Free Republic

ROME — Pope Francis renewed his appeal for an end to war Sunday, condemning the “bestiality” of the Russian war on Ukraine. “More than a month has passed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, since the beginning of this cruel and senseless war which, like any war, represents a defeat for all, for all of us,” the pontiff told the 30,000 pilgrims gathered in the Vatican for his weekly Angelus address. “There is a need to repudiate war, a place of death where fathers and mothers bury their children, where men kill their brothers without even having seen...

A beautifully decorated room has been discovered at Emperor Nero's famed Domus Aurea (Golden House) in Rome and brought back to light after 2,000 years. The hall is decorated with panthers, centaurs and a delightful sphinx. Experts chanced upon the room while they were doing restoration work on the vault of a neighbouring part of the palace... It was made thanks to a platform erected to restore the vault of room 72 od the sprawling and sumptuous complex, one of the 150 rooms hitherto rediscovered in the grand House the controversial emperor built in 64 AD after the great fire...

ROME - Nero's Golden Palace will partly reopen to visitors next week, offering rare insight into archaeologists' efforts to preserve the first-century imperial residence from decay and humidity. Visitors will have access to half of the palace, wandering through a maze of underground passageways, officials said Wednesday. They can also climb a 43-foot scaffolding and take a close look at the building's frescoed vaulted ceilings, as restorers and archaeologists work to clean the paint. "People will have the chance to get to know the monument itself and the efforts to maintain and preserve it," said archaeologist Irene Pignatelli, leading a...