M.Polo Annual General Assembly 2014

Dear Friends
as announced, yesterday (24/02/2014) in the evening took place the Annual General Assembly (AGA) of our M.Polo Club. The Assembly was well attended and according to the Agenda the following points have been dealt with:
- The activities of M.Polo (excursions, visits of exhibitions, public lecturess - see in this blog) in the social year 2013 have been reviewed and commented. The general appreciation was positive. It was also remarked the positive start of the activities of the social year 2014 (see in this blog). Emphasis has been put on the success of the M.Polo blog (233 posts, 8344 pageviews) and on the robust amount of money on the Club's accounts.

- The exit Committee has been confirmed for the social year 2014.
- In the social year 2014 the following activities are foreseen:

- visit of the WW II. site of Vaas (Sarthe) and corresponding public lecture;

- visit of Brasil and correponding public lecture;

- participation to the Conference "Ancient Europeans" in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and corresponding pulic lecture;

  Possible visit of Malta.

Because no topic was filed under the A.O.B., the new Committee closed the AGA.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Meeres-Forschung

Dear Friends
today morning, I blamed myself for not having had a look in internet about possible exhibitions or concerts here in Munich. Probably for this reason, being in the town, I decided to enter the Deutsches Museum for an unforeseen visit. Although not advertised outside the Museum and in the town, the Meeres-Forschung:
http://www.deutsches-museum.de/ausstellungen/verkehr/schifffahrt/meeresforschung/
is remarkable because it provides the visitor with an exciting panorama of the engagement of the humanity to increase the knowledge of the nature of the deep sea, testified by the most recent deep sea discoveries and the vehicles that permitted their achievement. In case of interest, please let me have your feedback.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Iceman - Ötzi in Munich

Dear Friends
if you are in Munich or you plan to visit Munich, please reserve part of your time for visiting the exhibition Ötzi 2.0:
http://www.archaeologie-bayern.de/de/ausstellungen/sonderausstellungen/
http://newsticker.sueddeutsche.de/list/id/1543776
a joint exhibition of the Südtyroler Archäologiemuseum : http://www.iceman.it/
and the Archaeological Museum in Munich:  http://www.archaeologie-bayern.de/ .
In my mind, I consider Ötzi like a magic spaceship arrived from a deep past, bringing us scientific information about himself, his environment and his culture. I am not very surprised that science can tell us precisely his age, height and weight, but what surprise me is that it is able to show us his birthplace (Eisack Valley or Pustertal Valley in South-Tyrol) and other places where he lived (Etsch Valley and Vinschgau Valley in South-Tyrol).
Any comment from your side is welcomed.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Greeks in Verona

Dear Friends
it is true that also Greeks are well present though the dedicated epigraphic collection at the Museo Lapidario Maffeiano in Verona. The superior character of the Greek epigraphic / funerary art, which introduces to the complex theme of the Greek complex underworld:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_underworld ,
is evident through the exquisite and higher quality of its representations, as you can see by the following images.
Salutations
Giancarlo

Romans in Verona

Dear Friends
The Shakespeare's expression : "World's exile is death" (Romeo and juliet, Atto III, Scena III) at the entrance of the Museo Lapidario Maffeiano in Verona, introduces well its Roman open air epigraphic art collection. It presents a mix of religious and exterior funerary elements introducing into the Roman dark world of the afterlife. Please have a look to the attached images and, in case of interest, tell me your opinion.
Salutations
Giancarlo

 

Etruscans in Verona

Dear Friends
the Museo Lapidario Maffeiano is one of the glories of Verona's culture:
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_lapidario_maffeiano
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_Lapidario_Maffeiano .
It hosts collections of Roman, Greek, Etruscan, Venetic and Arabian epigraphic and funerary art. Of interest, the collection of Etruscan cinerary urns, which provide the visitor not only with the living aspect of the deceased but also with visions inside the mysterious, sometime peaceful, sometime violent Etruscan civilization:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization  .
Concerning the Etruscan language, it is possible to say that short text, mainly of funerary subject, are comprehensible, although some terms remain obscure. Longer Etruscan texts need bilingual inscriptions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrgi_Tablets .
Salutations
Giancarlo