The Dedication of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major) is a feast day celebrated annually on 5 August. In earlier editions of the General Roman Calendar it was called the Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary of the Snows a reference to the legendary story about the foundation of… Read More 5 August: Our Lady of the Snows
On 3 August 1492, the day after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus started his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean with a crew of 90 men and three ships— a larger carrack, the Santa María, and two smaller caravels, the Pinta and the Santa Clara, nicknamed the Niña (“Girl”).… Read More Christopher Columbus
On 2 August 1980 a bomb exploded at the Central Railway Station of Bologna, Italy, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200. The attack was attributed to a neo- fascist terrorist organization Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (Armed Revolutionary Groups), which always denied any involvement; other theories have been proposed, especially in correlation with the strategy… Read More 2 August 1980: Bologna Massacre
1 Aug. 1915: Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” was first published in the “Atlantic Monthly” Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took… Read More The Road Not Taken
Si tu veux construire un bateau, ne commence pas par rassembler du bois, couper des planches et distribuer du travail, mais reveille au sein des hommes le désir de la mer grande et belle. Se vuoi costruire una barca, non radunare uomini per tagliare legna, dividere i compiti e impartire ordini,… Read More Se vuoi…
Soffocante afrore profumo di gioia e ansia delusione eccitazione giovinezza e sogni. Ho visto dipanarsi davanti a me mille vite ne ho condiviso umori speranze emozioni. E questo mi ha lasciata infinitamente più ricca.
A few days ago I watched this film for the second time, and I liked it very much. I’m talking about “A Royal Affair”, a Danish film about the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark, his wife Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, and the royal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. The story is set in… Read More A Royal Affair
From 1562 to 1598, France saw a series of bloody wars between Catholics and Protestant Huguenots, called “the French Wars of Religion” , which ended with the Edict of Nantes, issued in 1598 by King Henry IV, a treaty that fostered religious tolerance. Nine years earlier, “le bon roi Henri” (the good king Henry)… Read More 25 July 1593: “Paris is worth a Mass”
24 july 1911 – Hiram Bingham re-discovers Machu Picchu, “the Lost City of the Incas”. Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel situated in the middle of a tropical mountain forest on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes, in the Cusco Region. In the Quechua native language, “Machu Picchu” means “Old Peak” or “Old… Read More 24 july 1911: H. Bingham discovers Machu Picchu
Today, Rastafarians mark the birthday of Haile Selassie I, former Emperor of Ethiopia, who is regarded as God. Haile Selassie I (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), was Ethiopia’s regent from 1916 to 1930 and emperor from 1930 to 1974. He also served as Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity . The Rastafari… Read More Haile Selassie
