Author: Ms. R.

Linford Barrows are situated above the little settlement of Cairncastle in the Knockdhu Hills in County Antrim. The site lies in the town of Linford, hence its namesake. The region features incredible views of the Irish Sea and the village of Ballygally. It was the perfect area for a Bronze Age settlement.  The Linford Barrows consists of two large adjacent circular mounds, each surrounded by a ditch and rampart called a ring-barrow, all dating back to the Bronze Age…….

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Driving along the road from Cansano to Pescocostanzo, near the lower ridges of Majella National Park, visitors will suddenly find themselves driving through a stunning forest known locally as Bosco di Sant’Antonio. The forest and protected area covers over 500 hectares and was originally a lucus, a sacred forest dedicated to Jupiter, the Roman god of the sky and thunder. However, it was later associated with Saint Anthony and the small medieval hermitage built on the fringes of the……

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This 10-foot-high sculpture of a human hand was created by an artistic cooperative called BANK well over 20 years ago. It was crafted as part of a national cycling network project, organized by the charity Sustrans. From afar, it appears to be constructed of metal, however, it’s in fact made from fiberglass. The organization is no longer around, making it difficult to know the meaning behind the work of art. The sculpture provides an interesting focal point in the……

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Upon its discovery in the 1950s, this site was initially believed to be the villa of the Roman poet Ovid, Sulmo’s most famous native. However, dedicatory inscriptions and votive material revealed a vast religious complex. Initially constructed by the local Peligni people, the site was built on a complex multi-leveled terracing system, like the more famous temples of Fortuna in Palestrina and Hercules in Tivoli. These radical architectural changes occurred after the Social War in 89 BC. The temple……

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Often, historical figures survive in our cultural memory as symbols rather than fully realized individuals. An overarching legacy sometimes ends up obscuring a body of distinct achievements, leaving us with a clear view of the forest but little sight of the trees. Jackie Robinson, it seems, may have been fearful of this happening to his legacy when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1962. At that time, Robinson requested that his induction plaque focus……

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In Renaissance Europe, people spent a considerable amount of time grumbling about syphilis—and, typically, blaming the scourge on foreigners, near and far. “From the very beginning, the disease was associated with the French, and its most common name was therefore Mal Francese or Mal Francioso, on the grounds that the French army was responsible for bringing this, among other calamities, to Italy,” write medical historians Jon Arrizabalga, John Henderson, and Roger French in The Great Pox: The French Disease……

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If you have a go-to cocktail, it most likely appears in Spirited: Cocktails From Around the World. In a huge volume that can only be called a tome, author Adrienne Stillman profiles and provides recipes for 610 drinks, ranging from age-old to brand-new, simple (the Russian Yorsh, which is beer fortified with vodka) to elaborate (the Tropical Itch, which comes with a full-sized backscratcher as a swizzle stick). Stillman’s book doesn’t stint on the classics, though. She profiles all……

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