--- title: Author Crystal King's Blog - Tasting Life Twice | Italian History description: Italian History | Author Crystal King muses on life, history, writing and food. --- # Tasting Life Twice Author Crystal King muses on life, history, writing and food. Browse by All Blog Books italy ancient rome Italian History Recipe Writing When in Rome food Feast of Sorrow fun historical fiction Bartolomeo Scappi Viva Italia! The Chef's Secret reading history Apicius Italian Language Renaissance 52 books Boston Cinquecento Publishing italian recipes grub street renaissance recipe roman video Ancient Roman Food Colosseum Culinary Delights books set in italy renaissance italy Ancient history YouTube authors cooking fiction music 52 books in a year Author Book Christmas Language Learning Maine Poetry Pope Roman Forum Scappi The Renaissance Venice Writer Writers Resources fantasy learning Italian travel writers Anne Rice Art Book Clubs Christmas carol Christopher Castellani Circus Maximus Florence Gillian Flynn Greek Harry Potter Honey Italiano Italo Calvino Latin Literary agent Marcus Aurelius Marcus Gavius Apicius Muse and the Marketplace Pantheon Papal conclave Pope Benedict XVI Research Roman Empire Sardinia Sistine Chapel Turkey Ursula K- Le Guin Vestal Virgin Wine ancient recipes architecture baking beauty blogging book recommendation book review christmas gift cibo cookies crystal king gelato giveaway holiday ice cream interview italian cooking literary literature middle ages new year's resolution rejection renaissance Italian food recipe roma rome sci-fi shopping social media special event summer television xmas 100 favorite books 1950s 1960s 1970s 2016 2017 320 AD 3D Achilles Aelia Agostino Chigi Alice Alina Reyes All This Talk of Love Amanda Palmer Amaryah Orenstein Anais Nin Ancient Greece Ancient Roman architecture Andrea Bocelli Anita Shreve Anjali Mitter Duva Anne Carson Anne Rampling Antonio Latini Arch of Constantine Arts Artusi Astrology Augustus Author Life BBC BDSM Baldassare Peruzzi Baroque Bell-ringer Bells Benvenuto Cellini Black tea BlogHer Bloggers Bologna Boodles Byki Cake Catholic Church Cellini Charles Dicken Chuck Palahniuk Clark Frasier Colleen McCullough Cologne Colum McCann Concord Cook Cookbook Corsica Cosimo de Medici Critical & Creative Thinking Dante Dante Alighieri David Bowie David Wishart De Re Coquinaria Doge's Palace Dormouse Durham Cathedral E-L- James Earth Egypt Eleonora Galasso Emily Browning England English language Ernest Hemingway Erotic literature Etsy Faint Promise of Rain Fifty Shades of Grey Fight Club Flamingo tongue snail Forum Forvo France Francesa Michielin GO Literary George Orwell Germany Gone Girl Gone Girl (novel) Google Translate Got Milk Grasso Grub Grub Street Muse Gunter Grass Hairstyle Harvard Harvard University Henry David Thoreau Henry VII of England Hunger Games Independence Day International Space Station Isabella Dalla Ragione Italian American Italian food J-R-R- Tolkien James Wood Jane Austen Janet Fitch Julius III July Justin Rowe Karl Lagerfeld Katie Caldesi Kennebunkport Maine Kessler Twins Keurig Kindle Deal Kit Harington Kurt Vonnegut L'Amore Esiste La Cucina Leicester Leonardo Da Vinci Linguistics Livia Lucca ## Posts about Italian History: ![Happy 2091st Birthday Virgil!](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Virgil_Reading_the_Aeneid.jpg) [Poetry](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/poetry) [Ancient history](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-history) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Virgil](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/virgil) > "No day shall erase you from the memory of time."  While Virgil was talking about Trojan warriors, Nisus and Euryalus, when he wrote this line in his epic poem, The... ![Scappi's Braised Beef - An Interpretation of a Renaissance Recipe](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Chefs%20Secret/market%20beasts.jpg) [Recipe](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/recipe) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [Scappi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/scappi) [Bartolomeo Scappi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bartolomeo-scappi) [beef](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/beef) [Cinquecento](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cinquecento) [Culinary Delights](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/culinary-delights) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Renaissance](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/renaissance) Renaissance chef (and character in my second novel), [Bartolomeo Scappi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Scappi), wrote a cookbook that was released in 1570 and was one of the most reprinted cookbooks over the next two hundred years. One of the most wonderful things about his cookbook, [The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi](http://amzn.to/NAee5j), is that it is still very accessible today. There are exceptions, for example, modern audiences would not be interested in some of the meats (hedgehog or blackbird anyone?), and many of the items are not readily available or, like his feathered peacock, are too elaborate too make. Fortunately, many of his recipes are are still pretty easy to figure out. Like this one for braised beef: ![All Things Italy Spring Roundup 2018](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Renaissance%20Italy/IMG_1991.jpg) [Italian Language](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-language) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [travel](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/travel) [books set in italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books-set-in-italy) [Italian food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-food) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) ###### **Emilia Romagna** I've been planning a trip to Bologna, where part of my third novel is set. I've been researching the heck out of that area. I already knew it has the oldest university in the world, but one of the things I was most intrigued to find was  [Bologna was a city of towers](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/towers-of-bologna). There were at least 100 towers, many of them upwards of 32 or more stories. Here's an artist's rendering of what it might have looked like in its heyday: ![Fit for Royalty - Flamingo Tongue, an Ancient Roman Food](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/lachlan-gowen-583342-unsplash.jpg) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/apicius) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [Martial](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/martial) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [flamingo](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/flamingo) [flamingo tongue](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/flamingo-tongue) [Flamingo tongue snail](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/flamingo-tongue-snail) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [pliny the elder](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pliny-the-elder) [Sardinia](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/sardinia) [William Dampier](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/william-dampier)  According to the ancient Roman historian, [Pliny the Elder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Elder), "Apicius, the most gluttonous gorger of all spendthrifts, established the view that the flamingo's tongue has a specially fine flavor."  