The ancient Romans figured out how to keep their homes toasty warm long before Benjamin Franklin flew his kite and we got busy inventing ways to harness electricity for our comfort.
Roman architects designed a central heating system called a hypocaust. The word, hypocaustum means “heat from below.” The raised floors were held up by short pillars and spaces beneath them and inside the walls were heated with the hot smoke and air from the fire chamber. Walls were fitted with ceramic box-shaped tiles that served as flues to channel the burned air and smoke to the outside, as well as to warm them. The more warmth needed, the closer to the hypocausts they were located.
It was a pretty expensive and labor-intensive method, so hypocausts were reserved for public baths and upper class villas. In about 25 B.C. Sergius Orata figured out how to cut down on the overhead by putting the male and female bathing rooms close to the hypocausts and right next door to each other.
Korean traditional architecture uses an Ondol. This underfloor heating method depends on direct heat transfer from a wood fire maintained underneath a thick floor made of masonry. From the central firebox or stove area, usually accessible from the kitchen or master bedroom, a system of horizontal channels spider out underneath the structure. A chimney on the opposite side of the building from the firebox ensures a decent draft system.
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Learning a language is fun, so they say. It broadens your horizons and can engulf you in a totally new environment that previously may have passed you by.
Reading books and listening to CD’s is a very long drawn out learning process and even the most studious of people can find it hard going. Going to college is another option. If you’ve got the spare time and a local college that runs courses you may choose to learn there. These courses generally run for a couple of hours per week for the school year with breaks at term’s end. College is a good way to learn but you still have to have the motivation to attend after a hard day at work.
So what is the alternative?
Why not take a holiday specifically to learn the language?
Italian is the language of love, and the country is one of magnificent beauty so why not encapsulate both aspects and take a learn the language holiday to Italy.
The locations are varied, learning holidays are held all over the country so it’s up to you to choose what else you’d like from your holiday other than learning the language. Continue Reading…
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Winners of the recent World Cup, Italy is once again in the news. The fact Italy won the cup while also suffering the shame of a soccer corruption scandal is typical of this complex country.
An Overview of the Past of Italy
When you think of Italy, it’s nearly impossible to not think of the past. It is rich and complex starting from before ancient Roman times, continuing on through the turbulence of fascism, and finally ending with today’s modern country. Italy has it all – mystery, intrigue, religion, beauty and character, and studying the past of this impressive country can help us all to understand the current culture of Italy.
The earliest recorded mention Italy comes from the Paleolithic era, which occurred over 200,000 years ago. Italy didn’t really become a fully formed area, however, until the first Greek settlers arrived in the country in the eighth century BC. The name Italy is said to have either come from the name Italus, who was one of the kings of the area, or the Homeric word that meant “bull”. By the third century BC, the Romans had taken over the entire area of the Mediterranean, which included Italy, and this boot-shaped land became part of the Roman Empire. This Roman era led to prosperity and peace for the land of Italy, and this was continued until around 400 AD.
The Germanic people became the rulers of Italy around 400 AD. They ruled for roughly 135 years until, in 535, Justinian reclaimed the area for Rome. For the next 1000 years, Italy became a fragmented group of city states, and the paths of the southern and northern parts of Italy differed greatly. In the northern area, the city states of Genoa, Florence, Milan and especially Venice prospered, both in areas of commerce and those of politics. The southern part of Italy, in areas such as Sicily, were taken over first by Muslims in the ninth century and then by the Normans in the 1050’s. The areas of Sicily and Naples were filled with turmoil, but they also produced the climate that fed the Italian Renaissance movement where artists such as Michelangelo produced stunning works.
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