Cemeteries are naturally spooky places – fields littered with old gray stones marking dead bodies. But you know what’s spookier than cemeteries? Catacombs, those underground passages filled with human remains. For those of us that find such places more interesting than scary or disgusting, there was recently some good news out of Rome. As the…
This is an occasional column in which the writer evaluates a new cookbook by making some of its recipes, sharing the dishes with friends and asking her guests what they think of the results. She recently cooked her way through “Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors & Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City,” by Katie Parla and…
Related Taste Testing ‘Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City’ Spaghetti With Dandelion Greens and Cured Fish Roe Serves 4–6 as a side dish or makes 3–4 sandwiches 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced ¼ cup fresh mint or basil leaves, finely chopped, plus more for garnish 2/3 cup white wine vinegar…
Archaeologists in Israel have recovered bronze statues and thousands of coins from a merchant ship that sank off the Mediterranean coast some 1,600 years ago during the late Roman period. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said two divers had made the discovery several weeks ago in the ancient harbor of Caesarea in the eastern Mediterranean….
Rome’s Jewish catacombs will open to the public for the first time on Sunday as part of a campaign to highlight diverse cultural sites throughout Italy. While Rome’s many Christian underground burial grounds are a tourist highlight, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, Jewish catacombs have only up to now been open only…
Pope Francis wished the Jewish community of Rome a happy Passover on Thursday and asked the chief rabbi to pray for him. In a message addressed to Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, Pope Francis sent his “most heartful wishes for the feast of Passover,” referring to the Jews as God’s “beloved people.” The Catholic…
In 1986, Pope John Paul II made history by paying a visit to Rome’s Great Synagogue. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI visited that synagogue again. In 2016, Pope Francis visited for the third time. As our ancient rabbis were fond of saying — and as Rome’s current chief rabbi Riccardo Di Segni pointed out during…
Pope Francis crossed the Tiber River to visit Rome’s Great Synagogue Sunday. His 1.5-mile journey to the towering Tempio Maggiore shows that what was once unthinkable is now the norm. “Our meeting,” Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni said, “aims to convey a very topical, important and urgent message — that belonging to a faith,…
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