In search of Hadrian, London and Rome



“Hadrian was gay…” the audio guide announces at the British Museum in discussing Hadrian’s relationship to Antinous. This was the beginning of our Hadrian quest from London to Villa Adriana, Hadrian’s summer palace outside of Rome...



Hadrian was one of the pivotal Emperors of the Roman Empire. He consolidated the Empire. He took Rome out of what is now Iraq and contracted the borders in the north of the Empire, returning to the western side of the Rhine and building Hadrian’s Wall between England and Scotland. The latter was not so much about keeping out the barbarians, we learn from the Museum visit, but to funnel people to tax collection points!