Man and His Amazing Flying Machines

'Anything the mind of man can believe it can achiev'’ - a wonderful homily that has led man to conquer the most amazing summits in this wonderful life of ours. But perhaps one of the most significant was the ultimate desire to fly to the moon. Songs were written about this and ever since humankind was aware of the 'man in the moon' he must have wondered what it was like up there.

This must have been one of the catalysts that spurred on Leonardo Da Vinci to design his first flying machine in 1487. At first his designs were based on the way birds flew. Later, he realised this was impractical and produced drawings of machines with fixed wings. He also experimented with what later became known as gliders.

The history of flights in all sorts of craft is littered with the most inspirational events. Francesco de Lana is credited as being the first person to design a lighter-than-air craft based on definite scientific principles. In 1670 he used this information to design a flying boat. The machine was propelled by a sail and lifted by 4 copper spheres from which all the air had been pumped. He speculated that the climbing speed of his airship could be regulated by using small sacks of sand for ballast. Imagine how the first flight of this machine ended! (more...)

Hotels in Rome Bring on Nostalgia

There are a number of hotels which vie for the title of the oldest in Rome. As a city steeped in history, it gives a good feeling of the splendor of Rome to be able to stay somewhere which honours that history and luxuriates in it.

One of the oldest hotels in Rome opened in 1787 and is The Albergo Cesari, having first been given its papal licence to be a hotel in 1787. It remains an island of peaceful elegance in the heart of the city, ideally situated between the Fontana di Trevi and the Pantheon. Another famous resting place is the Hotel Majestic which was the first hotel that was built on the Via Veneto. It was inaugurated in 1889 and its architectural design and modern features revealed its intent to stand out, right from the start, as the leading light of Rome’s accommodation during that era.

Rome hotels effectively became a natural evolution from the original insulae or apartment buildings. Unsurprisingly, the Romans were the first civilisation to utilise flats and apartments and demonstrate how large numbers of people could live in a small area. This move towards city life caused a large demand for housing, so real estate was at a premium. Private houses and villas became a luxury for the wealthy patricians, whereas the lower classes, or plebeians, lived in insulae or apartment buildings. (more...)

Historic Vacation Places in Italy

Italy has long been one of the most visited countries on the planet. With cities that witnessed the rise of the Roman Empire, it is no surprise that Italy welcomes tens of millions of tourists each year. The only problem most folks have when planning a trip to Italy is deciding what to see.

Saint Peter’s Basilica or Michelangelo’s David? A gondola ride in Venice or a walking tour in Tuscany? The sad fact is that is impossible to experience all that Italy has to offer in only a week or two. In this article, however, we are going to discuss some of the most popular and historically important vacation places in Italy .

We will begin with the Eternal City, Rome. Home to the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel and Vatican City, Rome is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Europe. As the most powerful city in the Ancient world, its history can be traced back more than two and a half millennia. (more...)

A Brief History of Rome

The story of Rome is often told in two very different, yet equally interesting ways. The first and most popular account concerns two mythical brothers. According to the legend, Romulus and Remus founded the Eternal City on April 21, 753 BC. Why the brothers choose to build a city has never been adequately explained, but what we do know is that Romulus killed his brother Remus after an argument. Later, he named the great city after himself. What a swell fellow!

As you might expect, historians and archaeologists have a very different interpretation of the founding of Rome. According to the evidence they have collected over the centuries, the city was most likely established in the middle of the 8th century after a growing number of nomads settled in areas on the outskirts of Rome. Today the area is home to Rome vacation apartments and accommodation. .

But before Rome grew into a great republic it was a kingdom, ruled by seven wise kings. Later, the Romans, who had learned about democracy from the ancient Greeks, established a Senate and the Republic was born. The Senate officially took power in 510 BC. (more...)

The History of Rome and Sicily

Though Sicily is officially the largest region in Italy, the relationship between the biggest island in the Mediterranean and its more powerful neighbour has always been an uneasy one. For centuries the island was essentially on its own and had almost nothing in common with the Italians, save water. After all, the country had been founded by Greeks in the 8th century B.C. at about the same time Rome was established.

But when Greek power waned and the Romans asserted their military might during the Punic Wars, Sicily fell into Roman hands. In fact, the island was the Eternal City’s very first province outside of Italy. For the centuries thereafter, Sicily was one of the Empire’s most important and profitable provinces.

What did they do? Sicily supplied the city with cheap grain, which was the most important food source at the time. The island was also a favourite vacation spot for rich Roman nobles, many of whom had villas on Sicily. Today Italy rentals inlcuding Rome and Sicily. can be found on these grounds. (more...)

The Population of Rome

While the word metropolis originally referred to ancient Greek cities, it can be said with some degree of certainty that Rome was the world’s first great metropolis. In fact, when Rome became an empire under the first emperor, Augustus, the city had a population of one to two million people. That figure was not surpassed until the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.

