Alumni Travel Reading: Cruising the Adriatic

An expert guide to the present-day cultural life of Croatia and how it has been influenced by the nation's tumultuous past. Presents photographs of historic and contemporary architecture, landscapes, markets and foods, traditional and contemporary dress, sporting events, and more. From the publisher.

Moving and informative text on the cultural gains and losses following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 2006. Mixture of personal essays and scholarly articles.

Comprehensive history of the Dubrovnik city-state in southern Croatia, facing the Adriatic Sea. Includes such topics as its emergence in the 7th century, to dangers posed by Venetian plotters, its survival from a tragic earthquake in the 1660s, to its conquest by Napoleon, and its modern-day besieging by the Yugslav army. Dubrovnik’s diplomatic expertise and political stamina throughout history are the stuff of legend.

Cookbook and travel memoir dedicated to Croatia's Adriatic coast. Full of recipes, images, and food and cultural facts. The author spent three years sailing near Croatia, collecting stories along the way.

The Classical Cookbook was the first book about dining to draw from both ancient Greek and Roman Writings (from the publisher). Images of frescoes, mosaics, vases and more adorn the pages, alongside recipes that recreate fare inspired by Greek symposia or drinking parties and by meals in classic texts such as Homer’s Odyssey. Follow the recipes to enjoy ancient Mediterranean food cooked in your modern kitchen!

Illustrated overview of Venetian paintings, sculptures, and architecture produced between 1400-1600. Provides informative chapters on the major types of Venetian art, their patronage, and the cultural reasons behind their creation.

Venetian Renaissance art teems with sea monsters, marine denizens that are half-human and hybrid animal. These aquatic beasts were ubiquitous, appearing on the pages and covers of books, decorating tombs and churches, in civic settings and palaces, and in private homes throughout Venice.

One of the first works discussing Venetian woodcarving and woodcarvers by looking at 13 pieces made both inside and outside of Venice. This book covers production topics such as materials and techniques, and social topics like patronage history of the profession.

The Oracle of Delphi would enter into ecstatic union with the god Apollo and bring back his prophecies and counsel for all who came seeking answers. Though the air of magic that surrounds her might cast her as a legend, the Oracle did really exist--and her visions caused her to become the single most influential figure in all of ancient Greece. Eyewitness accounts describe temple practices in detail, claiming that the Oracle breathed in vapors rising from the temple floor. In 1892 French archaeologists unearthed the temple, but could find no evidence that the rocky ground had brought vapors of any kind. Science journalist Broad tells a modern-day detective story that blends history and science to describe how a team of scientists, working from subtle clues scattered throughout the ancient literature, as well as from the latest findings in geology, uncovered scientific evidence to explain the Oracle's powers. From the publisher.

While the Acropolis remains the city's anchor, Athens' vibrant culture extends far beyond the Greek city's antique boundaries (from the publisher.) McGregor prepares visitors to Athens with images and historical background of modern and ancient sites from each facet of Athenian history. From the hands of Alexander the Great to the Roman Empire, to ownership of Byzantine Christians, crusaders, and the Ottoman conquest, to Greek independence and its battles with occupation by the Nazis and modern trials with economic crises, Athens' rich and varied history is presented on these pages.

In the second and third quarters of the fifth century BC, when Athens became both politically and culturally dominant in the Greek world, Pericles was the leading figure in the city’s public life. Athens developed an empire no Greek city had had before; its politics were reshaped by the new institution of democracy. This concise and accessible introduction guides students through the key aspects of this most-studied period of ancient Greek history, focusing on the major developments, political and cultural, that took place in Pericles ' time.

This book offers a history of the floating city of Venice from its founding to the present day. Highlights include sections about the unique construction of the city and the Asian, European and North African exchange networks that made it vibrant and ethnically diverse.The author discusses the many political, economic, environmental, social, and cultural themes that appear over the course of its fascinating history.