#March 30, 1282: when Sicilian’s bells rang out for freedom
On this day, March 30, 1282 Sicilians decided that they had had enough and in a brutal uprising known as the War of the Vespers turned on their oppressors: the […]
Tomino’s hell: the creepy legend of a cursed poetry.
Can some verses hurt someone? A popular Japanese story is about a poem called “Tomino’s Hell” (トミノの地獄). They say that you should only read with your mind, and never out […]
The haunted Fox Tower at Dongbianmen – China
We are in Beijing, China. The Fox Tower at Dongbianmen (chinese 东便门 ) has been said to be haunted from pretty much the moment it was founded in 1564. Initially […]
#March 25, 1887: The Rahway murder of the “Unknown Woman”.
March 25th, 1887 was a day that changed the town of Rahway, New Jersey, forever. In the cold hours of the early morning, a group of four brothers were walking […]
“Faces of Century”: the same people photographed as young and centenarians
Youth is a phase of life that is (almost) always remembered with happiness and, indeed the period flows quickly, especially if you look with your eyes turned to the past. […]
#March 9, 1974: the incredible Hiroo Onoda’s One-Man war finally ends
Nearly 30 years after the end of the Second World War Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda finally surrendered on this day, March 9 1974. His story is curious: he had been […]
Don’t touch the Royals: the absurd death of the Queen of Siam in the 19th Century
Life is known to have a common destiny for everyone: death. There have been, throughout history, really lot of famous people who died in the most absurd ways, and there […]
Ramesses II: the first (and probably the last) mummy to receive a passport!
Ramesses II is often considered the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt: he reigned for over 60 years and his achievements were not matched by the pharaohs who preceded or succeeded […]
29/30/31 January: the Merla days (hen blackbird), according to tradition are the coldest days of the year ~
It was a very, very cold Winter. That year the month of January put every effort to live up to his reputation as a freezing, windy month. The snow was […]
The “anomalous” burial of a child in a 5th century Umbrian cemetery
Lugnano in Teverina is a small village, located in the region of central Italy Umbria, surrounded by green hills that descend towards the valley of the Tiber river. At the […]
A forest of pillars, recalling the Holocaust: the controversial Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin
In the 15 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of the nation, Germany has struggled to come to terms with its Nazi past. Nowhere has […]
Fort de la Chartreuse: the fort that was never used…as a fort!
The Fort de la Chartreuse is an about 150-year-old fortification that once should have been defend the Amercœur neighborhood of Liège in Belgium, but is now an abandoned big ruin […]
Paris through a Nazi’s lens: Propaganda pictures of Occupied France in 1940’s
André Zucca (1897-1973) was a French photographer and Nazi collaborator, popular thanks to his work with the German propaganda magazine Signal. Born in 1897 in Paris, son of an Italian […]
“Half-Hangit” Maggie Dickson: the woman who survived the hangman’s noose.
Maggie Dickson was consigned to the gallows on Edinburgh’s historic Grassmarket on September 2, 1724. So, it was unlikely that anyone attending her public execution thought they would see her […]
Julia Margaret Cameron: the greatest Victorian-era portrait photographer
Julia Margaret Cameron (11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879 ) was an English photographer considered one of the most significant portraitists of the 19th century, who managed to make […]
Amelia Dyer: the Victorian “Baby Farmer” who killed 200 to 400 children
England was not a safe place for children in Victorian times. On the other hand, it wasn’t even for adults, if we think of serial killers like Jack the Ripper […]
