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Bodobrica on the Rhine
22 October 2025
The Upper Middle Rhine valley (a UNESCO World Heritage area) was occupied by Celtic tribes who gave the settlement known today as Boppard the name Baudobriga. The region came under Roman control as a result of Caesar’s military campaigns around 50 BC. The Romans called the settlement Bodobrica. The ruins of the Roman presence are … Read more » “Bodobrica on the Rhine”
Feature
Pecunia non olet, Public toilets in Paris and Vespasiennes
18 December 2025
The year of the four emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasianus), 69 AD, was one of the most remarkable years in Roman history. Nero had left the Empire in financial ruins and the generals fought a devastating civil war. The victor Vespasianus (9-79 AD) inherited a public deficit of 40 billion sestertii (the average monthly salary … Read more » “Pecunia non olet, Public toilets in Paris and Vespasiennes”
Newsletter
The St. Nicolas Chapel Nimwegen
13 November 2025
The ancient Batavian settlement near the Dutch city of Nijmegen (Nimwegen) was called Oppidum Batavorum by the Romans until the Roman emperor Traian granted the right to hold a market in 104 AD, after which it was called Ulpia Noviomagus (the new market). The Romans built a castle (Castellum) on the hill. Frankish rulers reigned … Read more » “The St. Nicolas Chapel Nimwegen”
Agenda
Manet and Astruc
23 October 2021
Edouard Manet (1832–1883) is one of the most famous artists of the 19th century. Zacharie Astruc (1833–1907), however, is almost unknown as an artist today. Initially he made a name for himself as an art critic: he was the first to publicly defend Manet’s works. In the 1860s Manet painted him several times. With the Portrait … Read more » “Manet and Astruc”
Churchill´s Europe
Fulton,Westminster College and Winston Churchill
America’s National Churchill Museum is located on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. The museum is the site where Winston Churchill gave his famous Iron Curtain speech on 5 March 1946. This speech actually marked the beginning of the Cold War. A summary of the speech and its most famous phrase reads as … Read more » “Fulton,Westminster College and Winston Churchill”
European Affairs
The Most European Century and the Vikings
1 January 2026
Contemporary written sources on Romanesque art from Scandinavian countries are rare. The artefacts have to speak for themselves. And so they do. The Normans were pagans until the eleventh century. In 1100, Denmark and Norway were largely Christianized; it took Sweden some fifty years longer. They were masters in wood carving, but stone sculpture was … Read more » “The Most European Century and the Vikings”
Quote
Although the Romans claimed to be conservative, it was their open mind to other cultures that seems to have empowered their ability to conquer. In this view, Roman imperialism was not only political and military in nature, but also cultural in the sense that they used conquered cultures to shape their own culture and identity. … Read more » “Roman Imperialism”
