died. It also

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On August 24, after centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and

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Pantheon, Piazza della Rotonda, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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Pantheon, Piazza della Rotonda, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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Pantheon, Piazza della Rotonda, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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It explains the history of the building and what the function of the building was.

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The Pantheon (Latin: pantheum) is the best-preserved building from ancient Rome and was completed in c. 125 CE in the reign of Hadrian. Its magnificent dome is a lasting testimony to the genius of Roman architects and as the building stands virtually intact it offers a unique opportunity for the modern visitor to step back 2,000 years and experience the glory that was Rome.

Function & Dedication

The purpose of the building is not known for certain but the name, porch and pediment decoration suggest a temple of some sort. However, no cult is known to all of the gods and so the Pantheon may have been designed as a place where the emperor could make public appearances in a setting which reminded onlookers of his divine status, equal with the other gods of the Roman pantheon and his deified emperor predecessors. We are told, for example, by Pliny, the 1st century CE Roman author, that there were once statues of Venus (wearing a pearl once owned by Cleopatra), Mars, and Julius Caesar inside the Pantheon.

The Pantheon was built on the exact site of two earlier Pantheon buildings, one commissioned by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (27-25 BCE) and the second by Domitian. The first was destroyed by fire in 80 CE and the second was struck by lightning in 110 CE and again burned down. The third Pantheon was probably begun in the reign of Trajan (98-117 CE) but not finally finished until around 125 CE when Hadrian was emperor, who often convened the Roman Senate there. It is this version which still stands today in central Rome.

The Pantheon's dome is concrete & the external surface was originally covered in sheets of bronze.

Following Hadrian's usual practice of dedicating rebuilt buildings and monuments in honour of the original dedicator, the Pantheon is dedicated to Marcus Agrippa and the prominent inscription on the porch façade reads:

M. AGRIPPA L.F. COS TERTIUM FECIT

(Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, three-time consul, made this).

Below the main inscription is a smaller one indicating the restorations carried out by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202 CE and reads:

pantheum vetustate corruptum cum omni cultu restituerunt
(with every refinement they restored the Pantheum, worn by age).

Exterior: The Porch

The whole building stands on a 1.3 metres high base which originally extended a further 7 metres in front of the colonnade. Steps in Numidian yellow marble extended from the outer ends of this base. The building consists of two principal parts - the porch, which is very Classical Greek in presentation, and the circular main building which is much more Roman in style and reminiscent of the architecture of the large Roman baths. The circular building is built using brick and concrete but was originally faced with white marble stucco to match the porch in appearance. The dome is concrete with the external surface originally covered in sheets of bronze but these were removed by Constans II in 663 CE.

The porch measures 33.1 x 13.6 metres and presents a front colonnade of eight Corinthian columns 11.8 metres high. The monolithic column shafts are in Mons Claudianus and Aswan grey granite with the bases and capitals in white Pentelic marble. The pediment above the columns is now empty but drill holes suggest there was originally an emblem of some sort, possibly an eagle or wreath which would have been in gilded bronze and symbolised Jupiter. The porch was faced with white Pentelic marble and is decorated with reliefs showing objects used in religious sacrifices (such as dishes, boxes and axes), garlands and candelabras. The interior of the porch measures 34 x 20 metres and has four rose-pink columns creating three aisles. The pavement is restored but reflects the original design with grey granite rectangles and circles in white marble. The interior of the porch was also panelled with marble but this has since been lost, revealing the brickwork.

At the very top of the dome is an opening to the sky (oculus) which is 8.8 metres in diameter.

Interior: the dome

The Pantheon may well be the first building from Classical architecture where the interior is deliberately made to outshine the exterior. The circular part of the building or rotunda was entranced via two bronze doors measuring 12 x 7.5 metres (those of today are ancient but not original). The rotunda measures 43.2 metres in diameter which is exactly the maximum height of the dome, itself a perfect hemisphere. At the very top of the dome is an opening to the sky (oculus) which is 8.8 metres in diameter and has a decorative bronze sheet frieze. The dome is made from a light tufa and scoria (a type of pumice) mix of concrete ( caementa) and its interior is further lightened by five rings of 28 coffers which reduce in size as they rise towards the centre of the dome. These may have been originally covered in bronze sheets.

The wall of the rotunda is 6 metres thick and has seven alcoves which are alternatively semi-circular (3 alcoves) and rectangular (4 alcoves). The alcove opposite the door is the most impressive and reaches the ceiling. It has a decorative red porphyry frieze and cornice and is flanked by two Corinthian marble columns of Phrygian purple. Each of the other alcoves has two marble columns in Phrygian purple (semi-circular) or Numidian yellow (rectangular). Each alcove also had three niches for statues and a small window with another seven windows placed around the rotunda walls. The pavement is the original and consists of a square pattern using grey granite, red porphyry, Numidian yellow and Phrygian purple marble.

Later History

The Pantheon, like all ancient monuments, has suffered a chequered history. Nevertheless, the building has survived remarkably well, probably because relatively early in its history it was converted into the church of St. Mary of the Martyrs in 608 CE. In 1270 CE a bell tower was added to the porch roof and later removed. Also, at some time in the Middle Ages the left side of the porch was damaged which necessitated the replacement of three columns. The first came from Domitian's villa at Castelgandolfo and was added in 1626 CE. The other two columns came from the Baths of Nero and were added in 1666 CE. However, these additions were rose-pink in colour whilst originally the front eight columns of the porch were all grey and only the internal four were pink Aswan. Also in 1626 CE Pope Urban VIII removed all of the bronze girders from the porch roof and recast the metal into 80 canons for the city 's Castel Sant'Angelo. The presence of these girders suggests that the porch roof originally had heavy marble tiles.

