Cool!

Reuters:

An ancient Roman wood and ivory throne has been unearthed at a dig in Herculaneum, Italian archaeologists said on Tuesday, hailing it as the most significant piece of wooden furniture ever discovered there.

The throne was found during an excavation in the Villa of the Papyri, the private house formerly belonging to Julius Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, built on the slope of Mount Vesuvius.

The name of the villa derives from the impressive library containing thousands of scrolls of papyrus discovered buried under meters (yards) of volcanic ash after the Vesuvius erupted on 24 August 79.

Restoration of the throne is still ongoing with restorers painstakingly trying to piece back together parts of the ceremonial chair.

Civilization

ANSA:

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Friday hailed a United Nations committee vote calling for a moratorium on the death penalty - a cause for which Italy has long lobbied.

''The UN vote...is a great success for Italy and the cause of peace,'' Napolitano said after Thursday night's human rights committee vote.

''Now all that's missing is the final seal of the General Assembly,'' the president said.

The resolution, which calls for ''a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty,'' is expected to go to the 192-member Assembly in mid-December.

Paestum

A thriving Greek colony in central Italy was founded in the Seventh Century BCE. The Temple of Apollo is from around 450 BCE, while the Temple of Hera, in the background, is about a century older.

Rome

From the roof of St. Peter's.

The Weather

Guardian:

Southern Europe sizzled in record-breaking temperatures yesterday with the heatwave being blamed for deaths in Hungary and Romania, power cuts in Macedonia and forest fires from Serbia to Greece.

Up to 500 people have died in Hungary because of the heatwave with deaths attributed to heatstroke, cardiovascular problems and other illnesses aggravated by high temperatures which reached a record high of 41.9C (107F) in the southern city of Kiskunhalas.

Countries across the Balkan peninsula also laboured under temperatures that hit a historic 43C in Belgrade and 44C in Bulgaria. In an urgent announcement, Greece's weather service predicted temperatures of 45C (113F) and the government urged people to restrict their movements and stay indoors.

Associated Press:

Emergency workers rescued hundreds of trapped people Monday as water swallowed swaths of central England in the worst flooding to hit the country for 60 years. Officials said some rivers were still rising, with the western section of the rain-swollen River Thames on the verge of bursting its banks.

Roads and parking lots were submerged, trains suspended, buses canceled. Hundreds of thousands of people were without electricity or drinking water, and farmers saw their summer crops destroyed.

Torrential rains have plagued Britain over the past month — nearly 5 inches fell in some areas on Friday alone — and more downpours were predicted this week.

Not that the climate is changing, or anything.

Florence

Santa Margherita dei Cerchi. In this church, Dante first met Beatrice.

Florence

Top of the Duomo.

On the right is Palazzo Vecchio. Towards the center are the Bargello and the Badia Fiorentino. Further back, on the left, is Santa Croce.

Rome

Santa Maria Maddalena is Rome's only significant Rococo Church. By the time Rococo came into fashion, Rome's Renaissance and Baroque glory days were over.

Torino

The Basilica di Superga was designed by late-Baroque master Filippo Juvarra, and contains the tombs of many of the kings and dukes from the House of Savoy.

Florence

The Arno and Ponte Vecchio

Rome

Ninth Century CE mosaic in Santa Maria in Domnica

Venice

Rome

Trevi Fountain

Vicenza

Renaissance Classicist Andrea Palladio's final work, the 1585 Teatro Olimpico is considered to be the world's oldest surviving covered theater. It's still in use.

Rome

Trajan's Markets- essentially, a Second Century CE shopping mall.

Florence

View from the top of the Campanile.

Classe

Early 6th Century CE mosaics at Sant' Apollinaire, in what was then Imperial Ravenna's port city.

Area Sacra di Largo Argentina, Rome

Archaeological area with Republican era temples. Towards the middle of the site, at the rear, was the Curia of Pompey. Only the ruined rear of the building is visible. Julius Caesar was assassinated at its front, which is now under the street.

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, Rome

Designed by Francesco Borromini, my favorite Baroque architect.

Less celebrated than his contemporary, Bernini, who got many of the best commissions, Borromini's sensual plasticity revolutonized architecture. Keep in mind that this fluidity of form was achieved without modern construction materials. Eessentially, this is all cut stone.

Borromini's spires and cupolas directly influenced Guarini and Juvarra, in Torino, and Sir Christopher Wren, whose churches once defined the skyline of London, and can still be seen throughout the older parts of the city.

Battistero di San Giovanni, Florence