Tag: Rome

• Podcast

28th October 1922: Benito Mussolini’s Blackshirts approach the Italian capital in the March on Rome

• 28th October 2023
• Tagged as: Fascism, Italy, March on Rome, Mussolini, Rome, Victor Emmanuel III

Mussolini and up to 30,000 supporters from across the country, the Blackshirts, embarked on a calculated and audacious march to Rome to seize power.

• Podcast

27th October 312: Constantine the Great receives his Vision of the Cross, marking the start of his conversion to Christianity

• 27th October 2023
• Tagged as: Christianity, Civil War, Constantine the Great, Galerius, Maxentius, Roman Empire, Rome, Tetrarchy

While preparing for the decisive Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine reportedly witnessed a Christian cross which may have been accompanied by a Latin inscription which roughly translates as ‘In this sign, you will conquer.’

• Podcast

4th September 476: End of the Western Roman Empire when Romulus Augustulus is overthrown by the barbarian general Odoacer

• 4th September 2023
• Tagged as: Barbarian, Odoacer, Ostrogoth, Roman Empire, Rome, Romulus Augustulus

Romulus’ overthrow facilitated Odoacer’s rise and the transition to the Ostrogothic Kingdom.

• Podcast

3rd September 301: The world’s oldest republic still in existence founded when Saint Marinus establishes San Marino

• 3rd September 2023
• Tagged as: Diocletian, Italy, Republic, Republicanism, Rimini, Roman Empire, Rome, Saint Marinus, San Marino

While the republic’s first government was based on a self-governed assembly known as the Arengo, the current system in San Marino has been in place since the Statutes of 1600.

• Podcast

22nd June 1633: Galileo Galilei forced to recant his belief in heliocentrism after being found ‘suspect of heresy’ by the Papal Inquisition

• 22nd June 2023
• Tagged as: Astronomy, Catholicism, Galileo, Heliocentrism, Inquisition, Italy, Papal Inquisition, Pope, Religion, Rome, Science, Space, Universe

Galileo was sentenced to house arrest where he remained for the final nine years of his life.

• Podcast

21st May 1972: Laszlo Toth attacks and seriously damages Michelangelo’s Pietà statue

• 21st May 2023
• Tagged as: Catholic, Catholicism, Christianity, Destruction, Italy, Michelangelo, Pieta, Religion, Rome, Vandalism

Hungarian-born geologist Laszlo Toth attacked and seriously damaged Michelangelo’s Pietà statue with a hammer.

• Podcast

21st April 753 BCE: The ancient city of Rome is founded

• 21st April 2023
• Tagged as: Ancient Rome, Italy, Remus, Rome, Romulus

• Podcast

18th April 1506: Construction begins on Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome

• 18th April 2023
• Tagged as: Architecture, Catholicism, Church, Constantine the Great, Julius II, Michelangelo, Papacy, Renaissance, Rome, Urban VIII, Vatican, Vatican City

Pope Julius II laid the cornerstone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica, one of Catholicism’s most sacred buildings.

• Podcast

16th January 1412: Antipope John XXIII makes the Medici Bank the official bank to the Papacy

• 16th January 2023
• Tagged as: Antipope, Banking, Finance, John XXIII, Medici, Medieval, Papacy, Religion, Renaissance, Rome, Vatican

Antipope John XXIII made the Medici Bank the official bank of the Papacy.

• Podcast

17th December 497 BCE: The first Saturnalia festival celebrated in ancient Rome

• 17th December 2022
• Tagged as: Ancient, Christmas, Festival, Religion, Rome, Saturn, Saturnalia

The Saturnalia festival was dedicated to Roman god, Saturn.