267 research outputs found
Giuliano e i 'possessores' renani. Aspetti della proprietà fondiaria in una zona di frontiera
Get PDFThe aim of this article is to propose a unitary vision of the Roman provinces of Germania inferior, Germania superior and Gallia Belgica. The author searches for evidence relative to large and smaller agrarian properties in imperial age, chiefly in late antiquity. Archaeological documentation shows that there were large villas in the area near the Rhine and the Moselle in the 4th century, despite some discontinuities; Ammianus Marcellinus is aware of their existence. The paper then takes into consideration the evidence for emperor Julian’s economic activity in the Rhineland, in particular some passages from Ammianus concerning his policy towards local landowners. An overlooked excerpt documents a case of appeasement between defeated Germans and 'possessores' based in Germania secunda. Although the literary evidence of Julian’s relationship with the Salian Franks is conflicting, a coexistence of 'possessores' and ‘barbarians’ on the same bank of the Rhine is probable. It is possible that Julian’s attempts to achieve peace and agricultural welfare in an apparently dangerous borderland influenced some ideas of the author of emperor Probus’ biography in the Historia Augusta
Organismal Design and Biomimetics: A Problem of Scale
No full textOrganisms and their features represent a complex system of solutions that can efficiently inspire the development of original and cutting-edge design applications: the related discipline is known as biomimetics. From the smallest to the largest, every species has developed and adapted different working principles based on their relative dimensional realm. In nature, size changes determine remarkable effects in organismal structures, functions, and evolutionary innovations. Similarly, size and scaling rules need to be considered in the biomimetic transfer of solutions to different dimensions, from nature to artefacts. The observation of principles that occur at very small scales, such as for nano- and microstructures, can often be seen and transferred to a macroscopic scale. However, this transfer is not always possible; numerous biological structures lose their functionality when applied to different scale dimensions. Hence, the evaluation of the effects and changes in scaling biological working principles to the final design dimension is crucial for the success of any biomimetic transfer process. This review intends to provide biologists and designers with an overview regarding scale-related principles in organismal design and their application to technical projects regarding mechanics, optics, electricity, and acoustics
Prefazione
No full textun lavoro di ricerca e un racconto per immagini apprezzati nella prefazione, che condivide il lavoro minuto e la passione evidente dell'autor
La "malattia sacra" di Cambise: una diagnosi erodotea?
No full textThe author analyses Herodotus' choice of his sources in order to strike a balance between two recent publications which define Herodotus' text as almost exclusively 'religious' or 'scientific'. The case study is the description of the figure of Cambyses in the third book of the 'Histories'. There are historical grounds for the narrative of Cambyses' infamous deeds in Egypt. The traditional thesis of the deprivation of economic privileges for the Egyptian temples by Cambyses as the only cause of his negative fame in ancient historiography should be rejected. It is likely that at least the first part of Cambyses' reign in Egypt was marked by violent and dramatic changes – which anyway do not include Cambyses' alleged murder of the bull-god Apis. The influence of Hippocratic medicine on Herodotus' depiction of Cambyses' madness should not be overestimated. Although Herodotus is familiar with some ideas and notions shared by contemporary physicians, his narrative of Cambyses' actions is not strongly conditioned by them, and certainly has no connection with the main thesis of the author of the Hippocratic work named 'On the sacred disease'. The sources and opinions collected by Herodotus do not aim at a 'scientific' narrative of a madman's deeds, but rather at a moral vision of the Persian monarchic power
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