On April 27, 1737, English historian and Member of Parliament Edward Gibbon was born. His most famous work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788 and is known for the quality and irony of its prose as well as for its scientific historic accuracy, which made it a model for later historians.
On April 18, 1506, the foundation stone of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome took place under the guidance of Pope Julius II. A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. Today, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world.
On February 17, 1600, Domonican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer Giordano Bruno was burned on the stake after the Roman Inquisition found him guilty of heresy. His cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model in proposing that the Sun was essentially a star, and moreover, that the universe contained an infinite number of inhabited worlds populated by other intelligent beings.
On December 7, 1598, Italian architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini was born. He is considered to be the leading sculptor of the baroque age. In addition he designed buildings, painted, wrote plays, and designed metalwork and stage sets. Whenever you are be in Rome, for sure you will find yourself somewhere in the neighborhood of Bernini's work.
La exposición Romanorum Vita es un viaje por la vida cotidiana de los romanos. Información de la exposición, propuestas educativas, rutas turísticas y actividades interactivas.
On this very day in the year 47 BC the Roman dictator Gaius Iulius Caesar won the battle of Zela against Pharnaces II. king of Pontus. As the Roman victory was won rather quickly, Caesar wanted to emphasize that very fact by the brevity and conciseness of his report sent to the senate and people of Rome. He only wrote three little words:
"Veni, Vidi, Vici."
Yovisto Blogpost about Diana E. E. Kleiner, who in her lectures explores the civic, commercial, and religious buildings of Pompeii as part of her lecture on 'Roman Architecture'. She is an art historian known worldwide for her expertise on the art and architecture of the ancient Romans. Watch her impressive Yale lecture series on "Roman Architecture" http://www.yovisto.com/lecture/4288