Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13):
Sardinia is world famous for its special cheeses. The two favorite local cheeses are the Pecorino Sardo and the Pecorino Romano. The name pecorino comes from the Italian word pecora, which means sheep. Yes, pecorino is made from sheep’s milk. While Pecorino Sardo, a firm but mild cheese, is made exclusively on the island of Sardinia (Sardo is the root word for Sardinia) and from a local Sardinian breed of sheep, Pecorino Romano is made in Rome and other parts of Italy as well. In truth, Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty cheese, is an old cheese variety with a long history. It was a staple in the diet of legionaries, or soldiers, of ancient Rome. Italians proudly keep their cheese-making traditions alive and are passionate about their old-world artisan craft.
Would you like to watch how Pecorino cheese is made?
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13):
After a peaceful night sleeping in a quiet convent run by Catholic nuns, we will check out some final sites on our way out of town. Just outside the ancient city walls on the south side of Rome are several Christian catacombs, huge aqueduct ruins and the famous Appian Way. While not as glamorous as the Colosseum or Palatine Hill, the catacombs give an insightful look into the lives of early Christians during the Roman Empire. No one was allowed to be buried within the city walls of Rome, so the Christians, who didn’t believe in cremation, dug huge underground crypts with multiple stories, long passageways and bunk-style graves carved out of the rock. These subterranean vaults tell the tragic stories of persecuted Christians, young and old, wealthy and poor, famous and obscure.
Many believers in Jesus Christ were martyred for their faith during the 1st through 3rd centuries, including a number of popes. Centuries later, the Ottoman Turks raided most of these tombs looking for buried treasure. However, the only treasures found here are the stories of brave men and women, and even young children, who lived and died for their Lord during a time of great religious upheaval.
Did you know that it is forbidden to take photos in the Sistine Chapel? Yes, it’s true, but the Khan Academy has created a simulation of the chapel so that you can get a good (and close-up) look inside. (Parental Caution: there is quite a bit of nudity in the artwork and some is shown in this video. Imagine that, nudity in chapel, LOL!)
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13):
A gorgeous spiral staircase, a parade of ancient Roman busts, and a magnificent statue of Caesar Augustus impress us as we walk through four miles of galleries in this maze of museums. As remarkable as the galleries are, they all pale in comparison to the lofty ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo Buonarroti spent more than four years of his life lying on his back high on scaffolding, painting these magnificent scenes from the Bible across 12,000 square feet of vaulted ceiling. The Creation of Adam and the Last Judgment are perhaps some of the most well recognized portions of the painting, but there are several more to gaze upon. Would you like to learn more about the symbolism and artwork on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? The Khan Academy has a fascinating video about it here:
For more: http://www.smarthistory.org/sistine-chapel-ceiling.html
These paintings are considered to be Michelangelo’s crowning achievement in painting, a high compliment to this great renaissance man whose art is displayed all over Italy, Europe, and the world.
One of the main functions of the Sistine Chapel is the election of a new Pope. The cardinals meet here, as they did in the spring of 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, to discuss possible candidates. Smoke is sent up the chimney to alert the awaiting crowd outside of their progress. If the smoke is black, created by burning the ballots along with wet straw and chemicals, the cardinals have dismissed a potential candidate. If the smoke is white, created by burning the ballots alone, a new Pope has been elected. A candidate must receive at least two-thirds of the majority vote to be elected as the next Pope.
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13):
Here is the Piazza del Campo where the race will be held later today. This main square in Siena has been covered with several inches of dirt in preparation for the race. They have blocked off the circular track so that the enthusiastic spectators do not get trampled. Let’s find a good place where we can watch the race.
While the race itself lasts less than two minutes, the Palio is steeped in history and culture, a Sienese tradition that continues year-round. Ten horses will race, each representing one of ten contrade, or districts, within the city of Siena. There are seventeen contrade in total, but seven contrade will have to wait to be represented in a future race. During the year, the jockeys are trained and ten horses are randomly selected and assigned to the town districts. The night before the race, each contrada, or district, holds a feast for its neighbors, which is celebrated on the streets of town. Then, on the morning of the event, each horse is taken to a church in its contrada to be blessed.