The poet [Martial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial), who was born a few years before [Apicius](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apicius) died, agreed, saying: “My red wing gives me my name, but epicures regard my tongue as tasty. But what if my tongue could sing?”  They don't actually sing, however. They tend to [honk and squawk.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLGI_z4zyRc) ![Palazzo Farnese: The most imposing Italian palace of the 16th century](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/farnese.jpg) [architecture](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/architecture) [Palazzo Farnese](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/palazzo-farnese) [rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/rome) [Cinquecento](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cinquecento) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Renaissance](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/renaissance) [Research](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/research) As part of my research for my book, [The Secret Chef](http://crystalking.com/books/#thesecretchef), I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the various* palazzos* of Rome. I want to understand everything I can about them, from the families that built them and lived in them, to how the rooms were structured, where the servants might have lived and how they worked within the palazzo. When I return to Rome later this year, I'm looking forward to finally seeing the Palazzo Farnese, one of the most magnificent palaces of that era. It's now the French Embassy so access is limited. Currently, they only have [one tour in English](http://www.inventerrome.com/index.php/en/visiting-the-palazzo-farnese) each week, on Wednesdays at 5PM. I'm hoping I can find a docent or historian to speak with when I'm there to give me a deeper understanding of the workings of that palazzo, but possibly others in the area, such as the Barberini, Medici, Farnese, and Colonna. For a peek of what I hope to see up close on the Farnese tour, check out the video below. ![Hidden Rome - Villa Medici](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IMG_1930.jpg) [architecture](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/architecture) [Medici](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/medici) [Spanish Steps](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/spanish-steps) [Villa Medici](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/villa-medici) [Viva Italia!](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/viva-italia) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Cinquecento](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cinquecento) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Renaissance](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/renaissance) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) ![52 books in 2015: A reading list for Jul-Oct](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/offscreen-magazine-260704.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [foodie](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/foodie) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [Pope Alexander VI](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pope-alexander-vi) [Venice](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/venice) [52 books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/52-books) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [books set in italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books-set-in-italy) [Dante](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/dante) [Dante Alighieri](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/dante-alighieri) [fantasy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fantasy) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [gourmand](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/gourmand) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Italo Calvino](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italo-calvino) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) I have been rather remiss, I fear, in keeping my book list updated here on my blog. I've been reading far more than I had hoped, but certainly not as much as I would like. I am happy to have passed the 50 book barrier with more than a month to spare! Let's see if I can get close to 60 books this year. I'm confident I'll finish at least 2-3 more this month, and hopefully another 3-4 in December. **October** ![Incredible Infographic on the Impact of Ancient Rome, a City of Firsts](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/rome.png) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [Ancient Roman architecture](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-roman-architecture) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Circus Maximus](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/circus-maximus) [Colosseum](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/colosseum) [insulae](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/insulae) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Pantheon](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pantheon) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) As a result of my research a knew a lot of this great information already but it's great to see how [History.com ](http://www.history.com/)and the design firm [Column 5](http://www.columnfivemedia.com/) put it all into such an easily digestible visual. Allow me a tiny bit of commentary before you dig in below. ![Honey in Ancient Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/apiary.jpg) [Recipe](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/recipe) [ancient recipes](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-recipes) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/apicius) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [cooking](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cooking) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [history](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/history) [Honey](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/honey) [honey cakes](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/honey-cakes) [honey water](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/honey-water) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [medicine](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/medicine) Back in 1987, archaeologists discovered a treasure trove in a floor drain of the Roman Forum. This "treasure" was 86 loose teeth, all intact but with cavities in various stages. Three decades later, [they've finally determined](http://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2015/05/21/roman-forum-stash-teeth-extracted-ancient-dentist/) that they were all extracted by a highly skilled dentist of the time.  