When Bohemia reached the Adriatic
Bohemia wasn't always a land-locked nation, which may surprise some cartographers. For a short time in the 1th century, one Bohemian king built a chain of power from Prague towards the Adriatic. How did he do that?
The Mystery of Cicero and Malta
Did Cicero, the father of modern politics, the greatest Roman orator ever visit Malta which he wrote so much about? This article separates myth from the historical reality.
The Lion in the Harbour: When Garibaldi Came to Malta
In 1864, the most famous man in the world spent 36 hours in Malta. In 1864, Giuseppe Garibaldi stopped off in Malta on his way to England. He was limping from a bullet wound and wanted a quiet rest. What he got instead was a firestorm.
The Fruttuaria Abbey
A King Died Here. Then the Church Buried It. Then a Plumber Found It Again. The Abbazia di Fruttuaria has been a monastery, a political pawn, a makeover project, and a school. What lies beneath the floor is one of the most remarkable archaeological finds in northern Italy — and almost nobody knows about it.
When Napoleon Conquered Malta in 72 Hours
Think the fall of powerful nations takes months? Napoleon Bonaparte dismantled 268 years of Knights' rule over Malta in three days. If you want to understand how empires truly fall, keep reading.
ORP Kujawiak: From Britain to Malta
During World War II, the Polish Navy operated under the auspices of the British Navy. One destroyer escort, the ORP Kujawiak, helped supply the island of Malta where it hit an Italian mine.
This article explains the short life of ORP Kujawiak, its final moments and its current status as an underwater diving site.
The Púchov Culture
A fascinating and complex culture in late Iron Age Europe is the Púchov culture. It shows remarkable cultural synthesis and adaptation in the mountanous regions of present-day Slovakia and eastern Moravia.
This article examines how this evolved from Celtic foundations, merged other European influences and shaped the cultural landscape of the Carpathian basin till the 2nd century.
The independence of Ħal-Għargħur
In the 16th century, the rural village of Ħal-Għargħur became an independent parish for 3 brief years. It’s unusual that someone thought it should be independent and changed their mind a few years later.
This article explains the village politics behind the situation, and how Ħal-Għargħur became a parish.
The mysterious Marcomanni
I’ve often heard about the Marcomanni tribe when researching information about Czechia. References are always fleeting and there’s never enough information about them. I decided to look into this oddly-named Germanic tribe.
The lost Cathedral of St Sophia
In occupied Cyprus, across the demilitarised zone in Nicosia, the French gothic cathedral of St Sophia is now Selimiye mosque. The building was at the heart of Cypriot crusader history, with many stories in its past. Today, tourists wonder at something that looks like European architecture is a mosque.
This article explains the cathedral history, its significance and the current mosque.