Could this be what Roma Nova looks like?

View from St Katerina, above the Vintner Gorge, Slovenia

When I placed Roma Nova, the setting for the Carina and Aurelia adventures, in ‘Central Europe’ (wherever that is), it was vaguely based on Austria and Slovenia. I was lucky enough to visit both countries this year (2023) and see some wonderful Roman archaeology. […]

'Feeling' the Virunum Amphitheatre

Last year, just before the launch of JULIA PRIMA, I wrote a post about Virunum, Julia’s birthplace. After poring over research papers and reading Géza Alföldy’s comprehensive and accessible Noricum, I was able to produce a reasonably informative piece for this blog.

But… (You knew that was coming.)

I had no ‘feel’ for Virunum. […]

Magdalensberg - Virunum before Virunum

Magdalensberg Archeological park general view

Magdalensberg general view

Dateline 27 May 2023, Ljubljana, Slovenia Going on a proper holiday for the first time since the Covid 19 pandemic is exhilarating. This city is beautiful, redolent of Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern, Baroque, Austro-Hungarian, Jugendstil/Art Nouveau history with remnants of Communist architecture, plus pure 21st century.

Emona (Roman precursor […]