05.24.06
Posted in History of Varese at 6:49 pm by casavarese
The Sacro Monte, Varese by John Taylor Arms.
While researching I came across this etching of the Sacro Monte by John Taylor Arms dated 1927.
John Taylor Arms (1887-1953) focused much of his work in Europe completing series of gargoyles, French cathedrals, Italian cathedrals and Venetian cityscapes. Arms dedicated his life to his art and to educating the public and encouraging interest in etching and printmaking. He was a member and president of the American Society of Graphic Artists, and he held many workshops and lectures around the country.
The attention to detail and philosophy made him a unique artist, the amount of detail in his etchings can be attributed to his background in architectural drawings. The style of etching he utilized is difficult to master, but once developed produces prints that are believable mainly because of the exactness of the artist’s perspective. Arms art chose a more religious approach, bringing together the spiritual and technical aspects of art.
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11.28.05
Posted in History of Varese at 1:39 pm by casavarese
Cisalpina Gaul. History of Varese Italian Lakes
In 232 the Tribune Gaius Flaminius passed an agrarian law, giving land to Legionary veterans and citizens. This land, won from the Gauls at the battle of Lake Vadimanus, represented the territory known as Cisalpina Gaul. Over the next 50 years Roman colonists poured into previously occupied Celtic territory and established new colonies.
The extension of the Flaminian Way, along with increased colonization angered the resident Gauls. A majority of local tribes, mainly the Insubres and the Gaesatae from Gallia Transalpina, rose in arms against Rome. For nearly 10 years, military action in the Alps region was mostly minor scale. By 225 BC, however, the Gauls had gathered enough support to invade Roman territory and threaten the city of Rome.
As many as 70,000 tribal warriors pushed through Etruria ravaging the country as it went. The Romans though, having learned so much from its recent large scale wars, were prepared. Using there superior legionary and tactical strategies the Romans surrounded the Gallic invaders near Telamon in 222 BC. Under the command of Consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus, two Roman armies defeated the invasion and put an end to the threat. Plutarch, in his writings, tells us that Marcellus himself won the day by becoming the third and final Roman commander in history to kill a foreign king in single combat, Britomartus of the Gaesatae. “The first was Romulus, after having slain Acron, king of the Caeninenses: the second, Cornelius Cossus, who slew Tolumnius the Etruscan: and then Marcellus, having killed Britomartus king of the Gauls.
After the defeat at Telamon, the Gauls were driven back towards the Valley of the Po and to the Alps. The war would end with Rome victorious having new territory secured and ready for occupation and settlement. Three military colonies were established to hold the Gauls at bay; Placentia and Cremona in Insubrian territory and Mutina in the Boii. The Via Flaminia road was extended from Spoletium to Ariminum a vital part of Roman expansion. By virtue of being bestowed with new land to settle and work, the Roman and Italian people who benefited from colonization became even more devoted to Rome and authority in Italy was further secured.
Hannibal and the Second Punic War would again place this authority in jeopardy, however. As Hannibal crossed the Alps on his way to Italy, his success stirred the Gauls once more and many joined him against Rome. Cisalpine Gaul wouldn’t be fully pacified until Hannibal’s defeat; and the rest of Gallia Transalpina until the arrival of Caesar in the mid 1st century BC.
Italian Lakes Tourist Information Guides – Tourism in Varese.
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Posted in History of Varese at 11:05 am by casavarese
Charlemagne. History of the Italian Lakes
Carrying before him the sword and the cross, Charlemagne became the Emperor of Western Europe. In 768, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman inherited the realm of the Franks. In 771, when Carloman died, Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. The kingdom was fragmented; the north of Europe was still pagan and ungovernable. In the south, the Roman Catholic Church was still striving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy.
In Charlemagne’s own realm, the Franks were falling back into barbarian ways. Charlemagne was resolute to reinforce his kingdom and to bring order to back to Europe. He launched campaigns that conquered and Christianized the Saxons in the north, the Avars, a Tatar tribe on the Danube, even forcing the Bavarian dukes to submit to him. Charlemagne, in an effort to avoid further conflict, offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized his kingdom and restored the Papal States.
Charlemagne’s amazing conquests were largely due to his ability to organize. During his reign he organised over 50 military expeditions. He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with speed, with every move planned in advance. These feats of organization and the speed marches later led Napoleon to study his tactics.
By 800 Charlemagne was the unquestionable ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It included Italy and Germany, part of Austria, and the Spanish March. Charlemagne restored unity to the Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe. On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in Saint Peter’s in Rome, Pope Leo III took a golden crown from the altar and placed it on the bowed head of the king. The Pope proclaimed Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory.
Italian Lakes Tourist Information Guides – Tourism in Varese.
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