Archive for the ‘ real gladiators ’ Category

Play 2018: gladiators

Some live role players were around Play Modena. But the really great thing was to watch some gladiatorial fights by local Ars Dimicandi section. Moreover I follow a lesson on Medieval knife combat, with kinds of move, countermove and counter-counter move. I was distracted by other things so I couldn’t stay here to watch all, damn! I want to live more living history combat experiences.






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Colosseum at night

I started this blog to promote my gladiatorial rules. And my interest in gladiators is because I’m born in Roma. Everyday, on the way to work, I pass with the underground train only a few metres under the arch.

Winter suddenly followed an humid Summer. In a cold night of mid October we went to a free visit of the arena. Some light effects but nothing particularly thrilling. And a really quick visit. A different story when my father take me here at the age of 7.
I wished to visit more. Now you can access to subterraneans and terraces. There is a little exhibit too. But during the day there are too many tourists. Pity.



My friend seems the Charon god with these lights…

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FeG illustrations session

Last Saturday I went to Terni to assist Andrea with the drawing of gladiators, illustrations for the edit of Ferrum et Gloria. He draws them on his graphics tablet. In the first stance he drew a retiarius. He started it with rough sketches and after he coloured and defined it.




The final result was good but for only this figure we spent 2 hours. And all is not so perfect as it can be. Two more hours on it? No! So he tried another way: building from free forms, adding layers of colours over layers of colours.

Well, it was good too but a little mixed. So another way, always with this composition way but utilising a limited range of tones.

This was the right way! The look is more immediate, the key aspects are evident. The drawing session ran smoothly and all was rapid, almost 30/40 minutes for figure. After a working day we have: retiarius, provocator, myrmillo, secutor, scissor, gallus. Andrea is refining them. Among other things we had a brainstorming about Ganesha Games in 2015, 2016 and more. Today more time is scheduled for other gladiators available on the first part of the rules. I’m on the way to Terni again, and this time we will spend some days in Umbria for an holiday together with Diego.

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Trieste – part 1

My Italian holidays for 2014. This time in Trieste. I never stayed here before, it is a little far from Rome and no miniature or musical event was here, so I think to visit one for all this city on the sea, embedded among Alps, Venice and Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The architectural style is a mix of imperial gravitas and Slavic gusto, with some Art Nouveau added, proposed with an almost Venetian taste. A lot of faces and bare-chested women on building façades.

This is the villa just outside Trieste built by Mexico emperor. He died executed by firing squad in Mexico only a short time after he arrived in the place.

Under the unused throne room. After him, the villa was inhabited by a Savoia prince that after died in a prisoner camp in Africa during the WWII. I don’t want to live here!

Trieste is a multi-ethnic ex-imperial city. This is one of the two orthodox churches, the Serb one. Before I never visit a church of this kind. It is different than ours. A great atmosphere, cants, candles, kissed icons.

This was the empire harbour but, after the WWI, Italy occupied the place. This is the dock where docked the first Italian vessel.

The main square on the sea with the light of sunset on the windows.

The same place, the night with artificial lights.

The canal inside the city.

The old double church on the hill built inside the Iovis temple using even other pieces of Roman buildings and monuments.

The ground part of the Roman basilica. At the bottom the double church.

The Roman theatre. Well, but where is the arena?!?

The Roman arc along the cardus.

Roman eagles that were on the top of the Iovis temple.

Roman dices and pawns. No, you can’t play with them, it is not allowed…

Pontiarii low relief. You can view the retiarius on the top of the bridge with a stone in the hand. A secutor is approaching towards the other fighter. Wonderful!

More on part 2…

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Ludica Roma 2013: Ganesha Games

Last but not least, the part dedicated to Ganesha Games of the Ludica Roma 2013 full report.

Space is not a big problem in the pavilions of Ludica. So we obtained lots of tables to show rules and games. A DBA in 1:72 scale was organised by Diego.

On your wargame tables in 2016! One of the first playtests of some new ideas for a game by Andrea.

The first public preview of A Fistful Of Kung-Fu. Out by Osprey Publishing in February…

A photo from the first day in the fair. Building modular walls for my arena.

