Examines the history of the Etruscans and the mysteries surrounding their origin. In the 7th and 6th centuries BC, they controlled much of the Italian peninsula, living in walled city-states set on hilltops. Their language is still only partly understood. Their art shows influences of Eastern Mediterranean and Greek culture, but the style is uniquely their own. Although most of their works of art were created for funeral purposes, they display great strength and vitality. The Etruscans founded Rome, introduced the alphabet to Italy and were the first to develop gladiatorial combat and chariot racing.

Alastair Sooke takes an in-depth look at the art of the Roman Empire.

Alastair Sooke takes an in-depth look at the art of the Roman Empire.

Meet the Romans 　　Professor Mary Beard looks beyond the stories of emperors, armies, guts and gore to meet the everyday people at the heart of Ancient Rome's vast empire We still live in the shadow of ancient Rome - a city at the heart of a vast empire that stretched from Scotland to Afghanistan, dominating the West for over 700 years. Professor Mary Beard puts aside the stories of emperors and armies, guts and gore, to meet the real Romans living at the heart of it all.

《古罗马人》是BBC2的一个6 x 30的系列纪录片。Adam Hart-Davis 将和我们一同探讨古罗马人对于现在的生活的影响，从乳罩到桥，从排序法到餐桌上的刀叉，从混凝土结构到避孕套，古罗马人带给英国人的发明和创新改变了他们的建筑风格及生活的方式。在他们逗留的近400年间，他们建造了三十座城镇，留下了迷人的复杂的技术。 　　 　　Programme 1: 奢华的生活 　　Programme 2: 入侵 　　Programme 3: 城镇和乡村 　　Programme 4: 帝国之动脉 　　Programme 5: 帝国的优势 　　Programme 6: 那个时代的高峰

《古罗马人》是BBC2的一个6 x 30的系列纪录片。Adam Hart-Davis 将和我们一同探讨古罗马人对于现在的生活的影响，从乳罩到桥，从排序法到餐桌上的刀叉，从混凝土结构到避孕套，古罗马人带给英国人的发明和创新改变了他们的建筑风格及生活的方式。在他们逗留的近400年间，他们建造了三十座城镇，留下了迷人的复杂的技术。 　　 　　Programme 1: 奢华的生活 　　Programme 2: 入侵 　　Programme 3: 城镇和乡村 　　Programme 4: 帝国之动脉 　　Programme 5: 帝国的优势 　　Programme 6: 那个时代的高峰

本片中的一家罗马穷人纯粹是无恶不作的刁民，欺诈、通奸、谋杀、淫乱，什么都干。大家长失去了左眼，从政府那里获得一百万里拉的补偿，他的亲戚想给他下毒，而他自己则花天酒地，甚至把妓女带回家。他酗酒、吹牛，还拿着手枪威胁亲戚。那些亲戚们如同是歌剧里的合唱队，步调一致对付他。他那十多个孩子似乎都被困在这个贫民窟里，前途无望。 　　如果说意大利新现实主义电影将下层社会圣洁化，那么，本片则撕开了那层圣洁的外衣。影片非常搞笑，同时又令人沮丧，似乎贫穷就是一种罪恶。斯高拉凭本片获得戛纳影展最佳导演奖。

本片中的一家罗马穷人纯粹是无恶不作的刁民，欺诈、通奸、谋杀、淫乱，什么都干。大家长失去了左眼，从政府那里获得一百万里拉的补偿，他的亲戚想给他下毒，而他自己则花天酒地，甚至把妓女带回家。他酗酒、吹牛，还拿着手枪威胁亲戚。那些亲戚们如同是歌剧里的合唱队，步调一致对付他。他那十多个孩子似乎都被困在这个贫民窟里，前途无望。 　　如果说意大利新现实主义电影将下层社会圣洁化，那么，本片则撕开了那层圣洁的外衣。影片非常搞笑，同时又令人沮丧，似乎贫穷就是一种罪恶。斯高拉凭本片获得戛纳影展最佳导演奖。

Levon remembers his childhood in Turkey: love, political brutality. A bloody comedy. Also a modern crime story about Armenian terrorists and Turkish secret agents, about Kurds tragedy. 　　Askarian’s most recent project is another meditation on the artist in exile. Like the filmmaker Avetik and the real-life composer Komitas from his previous films, Levon - a writer of Armenian extraction now living in Rotterdam - is caught between memories of homeland and the realities of contemporary life. From his Dutch domicile, Levon reminisces about his brother-in-law (a hairdresser who robs dead Turks), a brilliant Kurdish musician, a red-bearded executioner, a seventeen-year-old girl with chestnut-colored skin, and a Turkish Apollo with eight wives who likes to bury himself in hot ash. His memory is also populated by beautiful thoroughbred horses, stray dogs, camel drivers, soldiers, and Turkish policemen. These poetic, almost surrealist scenes of magic love and political cruelty are contrasted with the reality of present day Rotterdam, presented in the guise of a modern crime story with Armenian terrorists and a Kurdish tragedy. 　　"Every year, we look at thousands of films and when one shines above the rest, as ON THE OLD ROMAN ROAD did, it is indeed a pleasure. Don Askarian, recently honored with a Harvard Film Archive retrospective, is considered the greatest living Armenian filmmaker. In Askarian's latest film, which he describes as “a bloody comedy”, a man in exile remembers a childhood of magic and mayhem, complete with grave robbers, brutal assassinations, horses, and men buried in hot ash. As striking a visual feast as one can find, this is an extravagant and crystalline treasure, a film whose rewards far outweigh its considerable demands."

Levon remembers his childhood in Turkey: love, political brutality. A bloody comedy. Also a modern crime story about Armenian terrorists and Turkish secret agents, about Kurds tragedy. 　　Askarian’s most recent project is another meditation on the artist in exile. Like the filmmaker Avetik and the real-life composer Komitas from his previous films, Levon - a writer of Armenian extraction now living in Rotterdam - is caught between memories of homeland and the realities of contemporary life. From his Dutch domicile, Levon reminisces about his brother-in-law (a hairdresser who robs dead Turks), a brilliant Kurdish musician, a red-bearded executioner, a seventeen-year-old girl with chestnut-colored skin, and a Turkish Apollo with eight wives who likes to bury himself in hot ash. His memory is also populated by beautiful thoroughbred horses, stray dogs, camel drivers, soldiers, and Turkish policemen. These poetic, almost surrealist scenes of magic love and political cruelty are contrasted with the reality of present day Rotterdam, presented in the guise of a modern crime story with Armenian terrorists and a Kurdish tragedy. 　　"Every year, we look at thousands of films and when one shines above the rest, as ON THE OLD ROMAN ROAD did, it is indeed a pleasure. Don Askarian, recently honored with a Harvard Film Archive retrospective, is considered the greatest living Armenian filmmaker. In Askarian's latest film, which he describes as “a bloody comedy”, a man in exile remembers a childhood of magic and mayhem, complete with grave robbers, brutal assassinations, horses, and men buried in hot ash. As striking a visual feast as one can find, this is an extravagant and crystalline treasure, a film whose rewards far outweigh its considerable demands."