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 […]

Roma Nova - a thought experiment?

Four images of 'Roma Nova' arranged as a postcard

Travel in the mind is a very popular concept at present as the Covid-19 global pandemic has put a stop to the great flow of personal physical travel. But even before that it was an idea familiar to writers. Indeed, blogger and podcaster Joanna Penn invited me to talk about Roma Nova as a […]

How far is the road to Rome, or even Virunum?

Virunum today (Photo: Wikipedia)

Roman horseman (Author photo of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline)

Travelling in the ancient world was different, fundamentally different. Young (and not so young) men were by far the most mobile in the Ancient Rome over the whole period whether you count it to AD 476 (west) or 1453 (east) because they fought […]