Medieval History
Rome has given the centurions a deadline to clear out. The solders in question aren't from the ranks of an ancient legion, but are modern-day performers who pose for tourist photos at the Colosseum.
Men and women decked out in chest plates and helmets eke out a tax-free living at Rome?s most popular attraction, posing for photos with foreign visitors for 5 or 10 euros. Disoriented, jet lagged, or simply scared, tourists have been known to pay up to 50 euros ($67). Some have been roughed up when they refuse.
Arrests were made last summer in an undercover operation with police in tunics and sandals handcuffing centurions and gladiators for ripping off tourists. A recent Italian media report cited a policeman as saying the centurions are all ex-convicts, ?every last one of them.?
Now the city government says ?basta!? and wants them to pack up their swords, shields, and ensigns and clear out by April 6.
Click here to read this article from the Christian Science Monitor
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- Rome's Colosseum Leaning Precariously
The ancient Colosseum of Rome, where gladiators fought for their lives, is slanting about 40 centimetres lower on the south side than on the north, and authorities are investigating whether it needs urgent repairs. Experts first noticed the incline about...
- Snow Damages Colosseum, Medieval Churches In Italy
Heavy snow in recent weeks has already wreaked havoc across Europe -- now it is damaging some of the continent's most recognized historic monuments. The Colosseum in Rome has been forced to shut after small pieces of its walls crumbled away as a result...
- Largest Medieval Armour Collection On Auction
A German octogenarian puts his lifelong fascination with armour under the hammer Tuesday when the largest private collection of medieval weapons goes on sale for millions of euros. The collection, valued at between three and four million euros ($4-5.4...
- New Byzantine And Roman Galleries Open At The Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, Canada will be opening a new set of permanent galleries tomorrow that will showcase its impressive collection of artifacts from the ancient civilizations of Rome, Byzantium and Nubia. Highlights of the collection...
Medieval History
Rome cracks down on marauding centurions
Rome has given the centurions a deadline to clear out. The solders in question aren't from the ranks of an ancient legion, but are modern-day performers who pose for tourist photos at the Colosseum.
Men and women decked out in chest plates and helmets eke out a tax-free living at Rome?s most popular attraction, posing for photos with foreign visitors for 5 or 10 euros. Disoriented, jet lagged, or simply scared, tourists have been known to pay up to 50 euros ($67). Some have been roughed up when they refuse.
Arrests were made last summer in an undercover operation with police in tunics and sandals handcuffing centurions and gladiators for ripping off tourists. A recent Italian media report cited a policeman as saying the centurions are all ex-convicts, ?every last one of them.?
Now the city government says ?basta!? and wants them to pack up their swords, shields, and ensigns and clear out by April 6.
Click here to read this article from the Christian Science Monitor
- Colosseum Cleaning Yields Ancient Art Discoveries Including Old Frescos, Graffiti
A long-delayed restoration of the Colosseum's only intact internal passageway has yielded ancient traces of red, black, green and blue frescoes ? as well as graffiti and drawings of phallic symbols ? indicating that the arena where gladiators fought...
- Rome's Colosseum Leaning Precariously
The ancient Colosseum of Rome, where gladiators fought for their lives, is slanting about 40 centimetres lower on the south side than on the north, and authorities are investigating whether it needs urgent repairs. Experts first noticed the incline about...
- Snow Damages Colosseum, Medieval Churches In Italy
Heavy snow in recent weeks has already wreaked havoc across Europe -- now it is damaging some of the continent's most recognized historic monuments. The Colosseum in Rome has been forced to shut after small pieces of its walls crumbled away as a result...
- Largest Medieval Armour Collection On Auction
A German octogenarian puts his lifelong fascination with armour under the hammer Tuesday when the largest private collection of medieval weapons goes on sale for millions of euros. The collection, valued at between three and four million euros ($4-5.4...
- New Byzantine And Roman Galleries Open At The Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, Canada will be opening a new set of permanent galleries tomorrow that will showcase its impressive collection of artifacts from the ancient civilizations of Rome, Byzantium and Nubia. Highlights of the collection...