Italica (Spanish: Itálica) was an ancient Roman city in Hispania; its site is close to the town of Santiponce in the province of Seville, Spain. It was founded in 206 BC by Roman general Scipio as a colonia for his Italic veterans and named after them. Italica later grew attracting new migrants from the Italian peninsula and also with the children of Roman soldiers and native women.
Italica was the first Roman settlement in Spain. It was founded in 206 BC by Publius Cornelius Scipio during the Second Punic War close to a native Iberian town of the Turdetani (dating back at least to the 4th c. BC) as a settlement for his Italic veterans, a mixture of socii and Roman citizens, and therefore named Italica after its inhabitants.
As no modern city covered many of Italica's buildings of the nova urbs, the result is an unusually well-preserved Roman city with cobbled Roman streets and mosaic floors still in situ. Many rich finds can also be seen in the Seville Archaeological Museum, with its ...
The Rocket Festival ประเพณีบุญบั้งไฟ Bun Bang Fai is a merit-making ceremony traditionally practiced by ethnic Lao people at the beginning of the wet season in various villages and municipalities in Northeastern Thailand and Laos.
The festivities typically include music and dance performances, competitive processions of floats, dancers and musicians on the second day, and culminating on the third day with the competitive firing of homemade rockets.
Local participants and sponsors take advantage of the occasion to enhance their social prestige, as is customary in traditional Buddhist folk festivals throughout Southeast Asia.
The festival in Thailand also includes special programs and specific local patterns like Bang Fai (Parade dance) and a Beautiful Bang Fai float such as Yasothon on the third weekend of May, and continues Suwannaphum District, Roi Et on the first weekend of June, Phanom Phrai District Roi Et during the full moon of the seventh month in Lunar year's...
Songshan Feng-Tian Temple, also known as the Temple of Heaven, stands as one of the most important Taoist temples in Taipei, located in the Xinyi District near the iconic Four Beasts Mountains.
Dedicated primarily to the Jade Emperor, the temple has grown into a sprawling complex that serves as both a major religious center and a community landmark, blending ornate traditional southern Chinese architecture with vibrant cultural significance.
The temple’s origins date back to the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty around the 1860s, when a Chinese immigrant from Tangshan settled in a cave on Tiger Mountain and began worshiping the Jade Emperor by hanging a red silk banner and placing a stone incense burner. Local residents gradually joined the daily rituals, establishing a simple devotional site.
During the Japanese colonial period, the cave was repurposed as an air-raid shelter amid policies that suppressed traditional religious practices.
After Taiwan’s retrocession, local gentry and elders raised ...
Songshan Ciyou Temple
This temple, built in the mid-18th century, is the cradle of development of the Songshan district. The story goes that a monk once roamed this area, carrying a gilded image of Mazu, Goddess of the Sea, as he begged for alms. One day at Xikou—the old name for this district—the monk came upon a number of people, all Mazu believers, from his old home. Together they planned construction of a temple to honor the goddess, and after raising funds for more than 10 years they were able to realize their dream. Construction started in 1753 and was completed in 1757.
The top of the temple roof is richly ornamented; in addition to human figures, there is also a flying dragon placed there because dragons were believed to have the power to prevent fires.
Inside the temple are layer after layer of oil lamps lighted by devotees in the hope that Mazu will grant their wishes. The side altar to the right of the Mazu image enshrines the Earth God, who is protected on either side by ...
