Joe Palumbo
Stories (4/0)
IL COLOSSEO DI ROMA
A white giant looms in the Roman sun. One look and you know this structure was meant to evoke awe and wonder, and house a cacophony of noise and screams. It is a monument of, and a testament to, the genius of the Ancient Romans, a colossus of Roman engineering. The Colosseum is two-thousand years old, has four levels, 80 entrances, can hold up to 80,000 people, and measures in at 160 feet tall, 617 feet long and 517 feet wide; it was also equipped with elevators and trapdoors. Construction began on Rome’s Colosseum in 72AD, during the reign of Emperor Vespasian, when the Holy Roman Empire was at its peak. Made out of limestone, marble, concrete and tufa, 200 ox carts per day would carry stone along the ancient Appian Way to Rome for its construction, totaling 240,000 cart trips in all. The Colosseum was a gift to the people of Rome, one of many from the spoils of the Empire, whose reign stretched from as far as Britain in the West to Syria in the East. It not only signified Rome’s domination of the world, but this building could have been considered the epicenter of the world as well, for many centuries. The largest amphitheater ever built in the classical world, an arena of blood and sand, a place where gladiators would fight to the death, providing the amazed public with never before seen entertainment; a true festival of revelry and gore. Today, the Colosseum stands quiet, filled not with gladiators, but with tourists, yet we can still hear the long evaporated roars of its crowds echo in the annals of history. Heralded as one of the wonders of the world, here is everything you need to know about Rome’s Colosseum.
By Joe Palumbo3 years ago in FYI
"Let Me Apologize In Advance"
We’ve been telling stories for millennia. The first stories were told 40,000 years ago via primitive art--cave paintings akin to murals, which depicted short, ritualistic events, usually the hunt. Exciting stuff, no doubt, but what was its purpose? Was it meant solely to increase the heart rate of the intended viewing audience? Was it to bookmark our ancestors’ existence in a specific moment in time? Or was it to woo that cute Neanderthal girl you’ve had your one good eye on? At its core, storytelling is meant to entertain and educate, preserve tradition, history, and culture, all while instilling moral values and a sense of community.
By Joe Palumbo3 years ago in FYI
Amanda Gorman Inspires
On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Ms. Gorman, a resident and youth poet laureate of Los Angeles, and a Harvard graduate, is the youngest inaugural poet, only 22 years of age. She is also the nation’s first ever youth poet laureate. She is one of only six inaugural poets, and is in some fine company, to say the least. The first poet to read at a Presidential inauguration was Robert Frost in 1961, followed by Maya Angelou in 1993, Miller Williams in 1997, Elizabeth Alexander in 2009, Richard Blanco in 2013, and of course, Amanda Gorman in 2021. Her poem was written to call for “unity and collaboration and togetherness.”
By Joe Palumbo3 years ago in Poets
"YET TO BE WRITTEN"
“YET TO BE WRITTEN” by
By Joe Palumbo3 years ago in Journal