Also of interest, up in England, [researchers have pinpointed](http://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2015/05/13/rotten-romano-british-baby-teeth-blamed-on-honey/) the advanced stages of dental decay in a young Roman toddler, to excessive consumption of honey. Medicine was quite advanced in Ancient Greece and  Rome. Surgeons regularly practiced lobotomies, Caesarean sections (didn't you ever wonder where that name came from?) and amputations, and were the inventors of tools such as forceps, catheters, scalpels and bone drills. Along with all of this fancy "technology" the Romans also relied heavily on herbs and the beneficial properties of food. Pliny writes (in addition to telling us how bees manage their colonies) that honey is good for afflictions of the mouth, pneumonia, pleurisy and snake bites. ![A Taste of the Renaissance in Boston](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/mcspiedo.png) [M-C- Spiedo](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/m-c-spiedo) [Mark Gaier](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/mark-gaier) [Bartolomeo Scappi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bartolomeo-scappi) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Boston](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/boston) [Cinquecento](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cinquecento) [Clark Frasier](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/clark-frasier) [Cosimo de Medici](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cosimo-de-medici) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Maine](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/maine) [recipes](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/recipes) [Renaissance](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/renaissance) On Friday night my husband and I had the immense pleasure of checking out a new restaurant in Boston, [M.C. Spiedo](http://mcspiedoboston.com/), located in the Renaissance Hotel on the waterfront. The chefs are from Maine's famous Arrows and MC Perkins Cove, Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier (they're also [Top Chef:Masters](http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/season-4/videos/when-pigs-or-their-bellies-fly?CID=TCM_VID) as well!). We're fairly big food nerds and love trying out new places, but when I heard about M.C. Spiedo's focus on Italian Renaissance inspired food, the excitement went to a new level. Here? In Boston? Someone creating the dishes from the era of [Bartolomeo Scappi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Scappi), the central character in my second book? How incredible is that? Pretty damn incredible, let me tell you. The restaurant is modern, but everywhere you look there is a reminder of the past, from the big red bordello-style booths, to the large portraits hanging, to the fantastic bookplates from Scappi's *L'Opera* on the walls in the bathroom. ![A Look at the New Pompeii Movie](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Italy-March-2010-854.jpg) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [Kit Harington](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/kit-harington) [Paul W-S- Anderson](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/paul-w-s-anderson) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Emily Browning](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/emily-browning) [fun](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fun) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Mount Vesuvius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/mount-vesuvius) [movie](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/movie) [Pompeii](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pompeii) The movie [Pompeii](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii), directed by [Paul W.S. Anderson](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/paul_ws_anderson), is coming out in February and I have to say I've not really been this excited about a movie in a long time. The film has the eye candy of incredible special effects and also [Jon Snow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Snow) himself (*Kit Harrington*) but what has me most intrigued is that Anderson apparently cares a lot about authenticity when it comes to the story and the era. The film comes out on February 28. I can't wait to find out for myself if that's true! httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoVNF1Zus7Q ![The Renaissance Papal Conclave: What Did They Eat?](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/sstne.jpg) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pope-benedict-xvi) [Scappi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/scappi) [Swiss Guard](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/swiss-guard) [Bartolomeo Scappi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bartolomeo-scappi) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Catholic Church](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/catholic-church) [cibo](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cibo) [Cinquecento](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cinquecento) [conclave](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/conclave) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Julius III](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/julius-iii) [Papal conclave](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/papal-conclave) [Pope](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pope) [Pope Benedict](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pope-benedict) [pope resigns](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pope-resigns) [Renaissance](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/renaissance) [scandal](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/scandal) [Sistine Chapel](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/sistine-chapel) [Western Schism](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/western-schism) The last month has been a month of massive tumult for the Catholic Church. For the first time in 400 years a Pope is resigning. There have only been [five Popes to resign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_resignation) and all of them resigned under great duress, or in the case of [Gregory XII](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XII), he did it to end the [Western Schism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schism). This is the first Pope to cite "health" problems as a reason to resign and the first to revise rules regarding the convening of the Papal conclave so that it can be convened sooner than in the past (usually they have to wait 15 days).  