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New Acropolis Museum Reopens Age-Old Debate Over Elgin Marbles

Today's a big day in the world of Greek antiquities, as the massive New Acropolis Museum in Athens opens its doors to the public for the first time. The fancy new building was designed by architect Bernard Tschumi, and incorporates classic and contemporary elements to display 4,000 artifacts, more than ten times the number of the inadequate old museum it replaces. The New York Times has a nifty article and slide show of the $200 million museum, which it calls "one of the highest-profile cultural projects undertaken in Europe in this decade."

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Tags: Travel Bans / Greece Travel / Shoes / Ancient History Travel / Rules / → All Tags

Greece Says Leave Your High Heels At Home

If you've decided that this is the summer you're going to party in Greece, you'd better check your packing list and take out your high heels.

Officials in Greece are trying to get stiletto heels banned at important archaeological sites because these evil heels are damaging the ancient stuff. To quote Eleni Korka, a director taking care of such ancient sites:

Female visitors must wear shoes that do not wound the monuments. These monuments have a skin that suffers and people must realise that.

Too many tourists is a bit of a problem at many of the ancient sites in Greece - a few years ago they did a big clean-up of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater in Athens and removed 59 pounds of chewing gum stuck under the seats in the process. For some reason they haven't thought of banning chewing gum a la Singapore, but the anti-stiletto movement is growing strong.

Related Stories:
· Women Banned From Wearing Stilettos at Ancient Greek Sites [Daily Mail]
· Will This Be The Summer You Party in Greece? [Jaunted]
· Greece Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: **Mary**]

Tags: Day Trippin' / Italy Travel / Rome / Ancient History Travel / → All Tags

Trippin' to Ostia Antica From Rome; It Sure Beats Pompeii

Are you sitting down? Yes? Okay good, because we are about to burst a travel bubble: Pompeii isn't all that great. If you're still planning on making an Italian pilgrimage this spring or summer and want to get the usual ration of ancient ruins, then please let us suggest taking a day trip to the less crowded but no less impressive Ostia Antica, the old port city for Rome.

Only some twenty miles outside of downtown Rome and accessible by extra-urban train lines (yay, no bus tours!), Ostia Antica is a playground of multi-story Roman ruins just waiting for you to run amok down its cobblestone streets and in its amphitheaters—after paying the €6.50 entrance fee, of course. Like Pompeii, the place is an active archaeological site packed with mosaics and frescos. Unlike Pompeii, Ostia wasn't destroyed by a flippin' volcano, meaning that most of the city is as intact as possible for a place that's been booming since the 3rd century BC.

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Tags: Ancient History Travel / Rome / Travel Books / → All Tags

The Belly Button of the World and Other Neat Facts About Rome

There are plenty of cities that could credibly claim to be the center of the world, but only one has gone through the trouble of marking the exact spot. The timeless city of Rome is home to the Umbilicus Urbis Romae (the "navel of the city of Rome"), a spot in the Roman Forum from which all distances in Rome and the Roman Empire were measured. Constructed by the Emperor Augustus around 20 B.C., it was once marked by a grand marble tower, but all that's left of it is a sad little pile of bricks with a plaque. Still, it represents an excellent starting point or endpoint for any Roman adventure, and it's just one of several neat facts about Rome I picked up from a new book called the Mental Floss History of the World.

Other nifty tidbits include some trivia on Roman manners. Did you know that it was considered polite in ancient Rome to vomit between meals so you could eat more? Well it was, and the mess never got too out of hand, thanks to an army of slaves charged with cleaning up the spittle. Talk about lousy jobs. Rome was also the first civilization to use central heating systems, and even had hot and cold running water (in upper class homes, naturally) so residents could switch between hot, cold, and tepid baths. Why not just find a temperature you like and stick with it?

Humanity has evolved in the ensuing generations, and some of these ideas have been embraced (plumbing), while others, like the between-meal vomiting, have been rendered obsolete (save for the occasional fashion model). Still, it's interesting to take a look at a society that's at once ancient and far removed, and at the same time mirrors our own to a frightening degree of accuracy.

[Photo: personal.ceu.hu]

Related Stories:
· 5 Things You Didn't Know About Rome [askmen.com]
· The Mental Floss History Of the World [mentalfloss.com]
· Ancient History Travel [Jaunted]

Tags: Scary / Ancient History Travel / What's With The Gladiators / → All Tags

Rome's Creepy 3-D Gladiator Movie: Would You Go?

Why see the real Rome when you can take a trip there via the Uncanny Valley? "3D Rewind Rome" promises a fun-filled trip back into the past, goofy glasses and all, and we're... kind of frightened, to be honest.

A stone's throw from the Colosseum, 3D Rewind Rome puts imaginary gladiators back into the stadium to fight, as well as imaginary senators back into the Forum and imaginary plebeians back into the market. Tickets are only €10 ($13), but: Dude, you went to Italy just to play a video game? That's a travel foul. Besides, real gladiators are coming back!

Related Stories:
· Vulgar, Stinky Gladiators to Return to Rome [Jaunted]
· Take Your Place In History [3DRewind.com]
· Ancient History Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Daylife.com]

Tags: Ancient History Travel / Gladiators / Violence / → All Tags

Vulgar, Stinky Gladiators to Return to Rome's Colosseum

If you're in Rome this summer and in need of an outlet for your bloodlust, you're in luck. Gladiators will return to the Colosseum for the first time in 2,000 years, thrilling crowds once again with their depraved acts of violence. Due to liability issues, the modern fighters won't be allowed to kill each other, but they'll hew as close to the original battles as possible, using historically-accurate armor and weapons and fighting with the same techniques used by the combatants of yesteryear.

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Tags: Culture Travel / Ancient History Travel / Theme Parks / → All Tags

Amusement Park Travel: Rome Plans Gladiatorland

A holy water log flume? God's Hand Antigravity Spinner? Officials in Rome have announced plans to open a theme park in the Eternal City, and we're praising the Lord for the opportunity for jokes it presents, even though the park won't draw on the nearby Vatican for inspiration.

Instead, the as yet unnamed amusement park will depict life in Rome 2,000 years ago, from the open-air forum to the raucous Colosseum. Deputy Mayor Mauro Cutrufo says Euro Disney is the model for the new attraction, which is curious considering the very negative reaction Walt's first foray into European tourism received when it opened.

Some regional officials have already come out against the "Americanization" of Roman history. But with millions of Americans visiting the city every year, hasn't that battle already been fought?

Related Stories:
· Pirates of the Colosseum? Rome Plans Theme Park [Reuters]
· Theme Park Travel: Who's Feeding Shamu? [Jaunted]
· Theme Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: wtlphotos]