And after the masonry work, a chocolate snack. The candies stand poisoned the air with a terrible stench of chocolate. You couldn’t resist it for long. So I bought my waffel stick!

And here my arena. A lot of people appreciated it.

Those days my father was painting more spectators. However these are just all very active.

Among reenactors there were some involved in gladiatorial fights. A nice chap illustrated to people the specific disciplines of arena. I took advantage of the situation to brandish weapons and touch helms. So I could have a direct experience of what I studied and applied in Ferrum et Gloria.

Do you recognise the different kinds of helms? In Ferrum et Gloria you can understand why these are made in every specific way.

Shields and greaves. Due to hits, you can see as these are used in real fights.

In front of you an arbelas, with its crescent blade.

Back to Ganesha Games space. On the right a preview of the second volume of my rules: gladiatorial fights with ships.

A more detailed view.

An OGAM tournament was held the Saturday. I was very nervous because I only play it in playtests with Andrea mastering. Moreover I didn’t know the final version and how to build a winning strategy. Indeed this is my year: another great result, the third place! A Ludica gold dice and a book from Osprey as prize.

Another preview. I’m planning another game after Ferrum et Gloria. With this photo I suggest the topic of it. We knew in Ludica a reenactor of this historical period that is even a wargamer. An interesting meet.

Now we are waiting for Ludica Rome 2014. And the organisers are waiting for an analysis of the fair that I have to write to them. And you are waiting for other fair reports that still I have to write. In the meantime: Merry Christmas!

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Roman armours in museum

Post number 300! A morning in one of the museums of Rome. This one is a little underrated because we have so many archaeological remains that waste them. I visited it when I was a child. It is the Museo delle Mura (wall museum), built inside a city door of the late Roman walls. This is now called Porta San Sebastiano, and it is the door where start the Via Appia from Rome.

The opportunity to visit it was a temporary exhibition about Roman armours and helms. The materials are supplied by Archeos, an almost local reenactment and research group. So we haven’t real archaeological pieces but reproductions. It is good to see these things in a natural size shape to understand better what you can see only on books or monuments. My only remark is on some realisation are not so exact, as late Roman helm or other things for gladiators. But these are particulars. Enjoy the spectacle indeed.

Classical imperial helms and lorica segmentata.

Late Romans are a historical period not so represented in actual iconography. Trajan times are used as standard for all the Roman history. But what we generally know about Trajan is his column, while we have evidences about something different even for his epoch.

An armour for commanders. Vitreous materials could be used instead of gems for the helm. A way to save…

The kind of standard dress for foot soldiers. But this one is for a high rank soldier. Watch the crest and the richness of the vest.


On the left a secutor armour. I love this close helm. Near an arbelas, the weapon of the scissor.
On the right a middle Roman armour with a chest protector composed of rhomboidal plates.

The classical duel: on the left a myrmillo, on the right a thraex! In the middle, myself.

Some short graeves, a parmula, a sice supina and a falx.

A highly decorated myrmillo helm. Someone claim that this kind of helms were used only during the pompa magna, the presentation of gladiators to public before the fight. But if they are build to be used for a fight, then they were used for fights. None build a strong helm only for a parade. It is so simple. This is the helm of a champion.

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Erotic gladiatrices from the past

Today is Martedì Grasso, the final day of Carnevale. Following the theme of the last post, this time some erotic gladiatrices from the past. This is a 5 erotic photographic postcards series from France maybe made at the beginning of the 20th century. Probably it was called “Les jeux du cirque”. Here we can see a fight of a myrmillo versus retiarus. These images are resuscitated from oblivion by JulianApostata. He colourised them too.





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Ultimate Gladiatrix

Today is Giovedì Grasso, one of the two major Carnevale days. So I want to propose this extravaganza about half naked gladiatrices! We are speaking about a comic by JulianApostate. Fighting women are a classic kinky topic and this comic about gladiatrices is setted in the Roman world. You can find the comic here.

From the paper to the screens. If the Avengers and superheroes have got their films so even Ultimate Gladiatrix have got a flick! This one is a 18 minutes production by Amazon Warriors, a photographer and film maker web based and specialised on fighting girls. This time his models staff fight and kill in the arena. You can buy it here. Below some screenshots to admire the technical fighting skills of these young girls.

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