Italy

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history?

A portrait of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340-1400), who modern literary scholars credit for turning Valentine into the patron of love. Chaucer was a major influencer in his day – after him, everyone began calling their beloved “Valentine” and writing love poems on 14 February, says Lisa Bitel. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of Valentine’s Day – from the patron saint of epilepsy to Chaucer’s love tales

Pope John XVII

Q&A: Has there ever been a married Pope?

'The Last Supper', 1803. A copy of the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the 1490s. Some think the superstition about Friday 13th being unlucky is related to the Last Supper, when 13 people were present at the meal before Jesus's crucifixion on Good Friday. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Q&A Why is Friday 13th considered unlucky?

Cardinal John Henry Newman

How to become a saint

Daisy Dunn.

The destruction of Pompeii

A statue of Leonardo da Vinci

8 milestones in Leonardo da Vinci’s rise to success

The Popes Palace, or Palais des Papes, in Avignon, France.

Q&A Why did the papacy move to Avignon in the 14th century?

People gather around the Mona Lisa painting after its return in January 1914

Mona Lisa heist: how do you steal the world’s most famous painting?

Marble bust of Emperor Caligula. (DEA / A. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

The 8 bloodiest Roman emperors in history

The leaning tower of Pisa

Q&A Why does the Tower of Pisa lean to one side?

A fresco from the Villa of the Vettii in Pompeii. Painted before the catastrophic eruption of Versuvius, these frescoes were uncovered from beneath layers of volcanic ash and pumice. (Photo by In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images)

8 things you (probably) didn’t know about Pompeii

A portrait of the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) during the Napoleonic Wars. Although Waterloo was

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Napoleonic Wars

Lucrezia Borgia with her father Pope Alexander VI

Lucrezia Borgia: is her bad reputation deserved?

In his native Como, Pliny the Younger's fame is reflected in his statue on the city cathedral's imposing west front, which was built in the 15th century. (Image by AKG Images)

Pliny’s Rome: Vesuvius, vice and vestal virgins