Before the actual race, once the piazza is packed with thousands of spectators and sealed off, the festivities begin with a colorful parade, complete with mounted police wielding swords and flag wavers dressed in medieval costumes. The flags [the Italian word for flag is palio] represent the 17 contrade of the city. As the colorful banners pass by the crowd, the loyal and excited spectators cheer loudly for their contrada. Read more…
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13):
What a beautiful view! From up here at the pinnacle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, we notice that there is plenty more to see down in the square. The Duomo is the main cathedral and the baptistry is located in the front of the cathedral. For many centuries, baptisms were not held at the small local churches in Italy. Every infant was baptized in the large baptistry or at the duomo itself. Many people do not realize that these two buildings lean too, but because they are shorter and wider, their tilts are not as noticeable or precarious.
Scientists have recently discovered that the acoustics in this particular baptistry are remarkable. Individuals and groups will test this for themselves by singing a few lines of a song or by clapping their hands. For this reason, concerts were probably held here as well. Listen to this! The singer is able to harmonize with himself because the notes are reverberated around the building’s dome for such a long time—a full 10 seconds.
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13)
Our gondolier tells us that his name is Giancarlo and that he will give us the best tour of the back canals of his city. He tells us that he has been a gondolier since he was a strapping young man, as was his father before him, and his grandfather before him. In fact, his family has been in the trade for more than 400 years. This is true of most gondoliers in Venice. It is a family trade, passed from generation to generation. But, the tradition is strong that gondoliers must be native Venetian men. It is nearly impossible for a woman or an outsider to open a gondola business in Venice. See a gondolier in action here:
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13):
Crowds can be dense at this time of year. At least we can be thankful that this is not the time of Acqua Alta [ak-wa AHL-tah], or seasonal flooding. During the winter months, the whole city of Venice may find itself submerged under several inches, or even feet, of briny seawater as the tides of the Adriatic Sea rise during rough storms.
When that happens, residents pull on their gaiters and go about their normal business. A little flooding can’t keep the people of Venice indoors. Visitors who don’t come prepared will find that they might get a little wet. However, there are wooden sidewalks that fold down from many buildings or stretch across wide piazzas, providing a raised platform for people to walk above the rising tide. Would you like to see:
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13).
Around this same time, people from Venice began traveling all over the known world to trade. One particularly famous Venetian explorer was Marco Polo. You have probably heard of him. Marco, together with his father and uncle, both wealthy merchants by trade, traveled on foot to far-away China. There he became an advisor to the powerful Mongol lord, Kublai Khan. Marco Polo did not return to Venice for 24 years. That is a very long time to be away from home, don’t you think? Unfortunately, when Marco finally did return home, Venice was at war with Genoa, another Italian port city. Marco was taken captive by a Genoese admiral and thrown into prison. While in chains, he dictated the story of his travels to a fellow prisoner, which was published under the title The Travels of Marco Polo. His time in prison did not go to waste.
Speaking of prison, we are passing by the Bridge of Sighs. Do you wonder why the Venetians called it that? Long ago, captives of Venice were led across this bridge to the dungeon, which invoked heavy sighs from the prisoners as they took in their final view of the outside world. Let me show you:
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13)
Speaking of traditions, the people of Montenegro have another interesting tradition—a folk dance called Oro. As the dance commences, a group of young men and women form a large circle and they begin to sing. Then, one of the young men enters the circle and dances, trying to look like an eagle. Why an eagle? Just like in Albania, the eagle is honored by the people of Montenegro and is represented on the country’s flag.
If the singers in the circle like the young man’s interpretation of the eagle, they will sing a song that tells him they approve. But if they don’t like his dance, they will sing a different song.
Sometimes the young man’s girlfriend will join him inside the circle. She also dances like an eagle, and the other singers tell her by the songs they sing whether or not she has represented the eagle well. When she and her boyfriend have completed their dance, they kiss each other on the cheek and rejoin the circle.
At the end of the Oro dance, the young men form a second smaller circle inside the larger circle. This smaller circle is a two-story circle. How do they do this? They stand on each other’s shoulders!
You can watch it here (the two-story circle is about 2/3 of the way through the video, so sit tight!):
Excerpted from A Child’s Geography: Explore the Classical World (publication date 6/30/13):
There is the Latin Bridge! This bridge holds great historical significance. Almost 100 years ago, in the year 1914, the archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, was visiting Sarajevo. Here on this very bridge, he was assassinated. That means that he was killed for political reasons. The man who killed him, Gavrilo Princip [preen-tsip], was a Bosnian Serb who wanted independence from the empire. Shocked and outraged, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia. The gunshot of this radical assassin set in motion the First World War!
If we hike to the Yellow Fortress up on that hill, we can get a good view of the whole city. By the time we get back down, we will really be hungry! This is a good place to snap some photos. I’ll upload mine to my blog right away. You can see it here:
