EUROPA RECONDITA

AN ITINERANT JOURNAL ABOUT HISTORY, CULTURE AND BEER

Category: Culture

  • Cremona, or the year technology peaked

    Cremona, or the year technology peaked

    In 1637, an Italian monk by the name of Fulgentius Micanzio wrote an acquaintance who was considering purchasing a violin. On the advice of an expert, Micanzio could assure his correspondent that the best instruments were to be found in the city of Cremona. What makes this letter so particularly interesting is that the expert…

  • Mols, or stupid, lazy, inbred peasants

    Mols, or stupid, lazy, inbred peasants

    In Denmark, there is a story about the villagers of Mols in Jutland. Fearing that war was about to break out in the country, they decided to hide their most treasured possession: the church bell. A handful of men set out to sea in a rowboat to sink the bell, where it could be retrieved…