13 jun 2009

Thermae



The terms balnea or thermae were the words the ancient Romans used for the buildings housing their public baths.

Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization. Baths were extremely important for Romans. They stayed there for several hours and went daily. Wealthier Romans were accompanied by one or more slaves. After paying a fee, they would strip naked and wear sandals to protect their feet from heated floors. Slaves carried their masters' towels and got them drinks. Before bathing, patrons exercised. They did things such as running, mild weight-lifting, wrestling, and swimming. After exercising, servants covered their masters in oil and scraped it off with a strigil
Roman bath-houses were also provided for private villas, town houses and forts; these were also called thermae. They were supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or more normally, by an aqueduct.



6 jun 2009

Eruption of Etna




runtime 4 minutes
Mount Etna is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the largest volcano in Europe, currently standing about 3,320 m (10,900 ft) high, though it should be noted that this varies with eruptions; the mountain is 170 ft (51 m) lower now than it was in 1865. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1190 km² (460 square miles)