Roberto Timo

Rhodes. the Queen of the Mediterranean and the Wall Street of Its Era Roberto Timo

Rhodes has contributed decisively to the progress of humanity: for four and a half centuries it was at 'the centre of the world'. More than a 'history book', this is an 'agile tale' of how Rhodes managed to almost monopolize the grain trade, the main raw material of the ancient world, of how it became the 'Wall Street' of its time, and of how its wealth attracted talents: artists, scholars and scientists, who made Rhodes a cosmopolitan and creative city. Reading it will be a ride through a fascinating adventure: how Rhodes was designed as an 'ideal city', its unconquered walls, its ports (usable whatever the direction of the wind), the power of its military fleet, its technologically unparalleled shipyards, how insurance and navigation law were born in Rhodes, its successful model of social cohesion... And then there will be also art masterpieces, philosophers, wise men, athletes, the Colossus, the Nike of Samothrace, and why so many important Romans, Cicero and Julius Caesar, among others, came to Rhodes to achieve their 'post-graduate master's degree'.