cabinet
48 things i keep going back to.
places
- duomo di milanomilan, 1386–1965begun in 1386, the last details finished in 1965. my city.
- san siromilan, 1926inter's home since 1947.
- thermopylaegreece, 480 bcthe stone on the hill reads: go tell the spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
- the rubiconsavignano sul rubicone, 49 bcthe small river caesar crossed with an army. the republic never recovered.
objects
- corinthian helmetgreek, bronzethe helmet hoplites fought in, hammered from a single sheet of bronze.
- marcus aurelius on horsebackrome, about 175 adsurvived the middle ages because people thought it was constantine.
- "leonidas"sparta, 480–470 bca marble hoplite found on the acropolis of sparta and named after the king.
- julius caesar, the tusculum portraitturin, 1st century bcmaybe the only portrait of him made while he was alive.
documents
- the gettysburg addressthe bliss copy, 1863the last copy lincoln wrote out, and the only one he signed.
- the federalistnew york, 1788the first edition. number 10 is madison on factions.
- magna cartarunnymede, 1215one of four copies that survive from 1215.
- principia mathematicalondon, 1687newton's laws, first printed. the title page carries the licence of samuel pepys.
battles
- issus333 bc, painted by altdorfer in 1529alexander breaks darius. altdorfer gave it a sky the size of the world.
- cannae216 bc, painted by trumbull in 1773hannibal surrounded a roman army far bigger than his. still taught as the perfect encirclement.
- lepanto1571the holy league broke the ottoman fleet off greece. the last great battle of oared galleys.
- waterloo1815, painted by lady butler in 1881the scots greys charge. napoleon's last battle.
paintings
- the calling of saint matthewcaravaggio, 1599–1600one beam of light, one pointing hand, and a tax collector who can't believe it's him.
- il baciofrancesco hayez, 1859painted the year of the war that began unifying italy. it hangs in the brera, in milan.
- the fighting temerairej. m. w. turner, 1839a ship that fought at trafalgar, towed to the breakers by a steam tug.
- pollice versojean-léon gérôme, 1872the crowd turns its thumbs. the painting that inspired gladiator.
films
- gladiator2000 · ridley scottopens with marcus aurelius at war on the frontier.
- the dark knight2008 · christopher nolanthe joker's best argument, and batman's answer.
- the godfather1972 · francis ford coppolaa family, a business, and the cost of both.
- dunkirk2017 · christopher nolanland, sea and air, on three clocks at once.
shows
- game of thrones2011–2019 · hbothe iron throne, and everyone who wanted it.
- the sopranos1999–2007 · hboan italian-american family business, in therapy.
- succession2018–2023 · hbowho gets the company.
- billions2016–2023 · showtimeaxe against chuck. the hedge fund show.
sports
- milito in madrid22 may 2010both goals in the champions league final, and the treble was done.
- the trebleinter, 2010serie a, coppa italia and the champions league. the first italian club to win all three in one season.
- the catchsan francisco, 10 january 1982montana to dwight clark at the back of the end zone. the 49ers dynasty starts here.
- rose at the buzzerchicago, 8 may 2015a banked three over the cavs to win game 3.
cars
- ferrari 250 gto196236 built, to race. the car every collector wants.
- lamborghini miura1966the mid-engine layout that made the supercar.
- alfa romeo 33 stradale1967a race car for the road, drawn by franco scaglione.
- lancia stratos1973built to win rallies, and it won the world championship three years running.
chess
- the immortal gamelondon, 1851anderssen gave away both rooks and his queen, then mated with what was left.
- the opera gameparis, 1858morphy, in a box at the opera, against a duke and a count. seventeen moves.
- fischer v spasskyreykjavik, 1972an american took the world title from the soviet champion.
- kasparov v deep bluenew york, 1997the first time a computer beat the world champion in a match.
food
- white trufflesalba, piedmonttuber magnatum. found by dogs, sold by the gram.
- honeyin the combstill in the comb, the way it should come.
- porciniboletus edulisthe king of italian mushrooms. best in the autumn.
- parmigiano reggianoemilia-romagnaaged at least twelve months, made only in a few provinces around parma and reggio emilia.
cigars
- cohibahavana, 1966made first for castro, sold to the public from 1982.
- montecristohavana, 1935named after the count of monte cristo, a book read aloud to the rollers.
- romeo y julietahavanathe churchill size is named after winston churchill, who smoked them.
