Category: History

Ajloun Castle in Jordan, a Saladin’s fortress

In northwestern Jordan, between Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea, stands the imposing medieval castle of Ajloun, perched on a hill more than a thousand metres above sea level. The fortress was built at the behest of Saladin (1138-1193), founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and sultan of Syria and Egypt, to counter the presence of…
The History of the First Crusade, from Clermont to Jerusalem

On 27 November 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II urged the European princes to organise the First Crusade to liberate Jerusalem and defend the Holy Sepulchre of Christ. “Jerusalem is the navel of the world, […] this royal city, situated at the centre of the world, is now held captive by His…
Trani Cathedral and the church of Ognissanti, Templar clues

The wind of Trani blew placidly to Eastern, where the salvation waits for men who act according to God’s will. It was revealed to the heart of those departing soldiers. Harnessed among a thousand and shining armor, they aspired to reconquest Jerusalem. A crusade was not a simple travel. It delineated the border among the…
The high towers of the town of San Gimignano

In the mid-13th century, the number of tower-houses was a good indicator of a city’s wealth. These buildings, originally constructed as defensive structures, eventually became the exclusive residence of the nobility. Erected in the city centre, the towers were commissioned by the most powerful families: the higher they rose towards the sky, the more prestige…
Fidenza Cathedral and the Passio of Saint Domninus

Bibles of stones, sculpture manuscripts, tales and figures came to life from the hands of skilled Romanesque stonemasons at Fidenza Cathedral of Saint Domninus. Wise magisters whose power of symbolic knowledge made it possible to transform imagination into real form. But also humble people of faith who carved the stone giving it deep and unchanging…
Spartacus, the hero and the gladiator

The dry, metallic sound of chains breaking can be heard. Immediately begins a great uproar of shouts and warriors begins, united in a single spasm of freedom. It is only possible to envision that din, at the opening of the gates of the ludus gladiatorius of ancient Capua, vehemently disturbing the quiet of the place.…
Who was William Shakespeare?

“It is surmised by the biographers that the young Shakespeare got his vast knowledge of the law and his familiar and accurate acquaintance with the manners and customs and shop-talk of lawyers through being for a time the clerk of a Stratford court; just as a bright lad like me, reared in a village on…
The secrets of the Sicilian city of Messina

The city of Messina has a long history. Ancient Zancle, a toponym derived from the Greek Ζὰγκλης, meaning “sickle”, was founded by Cumans and Chalcidian settlers in the 8th century B.C., as testified by the historian Thucydides1. The name certainly derives from the shape of San Ranieri peninsula, where today is the city’s port. “Was…
Volterra, a town rich of history and mysteries

The narrow streets of the medieval center, still surrounded by the original 13th-century walls, intertwine around the scenic Piazza dei Priori in the town of Volterra. From a topographical and social point of view, the city converged towards two main centers of power. These were the Palazzo dei Priori, seat of the commune government, and…
The mysterious disappearance of the physicist Ettore Majorana

“I was born in Catania on August 5th, 1906. I completed classical studies, obtaining my high school diploma in 1923; I then regularly pursued engineering studies in Rome up to the beginning of the final year. In 1928, wishing to dedicate myself to pure science, I requested and obtained admission to the Faculty of Physics,…