Ombrone

The image of this post is the Triade Capitolina dell’Inviolata a precious roman sculpture showing the three main protectors of the city of Rome Jupiter, Juno (in the likeness of Iuno Regina) and  Minerva. They were worshipped traditionally on a temple on the Capitolium, the so called aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini. This sculpture was discovered in private villa, and it’s believed to be a copy the original sculpture located in that temple, so you can easily understand its importance. I will not go on details, there is a lot material you can find on the triad and on this particular sculpture, I will tell you more about its discovery. Unfortunately, the discovery of this masterpiece was done, in 1992, during an illegal dig near Rome in an area ironically called “inviolata” (Untouched), that was a well known playground for illegal diggers. The sculpture was sold to a Swiss art merchant for a sum equivalent to 2 millions euros, and was ready to be resold to an American collector (for

  Italian Version Driven by my passion for the history of late roman empire and the love I have always had for the author, I just finished reading Alessandro Barbero's “Costantine the Winner” (Costantino Il Vincitore).   Disclaimer The review is long, but I assure you the book is longer!   Alessandro Barbero is a famous historian in Italy. He started with a five minutes break about various historical facts in a famous science tv show, and from there he became a small television star.   He is a fantastic speaker (if you have the opportunity and you speak italian, go to his conferences or look for one on youtube) but he is also an excellent writer of history essay and even historical novels.   The beautiful thing about Barbero’s works compared to many other historical essays is his continuous use of primary sources. This gives a sense of vitality and an exceptional concreteness to his books (and make you regret bitterly of having practically forgotten all that Latin studied i