I have a bunch of my own speculations about that, but there are a million other places that the woes of the Church can be debated. ![A Bird's Eye View of the Roman Forum - 3D Video](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Italy-March-2010-185.jpg) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [Arch of Constantine](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/arch-of-constantine) [roman](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman) [3D](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/3d) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Colosseum](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/colosseum) [Forum](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/forum) [history](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/history) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Marcus Aurelius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/marcus-aurelius) [Roman Empire](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman-empire) [Roman Forum](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman-forum) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) A little while ago [I showed you some photos](http://home.surewest.net/fifi/index50.html) of an incredible miniature of the ancient [Roman Forum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum). Here's an amazing 3D rendered video of the Forum. Talk about sparking your imagination for times gone by! It's such a shame that so much of the Forum fell into disrepair and that eventually medieval and [Rennaissance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance) nobility and the Papacy pulled them down for their metals and marble. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4PACYJKxic ![A Tiny Tiny Roman Forum](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/forumov.jpg) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [roman](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman) [Augustus](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/augustus) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [history](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/history) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Marcus Aurelius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/marcus-aurelius) [miniature](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/miniature) [Roman Empire](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman-empire) [Roman Forum](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman-forum) [Temple](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/temple) [Vestal Virgin](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/vestal-virgin) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) A few months ago I stumbled upon [a site](http://home.surewest.net/fifi/index50.html) that showcases some photos of an incredible miniature of the [Roman Forum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum) made by a Robert Garbisch in 1982. Apparently it "took two and half years to complete. 95% of the 350 statues in the model were made by Robert Garbisch out of clay. There are over 720 Roman citizens living in this model and carrying on with their lives. This particular day in the Forum is the last visit by the good Emperor [Marcus Aurelius](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius) to [Rome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome) during the summer of [179 AD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/179)." Here are some of the photos of this amazing miniature. Apparently it's on view at the Brandeis library in Waltham and that's a stone's throw from me so I may have to call and see if they still have it on display. ![The Vestal Virgin Hairstyle, Recreated](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/vestal_v.jpg) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [roman](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman) [Vestal](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/vestal) [Ancient history](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-history) [beauty](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/beauty) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Greek](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/greek) [hair](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/hair) [hair styles](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/hair-styles) [Hairstyle](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/hairstyle) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Vesta](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/vesta) [Vestal Virgin](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/vestal-virgin) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) The [Vestal Virgins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestal_Virgin) were among the most important individuals in [ancient Rome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome). They were priestesses of the [goddess Vesta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesta_%28mythology%29), whose hearth was always lit. Their privileges among women of the day were many. They were able to own property and did not have to bear children, they had the best box seats to any event, they had the right of way in the streets, they had personal bodyguards and they had the ability to free slaves and prisoners with a mere touch or command. We know a lot about the Vestals but we don't know much about what their hair looked like under the elaborate headdresses they wore. Janet Stephens, a Baltimore hairdresser and amateur archaeologist became fascinated with a statue she saw of a Vestal and decided she would find out. It took her seven years of research and now she believes she's figured it out. Take a look: ![The Fun Side of Research](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IMG_2814.