As incredible as it sounds, Rome remained the largest city on the planet for over eighteen hundred years. How did it achieve such incredible demographic figures centuries before the rise of major cities? The answer is fairly simple: Rome was undoubtedly the centre of the western world and everyone wanted to be there.

Not only did Rome offer better opportunities for families and foreigners, but it was also the playground of the rich and powerful and the locus of politics and business. But after a series of incompetent and corrupt emperors and the loss of several overseas colonies, Rome gradually began to lose prestige and its population subsequently declined. The upper class also lost many of their own estates in areas on the outskirts of the city that today support Rome vacation rentals . (more...)

A Brief History of Skiing

The origin of many ancient sports can be difficult to pinpoint or even estimate. When did the sport become the one we know today? The truth is that most sports change with the times and as a technology improves it often has a noticeable effect on sports. In this article we are going to discuss the history of skiing, a sport that we fortunately know a bit about.

Though skiing is easily the most popular winter sport with over forty million new participants each year, it wasn’t an instant success. In fact, it took thousands of years. That’s right. Historians believe that skiing began in Europe over five thousand years ago. We know this because skis from this period were recovered in France and Switzerland.

Of course, skiing was not a sport at the time, but rather a form of transportation. As you might expect, if you lived up in the French Alps and you had to get downhill, then you would use skis to go down the hill and snowshoes to climb back up. Fortunately, they now have ski lifts guests can use on Ski Holidays, France . (more...)

The Roman Renaissance

Though the Italian Renaissance began in Florence, it was Rome that quickly became the centre of art in the western world during the early sixteenth century. The reason for this was simple — the most powerful person in the country, maybe even in the world resided in Rome. That person was of course the Pope, and many of the country’s top artists were dependent on papal projects to earn their daily bread.

For example, though he was a Florentine, Michelangelo did some of his most impressive and influential work in Rome. His most famous paintings, including the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, can be found in Rome. He also produced his sculpture la Pieta in 1499, and it is currently on display in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Eternal City. This area has long been popular with tourists who rent out Rome holiday and vacation rentals .

Rome also became a centre for architecture, as the greatest builders of the period came to the city to erect and rebuild some of the world’s most famous structures. Of course, ancient Rome had given rise to the Collosseum, the Pantheon and the Forum. But during the Renaissance, the leaders of Italy, namely the Pope, decided that many of its greatest and most historically significant structures needed to be refurbished or entirely rebuilt. (more...)

Used Cars History Check

Buying a pre-owned vehicle has always been a risky proposition. Even when the car was sold by a reputable dealership, it was possible to purchase a lemon. While these concerns have been allayed a bit with the introduction of dealer warranties, there is still the private market to consider.

The reason people purchase cars in the private market is because they receive cheaper prices than at a dealership. Of course, it is much more risky to buy a car from a private seller. After all, once you sign the contract, the vehicle is yours and all repair costs are your responsibility. That is why it is imperative that all car buyers, especially those who are shopping in the private market check a used cars history.

Why is this necessary? If a car has been damaged in the past, either in an accident or a flood, it is easy enough to conceal the damage with some fast auto body work. But sooner or later these problems will start to have serious and expensive effects on the vehicle. (more...)

The Story of Tattoo History

If you were to judge anything by the way in which the popularity of tattoos has exploded over the past thirty years or so, you may very well believe that this form of body art has only been around since the twentieth century. You would be oh so very wrong!

In actual fact, tattoo history is known to have been around for millennia and mummified early homo sapiens have been unearthed adorned with intricately tattooed patterns on what would have been their skin. Tattoos may date back to tens of thousands of years ago and it is interesting to note the fact that tattooing has appeared independently in many separate cultures across the globe. This is indicative of the fact that it was invented by many different cultures and this makes it difficult to identify the official culture that first started to practice this art.

For centuries now people and cultures have expressed a love hate relationship towards tattoos. Indeed, the art was banned from many cultures, with Japan and the United States falling within this category of intolerant societies. Most bans have now been lifted as civilised countries realise that they do not have a right to stop someone from tattooing their own bodies. (more...)

How Las Vegas Became the Entertainment Capital of the World

Everyone knows Las Vegas for its opulence, its sheer scale, and of course, the world famous casino industry. But where did this city come from? How and when did it all begin? Read on, for a brief history of Las Vegas !

Although Las Vegas was established in 1905, it was still a dry, barren and dessert town in 1911. People mostly came to the town on account of massive railroad works and Vegas were actually a popular rail road town. However, the town lacked character, appeal and was just a small and dusty town.

All this changed in 1920, when the first casino was founded in Vegas. This paved the way for Vegas to become not only the most populous city in the state of Nevada, but the gambling capital of the entire world. By the 1940s several casinos had sprung up, and this industry owned it success to the American organised crime syndicate, aka, the ‘mob’. Names like Bugsy Siegal and Meyer Lansky spring to mind. (more...)

Home