- padrónmiami, 1964started in miami by a cuban exile, josé orlando padrón.
image credits
the paintings, places, objects, documents and the rest from wikimedia commons are public domain or openly licensed. film and show stills and sports photos belong to their owners and are credited separately below.
- the consummation of empire (work): Thomas Cole, public domain. source
- the death of socrates (essays): Jacques-Louis David, cc0. source
- the school of athens (books): Raphael, public domain. source
- ancient rome (cabinet, home page): Giovanni Paolo Panini, cc0. source
- washington crossing the delaware (heroes): Emanuel Leutze, public domain. source
- the gallery of cornelis van der geest (this page): Willem van Haecht, public domain. source
- essay cover: why two parties fail: William Hogarth, public domain. source
- essay cover: italy's revolving door: Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, public domain. source
- essay cover: the roman republic and us: Cesare Maccari, public domain. source
- essay cover: lincoln and compromise: Francis Bicknell Carpenter, public domain. source
- essay cover: why small stocks stay cheap: Quinten Metsys, public domain. source
- essay cover: is ai a bubble?: Jan Brueghel the Younger, public domain. source
- essay cover: luck in an 86% year: Caravaggio, public domain. source
- essay cover: activist investing: Rembrandt, public domain. source
- essay cover: leonidas lost: Jacques-Louis David, public domain. source
- essay cover: machiavelli the republican: Santi di Tito, public domain. source
- essay cover: the emperor's notebook: Eugène Delacroix, public domain. source
- essay cover: the melian dialogue, today: Philipp Foltz, public domain. source
- essay cover: learning english through the nfl: unknown, public domain. source
- essay cover: writing both sides: Johny SYSEL, cc by 4.0. source
- essay cover: inter 2010: unknown, public domain. source
- essay cover: superman vs batman: Rembrandt, public domain. source
- duomo di milano: Julian Lupyan, cc0. source
- san siro: Nabbegat, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- thermopylae: Rafal Slubowski, N. Pantelis, cc by-sa 3.0. source
- the rubicon: Sergio bellavista, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- corinthian helmet: unknown, cc0. source
- marcus aurelius on horseback: Nicholas Hartmann, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- "leonidas": George E. Koronaios, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- julius caesar, the tusculum portrait: Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart, public domain. source
- the gettysburg address: unknown, public domain. source
- the federalist: Publius (pseudonym) [Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison]., public domain. source
- magna carta: unknown, cc0. source
- principia mathematica: Isaac Newton, public domain. source
- issus: Albrecht Altdorfer, public domain. source
- cannae: John Trumbull, public domain. source
- lepanto: Unidentified painter, public domain. source
- waterloo: Elizabeth Thompson, public domain. source
- the calling of saint matthew: Caravaggio, public domain. source
- il bacio: Francesco Hayez, public domain. source
- the fighting temeraire: J. M. W. Turner, public domain. source
- pollice verso: Jean-Léon Gérôme, public domain. source
- ferrari 250 gto: unknown, cc by-sa 3.0. source
- lamborghini miura: Chelsea Jay, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- alfa romeo 33 stradale: azrhey, cc by-sa 2.0. source
- lancia stratos: Calreyn88, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- the immortal game: unknown, public domain. source
- the opera game: unknown, public domain. source
- fischer v spassky: W. Punt for Anefo, cc0. source
- kasparov v deep blue: Erik Pitti from San Diego, CA, USA, cc by 2.0. source
- white truffles: Kent Wang from London, United Kingdom, cc by-sa 2.0. source
- honey: Alabama Extension, cc0. source
- porcini: Holger Krisp, cc by 3.0. source
- parmigiano reggiano: Iain Cameron, cc by 2.0. source
- cohiba: Lupus in Saxonia, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- montecristo: Thermos, cc by-sa 4.0. source
- romeo y julieta: Christoph Braun, cc0. source
- padrón: Magnetic Rag, public domain. source
stills and sports photos
- gladiator: film still © dreamworks pictures and universal pictures, via tmdb. source
- the dark knight: film still © warner bros., via tmdb. source
- the godfather: film still © paramount pictures, via tmdb. source
- dunkirk: film still © warner bros., via tmdb. source
- game of thrones: still © hbo, via tmdb. source
- the sopranos: still © hbo, via tmdb. source
- succession: still © hbo, via tmdb. source
- billions: still © showtime, via tmdb. source
- milito in madrid: photo via uefa.com. source
- the treble: photo via goal.com. source
- the catch: photo via the new york times. source
- rose at the buzzer: associated press photo, via the spokesman-review. source