Despite these changes the Pantheon is one of the best preserved ancient monuments in the world and it still has an important function and status today as within it are the tombs of the Italian monarchy from 1870-1946 CE and another notable tomb is that of Raphael (1483-1520 CE).

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The Pantheon (Latin: pantheum) is the best-preserved building from ancient Rome and was completed in c. 125 CE in the reign of Hadrian. Its magnificent dome is a lasting testimony to the genius of Roman architects and as the building stands virtually intact it offers a unique opportunity for the modern visitor to step back 2,000 years and experience the glory that was Rome.

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Colosseo, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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Colosseo, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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Colosseo, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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It explains the origins of the Colosseum and the Colosseum over the centuries.

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Table of Contents

1. Origins of the Colosseum

2. Building of the&nbsp;Colosseum&nbsp;

3. The Colosseum: A Grand Amphitheater

4. The Colosseum Over the Centuries

Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. In A.D. 80, Vespasian's son Titus opened the Colosseum-officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater-with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. After four centuries of active use, the magnificent arena fell into neglect, and up until the 18th century it was used as a source of building materials. Though two-thirds of the original Colosseum has been destroyed over time, the amphitheater remains a popular tourist destination, as well as an iconic symbol of Rome and its long, tumultuous history.

Origins of the Colosseum

Even after the decadent Roman emperor Nero took his own life in A.D. 68, his misrule and excesses fueled a series of civil wars. No fewer than four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero's death; the fourth, Vespasian, would end up ruling for 10 years (A.D. 69-79). The Flavian emperors, as Vespasian and his sons Titus (79-81) and Domitian (81-96) were known, attempted to tone down the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare.

Around 70-72, Vespasian returned to the Roman people the lush land near the center of the city, where Nero had built an enormous palace for himself after a great fire ripped through Rome in A.D. 64. On the site of that Golden Palace, he decreed, would be built a new amphitheater where the public could enjoy gladiatorial combats and other forms of entertainment.

Did you know? Archaeologists believe that the Colosseum contained both drinking fountains and latrines.

Building of the Colosseum

After nearly a decade of construction-a relatively quick time period for a project of such a grand scale-Titus officially dedicated the Colosseum in A.D. 80 with a festival including 100 days of games. A well-loved ruler, Titus had earned his people's devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The final stages of construction of the Colosseum were completed under the reign of Titus' brother and successor, Domitian.

The Colosseum: A Grand Amphitheater

Measuring some 620 by 513 feet (190 by 155 meters), the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. Unlike many earlier amphitheaters, which had been dug into hillsides to provide adequate support, the Colosseum was a freestanding structure made of stone and concrete. The distinctive exterior had three stories of arched entrances-a total of around 80-supported by semi-circular columns. Each story contained columns of a different order (or style): At the bottom were columns of the relatively simple Doric order, followed by Ionic and topped by the ornate Corinthian order. Located just near the main entrance to the Colosseum was the Arch of Constantine, built in A.D. 315 in honor of Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at Pons Milvius.

Inside, the Colosseum had seating for more than 50,000 spectators, who may have been arranged according to social ranking but were most likely packed into the space like sardines in a can (judging by evidence from the seating at other Roman amphitheaters). Awnings were unfurled from the top story in order to protect the audience from the hot Roman sun as they watched gladiatorial combats, hunts, wild animal fights and possibly even larger combats such as mock naval engagements (for which the arena was said to be flooded with water) put on at great expense. The vast majority of the combatants who fought in front of Colosseum audiences in Ancient Rome were men (though there were some female gladiators). Gladiators were generally enslaved peoples, condemned criminals or prisoners of war.

The Colosseum Over the Centuries

The Colosseum saw some four centuries of active use, until the struggles of the Western Roman Empire and the gradual change in public tastes put an end to gladiatorial combats and other large public entertainments by the 6th century A.D. Even by that time, the arena had suffered damaged due to natural phenomena such as lightning and earthquakes.

In the centuries to come, the Colosseum was abandoned completely, and used as a quarry for numerous building projects, including the cathedrals of St. Peter and St. John Lateran, the Palazzo Venezia and defense fortifications along the Tiber River. Beginning in the 18th century, however, various popes sought to conserve the arena as a sacred Christian site, though it is in fact uncertain whether early Christian martyrs met their fate in the Colosseum, as has been speculated.

By the 20th century, a combination of weather, natural disasters, neglect and vandalism had destroyed nearly two-thirds of the original Colosseum, including all of the arena's marble seats and its decorative elements. Restoration efforts began in the 1990s, and have proceeded over the years, as the Colosseum continues to be a leading attraction for tourists from all over the world.

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Colosseum - Dates, Facts & Location | HISTORY

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Built in 70 A.D., Rome's Colosseum has been the site of celebrations, sporting events and bloodshed. Today, the amphitheater is a major tourist attraction, playing host to 3.9 million visitors each year.