Get Ready for Rome

Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire advances five causes for the early Christians' triumph over their pagan and Hebrew rivals. This podcast discusses them.

After noting the contradictory ways Constantine is remembered in Roman art and architecture, we turn to the main policies of this first Christian Emperor.

This short podcast reviews our goals and announces the beginning of our second season on April 21. The subject will be Rome, Constantine, and the Christianization of the Roman Empire.

I today announce that I've begun taking a break that I hope will also help me get ready for a new season of podcasts, and I summarize the topics and issues that lie ahead.

Travel can be educational, as our many study abroad programs affirm, but my recent return to Venice got me wondering whether it can also be misleading.

This short Mini Pod makes five points based on a recent trip to Rome and towns in northern Italy.

In this second report on my return from three weeks in Italy, I consider some evidence suggesting Rome is as postmodern as it is modern.

Today we venture beyond the central core of Rome to survey the most important sites on Rome's periphery.

I've just returned from a three-week trip to Italy, and I here begin a retrospective look at our travels, which were not much affected by COVID.

Today we survey the main sites to visit in Trastevere and in the area around the Vatican, an important step in preparing for a visit.