Maladict

Admittedly going to Siena by train isn't the most efficient way to travel. But if you're going to take a bus why not take the direct line from Rome to Siena? It's almost as slow as the train, but I doubt the Florence-Siena route is any faster.

--You might like Hotel Sileo, a block or two from the train station, very friendly place and inexpensive. They make you leave the room during the daytime, but if that's not a problem for you I'd recommend it. --nothing I can think of, looks like you'll just miss out on the Palio. --www.trenitalia.com

It shouldn't be too hard to get there. Domestic flights from Rome to Catania are dirt cheap, from there you should be able to take a bus to Piazza Armerina, and likely a tour bus will take you all the way to the villa for a few euros more. It really doesn't look as good in real life as it does in the pictures. The colours look faded because of dust and bad lighting and the raised walkways mean you sometimes have to look at them from odd angles. There was a major restoration effort in progress last time I was there (in 2008) with many rooms closed off to the public. Still, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Catania isn't that bad, just stay clear of the touristy areas. Siracusa and especially Agrigento should not be missed, and I would add Selinunte though it would be quite hard to get there without a car. Palermo is fantastic, if I could only visit one place in Sicily I'd skip all the Greek and Roman sites and head for Palermo.

Yes, April 16-25. Instutions wanting to be part of it should send in their details before March 16 when they will be announced. Late entries might be added to the site in due time.

As long as due consideration is given to this bit, then yes.

Happy Birthday!

B is to the left of the arch, near the protruding stone. There's probably another B on the other side. D is in the top left corner.

Nice, I didn't know that much remained of it. Is that water underneath?

I thought it had lasted longer, my bad. In that case I'm going with your initial guess of the Nazareno arch. Note that the text below mentions two additional, walled up arches. It may have looked differently in Piranesi's time when compared to both original and current state. edit: you can actually see the outline of a second arch on the left.

I think it's the arch of Claudius, since demolished.

Make the most of the opportunity and make sure others notice, it will dramatically increase the chance of returning. But most importantly, enjoy it.

Maybe this book will be of interest, previews are available for pages 50, 51 and 53, dealing with Boulogne and including a map. I haven't read this one, but I found his book on southern france a rather good survey.

By the way, any word on the revised CIL that's being worked on?

Well done, this is valuable information. I remember trying to find my way around the CIL, oh the horror! The CIL-site does give me a match occasionally with or without a picture. Still, it does not seem to contain all the information the printed version will give you, notably the commentary.

Interesting, I particularly like this bit (Ch9,p588n20):

By all means, don't hold back.

Considering the decidedly eastern locations of the Partian mints (only one west of the Euphrates), I think I'll have to agree.

Interesting. Does that mean the artists were no longer capable of mastering Greek and just copying shapes? Seems a bit odd for this period.

Indeed. Happy birthday!

But that doesn't set a very good precendent, we might as well ask half the countries of the world to hand over their cultural treasures as they obviously can't (or won't) take care of them like we would. It would be very embarrassing, too, given how much of a luxury problem cultural heritage is. And what if they do? If the Egyptian government decides it's a good idea to dismantle the pyramids what are we going to do about it? They may 'belong to all mankind', but all mankind doesn't own them. And in the West we're not exactly innocent when it comes to purposely destroying ancient treasures. Even today, the way we're treating places like Babylon doesn't inspire confidence. As for the Elgin marbles, there doesn't seem to be a happy solution. Perhaps some sort of joint ownership and regular loans would be a sensible approach, especially considering how grand travelling exhibitions seem to have been doing wonders for museums. On the other hand, what could happen when they first touch Greek soil might be all too predictable.

Happy holidays folks.

I've seen it on 5th century AD brick stamps, indicating state property.

It just states the remains are from the second century, and that the city may have been destroyed by the 365 earthquake.