Tag: nonno

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Five Years

It’s been five years since my Nonno passed away and I still have no words to describe how much I miss my Nonno. The pain I felt on this day five years ago is still ever present and is something that will probably never go away. 

My Nonno was such a big part of my life and everything reminds me of him. The most obvious one, ancient Egypt, reminds me the most of him. My apartment is littered with not only his ancient Egyptian trinkets but also his books. My brain is full of all the wonderful things he taught me. My soul is filled with the passion for ancient history that he instilled in me. 

But it’s not only ancient Egypt – it’s Disney World, anything Italian, even my vacuum cleaner (because he gave it to me). I can’t even clean without a reminder that he isn’t here with us anymore. I can’t ride the Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, and the Peoplemover without remembering how much he loved those rides and how much I wish he could be here in Florida with me to enjoy them. 

“But what is grief if not love persevering?” is a quote from WandaVision that I think about frequently and I feel accurately describes my emotions. My grief/love will always be present – and I think that’s the curse of being so lucky. I was so lucky to have my Nonno and to be his granddaughter. 

Five Years
One of my selves dedicated to my Nonno – the Hatshepsut Stela from the Vatican he gave me, the picture frame is his, and in the picture frame is my favorite picture of us from our trip to Pompeii in July of 2024.

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and most importantly, my Nonno!

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Blog

In Memory of Nonno

February 12th is an extremely difficult day for me, as it has been four years since my Nonno passed away. Everything I do is in memory of Nonno. Below is an excerpt of a speech I gave honoring my Nonno at one of his services: 

I have always told people that my Nonno is my favorite person and my favorite teacher.  I’ll tell everyone I meet how much I love my Nonno and Nonna.  Nonno and I shared a love of ancient Egyptian history and this common interest created such a bond between us. My best childhood memories are the two of us looking through one of his hundreds of books in the basement while we sat at his desk or on the couch.  Half of the books in my own collection are actually his. Either because he gave them to me, or because I just took them.

In Memory of Nonno
Nonno and I in September 2013

The best day of my life was when we finally got to walk the streets of Pompeii together.  I had been waiting my whole life for those couple of hours. My sister said to me “he had been waiting his whole life for someone to care about that stuff as much as him” and she was so right. 

In Memory of Nonno
Nonno and I walking the streets of Pompeii together. This is my favorite picture of us.

My cousin said to me “eravete – e sempre sarete un team bellissimo.” You have been and always will be the most beautiful team. And we are. We are the book hoarding, history loving, rock collecting, Italian speaking, Pompeii exploring, drive the rest of the family crazy in museums team. And we always will be.

In Memory of Nonno
Nonno and I outside of Circus Maximus in Rome. My Nonno loved Roman chariots and chariot races!

While there are no words to describe my Nonno, I want to share something I wrote over 25 years ago, that he still has proudly displayed: 

My Nonno

My Nonno is so funny

He is very very silly

I love my Nonno very much

In Memory of Nonno
A poem I wrote about my Nonno on his cabinet.

——

I’ve been listening to the song “Il tuo sguardo manca” by Il Volo a lot leading up to today because the song really describes a lot of my emotions about my Nonno’s death. This line in particular: “ma non passa un attimo, che il tuo sguardo manca in ogni strada, ogni città, dovunque vado” hits especially hard because it is so true.

This whole website, my Instagram page, and everything I do is in memory of Nonno.

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Blog

British Museum Trip

In July 2015, I was so lucky to go on a vacation to London with my whole family, including Nonno and Nonna! This trip was so special because it included an afternoon at the British Museum!

British Museum
Nonno and I in front of the British Museum
British Museum
Nonno and I with the stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 of Paser 𓅮𓀙𓀽

When our plane landed in London July 5th, we checked into the hotel and then rushed over to the British Museum because I literally couldn’t wait any longer to go. I had been waiting my whole life to go to the British Museum with my Nonno. It makes me both sad and happy to look back on these pictures because while I’m so incredibly grateful we all got to do this together, I’m so sad that it’ll never happen again. 

British Museum
My sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏 and I with the Rosetta Stone
British Museum
Nonno and I with Tutankhamun 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓

The first book my Nonno ever gave me on Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 was Carol Andrews’ book on the British Museum. It was incredible to see these artifacts that I had been reading about for years in person. I cannot believe that this was eight years ago already. I wish I could go back in time and re-live this day because even though we were all exhausted, it was an incredible day. 

British Museum
Nonno and I with more stelae 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸𓏪
British Museum
Me with the King’s List!

These are my personal photographs and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Blog

Eid Mar – Beware the Ides of March!

Beware the Ides of March (aka Eid Mar)!! Today is a non-Egypt post, but it’s about something that is very special and meaningful to my Nonno. I wish you all could have seen his face light up every time he spoke about this coin and the history behind it.