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Astrology](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/astrology) [Trastevere](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/trastevere) [Villa Farnesina](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/villa-farnesina) [Agostino Chigi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/agostino-chigi) [Baldassare Peruzzi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/baldassare-peruzzi) [Bartolomeo Scappi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bartolomeo-scappi) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Cinquecento](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cinquecento) [horoscope](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/horoscope) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Renaissance](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/renaissance) [Research](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/research) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) I'm working on research for my next book, on Renaissance chef, [Bartolomeo Scappi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Scappi). I find the whole research side of historical fiction fascinating. It's like peeling back layers of paint on an elaborate painting to discover the essence of the people who inspired and created such masterpieces. One of my characters is related to [Agostino Chigi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agostino_Chigi), one of Rome's wealthiest bankers in the early 16th century. Some tourists may be more familiar with him as the man who built the Villa Farnesina on the banks of the [Trastevere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trastevere). It sports paintings by Raphael, [Baldassare Peruzzi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldassare_Peruzzi), and [Sebastiano del Piombo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastiano_del_Piombo). But for the most part, it is often left off of itineraries of busy travelers who head straight for the Forum or the [Trevi Fountain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevi_Fountain). This is a good thing, in my opinion, because it makes the visit so much more pleasant for those who want to bask in the sumptuous frescoes without being jostled by too many others. ![Can You Imagine What Ancient Rome Was Like?](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Map_of_downtown_Rome_during_the_Roman_Empire_large.png) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/apicius) [320 AD](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/320-ad) [Ancient history](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-history) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Circus Maximus](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/circus-maximus) [Colosseum](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/colosseum) [history](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/history) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Pantheon](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pantheon) [Pantheon Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pantheon-rome) [Roman Forum](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman-forum) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) If not, now you can! This video was set about 200 years after my novel's central character lived, but it still gives a great flavor of what [Rome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome) would have been like in ancient times. While the [Colosseum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum) wasn't there, nor the [Circus Maximus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_Maximus), most of the other major buildings were there in the time that [Apicius](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apicius) lived. He would have walked on the stones of the [Roman Forum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum), visited the [Temple of Jupiter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_Optimus_Maximus), looked up through the oculus of [The Pantheon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon%2C_Rome). Such power there is in history! http://vimeo.com/32038695 ![Crunchy Tasty Dormice](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Alice-27.jpg) [Recipe](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/recipe) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/apicius) [Slovenia](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/slovenia) [The Hatter](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/the-hatter) [Alice](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/alice) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Culinary Delights](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/culinary-delights) [De Re Coquinaria](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/de-re-coquinaria) [delicacy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/delicacy) [dormice](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/dormice) [Dormouse](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/dormouse) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Wonderland](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/wonderland) In my novel, one of the treats served up by Apicius to his guests (from [De  Re Coquinaria](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apicius), Chapter IX, 396) is [stuffed dormice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edible_dormouse). They were generally eaten as snacks and were a favorite at the* tabernas* and *popinas* (taverns and bars) but were also popular with the upper class. Nowadays the lucky little dormouse isn't eaten (although apparently they are still in [Slovenia](http://www.glirarium.org/dormouse/cult-slovenian-persic.html)!) but way back then they were often stuffed, fried and eaten whole, bones and all. Below is the recipe found in the cookbook which bears Apicius' name. ![A new trend? Ancient Roman baby names? Really?](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Cornelia-and-the-Gracchi.jpg) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [Livia](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/livia) [roman](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman) [Roman naming conventions](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/roman-naming-conventions) [Aelia](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/aelia) [baby names](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/baby-names) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Hunger Games](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/hunger-games) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [names](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/names) A [recent article on the Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-redmond-satran/the-best-ancient-roman-ba_b_1619829.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents) dares to make a bold prediction when it comes to trends in baby names--that monikers from [Ancient Rome](http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome) will soon be popular. She cites the [Roman names](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_naming_conventions) in the *[Hunger Games](http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dcreatofcircu-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0439023483)* as proof of the new trend. She may be right in that regard. God knows how many Bellas and Edwards are in the world now than before *Twilight* became popular. The readers of my manuscript draft were often thrown when they found that one of my characters was named "Melissa." They thought it was too modern, but I just chuckled. While it's not Roman, but Greek, it's a name that is several thousand years old. Angela, Amelia, Bryce (which was a Greek girl's name), Laura and Patricia are also ancient names. ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1481231558851356&ev=PageView&noscript=1)