Salvete Omnes,
Giulio Romano (1499-1546) - frescoes from Salone Grande di Cavalli, for Frederico II Gonzaga in his Palazzo del Te, in Mantua, Italy.
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| Frederico II by Tizian/Titian |
Valete
Salvete Omnes,
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| city of Herakleia - Lucania - Herakles and the lions |
in southern Italy, after the era of Greek colonization and establishment of the Magna Graecia towns along the Italian coast, there was an Italic tribe known as the Lucanians(of the southern Samnites) speaking a South Oscan language, who had hired themselves to the Greek city states, were traders, timber merchants and laborers to the Greeks and Romans in central Italy.
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| from a young male grave indicating a warrior ethos - Gaudo tomb |
Eventually their tribal movement led them to conquer, dominate, inhabit and populate their new southern country known as Lucania - VI-V century BC, to the south of their cousins, the Samnites. Living in cities and town in a Greek fashion and within the spectrum of the dominant Hellenic culture, they were still very bellicose, often allied with or fighting against their neighbors. About 400 BC they took a Greek city called Poseidonia, later Paestum.
After the 2nd Punic War the Lucanians, allies of Hannibal, were defeated and incorporated into the Roman Republic.
They rose against the Rome rule during the Social War of 91-87 BC, but were defeated
The Lucanian tomb art from the Museum of Paestum is spectacular display of their martial arts and equestrian prowess.
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| a victorious warrior wearing an Attic helmet, triple-disc cuirass and carrying a tropaion |
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| warriors at duel |
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| a horseman carrying a shield and a crested Attic helmet, armed with a stabbing spear and a kopis |
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| kopis/copis sword and bronze belt from Poseidonia/Paestum |
enjoy
Valete
Salvete Omnes,
let us start with a short rather 'pintoresco/picturesque' entry of this Tuesday
Raffaello Sorbi (1844-1931) was a Florentine Italian painter specializing in genre painting.
This painter had some wonderful brushes - just breathtaking skills and talents - eg wiki gallery.
but let us keep to to horses - here are some of his horse and horse-related work, and some of the hunting dogs of the era
Valete
Salvete Omnes,
another short entry this early morning - :)
Palio di Siena - the famous 17 contrada(city neighborhoods) biannual horse race of Siena, Tuscany, held from 1633 onward, but this city race tradition dates back to many centuries before, and most likely continuing the ancient Etruscan-Roman tradition of Ludus Troiae and other ancient Italian horsemanship traditions.
I turn to academa.edu to search for article on the famous race - eg Beyond Palio,
There is a short article on the safety of horses in Palio - academia. According to the article only mix bred Anglo-Arabian Sardinian horses of specific conformation are allowed the entry. On Research Gate there are articles too - eg Palio di Siena: an advisory report on how to ensure horses and jockeys' welfare whilst continuing a dangerous tradition. In 2019 this article was published analyzing 72 years of jockeys injuries during the Siena Palio. - Note that participants ride bareback. (another article about jockey's injuries in general horse racing and long term consequences )
you can watch this year famous city race via recorded video on YT - Gazzetta di Siena platform- Palio di Siena 17 agosto 2022 .
An American documentary made 1988AD (before Woke, CRT and all those other ideologies destroying our world) - Palio di Siena- a race about honor and tradition, rivalry and friendship, violence and conflict , and it is an excellent overview of the the tradition and race.
[there are many videos on Yt about Palio di Siena - you can explore with an easy click - :) - andiamo ]
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