Not only did my Nonno love ancient Egypt and Rome, he had a passion for numismatics (the study of coins/paper money). He particularly loved Roman coins, and knew so much about them. The coin pictured (which is a replica of the original and made into a necklace) was his absolute favorite. He would speak about this coin – The EID MAR Denarius – often; he even kept a picture of the coin in his wallet. That’s how much he loved it. Nonno would often tell me and my sister about how Julius Caesar was murdered. It was a story he loved to share; talk about cool bedtime stories!!! 

Eid Mar Coin
Brutus on the obverse (front of the coin)
Eid Mar Coin
Eid Mar with two daggers and the liberty cap on the reverse (back of the coin)

On March 15th, 44 B.C.E, Brutus (on the obverse [front] of the coin) and his co-conspirators (who called themselves The Liberators) stabbed Julius Caesar over 30 times with daggers that they had hidden in their clothes. They believed that they would free the Roman Republic from the threat of tyranny if they could remove Julius Caesar from power. That was not the case – the public was fond of Caesar and even Marc Antony condemned Brutus and the Liberators’ actions.  Brutus was forced to leave Rome with his army. 

The EID MAR coin is so historically significant and is considered the greatest ancient coin of all time because it proves the fact that Brutus was involved with the assassination of Julius Caesar. Brutus issued the coin to remind his soldiers that they fought for the Roman Republic. The reverse side of the coin has two daggers, with the liberty cap (ancient symbol of freedom) in the middle. EID MAR is written underneath. Interestingly, people who were still alive usually didn’t appear on coins – in fact, Brutus hated that Caesar had put his own portrait on coins! 

It was Nonno’s dream to own one of these coins, but there are only about 80 of the silver coins and two of the gold versions that are known, which makes them extremely valuable. 

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I Miss You Nonno

“All of this is all for you, Oh, I swear to God, you’re living, Through everything I’ll ever do.” – “Two of Us” by Louis Tomlinson – this song really hits if you’re dealing with the death of a loved one. It’s raw and poignant and hard to listen to, but I feel like these particular lyrics really describe a lot. 

Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!
Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!

Today is a very difficult day for me (and my family), because it’s been three years since my Nonno passed away. It’s been three years since I’ve seen him, since we talked, since we laughed. There are times when I’m overwhelmed with sadness because I still cannot believe it happened. We spent so much time together and life still feels empty without my Nonno here. I’m not going to lie – I spent a lot of yesterday crying, and I will probably spend today that way too. 

Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum
Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum

This website (and my original Instagram account) is basically a manifestation of my grief and I started it in April 2020 as a way to try and manage my grief because it was overwhelming me. This account is also a way for my Nonno’s name and image to continue on. All I want is for people to see what an incredible person my Nonno was and how much he meant to me. 

Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome
Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome

I’m so lucky that my Nonno shared his passion for history with me at such a young age, and started my lifetime passion. Every time I post, you’re seeing an extension of what my Nonno knew, because he either taught it to me, or graciously gave me his books to read. All of this is Nonno – I’m just the messenger. 

Nicole and Nonno outside of the British Museum

Nonno and I have been best buds since day one and while I’m so lucky I had my Nonno with me for 27 years, I still feel like we needed more time. But if I’m being honest, no amount of time would’ve been enough. 

Nonno, I love you and miss you so much.

𓏙𓋹𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛

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Blog

Stela of Hatshepsut Replica

This is a replica of the Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 Stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 at the Musei Vaticani that my Nonno gave to me over fifteen years ago. I love this piece so much because the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on it are so accurate compared to the original stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸!

This is one of my most prized possessions because my Nonno have it to me. He brought this for me before we got to see the stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 together, because he knew I would absolutely love it, and I do! 

Let me know if you guys enjoy seeing my little collection of Egyptian replica pieces that my Nonno has given me!

Here is one of my posts about this beautiful 𓄤 stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸!

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Blog

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 🎄 // Buon Natale! 🎄

This year for Christmas/Advent, my sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏𓁐 made our Mom 𓅐𓏏𓁐 an advent calendar of beautiful 𓄤 homemade ornaments for the Christmas tree 𓆭𓅓𓆭 using pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 from past Christmases! One of the pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 she chose was a picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of us at the MET with Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪! This picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 definitely qualifies as “Christmas Themed” because my sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏𓁐 is wearing a Santa hat, plus this was actually taken during Christmas 2015! 

My Nonno loved Christmas and he loved spending Christmas together 𓈖𓊗 as a family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦. Christmas 2019 was my Nonno’s last Christmas, and I’m so glad we got to spend it with him. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (we celebrate both days) are very hard now that he isn’t here with us. I miss him so, so much. 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 – this time it will be Christmas 🎄 themed vocabulary! 

𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼 – Star

𓆭𓅓𓆭 – Tree

𓄫𓂝𓏺 – Gift, Present

𓅐𓏏𓁐 – Mother 

𓈖𓐍𓈖𓀕 – Baby/Infant

𓌙𓏲𓏏𓅂𓏛𓋾 – Shepherd

𓄫𓄣𓏏/𓄫𓏏𓄣𓏺/𓄫𓄣𓏺/𓄫𓄣 – Joy, Happiness (Wide Heart)

𓉔𓂋𓏏𓏛 – Peace

𓉔𓈖𓇋𓄿𓏸𓏦 – Sweet Food

𓊃𓂋𓈎𓏲𓈗𓈘𓈇 – Snow

𓈖𓊗 – Together 

𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 – Family

From me 𓁐 and my family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 to yours, I hope you all have a joyful 𓄫𓄣𓏏, happy 𓄫𓄣𓏺, and Merry Christmas 🎄! 

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Blog

Replica Statue of Rameses II

This little replica of the Rameses II 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓈘𓇳𓏺𓄟𓋴𓇓 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 from the Museo Egizio in Torino was given to me by my Nonno, and I love it so much!

You can read more about this beautiful 𓄤 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 in my post about it!

Here is a picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 to show you where Rameses II 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓈘𓇳𓏺𓄟𓋴𓇓 (and a replica ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 figure, also from the Museo Egizio) sits on my bookshelf!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti or Shabti?

Seeing ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 figures in museums will always bring me back to seeing them with my Nonno as a kid. Just like with the Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪, he was always so excited to show my sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏𓁐 and I the ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 figures and tell us all about them. I wish I could hear Nonno tell his ushabti stories again. I miss listening to him speak about ancient Egypt and ancient history more than anyone can even realize. He was always so passionate when he spoke about these things, and I think I get that from him because other people tell me that I am the same way.

Many people debate if the word is “shabti” or “ushabti,” when in reality, both pronunciations would be correct because it appears both ways in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 too! “𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 usbty” is where “ushabti” comes from and  “𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 sawabti” is where “shabti” comes from! My Nonno always said “Ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾” so that is what I tend to use as well!

Here are some other variations for “ushabti” in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 that aren’t used as much as the ones I have listed above. These variants are basically shortened versions of 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 or just use a different determinative!

𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮

𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾

𓆷𓄿𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀭

𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀭

𓆷𓄿𓍯𓄿𓃀𓏲𓍘𓇋𓆱 (the 𓆱 symbol as a determinative is interesting – probably because wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 ushabtis were popular in the 19th Dynasty).

The text 𓏟𓏛𓏥 on the blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 is a version of the “Shabti Spell” from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell 𓎛𓂓𓏛 gives the ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 in the Field of Reeds 𓇏𓏏𓈅𓇋𓄿𓂋𓅱𓆰𓊖.

The “Shabti Spell” usually starts off with the following phrase: 

𓋴𓌉𓆓𓇶 – The Illuminated One

𓁹𓊨𓀭 – The Osiris

Then the “Shabti Spell” will usually list the deceased’s 𓅓𓏏𓏱 job/titles: 

𓏟 – Scribe

𓉒 – Treasury

So this specific ushabti’s spell starts off with “The Illuminated One, The Osiris, The Scribe of the Treasury…”

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“Given Life”

“Given Life 𓏙𓋹”

Such a simple and easy phrase, however, this phrase was extremely powerful in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖! If you look at inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥, it is literally everywhere! A lot of inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥 either started or ended with “Given Life 𓏙𓋹.” Usually, inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥 were meant to preserve the name 𓂋𓈖 of the deceased, so their soul 𓂓𓏺 could continue to live on. 

My Nonno 𓈖𓍯𓈖𓈖𓍯𓀀 loved ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 and shared his passion with me; he is the reason I’m able to read hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 and is the reasons I have a lifelong passion for the history of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. My Nonno 𓈖𓍯𓈖𓈖𓍯𓀀 gave life 𓏙𓋹 to my passion, and now I am giving life 𓏙𓋹 to his name 𓂋𓈖 and memory.

As Christmas approaches, dealing with the grief of not having Nonno here for a third Christmas has been extremely difficult. Grief can be an overpowering emotion. This morning I had no inspiration to write because while usually going through my pictures and writing helps me handle my grief on a daily basis, this morning that felt impossible until I came across this picture I took. 

The simple phrase “Given Life 𓏙𓋹,” that I’ve read thousands of times over the years gave me comfort. It is wild how a phrase uttered and written by people thousands of years ago, can bring comfort to me today. The power of words, language, and ideas never cease to astound me.